Garandguy.com?

[ja391]

I'm thinking about purchasing a Garand. I waited too long for the CMP surplus, and now I'm regretting it. I found this site http://www.garandguy.com/ and his "issue grade" rifles have a barrel gauging of 3 and 4. What was the barrel gauging on CMP's service grade?

Also, does anyone know of any other place where I can get an M1 or should I just wait to find one for sale on a message board (such as here or AR15)?

[Fate]

3 and under was service grade IIRC.

The CMP will have more Garands next year. They're just filling the carbine orders right now.

[ocabj]

Actually, the CMP grading was:

Service grade: Barrel with less than 5 TE and less than 3 MW.

Field grade: Barrel with less than 5 TE and possibly 3 or greater MW.

Rack grade: Barrel with 5 TE or greater.

Please note that it was possible to find field and rack grades with a TE less than 5 and good MW (3 or under). But these rifles may have had characteristics that caused the grader to give it less than 'service' grade. Before supplies got low, this could have been poor quality stocks or mismatche stocks. But more than likely, a rifle with a barrel with 'service' grade characteristics as defined by the CMP that was given a lower rating had some sort of barrel flaw (pitting, damaged rifling, damaged crown).

Remember that the whole 'service', 'field', 'rack', 'correct', and 'collector' grade nomenclature was defined by the CMP. Not by any sort of military standard. These grades were simply a way for the CMP to sort out rifles by condition and create different price tiers for the purchasers.

As far as Garand availability. I would wait until next January at least. The CMP should have Garands graded and ready for sale again. If they don't by Summer of 2008, you should probably seek other means of obtaining a Garand. Given the current state of Garand supplies (not held by private collectors), $650-700 is probably a fair price for your standard mixmaster Garand with a decent barrel. Don't get caught up in TE or MW values. It's good to know the TE and MW when buying one from another collector, but I would ask to test fire the rifle to verify it's accuracy potential.

Your average Garand should be able to hold the black on an SR target with military surplus ammo. That's 13" at 200 yards (6.5MOA).

[FluorideInMyWater]

toni G - the garand guy

tony is a very reputable dealer. he is a member of the garand collectors association and is one of there vendors in the back of their publication. i did quite a bit of background checking on him and he is legit and very capable. i talked to scott duff www.scott-duff.com and he also said that he has a very good reputation. although i do not own a gun from him, i have spoken to many people who do and they are all very pleased. go 4 it. i might be very close behind you when funds permit.