So I went a little Garand crazy today... (now with PICS!)

[SFSig]

The Garands are here!





Here's the run down on what I got:

The top rifle is the WWII Springfield. It's obviously got the new CMP walnut stock (with cartouche) so no GI wood for me here, unfortunately. I was hoping to make this one the collector, but it's got a NM barrel and op rod, so looks like it's going to be my shooter...

The second one on the other hand is an HRA '55 that I'll probably leave untouched. It's got GI wood (with the three star eagle cartouche and the circle P - that makes it GI right?) It's got HRA rear sight, trigger group, barrel and op rod. I think they're correct for the manufacture date, but I still need to do more research. One of the coolest things about it is that there are some yellow stenciling that I think are maybe unit/rack markings? From what I've read it's damn near impossible to know for sure, but that's the story I'm going with.

The third rifle is the other HRA '55. This one's kind of a mutt with a P stock (no circle, which I think means it's a replacement stock?), SA trigger group, non HRA rear sight but original barrel. It does have a great patina though and the fact that it has a P stock makes it a bit interesting. The pistol grip/wrist is really wide too. Almost too big for my hands.

The fourth rifle is a SA '55 with new CMP wood. I think it's birch from the color. This one's interesting in that it has both NM barrel and rear sight with smaller peep hole and finer windage adjustments. As far as I can tell the the front sight is standard issue.

Some general observations - The SA's are in much better condition than the HRA's, which surprised me. The park on the SA's look almost new to me and you can still see the machining on the barrels. The HRA's on the other hand have definitely been used with park wear, knicks, dings, and a few scrapes. I thought it was interesting that the SA's came with NM barrels and one with a NM op rod. All are beautiful guns and each has a unique character. Both HRA's came with used wood, whereas the two SA's came with CMP wood - something to note if you care about that...

I'm still a novice when it comes to this stuff so if you have any ideas on significant things to look out for then I'm all ears.

THANKS!

[sickboybrad]

yes

So I guess the paperwork you signed stating that the rifles you were purchasing were for" your own personal use" and not for resale means nothing?

or

[navycorpsman]

How you can you not be happy when ou get that in the mail

[CEDaytonaRydr]

So I guess the paperwork you signed stating that the rifles you were purchasing were for" your own personal use" and not for resale means nothing?

That doesn't mean you have to keep them indefinitely, for the rest of your natural life.

[NastyNate]

Congrats on the new additions!

[gotshotgun?]

That HRA with USGI wood looks great!

[gotshotgun?]

The 4th rifle looks to have the Greek Black parkerizing.

[SFSig]

The 4th rifle looks to have the Greek Black parkerizing.

I see what you mean... Definitely has a different hue than the others. I wonder if it has been reparkerized though. The barrel still has tooling marks from turning the barrel... They wouldn't have reparkerized it unless it was really banged up and worn would they?

[SFSig]

or

Definitely

[SFSig]

Congrats on the new additions!

Thanks!

[WilliamAnderson]

If I was you, I'd put all the NM parts on your WWII SA gun with that NM barrel and make it my target rifle.

[SFSig]

If I was you, I'd put all the NM parts on your WWII SA gun with that NM barrel and make it my target rifle.

Luckily, my WWII SA has the NM barrel and op rod, so while I was hoping that it'd have some GI wood and that it'd be a safe queen, it's definitely gonna be my shooter... I read somewhere though that certain Garand matches won't allow this rifle to be shot in an "as issued" match since it has the NM barrel and that it'd have to go into the "unlimited" class - is that right? Not a huge concern as Camp Perry is a long ways away but I'd like to keep my options open...

Also, I forgot to mention that the other SA from '55 has a milled trigger guard which was issued earlier on before it was redesigned to be a stamped guard. My understanding is that the milled were an inferior design, but are they more valuable because of it's early production? Can't be that rare, but maybe I'm wrong...

[aghauler]

Nice group of Garands!
Another suggestion would be make the number #2 rifle another project rifle. Check it to confirm how many HRA parts are on #2 rifle. I'm not sure that's a HRA stock though the HRAs were noted for having a "large back porch", more wood to the rear of the receiver, it is USGI though. At somepoint in production they may have used USGI stocks without the extra wood behind the receiver. Hopefully you have an HRA bolt, front sight and gas plug, hammer, etc,etc, check the internals of the trigger group as they may be of different manufacture. If you have to switch out bolts to get a correct one make sure you check the headspace. Although it "may fit and be correct" it may not spec out due to wear and headspacing. You can move HRA parts from one rifle to another to adjust fit, finish, correctness. There a number of guys that were looking for USGI birch stocks with that nice grain pattern in it. I have one an SA from rebuild that is my shooter. Do you have throat erosion and muzzle wear stats? How do the crowns look? I always seemed to enjoy getting a Garand from CMP more than getting anyother firearm, even new stuff I've bought.
Let your "education" begin and have fun, absolutely NO reason you can't shoot any or ALL of those rifles, it won't detract from thier value.

[someR1]

op, your garands look beautiful !

not to hijack- but I'm in the process of ordering, and I just joined the GCA. My question is, how long will it take for the GCA to correspond with the CMP to satisfy the requirement ?

Also, besides the GSA membership, I just need my HSC, drivers license, and notary with paperwork, right ??

[me109g4]

In regards to the "milled" trigger guard, its not an inferior design but it is more expensive and time consuming to make, so in 1944 Ordnance designed and put into production the stamped trigger guard, the early stamped ones had the "hook" at the back milled but eventually the back hook was just bent to lock the group in place.

If a barreled receiver has been re finished the chamber will be parkerized and will no longer be shiney,a new barrel will be 'in the white". The exception being the Winchester Garands, which can be either way when new.