M1 garand value

[Garandimal]

Must be a Windows user

A nice primer for Garand newbies.

Is there a Service Pack 2 update coming soon?

I have a current M1 Garand rack that consists or Five(5) CMP Service Grade rifles, all w/ near-new bores. All are Springfield Armory stamped receivers dating from 5/42 to 5/55.

My boys also got one/ea.


All are Shooters.

As were the half-dozen I also farmed out, at cost, to family and fellow Riflemen. The Garand Service Pack went out w/'em.




GR

[Discogodfather]

A post I put up some time ago about Garands:

Collecting Garands and knowing what your doing is difficult to say the least. So here is my small bit of knowledge on Garands (Please correct me if I am wrong) :

1) Garands where never designed to or in reality "match" any numbers. There is really no scientific way of telling if a Garand is "original" to the way it left the factory. They are a modular design rifle and the Gov treated them as such, almost everything is interchangeable and it was in fact interchanged like crazy.

2) They where built using a code system (called the draw code), which generally dates each part and is important when you considering what most would call a "correct" grade Garand.

3) 99%+ of Garands are refurbed, sometimes multiple times

3) CMP sells service and field grade Garands, which in generally are mistmatched drawing codes, receivers, and barrels. They usually gauge at around 3-4 on both Muzzle Erosion (ME) and Throat Erosion (TE). This means that they are shootable, but you want lower numbers. A new barrel would be ME 0, TE 0 for instance. CMP will loan you a gauge while you shop if you pick up at North or South store. Other than that, you get a general promise that it won't be over around 3-5 on ME or TE, but many times they come to you with around 1-2.

4) In the past, you could buy Correct grade and Collector grade Garands. Correct grade Garands feature all draw number correct parts, meaning they where all manufactured at a period correct time. Collector grade was just a really nice visual example of a Correct grade rifle. CMP no longer offers these outside of their auction. An example of draw numbers:





An example of a barrel date, just pull the op rod back and look:



5) The closest thing to an "original" Garand is either a CMP "unissued" rifle that comes with paperwork or a rifle endorsed by a major expert (such as Scott Duff, etc.) that in their opinion is essentially a rifle that left the factory as is and then boxed. Post war unissued Garands are going for $5000+ and I can't imagine what a WW2 era or pre-war unissued rifle is going for, but 10k+ easily.

6) All Garands, regardless of manufacturer, have a "Born on" date. This is the known date it was manufactured. This is determined by the serial number on the receiver. Generally, 1 million to 5 million rifles where produced from 1942-1945, which was the most prolific manufacturing period. Less than one million and it's pre-war, more than 5 million and it's post war. An easy check to see how original the rifle is would be to look at the receiver serial, then look at the barrel date. Almost all rifles have a dated barrel.



7) If a receiver was made in 1942, and you have a barrel made in 1943, it can still be correct. You have to look at the born on date, which is specified down to the month.

8) Draw codes should match this general production time, but most less than scrupulous gun chawkers will match the receiver code to the barrel and just call it correct. It takes a lot of time to disassemble and date everything. Some parts did not have numbers and where draw numbered as an assembly.



9) Garand stocks did not have drawing codes, so you need to learn to read and recognize the stock cartouches. Most rifles have a box with the manufactures designation (SA= Springfield, WRA = Winchester, etc.) and then the initials of the inspector below the manufacturers code. This inspector initials is the way to tell when the stock was manufactured. Just like with drawing codes, you need to see who was the inspector at what time, and if the dates match in general then you can again determine that the stock was period correct to the metal.



10) Sometimes a correct grade Garand will have all period correct codes, but the part finish will not match. That's because someone either replaced parts back in the day or replaced parts at another time. It's still correct, it's just not original to the rifle.


Very valuable Garand KNOWLEDGE:

DRAW CODES

BORN ON DATES

BOLT HEAD LOTS

STOCK CARTOUCHES

DETERMINING VINTAGE

[aghauler]

I have a current M1 Garand rack that consists or Five(5) CMP Service Grade rifles, all w/ near-new bores. All are Springfield Armory stamped receivers dating from 5/42 to 5/55.

My boys also got one/ea.


All are Shooters.

As were the half-dozen I also farmed out, at cost, to family and fellow Riflemen. The Garand Service Pack went out w/'em.




GR

Yep this is all I have left out of 26, these are all SG SA's, H&R's and one matching Italian Breda. The scoped one had a new USGI 7.62 bbl I got at auction (cost almost as much as the rifle!) about 10 years ago and had it put on this rifle. The "birch one" second from right looked to be fresh from storage after arsenal rebuild it showed up with a correct bbl a MW of 0 and a TE of 0 and it a pleasure to shoot. The Breda/Dane is the first one on the right without sling. There is a dated inventory or rebuild tape on the rear sling swivel so I've never put the Danish sling on it. Been thinking about just "one more" from CMP. I knew a guy that had over 250 "all correct" Garand's in his collection all in serial number sequence. that was quite the sight to behold!

[aghauler]

A post I put up some time ago about Garands:

Collecting Garands and knowing what your doing is difficult to say the least. So here is my small bit of knowledge on Garands (Please correct me if I am wrong) :

1) Garands where never designed to or in reality "match" any numbers. There is really no scientific way of telling if a Garand is "original" to the way it left the factory. They are a modular design rifle and the Gov treated them as such, almost everything is interchangeable and it was in fact interchanged like crazy.

2) They where built using a code system (called the draw code), which generally dates each part and is important when you considering what most would call a "correct" grade Garand.

3) 99%+ of Garands are refurbed, sometimes multiple times

3) CMP sells service and field grade Garands, which in generally are mistmatched drawing codes, receivers, and barrels. They usually gauge at around 3-4 on both Muzzle Erosion (ME) and Throat Erosion (TE). This means that they are shootable, but you want lower numbers. A new barrel would be ME 0, TE 0 for instance. CMP will loan you a gauge while you shop if you pick up at North or South store. Other than that, you get a general promise that it won't be over around 3-5 on ME or TE, but many times they come to you with around 1-2.

4) In the past, you could buy Correct grade and Collector grade Garands. Correct grade Garands feature all draw number correct parts, meaning they where all manufactured at a period correct time. Collector grade was just a really nice visual example of a Correct grade rifle. CMP no longer offers these outside of their auction. An example of draw numbers:





An example of a barrel date, just pull the op rod back and look:



5) The closest thing to an "original" Garand is either a CMP "unissued" rifle that comes with paperwork or a rifle endorsed by a major expert (such as Scott Duff, etc.) that in their opinion is essentially a rifle that left the factory as is and then boxed. Post war unissued Garands are going for $5000+ and I can't imagine what a WW2 era or pre-war unissued rifle is going for, but 10k+ easily.

6) All Garands, regardless of manufacturer, have a "Born on" date. This is the known date it was manufactured. This is determined by the serial number on the receiver. Generally, 1 million to 5 million rifles where produced from 1942-1945, which was the most prolific manufacturing period. Less than one million and it's pre-war, more than 5 million and it's post war. An easy check to see how original the rifle is would be to look at the receiver serial, then look at the barrel date. Almost all rifles have a dated barrel.



7) If a receiver was made in 1942, and you have a barrel made in 1943, it can still be correct. You have to look at the born on date, which is specified down to the month.

8) Draw codes should match this general production time, but most less than scrupulous gun chawkers will match the receiver code to the barrel and just call it correct. It takes a lot of time to disassemble and date everything. Some parts did not have numbers and where draw numbered as an assembly.



9) Garand stocks did not have drawing codes, so you need to learn to read and recognize the stock cartouches. Most rifles have a box with the manufactures designation (SA= Springfield, WRA = Winchester, etc.) and then the initials of the inspector below the manufacturers code. This inspector initials is the way to tell when the stock was manufactured. Just like with drawing codes, you need to see who was the inspector at what time, and if the dates match in general then you can again determine that the stock was period correct to the metal.



10) Sometimes a correct grade Garand will have all period correct codes, but the part finish will not match. That's because someone either replaced parts back in the day or replaced parts at another time. It's still correct, it's just not original to the rifle.


Very valuable Garand KNOWLEDGE:

DRAW CODES

BORN ON DATES

BOLT HEAD LOTS

STOCK CARTOUCHES

DETERMINING VINTAGE

Great post and refresher! Only had one link already out of those 5!

[2761377]

^^^^

couple nitpicks-

#2- not draw 'codes' but drawing number. as in a blueprint drawing from which the dimensions and specifications to manufacture the part are maintained. if a part was revised, the drawing number would show a revision number. eg bolts- basic drawing # D28287. WW2 revisions up -19. receivers, barrels and bolts also show specific heat treatment lots. WW2 barrels have drawing #, revision # and heat lot under the rear handguard.

#6- as of Dec 1941, Garand serials were at @400,000. the last rifles made during 1945 were in the 3.8 million serial range. of course any rifle manufactured before Dec 1941 could have and probably was used in WW2. upon restart of production in late 1950/early '51 serials started with 4.2 million.

#10 incorrect. it is common and to be expected to find original rifles with mis-matched finish colors. as a matter of fact, a rifle with all matching finish is a dead giveaway it is NOT original.

[Orlando]

^^^^

couple nitpicks-



#10 incorrect. it is common and to be expected to find original rifles with mis-matched finish colors. as a matter of fact, a rifle with all matching finish is a dead giveaway it is NOT original.

Correct, think about it, parts were not all parkerized at the same tiem, same place. A original rifles parts can vary in color

[Citadelgrad87]

^^^^

couple nitpicks-

#2- not draw 'codes' but drawing number. as in a blueprint drawing from which the dimensions and specifications to manufacture the part are maintained. if a part was revised, the drawing number would show a revision number. eg bolts- basic drawing # D28287. WW2 revisions up -19. receivers, barrels and bolts also show specific heat treatment lots. WW2 barrels have drawing #, revision # and heat lot under the rear handguard.

#6- as of Dec 1941, Garand serials were at @400,000. the last rifles made during 1945 were in the 3.8 million serial range. of course any rifle manufactured before Dec 1941 could have and probably was used in WW2. upon restart of production in late 1950/early '51 serials started with 4.2 million.

#10 incorrect. it is common and to be expected to find original rifles with mis-matched finish colors. as a matter of fact, a rifle with all matching finish is a dead giveaway it is NOT original.

Im no expert but I was going to post that my six digit springfield was made march 1942.

[2761377]

Im no expert but I was going to post that my six digit springfield was made march 1942.

according to Duff, that would mean your rifle is somewhere between 498xxx and 542xxx.

close?

[Eddy's Shooting Sports]

Discogodfather pretty much said it all. Garland collecting can be a true sickness for some.

As for why CMP Garands appreciate $300-$500 the moment they hit your porch is caused by several things. Many folks want to see the gun before they buy. CMP Garands sometimes come with new replacement stocks, or crappy foreign stocks, whereas a buyer may want a poor condition original walnut stock over a brand new replacement. With CMP, it's always a crap shoot. It also takes a long time. Buying at a shop brings instant satisfaction. Then there are aliens, green card or not, they can't buy from CMP.

Lately it seems the minimum for a service grade CMP Garand or equivalent is $1000. When you get into original or odd variants the prices can skyrocket. I picked up a very nice and very correct "pre-war" Garand (mid-1941), that was a lend lease gun. It had a slew of British proofs and every part was correct for the era except the gas plug. I traded it for THREE CMP Service grades and I think my buyer still got a good deal. I promptly sold two of those service grades and kept a gorgeous late H&R for my personal collection. This is just a place holder though, until I can find my dad's DCM National Match Garand he mistakenly sold years ago.....

[sammass]

Could this be a sticky? Am just starting to become involved with Garands and would hate for this information to be buried 50 pages down the C&R list. Or if there is a better forum to learn, please advise. Thanks. :-)

[NOTABIKER]

I think a gas trap worth about $40k. World of Warriors in Orange had one on display.

only a gun collector would want a flawed design that was superseded with a better design just because it is rarer. that is why i am not a collector. besides i am too poor to be a collector

[Discogodfather]

Besides the CMP I have had some luck with these sources for Garands:

Empire Arms - Has a few nice Garands from time to time, the seller is knowledgeable about Garands, good deals.

Fernwood Armory - These guys always have some Garands and they literally break it all down and list all draw numbers and then make a video of it being shot, pretty amazing. A little pricey but the level of detail they go into is bar none.

Sometimes the collecting game and the shooting game intersect, because you really want a decent barrel on the gun to be a real shooter. Guys say the bought the Field Grade for shooting but it doesn't make much sense if the gun has a 6 ME and and a 6 TE. How much shooting can you get out of that barrel?

Remember the CMP is not particularly collector friendly as of the last 8 years or so, they basically just auction off the good stuff and the auctions have pretty high prices. The CMP's mission is to get people into shooting sports, not feed collectors.

[highpower790]

The CMP does feed collectors at the rate of 10 rifles per year.Those with a low moral value are breaking the rifles down and selling on the open market.

[Father Ted]

Discogodfather pretty much said it all. Garland collecting can be a true sickness for some.
.

Ooooohh auto-correct.....

[Orlando]

Besides the CMP I have had some luck with these sources for Garands:

Empire Arms - Has a few nice Garands from time to time, the seller is knowledgeable about Garands, good deals.

Fernwood Armory - These guys always have some Garands and they literally break it all down and list all draw numbers and then make a video of it being shot, pretty amazing. A little pricey but the level of detail they go into is bar none.

Sometimes the collecting game and the shooting game intersect, because you really want a decent barrel on the gun to be a real shooter. Guys say the bought the Field Grade for shooting but it doesn't make much sense if the gun has a 6 ME and and a 6 TE. How much shooting can you get out of that barrel?

Remember the CMP is not particularly collector friendly as of the last 8 years or so, they basically just auction off the good stuff and the auctions have pretty high prices. The CMP's mission is to get people into shooting sports, not feed collectors.

Alittle priciey? $1500 for a $625 Service Grade is more than alittle pricey