Yo !

I was just offered an unfired Garand .. (Winchester) .. Serial # 1329180 .. Comes with bayonet, manual with serial number on it .. lots of clips, original (? I guess) cloth gun case .. some ammo .. It is really a nice looking gun .. but that is also a fair amount of cash .. Is it worth it ???

If it's indeed unfired and matching ("correct"), it's worth more than that.

It has been a long time since I looked at Garand prices, but if the CMP gets as much as $700 for milsurp rifles, it would be logical to say that an unfired Garand would be worth at least $1200 USD, let alone $1200 CND.

-Spencer

I would be extremely wary of anyone claiming to have an unfired military service rifle. Just my opinion.

Rick, I agree with you. IF it's the way it left the factory and anywhere close to being unfired then some of the hardcore members of the Garand Collectors Association would probably want to put it on the cover of their (excellent!) quarterly magazine. They would consider it quite a find.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Norman:
Rick, I agree with you. IF it's the way it left the factory and anywhere close to being unfired then some of the hardcore members of the Garand Collectors Association would probably want to put it on the cover of their (excellent!) quarterly magazine. They would consider it quite a find.

Or one of them would already own it!

I agree that it would be well worth that as everyone else stated.
As far as unfired I could see if it was a gun that was giving to someone as a presentation.If that was the case I would expect the serial number to be very significant.

Maybe unfired since arsenel rework? This would be more likely to be the case. Back before CMP was a contractor when you got one M1 a lifetime, the luck of the draw could land you one that had been stored after rebuild or the one that was next on the list to go to rebuild If this is the case, then it is about what I would expect for someone to ask for one ($1000 US). Not what I would pay, but what the heck. If truly origional and unfired the sky could be the limit to a serious collector. Check out www.scott-duff.com for some nice M1s that were snapped up the first day offered!

quote:

Originally posted by baboon:
I agree that it would be well worth that as everyone else stated.
As far as unfired I could see if it was a gun that was giving to someone as a presentation.If that was the case I would expect the serial number to be very significant.

Most presentation rifles have an engraved plaque of some type on them.

Just guessing, that rifle was produced sometime in May of 1943. Could have been April or June. I think it went off to war. Likely a rebuild.
Not that a rebuild is a bad thing. Just don't let someone sell you on the provenence (all original)without some sort of proof.

Just got back from the Calgary gun show and spent a bit of time checking out the half dozen Garands that were there. I did my best to talk to one chap that was there who (according to him) was very knowledgeable on the topic .. But after listening to him for a while lambasting everyone around as 'stupid' and shouting at little kids that were hanging around ..'they aren't going to buy anything so shouldn't be here !' .. I was mostly just tired of his existence in the same building as me .. So I moseyed on ... About the cheapest Garand there was either $650 or was it $750 ... There was one rebuilt (1952) that had a sign on it saying that it was not fired since and was $1,000.00. I am pretty well convinced (thanks to a lot of good opinions here and having checked it out again on Thursday..) that the rifle has, at some time, been refurbished. I have absolutely no idea at all about if all the parts are original .. I'd like to own another Garand some day .. but maybe one with character .. that might have stories to tell ... I'd pay $500 ..

I bought a 1917 Eddystone Enfield receiver about four years ago from Sarco (of all places) and when I took it out of the box I almost fell over. It looked for all the world like it had popped out of the factory the day before. Fresh parkerizing, sharp threads, and not a ding, mark or spot of rust or pitting anywhere on it. No marred screw heads, nothing at all that would lead you to think it had ever been used.

The arsenal rebuilds (which mine obviously was) did a pretty fine job of putting all these old war horses back in almost new looking condition.

Hello Scruffy,
Myself and several former military and match shooters in my area are all Garand users, shooters, collectors, historians, etc. and as earlier mentioned, unfired original Garand is indeed a very rare bird!! I doubt that you can purchase through the CMP, not sure???, but what they call collector grades, some 1400.00 plus freight, are about as near to what you are describing as out there on the open market. Scott Duff might have some, big bucks, NEW Garands, but figure anyone that does have such an animal will hang onto it or make sure the going away price is very, very, high. Auction prices in the mid 20,000.00!!!

That is a lot of money for Garand ... Very interesting ! Just before they required all long guns in Canada to be registered ... I bought a dozen Garands from the local gunshop here in Southern Alberta. I had them brought in from Lever Arms of Vancouver and sold them all locally .. I made a few bucks .. it is just a hobby .. They all worked just fine. Three or four were relatively unmarked ...Various makers ..If I told you the price that I happily sold them for, you'd break down weeping .. Come to think of it ... I must be a combination of overly generous/kind, short sighted, and stupid ...

Hello Scruffy,
Would not be hard on yourself, for a lot of people did not realize the price spiral of these war horses. I used to shoot with a fellow from Canada at our Camp Perry some years ago and he used a Springfield M1A, civilian version of the M14, and an M1 Garand and said he could own those in Canada, but could not own the AR15 rifle??? Just curious why the control over one and not the others for any of the three could do bad things if so inclined?? Perhaps due to your military/police useage of the 15/16 weapon system??

Aaarrrghhhhhh !!! I'm not exactly sure the rationale behind these stupid gun laws !!! When that freak killed all those women at that university years ago with a Mini 14 ... they quickly brought in all kinds of new restrictions and laws .. Or so it seems ... I wasn't grandfathered in so can never own an FN, nor can I purchase an AR 15 .. Garands and SKSes .. no problemo .. I am grandfathered in so can own 'prohibited' pistols with short little barrels .. And of course, I can buy a Mini 14 at any time .. (Too noisy for me, however .. )

After I passed on that beautiful old Garand .. the next guy on the list was contacted and bought it immediately ... So that gun is now out of circulation ...

FYI

If the gun was unissued and unfired, then ALL of the parts, (barrel, trigger group, op-rod, etc), will be marked Winchester. The date on the barrel should match the approximate serial number time period. If the gun is a wartime piece, the cartouche should be intact and the inspector initials will match the period of the serial number. (recently, stocks with the Mc Farland cartouche are going for about $1,000 on ebay)

It would be difficult to determine if it is unfired, but if it was wartime M1 Garand in as-issued condition, $1,200.00 is a steal. Hell, a new production Springfield costs that!!!

If you go to the CMP store, you will see a few re-arsenaled Garands that look unissued. I suppose someone could try and pull a fast one, but if all the pieces match you arent going to lose at that price.

My armory rebuild springfield cost me $93 but my gunsmith was a Lifetime Master so when he sent in his credentials he was sent a brand new unfired National Match Garand with case,sling and tools for $90,a customer offered him $700 then called back raising it to $975, he asked me the value so I told him it was worth a lot more than that ,he kept it and willed it to his sil after he passed.That's one that would probably be worth 20K+ cause they're rare.