Hello,

I have come here for some advice. I have a Springfield made M1 garand receiver serial number around 1,500,000. It looks like it is in fine condition to me. I am debating what exactly I want to make of it. If this is a special action that should be brought back to life with correct parts, then I will go that route. If there is nothing special about it, then I will go the route of making a rifle out of it for fun shooting and/or competition.

1. Approximately when was this made?
2. Would it be a good action to make a rifle out of to be used in cmp matches?
3. Would it be a good action to try and bring back to life with all original and correct parts?
4. If going the route of trying to make a shooter/match rifle out of it, what are some good options for barrels?
5. Can you recommend anyone who could inspect it and put on a nice barrel on it for me?

Thanks for any advice!

Unless you can get free parts you most likely well find out making it into a complete rifle well cost more then going out and buying a new one.

1. Without looking it up, I'm guessing it was made early/mid WW2.

2. Yes, perfect.

3. I wouldn't.

4. Krieger or Criterion, the best garand barrels you can purchase at a very good price.

5. Depends on where you live, any competent gunsmith should be able to correctly install an M1 Garand barrel.

Thank you for the replies! Part of my reason for wanting to resurrect it is that it was the only surviving Garand from my Grand father. The others were not so fortunate. I realize it may be more $ than just buying one already out there.

Being sentimental about guns can cause one to spend lots of money.

make it right and enjoy it.

I have spent money on rifles and enjoyed them over the years.

Money comes and goes. Family stays, the memories last forever.

Make a Tanker.

If you're heart is set on making it 100% correct, then that's really what you should do. I don't think it would cost much more to put it together with 100% Springfield parts and make it look like the day it left the factory than if you mix and matched parts.

The great thing about Garands is you can restore it as you see fit and still feel good about shooting it. They're battle rifles and shooting won't take away from it's value at all, mho. I've seen a lot of very beautiful Garands at the John Garand matches and also at the local matches. I've also seen some well-worn war horses, but they're all great shooters. Make a nice rifle and enjoy it!

quote:

Originally posted by Brentp:

5. Can you recommend anyone who could inspect it and put on a nice barrel on it for me?

Civilian Marksmanship Program at Anniston, AL opened the CMP Custom Shop on Oct 1. Don't be put off by the 'Custom' in its name - their prices don't seem out of line to me. The website has prices for services (like re-barreling and finishing a stock) and you can also buy stocks and barrels from them. To have work done by them, there are some eligibility requirements that need to be met - explained on the website. Here is the link for their website:

http://www.odcmp.com/Sales/customshop.htm

There is one "shop" that I would avoid. Please PM me and I will explain.

My personal opinion on one aspect of Garand ownership: As produced, they were all made in military version of 30-06. Years later the Navy did re-build some in 7.62mm NATO (308 Win); some feel/claim those are more accurate than the 30-06 versions. The Garand that your Grandfather carried, or used, was more than likely a 30-06. If I was building one like you are doing, it would be a 30-06.

Glenn

quote:

Originally posted

Krieger or Criterion, the best Garand barrels you can purchase at a very good price.

5. Depends on where you live, any competent gunsmith should be able to correctly install an M1 Garand barrel.

Agreed. They are both made by Krieger. My understanding is that the "Kriegar"s are cut rifled, the Criterions are button rifled.

March or April of 1943. I have restored many M1s. Finding the correct WW2 dated barrel will be very difficult; remember we used only corrosive ammo then and most barrels were replaced. Then getting a stock with the correct cartouches will be hard as well, costing hundreds of dollars, as will the barrel. Finding the correct drawing number parts will be easier. Putting a current barrel and stock on it will do nothing to enhance its collector value; it will be a shooter. All depends on how much money you want to put into it and never recover.

This thread got me thinking... sometimes a dangerous thing... LOL... has anyone ever converted an M1 Garand to 35 Whelen, and got it to work? What a nice, (albeit, heavy,) semi-auto hunting rifle that would make.

It's been done by many people. Shuffs Parkerizing offers it as a service and I would not be surprised if others do as well. I also recall reading about someone rebarelling a Garand in .270.

Krieger and Criterion used to be a parent/division situation, Criterion has been spun off and is no longer part of Krieger, according to their website.

I second the CMP custom shop route. They will make a nice representative M1, service or NMType 2 with late parts, criterion bbl and a new CMP stock-fro not too much capital.

I wasn't sure if the section of bbl between the gas port and the muzzle would be thick enough for a 35 cal bore. Also, a concern would be the pressure spike, and how it would affect function.

Thanks Grenadier for the input!

I am pretty sure that Shuffs sends 30 cal M1 Garand barrels to a good reboring service to make his 35 Whelen barrels.

I have never heard any bad reports on any of Shuffs work.

If you do not need a Garand for any Match type shooting, I can recommend a Tanker. They are very handy and fun to shoot.

Shuffs Mini-G would also be an excellent choice. It differes from a "Tanker" in that it does not have that foward wood hand guard, like the Tankers do. Also his Mini-G's usually have a 16" barrel, but he will make them in 18" I think.

I would also have in made in 308, unless you already have other 30/06 rifles.

What I am about to say is almost totally impractical for any reasonably sane person....but some of us are real psychopathic "gun nuts"!.....

If I had a spare Garand action I was going to be pretty much rebuilding into a rifle from scratch, I'd love to experiment with a number of other possibilities based on the same case head size.

One would be the .260 Remington. Another might be the 338 Federal. Third for me would likely be a 7mm/08. Yes they are all shorter than the .30-06 case based cartridges, but that is no particular problem. the action does not need to be shortened for them to feed every bit as well as the original '06 cartridges do, using the standard '06 Garand clips.

The gas port does not need to be relocated either, though it may need to be a bit different size for the gun to function properly. The way to handle that is to start with a gas port hole bored to a slightly smaller diameter than the one used in standard barrels, and open it slowly until the gun functions reliably. Probably (but not necessarily) the correct gas port hole size will be a tad larger than a standard '06 barrel would employ.

By starting small and opening it in very fine increments,one can get enough gas flow to function the action without getting so much gas that the op rod gets bent.

Some of the Navy .308 Garands, BTW, were phenomenally accurate. They built two different grades of .308 match rifles on the Garand, with the very best stamped "A" on the bottom of the pistol grip, and the still excellent but not absolutely outstanding ones stamped "B".

Anyway it sounds like a lot of fun to me, whatever you choose to do.

Thanks for the reply's everyone! I hadn't checked the thread in a while..

You all have provided some really great suggestions! I think I am going to go with making something I can shoot in service rifle competitions. I know that's what my grandfather would tell me to do with it. I still have some surplus 30-06 to go through, but a having a .308 is tempting... Decisions decisions..

If I had two receivers to play with I might consider the .35 whelen Fun stuff!

quote:

Originally posted by Brentp:
Hello,

I have come here for some advice. I have a Springfield made M1 garand receiver serial number around 1,500,000. It looks like it is in fine condition to me. I am debating what exactly I want to make of it. If this is a special action that should be brought back to life with correct parts, then I will go that route. If there is nothing special about it, then I will go the route of making a rifle out of it for fun shooting and/or competition.

1. Approximately when was this made?
2. Would it be a good action to make a rifle out of to be used in cmp matches?
3. Would it be a good action to try and bring back to life with all original and correct parts?
4. If going the route of trying to make a shooter/match rifle out of it, what are some good options for barrels?
5. Can you recommend anyone who could inspect it and put on a nice barrel on it for me?

Thanks for any advice!

1. March, 1943.
2. Yes.
3. Not worth the bother. It would be very expensive, and perhaps impossible, to find all the correct parts, especially the barrel and stock.
4. Kreiger is top of the line, but pricey.
5. Hands down, contact Fulton Armory. I have 2 FA rifles, an M14 and a Garand. I sent them a CMP Garand I had purchased and had them do a service grade rebuild on it. I had it done stock except for a laminated stock, a national match trigger job, and I had it converted to .308. They did a wonderful job on these rifles. They really look good. The barrel they used is the barrel they have made to original GI specs and it really shoots. I have a National Match M1A and the FA Garand will shoot circles around the M1A. If you want a good shooting, rebuilt Garand, I highly recommend you talk to the folks at Fulton Armory. They will help you get the rifle to where you want it.