Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles M1 Garand

After considering a springfield M1A Im looking at adding a M1 Garand. CMP has some but seems limited. Which grade and receiver is preferred? Any other recommendations prior to purchasing. Thanks.

Get the best one you can afford.

kwg

All depends on what you want it for, collector, match, plinking, etc. The CMP has a forum, I would go on there, ask some questions and do some reading. I was told to get a "Service Grade Special" which I don't think they offer anymore. Very happy with it!
https://forums.thecmp.org/

Don, post a picture of your rifle.

Wow! Very nice!

Thanks, not very knowledgeable about them but pretty happy with it.

I'll second the idea of buying the best you can find....a few things to be aware of, first, they are just about all in need of a bullet guide. This causes late timing which can be fixed easily so that is not really a big deal. Don't pass on one just because it has late timing. Second, there are no good hammers left to buy. If you get one that doubles {fires twice} when you shoot it, you are stuck until you find a good hammer. Good working hammers for a Garand are about impossible to find. Also, if you do get a decent one I would suggest you install an adjustable gas device. Garands were designed to fire certain ammo and most modern hunting stuff is too hot. It will shoot it, but you are needlessly putting a lot of wear and tear on the rifle. Best of luck!!!! M

Thanks for info. It will be a plinker that will go hunting with me on occasion I reload so that won't be an issue. The hammer issue is almost a deal breaker? Cmp offers a expert grade currently. I would expect no hammer issue...or am I mistaking?

If you get a good one then no, there is no issue. If you get a rifle that doubles when you pull the trigger you will probably have a hell of a time finding a good hammer to fix it. M-1 Garand parts have not been made since 1945 and the "wear" parts have been thin for some time now. I don't know if CMP test fires every rifle they sell, but I do know that I have had several in my shop that pass the "disconnector hand off test" just fine. But when fired they would double. One would go full auto for about 5 rounds. I don't know what grade the CMP rifles I worked on were sold as, but every last one of them were out of time. I have been told, but never verified, that they were welding up the bullet guides, so they had good ones to correct the timing since. You can heat and bend the follower arm to correct timing, it's said to not be an "authorized fix", but it works, and I am not sure who exactly the "authorizer" would be. Unfortunately, there is no trick to make up for worn out hammer hooks. Best of luck!!! M

Good to know. Thank you!

No idea what this guy is talking about. I've bought a dozen from the CMP and not had any of the issues he's talking about. Bad bullet guides and hammers?

Nice M1, nice price.... wish I could go back 11 years.
New wood eh, looks shiny!

Hammers
https://www.fulton-armory.com/hammer.aspx

As I understand it, every M1 that is sold from the CMP is disassembled, inspected, reassembled and test fired.

Thanks guys.

Agreed - the Expert grades are fully rebuilt rifles and test fired. The “double fire” is a very uncommon problem in a Garand.

The point about adding the Shuler adjustable gas plug - even for reloads is a valid point.

Hammers are available - check EBay on any given day. Plus - there’s multiple other surplus GI parts vendors on the web.

The best way to buy a Garand from the CMP is visit the North Store at Camp Perry Ohio, or the South Store at Anniston Alabama and pick your own rifle. Yeah, it’s an investment in travel, but both locations will help you pick the best of the best on the racks. Plus - there’s generally one or two collectors in the store that can help a newby with getting a good one.

I’ve used the mail order and done OK - but actually being in the store is better. The CMP website is currently out of Service and Field grades - only shipping Rack grades (lower condition - more wear) but the stores typically have higher grades available for a walk-in customer.

Anniston is at the CMP depot type warehouse and typically has a better selection - they supply the Ohio store with periodic shipments. When Ohio is sol out of a grade - that’s it until the next shipment.

The M1 shares hammers with the M-14, M1A and BM-59.

You can buy brand new manufacture, match hammers here - https://shootingsight.com/?product=a-nm14-m1a-m1-garand-competition-hammer

I’ve purchased 6 Garands over the years. All were Service grades, with one exception and they all exceeded my expectations. You may or may not get a GI stock, but the latest stocks have been Boyd’s and look very nice. My exception Garand was their Expert model, which has a new Criterion barrel and commercial stock. It can be gotten in either 308 Win or 30-06. Mine is the 308. My Service grade is an International Harvestor in 30-06.

I recommend a Service grade or better for collector purposes and the Expert grade for a shooter.