Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles CMP M1 Service or Expert

Looking into buying my first M1 garand. Any thoughts on service vs expert grade? I like the historical idea of the service grade but for an extra 250 bucks the expert with new barrel and stock is tempting.

Go with whatever you can afford. Relatively speaking, there are very few M1's that look like they did coming out of the factory. As vast majority of them have had something done to them to make them less than original. My guess is the Expert grade will probably be more accurate.

kwg

PJ65,
I attended the Garand Collectors Association Convention last month in Anniston, AL last month, where I had a chance to look at quite a few M1's while out at the Talladega Marksmanship Park. There were a great many rifles available in Rack Grade, Rack Grade +, Service Grade, a few Service Grade + and Expert Grades in 308 and 30-06.
I was looking for a solid Service Grade H&R or IHC to add to my modest collection of "shooters"; I never saw one that tripped my trigger and ended up purchasing a Springfield Armory RM1 Expert Grade with the new Criterion Barrel and new wood.
When I got home, I did take it out and zero it @ 100 yards with HXP 68 and then shot some tennis ball sized groups with LC 69 from a sitting position; I'm pretty happy with the results and don't regret selecting the Expert Grade.

Depends on what you are looking for.

I got my first M1 from the DCM in 1985 and have purchased several from the CMP North Store back in 2007 - 2010 while at Camp Perry and did mail order from Anniston in 2012 and 2015. I have always looked to purchase Service Grade and Correct Grade (only managed one of those); I've not been disappointed with CMP's grading or the rifles I have received from them.

Please note that M1's can be addictive.

Good luck.

StarchedCover

Thank you for the input. I am going for the expert grade.

I just reported on how well my expert or loaded shoots, I could not be happier and most of the rack grade have very poor barrels and the stocks have been compressed at the action and very unlikely to shoot well

I bought both. Traded away my service grade (1,1 danish barrel reading, all surplus wood) but still have the expert.

My first was a high # SA as I had requested Service Grade. Used it to shoot in matches. It shot as well as I any on the line. A friend had a Rack Grade SA that couldn't hold 7 ring on SR1 target at 100 yds. Have a 45SA w/47 barrel, gauges the same as Service grade and shoots the same as the 55. It is luck of the draw but it would be hard to go wrong with the Expert grade! The only thing you lose is the honest wear and tear.

I got an IH Expert grade this summer. Couldn't be happier. While there's a certain "draw" to the honest wear and older rifles, I wanted something I could shoot, not worry about collector value and simply enjoy burping ammo with.



Turned out to have Winchester trigger group in it.

I have an expert from CMP and love it. It doesn’t have the character of most of my other rifles but shoots great.[img]https://photobucket.com/u/rugerman1...1/p/b8225aad-beaa-48e9-8a4f-459c94abd870[/img]

How does the Expert Grade differ from the Special Grade of a few years ago? Both have new wood and Criterion barrels. I have one of those Special Grades and it's probably the best shooting M1 I've owned. (I've had a succession of M1's starting with a luck-of-the-draw rifle from the DCM in the late 80's. Funny thing, my best buddy and I went through the buying process simultaneously and the same week he received an absolutely deplorable example that couldn't keep its shots on the paper, I received a 1953 IHC with all matching parts and a mint bore. I swear the gun was unfired.)

- Shoulda kept that IHC forever but I swapped it a few years later for a minty National Match 1903.

I believe it would be the same. New wood and Criterion barrel.

The CMP occasionally creates new grades and it can sometimes be difficult to know how they differ from previous grades. I believe they have something called a Special Rack grade now. No idea what that is.

I like the Expert Grades, but as I have access to the South Store, I just end up getting proper GI rifles. They shoot fine and aren't re-packaged the way Experts are.

I prefer the original GI parts. I was buying mine back when the Greek returns were still being sold, and they were in excellent shape.

Of the Two, the CMP is only showing the Expert Grade in stock.

Don't know if I'd trust a Service Grade these days, given the general condition of the Philippine Returns.

Not the Greeks, for sure - they are outstanding.



Do hear of some very nice Service Grade USGI returns hitting the system, but would go to one of the stores to try to find one, and at that, it can be an "Oklahoma Land Grab" event when they open the doors.




GR

About two weeks ago I was told by someone in management at the CMP that he didn't expect to see an Service Grades for a while.

The Talladega Marksmanship Park is pretty low key and largely unlike the South Store at 8am on a Thursday, where there is typically a line before they open. I was there for the release of the MK2MOD1's last week and got a beauty.

Someone on the CMP Forums who is also attended a GCA event last year said the group was at the workshop in Anniston and that the existence of the MK2MOD0/1 rifles was revealed to them at that time. Were you at that same event?

adanac,

Yes, we were given a great tour of the CMP Workshop and facilities in Anniston as part of the GCA Convention last fall.

I spent some time with two CMP Custom Shop Armorers Chis Knott and Lucus Tyus and they were a wealth of information on the Philipine returns; they didn't go into the details of the rifle crates that were marked NSWC Crane that were being opened.

StarchedCover

That's awesome. I guess the other person talked to someone about the crates and their terrific contents. I got two lovely MK1's at the South Store, one with a GHD stock, which somehow others didn't see; I think they were all looking for Winchester receivers and weren't looking at cartouches, whereas it's the reverse for me. For some reason I always look at the stocks first and it paid off this time. I am going to check out the TMP tomorrow when they open.

Looks like you also got an early WW2 trigger guard.