An old war hero back in service

Well, I guess that depends on what you call a war hero. I have a modest collection of guns but always wanted a M1 Garand. I remember when you use to be able to pick them up at gun shows for a couple hundred dollars and they had crates full. Now they are rare to find in decent shape and the prices are climbing upwards of $2000 for an exemplary rifle. I consider it to be one of the best battle rifles made and General Patton declared it 'the greatest battle implement ever devised.' Without it the outcome of WWII may have been very different so yes, I do consider it to be a an old war hero.


My gun club is affiliated with the CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program) which has been around decades. I would highly recommend you look into it if you enjoy shooting. But to cut to the chase, I shot my qualifying a couple months ago and sent in my order for a M1 Garand and sat back and waited to see what I got . All of these rifles are surplus military and a bit of a luck of the draw as to what you get. Some times you get real lucky. Dad has an 03A3 that granddad got through the CMP back in the early 50's. He got a new in the box sniper variant. My Garand arrived a couple weeks ago. I eagerly opened the box to see what kind of condition my new old soldier was in. As I said, sometimes you get lucky. I got a new, un-issues, unfired Springfield M1. The SN puts it at near the end of the production run, late 55 early 56. At least it use to be unfired. They happen to have bayonets in stock so I ordered one of them as well. Could I get as lucky a second time? What I got was still packed in cosmoline, never seen the light of day.


I pulled all the wood off today and gave it a light 600 grit sanding to smooth it out and am working on a dozen coats of linspeed oil to refresh and seal the wood. Nice shooting rifle. I put it on paper at 50 yards and punched one 50 caliber hole with 4 rounds. My eyes are not what they use to be but at 100 yards it has no issue putting 16 rounds in a 3 inch group with iron sight. I am also shooting 1954 M2 ball ammunition so I expect it to close those groups up to at least half that once I reload them. Simply carrying it to and from the firing line give me a new respect for the thousands of men that carried it through the jungles of Asia and across Europe. It is a tank when compared to a modern M4 but what a blast to shoot. Now if it would just quit kicking those en bloc clips on top of my head... All we are missing is a M14 and I will have the entire collection form 1903 to current.
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Congrats. I've always wanted one but can't justify spending the money on it. I've been kicking my self since I found one in a pawn shop for $600; the bore pristine and the action impeccable but the stock needed a good bit of sanding, some polish, and a good sealer.

cannonfodder,

Lovely :)

Try and avoid the 'M1 Thumb' though :)

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Beautiful rifle. Absolutely beautiful lines. A great score indeed. I know it is little comparison, but just seeing that rifle reminded me of my Ruger Mini 14 I once had. It was going to be my one rifle that I would have, if I had no other rifle. I cared for that thing like I would a new born baby. It would have made my old CO proud to have seen the way I looked after it. Then the bloody government took it off me! Yes, that's deep seated bitterness you're hearing there. I have had little trust or faith in the Australian government since.

Sorry to have taken the thread off track...Back to admiring that piece of history you have there.


Mick

She is in beautiful condition inside and out.
Thank you for sharing.

A photo of mine.

http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/M1Garand.jpg

Beautiful example of a true workhorse. Glad your luck held out for the bayonet as well as on the rifle itself. Use it in good health.

Damn it! You just caused my once-blue eyes to turn a blazing green! I carried one of those most of the way through my military service, loved shooting it most of the time, hated carrying it. (10.4 lbs, right?) Have kicked my own butt ever since for not getting one when I could.
You really scored with that one. Always surprised me the way they shot right out of the box. We were issued brand-new ones, had to clean off the cosmo, de-fuzz the wood, and rub in about a quart of linseed oil, but when we went to the range, they worked like you describe. I have to agree, one of the best all-around military weapons ever. Congratulations on a great score!!!

I have a similar story to MickR, though with a different rifle. That's a very nice example of an M1, by the way. Enjoy it. :)

Congratulations on the acquisition! It is a superb find. The Army was qualifying on M-14's for my basic training in 1965 and I never have had the opportunity to fire the M1. My Vietnam carry weapon was a Winchester Combat Model 12. I well remember many of my Drill Sergeants lamenting the passing on of the M1. But they seemed to take well to the M14.

What an absolute beauty, and as Phatman said, "watch that thumb".

M1 thumb is worse than a case of slide bite from an auto. You just have to work the bolt smartly. Make sure it is actually locked back and when you put the clip in keep a finger over the charge handle if it slips forward. Dad had an M14 in Korea and he still talks about how nice it was. He was in town when it arrived so I let him christen it at the range. I think he enjoyed it. The recoil is surprisingly tame in comparison to a bolt, the o3a3 kicks much harder. I stripped the wood off, gave it a wipe with some 600 grit to de-fuzz the wood and am putting some linspeed oil on it. Linseed oil does not harden, linspeed oil has a resin that hardens and seals but keeps the matt oil look. I should have it ready to put back together later this week. I would still like a M1a and a Thompson but those are conquests for another day.

The Old Man did some good work with its baby bro the em1 carbine when he hooked up with Pattons tank column, Dad had been a POW for over 4 years, and was being marched into Germany at the end of the war.
You have a great score there, and a great piece of youre history. Have plenty fun !!

Cheers

Heelerau

I have a nice M1A which is also a great shooter, but I am really in heat with your new rifle.

Awesome!!

Enjoy!!

That is gorgeous. I've been eyeing one for a while. The CMP deal is really good. Last time I looked (couple years ago) they offered I think three different grades of them. Someday I'm gonna shut down this baby factory so I can have nice toys things again.

Even an old solder deserves a nice suite. I stripped the furniture off and went to work in the wood shop. I gave the dry walnut a good sanding to de-fuzz and smooth out the milling and hand fitted the wood. Then it got 10 coats of true oil. The traditional finish is linseed oil but the problem with it, it never cures. Linseed stays liquid, forever. Trueoil is a gun stock finish with a polymerised linseed. It has a resin that hardens. So I gave the wood 12 coats and sanded the finish back to the wood on the 6th coat to fill in all the wood grain. Then steel wool'd between each coat after that to build up a deep gloss finish more common on custom shotguns than a battle rifle. I was concerned the gloss finish would not look good with the parkerized matt finish of the rifle. Once I put it back together, that went out the window. The contrast really makes it pop. I will have to take a couple better photos tomorrow in the daylight.

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Better photos.

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Oh that is so sweeeet! If she were single I'd marry her meself :) .


Mick

Very nice! Here's mine, WRA 1942.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...e/HPIM1224.jpg