Kalashnikov is a Garand copy really, so not too far off topic.
What would be the most coveted M1......most details possible.......
if I was going to get one, or two, one to shoot and one to shine, which would I get? CMP I suppose for the shooter. But Gucci, unicorn Garand to never shoot and rarely touch.
Garands have really shot up in price recently. I think the awareness is that the number is limited, and the CMP will sell out here in the near future.
So, the most coveted would be an original, intact, Gas trap. The CMP found one a few years back, and they auctioned it for around $40,000. Now, the first 10,000 or so M1 were built in the gas trap configuration. A bit of testing and experience showed that a port in the barrel worked better, and so most of those first 10,000 were updated to the barrel port, which is how the subsequent 6 million or so were built.
Nearly every M1 Garand has been rebuilt at some point in its history. When they were brought back from World War II, many of them had been shot out, so they got re-arsenaled, new barrels, parts measured, and put back together, but nobody kept the parts separate. So you get a Winchester trigger guard on a Springfield armory receiver, and other bits and bobs that came from various heat lots, and various production years. The armorers at the time did not care about keeping the rifles with their original parts. The parts were interchangeable.
Harrington and Richardson made some fine quality M1 during the Korean War. For some reason, collectors look down on them, but I’m here to tell you they shoot great. Collectors tend to like the Winchesters, and the international harvester, because they are unusual, and people have heard of both of those companies. But the Winchesters are not as finely made as either the Harrington and Richardson‘s, or even the Springfields.
Many of the rifles being sold as “original“, were cobbled together with the appropriate parts from the correct era for the production date of the receiver. It’s almost impossible to trace the history of the rifle, and there are a lot of “corrected” Garands that are being sold as “correct”.
A CMP certificate is desirable because you know that the rifle was bought in that condition from the army depot in Anniston. It’s how it was put in Storage 50+ years ago.
I would stay away from the modified ones, the “tanker“ Garand’s were never built during the war and never created for the war department. They’ve been modified by gunsmiths of quite variable skill and created in the last few years. Some work well. Some do not.
In the end, as a vet, I would just get a field grade from the CMP. You’re not too far, find out when they’re open, bring your paperwork, and pick one off the rack. If the CMP sold it, it will function correctly, some are more valuable than others, but a properly functioning rifle will bring you years of enjoyment.
Personally, I have at least one rifle from each of the major manufacturers. A Springfield, a Harrington and Richardson, a Winchester, and an international harvester.
