M-1 garand or M-1a

B

bullfrog99

New member
Defensive purposes could most likely be taken up by my AK but for the hunting field and possable defenseive situation, perhaps jumped in the woods while hunting, do you see any real advantage to justify the extra cost between an m-1 garand or m-1a. I realize that a new m-1a is going to be more accurate than a used cmp garand, but 1100 is a big jump from the 400 the garand costs.
 
I know I will get flamed for this. Here it goes... I would chose a Garand hands down over the M1A. I would even chose it over the AK for self defense.

The Garand is 1/3rd the price, hits just as hard and is, for practical purposes, just as accurate. It reloads much faster than the M1A. Clips are fast. You can load them for 60 years and will not have to worry about spring fatigue ect.. You can carry more ammo per pound than with box magazines. In a battle rifle, the box magazine is slow and over rated. You can get closer to the ground with a Garand than an M1A. The M1A is a great rifle. However, the Garand is better. Buy three.

As far as the AK is concerned, the Garand is a better choice for self defense. Because, if you have grabbed a rifle, things are pretty bad. Both guns are reliable. However, the Garand is more accurate and will shoot through things better than the AK. Shooting through things is the most important factor in a rifle. When the shooting starts, people will hide behind cars, trees ect.. You need a gun that gives you penetration.

Besides, the Garand is the rifle we used when America used to win wars.

Let the flames begin...
 
I got my M1A slightly used for half price but, aside from the advantage of the M1A having detachable box mags, the Garand is appealing. I well remember turning in my '03 Springfield to be issued the Garand and thinking it was the best rifle in the world. I sure do like my M1A, though. Might be you could shop around and get a better price. For most practical shooting purposes, I doubt there is that much difference in accuracy.
Depends on your age. If you're young enough, the difference in price might be amortized over a lot of years and not be that significant. The M1A is certainly a fine gun.:p
 
Garand advantages
- enblocks are cheaper than M14 mags
- easier to go prone with it
- better balance, IMO

disadvantages
- clip ejection is annoying
- smaller magazine capacity
- cannot be loaded without chambering a round
- 30-06 costs more than 308

I stayed with Garand because it grew on me and because I'd rather put the extra $$ into ammo and clips and training. M1A balance and handling never quite worked for me anyway.
 
(groan) What a decision! As an M1A owner, I might give some info that you can use... I hope.

Pros of the Garand:
the Garand can have faster reloads.

History.

Clips are WAY cheaper than M1A magazines!

Cons:
A little trickier to learn, but that goes away quickly.

8 round capacity.

Not as "cool."

Pros of the M1A:
20 round mags.

Looks much more "evil" (this scores big with me).

Slightly more accurate (?)

Shorter gas system is theoretically less prone to damage with overpressure rounds.

More stuff to hot-rod.

Cons:
THOSE DARN MAGAZINES! I'm sorry, but $32 each is the best price you'll see for USGI mags, and that's still highway robbery.

Not as accurate as they're often lauded to be. It takes a lot of work to have and keep a 1 MOA M1A running. Not just a few rounds everyonce in a while, but after several thousand. The voodoo that Highpower shooters did to M1A's for 20 years is a testament to this.

Springfield has put out some duds. A real M14 would be nice, but they're mighty expensive.

That's about it.


I'll probably get a Danish Garand soon. I see a lot of utility in it. If you don't want to spend much, I'd say get a Danish, and if you want it REALLY accurate, send it to Hook Boutin. He'll fine tune it for a very decent price. Just an old retired armorer that enjoys working on Garands and M1As.
 
bullfrog,

I gotta' agree almost 100% with Dave3006 here....

I own both the M1-A and multiple Garands, so can speak from both sides.

Practical accuracy is not that different between the two, so the other factors will be more relevent to a choice here.

The major difference is of course, cost..... With "X" number of $$$ you can buy a good Service Grade M1 from CMP, send it to a good Garand Smith like Tony Pucci at Orion 7 to have it tweaked & tuned, re-barreled to .308 (or not), refinished (if you like), and get a rifle back that is just as slick and accurate as the M1-A. The nice part is that after doing all this, you will still have the cash left over to buy HUNDREDS of clips and rounds of ammo.

There is also the chance that you will get a Service Grade M1 that is just dandy "as is" when you receive it. At that point, think how much ammo & clips you could afford to buy with the leftover cash.......

If you buy an M1-A with the same "X" $$$, you will have one (1) rifle, one (1) magazine, and no (0) ammo........

I LIKE my M1-A..... I LOVE my Garands.....

Swampy
 
Bullfrog,

Start out with the M-1 Garand if that is what you can afford, then go to the M-1A when you have the money.

The Garand is a classic and is still a viable battle rifle for almost anything you can want. Not to mention that by getting one or two or more you are saving important pieces of history and are connecting with our martial past.

The M-1A is a refinement of a great rifle is another classic. Having three Garands myself, my next project is a good M-1A to complement what I have. Of course, one of my basic pieces of philosophy is to have a back-up for everything I own so I will really be looking for two eventually.

Both are good, so I recommend both.
 
scoops,

Which are you referring to??? Cycle time or reload time??

Cycle time is no difference......

Reload time is definitely quicker for the Garand. Too many separate hand motions required to reload an M1-A quickly.

To reload a Garand.... BANG!! Empty. With the RIGHT hand, grab a clip of ammo, push it into the action. The bolt SHOULD close automatically. If it does not, a quick tap with the heel of the hand will do it. Shoot..

To reload an M1-A.... BANG!! Empty. With the LEFT hand, grab the empty magazine, thumbing the release at the same time. Rock it out and drop the empty. With the same LEFT hand, grab a full magazine and insert into the mag well and rock into locked position. Switch hands. With the RIGHT hand, pull the operating handle to the rear and release. Shoot. Don't forget to pick up the empty mag and put it in pouch.

Swampy
 
Not too long ago, I became a great fan of the M1 Garand. It is the next rifle I plan to purchase. I think that once you are familliar with it and have a good stock of ammo/clips, you are good to go.
 
I actually only see 1 bad thing about the Garand. The 30-06 vs. 308 size and cost. After rebarreling though, you are now chasing an M1A in price. If you have a good smith.

I love my M1A though.

The other thing is, I'm left handed. "Garand Thumb" might be a problem for me...

Albert
 
Last edited:
twoblink...

au contraire on "chasing M1-A in price" by rebarreling a Garand to .308.

You can send your Garand to Champions Choice in LaVergne TN and for the the paltry sum of $195.00 they will INSTALL a Douglas Match Grade, 6 groove .308 and return the rebarreled rifle and your old one.

You are still only up to $700 total investment for a CMP Service Grade and a .308 re-barrel job.

Swampy
 
wants and needs

I have both...........The grand loads faster, but you have to load three times for every one time with a M1A. You also have to remember to pick up your clips.
My M1A is more accurate.
My M1A is scope frendly, my Grand is not.
I perfer the M1A, but I love the Grand.
For what you wnat or need your grand is great. Who's going to jump you in the woods anyway.
The cost seemes to be the biggest argument, so if you want it, get it...................but you don't need it.
good luck dude.
DA
 
Just occured to me, if getting "jumped" in the woods while hunting is a concern..

Getting the hunting-legal 5-round mag out of an M1A can be a royal PIA on a good day, with no stress and no big furry things lookin at you thinkin' you look like dinner. If you run dry and want to swap to a 20-rounder in a hurry, you could have a problem.

That said, "if I could have only one".. it would be the M1A/M14.

-K
 
The main advantage of the M1A is ammo availability. Back in the '70s, there was plenty of surplus 30-06 and there was no end in sight. Today, it's 7.62 mm Nato which is in abundance.

Setting ammo aside, the M14/M1A is slimmer, lighter, and easier to carry all day. It features a simplified gas system which makes it considerably lighter than the Garand (BTW, both were designed by Garand). There is one disadvantage in the receiver of the M14. There's less area to bed than on the Garand.

Returning to defensive application, with practice, the M1 Garand can be just as fast as the M14. Besides, since you're placing your shots, you're not going to be needing that much ammo.
 
Bullfrog, if you're out hunting in Michigan with a semi-auto, you probably shouldn't carry any magazines or clips that can feed more than 5 rounds. The M1 enbloc clip can be modified with a dremel and screwdriver to hold 5 rounds securely. And those clips are dirt cheap. I don't know about the availability/cost of 5-round M14 magazines.

You're more likely to run into a DNR ranger than a bad guy, and six rounds of 30-06 or 308 (one in the chamber, five in the clip) is still plenty of stopping power for anything you'll encounter in Michigan. Except black flies.

My vote is for the Danish M1 from CMP.

Regards.
 
I have had both and ended up selling my match grade custom built M1A. Every time I went to shoot I reached in and grabbed a M-1. I am more than adequately armed with this rifle for anything that I need to do. I have a friend that is really into the G-3 and talked me into buying a clone. The G-3 shot fine, but I am in the process of trying to trade it and a bunch of magazines off for an M-1 that I am going to rebarrel to 7.62mm. The M-1 is simply that fine a rifle.
 
When I hunted With my M1A last year, I carried some 5 round stripper clips to reload with, (I didnt need to reload), but the M1A does have a stripper clip guide built in. It's not as fast as a garand still, but is faster than a mag change. You can go full prone with the 5 rounder in it, also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top