M1 Garand questions.

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Recently, I received a 1943 M1 Garand from a friend.
I know very little about this gun, and even less about the laws/requirements reguarding military issue weapons.
I live in Texas, and was wondering what I would need to to do get this gun registered in my name.
It seems like a beautiful gun, and any information that could be provided would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to know everything I can about it.
Thank.
 
If your friend lives in Texas I don't think you need to do anything. Texas doesn't have "registration" as far as I know.
 
Browse through the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) site and forums and you'll pick up a lot of info. Or get a copy of Campbell's Garand book for exhaustive info. Post some pics here so the resident experts can comment.

Also, just to be legal, both you and your friend are Texas residents, right?
 
As long as both you and your friend are American citizens and officially residents of Texas, and as long as you both are legally allowed to own firearms (over 18, no felony convictions, no domestic violence convictions, no current criminal investigations, not adjudicated mentally ill by a judge, etc.), then you shouldn't have to register it.
 
There is no requirement here in Minnesota to register any firearm although any firearm purchased through a licensed firearms dealer is to some degree registered to the buyer. Some people choose to make a firearms transfer with a licensed dealer and usually pay a fee to do so.
I however like to have a buy sell record of my own for any I buy or sell and have a simple sales/transfer form on my web site to do this.
http://www.nashwauk.net/FirearmTransfer.html
Feel free to copy and use, change to suite your situation.
The M-1 Garand is a wonderful piece of history and a joy to shoot.
Like others have posted, learn all you can, and be Safe!
 
I'm a TX resident and C&R FFL, and I'm very familiar with TX state law.

TX has no state registration program for any civilian firearm, and there are no special requirements for legal civilian use of military weapons.

Furthermore, there is no magazine capacity limit for legal rifle hunting in TX. (Numerous other states have 5rd limits which require the use of special low-capacity clips in Garands rather than standard 8rd clips. You don't have to worry about that here.)

If your friend is concerned about the form he/she filled out upon purchasing the rifle, this form is retained by the dealer and is not given to the ATF unless the dealer closes up shop. This form does not "register" the gun per se, the state of TX doesn't care about it, and it's really rather superfluous for a former military firearm that was probably sold as surplus a LONG time ago. (The main purpose of the ATF form is to track the gun from the manufacturer to the original buyer.)

Also, regarding the rifle specifically:
  • If you haven't figured this out yet, you will need clips to fire it. They are available from many local gun shops, your next local gun show, Gunbroker.com, and even from some shooting ranges and pawn shops. Basically, they're all over the place.
  • Many types of modern commercial .30-06 ammo are loaded with powder that is not suitable for the Garand's gas system and can damage internal parts if too much of it is fired! :( The CMP forum mentioned above is an excellent source of information about Garand-suitable loads.
Happy shooting! :)
 
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Many types of modern commercial .30-06 ammo are loaded with powder that is not suitable for the Garand's gas system and can damage internal parts if too much of it is fired! The CMP forum mentioned above is an excellent source of information about Garand-suitable loads.
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Pay attention to this advice!!
 
Start Here:

http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/

Work your way through the link, it will give you just about all the info you need on the M1 Garand.

Also Check the CMP website and find a GSM Clinic near you. Might have to wait until spring until they start up again.

http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/matchUpcomingSearch.cgi



The Clinics are put on by CMP GSM Master Instructors. They are low cost training, some a bit more if they (the CMP) furnishes the ammo.

You'll have a master instructor walk you through the safe use of shooting the Garand and how to make it work for you.
 
Recently, I received a 1943 M1 Garand from a friend.
I know very little about this gun, and even less about the laws/requirements reguarding military issue weapons.
I live in Texas, and was wondering what I would need to to do get this gun registered in my name.
It seems like a beautiful gun, and any information that could be provided would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to know everything I can about it.
Thank.
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Besides CMP now that you are a Texas gun owner join the organization and learn about your gun and fellow gunners. Time to get to the range and learn to shoot that wonderful old gun and have some fun meeting a great group of people. You might even see my brother there.
https://www.tsra.com/index.php?opti...id=83:membership&id=167:purchase-a-membership
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#1 thing to learn...watch your thumb when loading the gun. The gun can bite you hard! Eye watering, swear word producing HARD! M-1 thumb they call it.

Enjoy!

Hobie
 
Quote:
As long as both you and your friend are American citizens and officially residents of Texas

Does Texas have a law against non-citizens having firearms?
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Whoops. My bad. I didn't quite think that one all the way through before writing it.
 
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