M1 Garands at Big 5 sporting goods

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Popsicle

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Does anyone out there have any reports, good or bad, on the rebuilt M1 garands being sold at Big 5? I just looked at one tonight and thought it seemed like a good deal for a shooter garand at the sale price of 449.99. The rifle had a new american made receiver, barrel, and I think the stock and handguard were also new, although the color was mismatched. Also, the gas tube appears, I think, chromed, as it was a dull silver color. Does anyone know if these M1's are worth buying as a shooter? I wonder if they are better values than the CMP garands as far as a shooter is concerned. Thanks!

Pat Brophy
 
I haven't heard anything good about the new receivers. From my understanding no one on here has really recommended them. Keep in mind you pay what you get for.

With that being said, go check out The Civilian Marksmanship Program. I got all of my paperwork ready and was about to buy two, but I decided I better pay off my other debts and play with what I have first. Soon though.

You can get a new USGI Garand for $500 and a USGI reciever with danish parts for $400.
 
Apparently the new receivers are pretty lousy, and the assembly has bad. Some samples have completely unsafe head spacing, damaged/bad operating rods etc.

I'd look for something else....
 
Seems that everyone is putting these rifles down, based soley on the hearsay of one single report from a company that sells some pretty high priced "put togethers" themselves. :rolleyes:

As far as CMP goes, hey, send'em your money & they'll send you a rifle (provided you jump through the hoops to "qualify", geesh). You buy that rifle sight unseen, & you're stuck with what they send you. They "limit" your purchase to either 5 or 6 rifles per year, & I know several people who have purchased their limit. They EACH say that they got 1 or 2 *fairly decent* rifles, 1 or 2 in "fair at best" condition, & the remainder are "good for parts". :barf:

I knew nothing about the M1 when Big Five ran that sale on the west coast, and did heavy research when the ad came in. I can respect the "collector lure/value" that many see in this rifle. Putting that aside due to the fact that I was only interested in a "shooter", I had to take a looksee, y'know?

The rifle that I brought home is constructed entirely of matching, "condition new or unused" parts. If these parts were previously assembled, that rifle was not used or fired. The only evidence of firing leads me to believe that one or two shots were test fired either when this unit was assembled, or when the original was. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the machining & tolerances on the reciever. The rifle is properly headspaced, & the barrel looks & gauges "new". The trigger group is definitely unused, and I couldn't imagine how an NM trigger could be better. :p

If I wanted a "collector peice", I'd find a really good original reciever & have something 10 times better than you'll ever see from CMP, but I don't. I wanted a "shooter", & a shooter is what I got. Accuracy is very good, & function is flawless.

I can't say that every Century Garand is as good as the one I got, cuz I couldn't see it being any better (unless they accidently built it on an unused vintage reciever ;) And yes, Century does guarantee their products :)
 
Two friends didn't listen, two friends are sorry. The rifle club I belong to (Tusco in Oh) is a CMP club. We have dozens of members with multiple rifles from the CMP and none have been the junk that could equal the two Century rifles. My best CMP rifle was an unfired USGI rebuild in the 595xxxx range. I've turned down offers of twice what I paid. Yes, there is some luck involved in the process, but it can go both ways. If money is the issue, find a Danish rifle at a show, see it before you buy and have a safe rifle. All for the same or less money in the end.

Quote, matching “condition new or unused" parts" from whom? A CMP rifle will have all mil spec parts even if it isn't all USGI. Yes Fulton Armory does make some high priced rifles on mil spec receivers. They won't take a Century or your money. Says a lot about what they will put their name and time on and what you are getting for your money.

If you have to go a non mil spec way, at least read the Fulton Armory report so you have a better idea of what to look for on the rifle.
 
I inspected a few of these "new receiver" M1s at the local shop and they didn't impress me a bit. Some looked like they had a seam down the middle and some had the seam off center. They all had the op rod handle popped out of the receiver track, while still fully assembled.

My two CMP Garands take a little effort to get the op rod out whith the trigger group, stock, and recoil spring removed. Their wood is a little beat up, but not so badly that a damp wash cloth and iron didn't make things much better. One, the Springfield, had all original finish, of which about 50%-60% remained and the other, the Winchester, had be re-arsenaled and looked near new. Both were checked out by a local shop that specializes in M1s and other vintage military rifles and were found to be safe. They shoot well, too.

Springfield Armory, makers of the M1A, is supposed to be in the process of making all new M1 Garands, but I understand the price will be in the $1000 neighborhood.

The CMP is the best deal, IMO. They will replace a rifle that doesn't qualify for the grade you ordered, so you're not just going to suck on it if you get a bad one.
 
The fact is that those CAI rifles are not necessarily bad. Some seem to be perfectly OK (from what I could tell without running extensive tests). The problem is that quality control seems not to be very high.

The law bans importation of GI weapons that were furnished to foreign countries under military assistance. This was lobbied for by our domestic gun makers, mainly the (old) Winchester. Since the receiver is the gun, parts can be imported and mated with cast receivers made in the US or elsewhere. Parts were taken off old rifles; they may be new, but more than likely are refinished to look new.

If a CAI rifle checks out and functions OK, fine. But there is a lot of "luck of the draw" involved.

Jim
 
Take a look at this:
http://www.fulton-armory.com/CAI-TI.htm

I just bought an M-1 with a Springfield receiver at a gun show for $525. It is a CMP in decent shape. That price is on the low end of the range for a decent shooter, but there are plenty out there in the $600-700 range. Stick with a GI original receiver.

Also, Springfield is building new M-1s. Saw one NIB for $899 at a gun show last week. Have not heard anything about them yet, or seen any reviews.
 
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Yep, that's the link that has generated so much yap.

I agree with what Jim said: "The fact is that those CAI rifles are not necessarily bad. Some seem to be perfectly OK (from what I could tell without running extensive tests). The problem is that quality control seems not to be very high. "

With some of the reports that have come in, I'd definitley say "buyer beware".

Many of the sale listings I've seen on the Century Garands state: "Good to Very Good" condition. The box that mine came out of says "Condition: Excellent". Which prompted my immediate thought: "Yeah, *right*". Fact is, it *IS* "Condition: Excellent". Obviously, whoever put this unit together knew what he/she was doing, and it was well inspected before it left the factory. I *know* that this reciever is in spec, and everything on it is matching vintage unused parts, well assembled. You couldn't talk me out of it for 2 of anything from CMP.

Off to the range :)
 
A large general sporting goods chain in the Midwest has the Century M-1s. If you buy one, you have to sign a release saying that the gun is not guaranteed to be shootable or safe, and that the store has no liability for any problems with the gun. No thanks.
 
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