people must be proud of their US service arms

First of all rarity is a factor. MNs are available for little money as there is a ton of them. No rarity and the price is low.

However, you can have the only M34TLz in the world and if it has no interest, its worth nothing.

So, demand, desire and or area of interest that creates that is a major factor as well.

WWI and WWII have somewhat available service arms in a quantity that allows a wide spread participation as you can get those (Vietnam on of course not).

I like them to shoot, but I also am fully aware of the value and what I am buying or have bought and its collector value. At some point they will be sold as I don't have anyone to hand them down to and they are a small part of retirement investments.

At worst I get back what I paid for and far more likely they go up and maybe a lot. Will see.
 
First of all rarity is a factor. MNs are available for little money as there is a ton of them. No rarity and the price is low.
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They are getting rarer, and the price is going up, accordingly.
 
I can't afford to replace any of my old mil surplus rifles. Looks like I am going to have a great estate sale because I am keeping them until you can pry them from my cold dead fingers.
 
and don't forget to factor in the fact that our dollar is not worth what it was, even a few years ago.

Because everyone knows they don't make 'em anymore, and there is increasing interest, which increased with the 50th anniversary of WWII, and really jumped after the movies like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, it is essentially a seller's market.

Is Springfield Armory still making new Garands? I know they did for a while. From what I heard, they were good guns, but didn't sell well, because "real" (read historical) Garands were cheaper.

Auto Ord is making new M1 carbines. They are expensive (IMHO, but then, I'm cheap) but considering what's being asked today for the "historical" ones, not terribly so.

I fully agree on the point that people who pay more than they "should", will certainly consider their purchase worth it. If I pay $600 for what ought to have been (and previously was) a $300 gun, then by gosh, I've got a $600 gun, and unless I get desperate, I'm not going to part with it for a penny less!
:rolleyes:
 
Garands have gotten very expensive. My dad said he got his for about $100 shipped from the CMP program about 10 years ago. Since then, they have gotten rarer and I think OBAMA recently ended the CMP, something about not being able to import any more rifles from outside the US.

Garands used to be the best value rifle you can buy, now you pay a premium for a piece of history.
 
There were no Garands for $100 from CMP 10 years ago. The cheapest they had then as I remember were the woodless Danes $295.00 plus ship
Obama has absolutly no affect on CMP as the do not import anything. Rifles that were loaned to other countries are returned to the US Army when they are done with them then they are turned over to CMP.
You can still get a Garand from CMP for $525
CMP is alive and well today
 
Garands have gotten very expensive. My dad said he got his for about $100 shipped from the CMP program about 10 years ago. Since then, they have gotten rarer and I think OBAMA recently ended the CMP, something about not being able to import any more rifles from outside the US.

Garands used to be the best value rifle you can buy, now you pay a premium for a piece of history.
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as you're new to the forum I will try to take it easy on you but you seriously need to research or put disclaimers to your statements.
1. CMP still exists, Obama did not "end" them.
2. 10 years ago, you could barely get an Enfield for $100, no less a garand.
3. CMP does not import the guns that they sell. they get them straight from USG storage facilities. as the obama executive orders do not ban government organizations from re importing us service rifles the CMP is not going to be affected in the least.
4. Garands have not gotten rarer. they are one of the few rifles that do not lend themselves to sporterizing practices. they are not easy to rechamber(because of the clips), they are not easy lighten(because of the stock design), they are not easy to accurize(also because of the stock) and they do not have a design conducive to most scope mounts. there is the occasional guy that cuts the whole thing down to a "tanker" or converts to a box magazine instead of en bloc clips but the vast majority stay original. more garands have been entering the market than being destroyed, the opposite of becoming rare.
 
Whatever the reasons or motivating forces are, the fact remains that all these guns are just going to climb in price. Get 'em now; They'll be more expensive tomorrow.
 
Blame it on the influx of movies from WWII. Hardly anybody cared about Russian bolt actions until "Enemy at the gates" came out. Seems the same with U.S. rifles and Japanese rifles in the last few years. I am out of gun work now, but it always amazed me how people could be influenced to buy (At stupid prices) a gun just from seeing a movie or reading an article. Remember the Smith 29 craze?
 
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