Silly Garand question

[deadcoyote]

While I'd like to think I know a fairly good amount about firearms, I must admit my ignorance when it comes to the 'holy grail' of CR rifles, the Garand. I've been doing a little shopping lately and keep seeing the 'T' and 'E' ratings? to what does this refer, and what is the scale of good to bad. Hope this makes sense, and I don't look like too much of a boot rookie. To be fair I was born in 1978 so Garands aren't exactly the go-to arm of my generation. But then again, i've never been a big fan of plastic either (with a big exemption for Glocks).

 

[Hardcase]

Those letters refer to muzzle and throat erosion (ME and TE respectively). They're measured in a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being perfect and 5 being shot out. 3 is figured to be a good shooter and about average for a CMP field grade rifle.

EDIT: What bamacisa said down below. That's what I get for posting on my cell phone in an airport during a hectic day of holiday travel. At least I was going south to north and not east to west.

 

[bamacisa]

Actually throat erosion is measured from 0 to 10. Zero or one is a new barrel. 5 is not shot out, but is showing wear. 10 is totally shot out. The closer you get to 10 the more the barrel is worn. Muzzel wear starts at one and goes up. Most people say anything over 3 will not shoot accurately. The CMP will sell a Garand Rifle with a TE over 5. The higher the TE is, the lower the CMP price is.

 

[James K]

Both can raise hob with accuracy. If the throat erosion extends too far up the barrel, the bullet leaving the case can tip and skid before it enters good rifling and stabilizes, but the bullet has been damaged.

Muzzle wear (not muzzle erosion - erosion does not occur at the muzzle) on an M1 is usually the result of a lot of cleaning from the muzzle with a steel cleaning rod. Those rods are softer than the barrel steel, but even so will cause wear eventually. Inaccuracy occurs because the ends of the rifling lands are uneven, and the gas causes the bullet to tip when it leaves the muzzle.

Neither is repairable in the M1. In some rifles, muzzle wear can be corrected by counterboring the muzzle or cutting back the barrel to restore the bullet exit point. But in the M1, if MW is very bad, cutting the barrel back or counterboring it will relieve the gas pressure too soon and the rifle will fail to function.

Jim