Which Garand?

J

Jeff Thomas

New member
Got a call from a collector friend who may be interested in parting with an M-1 Garand. He has three:

1. H&R, with new wood.
2. International Harvester, with new barrel from 1965.
3. Springfield Armory, from 1943.

I've done a search on TFL, and can't seem to locate any info regarding the relative desirability of different Garands. I'll check my books tonight.

But, any suggestions out there from those who are knowledgeable regarding this rifle? What should I watch out for, and what's the market like these days?

My use for it will be mainly learning about the Garand, plinking ... that kind of thing. Might try my hand at a competition or two just to experience that, but with my eyes, serious competition would be impractical.

Thanks. Regards from AZ
 
If it were me, I would get the IH. Would be pretty cool hangin in the gunrack in my IH Scout II. :)
bergie
 
If looking for a shooter,look for a tight fitting stock,fwd handguard and gas cylinder. Check to see that the action cycles without binding on the op rod and look for a clean bore. A checkup by a gunsmith for headspace etc is also a good idea. As a collector, a pre WW2 rifle with matching,correct parts is high on the list. In between are a lot of great rifles. Check out the book section at http://www.fulton-armory.com for books by Scott Duff on the Garand.

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Be careful what you ask for..You may get it.
An unloaded pistol is a paperweight.
 
One of the International Harvester's finer points was the LMR barrel. Without that its collector potential is nil although it could still be a good shooter. The SA is also most probably a rebuild but could be very nice...or not. The H&R in all probability is the best deal, but any of the three could be a great shooter.

[This message has been edited by riverdog (edited September 03, 2000).]
 
International Harvester is the most scarce receiver of the three you mentioned. However, other factors such as condition, originality (parts matching - but this is difficult as these guns were subject to armory rebuild) also come into play.
 
Are you looking for a shooter, collector or what?

I'd go w/ the IH because those receivers are the toughest to find probably regardless. I am sure all thre of those Garands are parted up. (i.e. They do not have the original factory bbl, bolt etc.)

H&Rs are all post wwII, Korean war era. They have nice receivers.

Springfields have a greenish parkerization to em.

IH is cool just because. Its different. The Winchesters are cool also.
 
Jeff -

My use for it will be mainly learning about the Garand, plinking ... that kind of thing.

To me, it sounds like you want a shooter. If so, a decent barrel, good stock to receiver fit, smooth mechanical operation (bolt slides freely, op rod doesn't bind, etc.) and proper timing are all things to look for. Head space was already mentioned.

A quick and dirty test for muzzle wear is shown at http://www.redrival.com/jheath/armory/muzzle.htm. If the muzzle is decent, hopefully throat erosion will also not be too great. A simple timing check can be done using an 8 round enbloc loaded with dummies and checking that the bolt closes when it should (clip is all the way down, remove thumb and bolt strips first round off clip.)

Many Garand feeding problems can be attributed to gas system problems (tho, by no means all). Best way to test is with a range trip. I realize that may not be practical.

Good luck!

Cliff
 
Hi, Orsogato,

H&R and IH are both Korean war era. Only Springfield and Winchester made M1s in WWII.

Jim
 
I'd look at the IH also. I do belive that Springfield made their receivers for them. I've got an IH and like it. I've also got a Winchester, a few Springfields, and M-1D... etc.

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God made us in his own image.
Thomas Jefferson made us free.
John Browning made us equal.

Without Browning, we might not know about the other two...
 
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