M1 Garand Experts: Some Questions About My 1943....To Make Correct Or Not?

[Bigger_Is_Better]

I got this 1943 Garand from the CMP around 2007. I haven't messed with it much other than to clean the stock up a bit. It was originally so bad it would give me splinters. I know the rear sight isn't right, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. Anyway, financial times are tough (just bought a transferable M16) and I'm thinking about selling it. My questions are:

1. How incorrect is it?

2. What do I need to do to make it correct?

3. Is it worth it to "correct" it?

4. What should I ask for it in current state vs. "corrected" state?

Thank You!!

[LEArmorer]

I'm thinking the barrel and stock could be original to 1943. Looks like it was ovehauled in the 60's.

[Seaweed]

You have a nice rebuilt service grade rifle. The op rod is post war, not sure about the other parts. The barrel looks fresh with a excellent muzzle. Out here that rifle would go for $750 plus or minus. With a refinished receiver and barrel it can never be original,but I guess it could be correct.

Keep it as a nice example of an arsenal rebuild.

[Bigger_Is_Better]

That's about what I was figuring. The only thing I wasn't sure about was that it still had the original barrel and it was actually tight. I may get a lock bar to get that WWII look, but I'd still keep these parts.

Thanks,
Aaron

[Tuscan Raider]

You could go more broke trying to make a Garand original.
Op rods can go for $200 +!

Does it shoot good?
This is all that really matters.

I think it looks just fine.

[AliYahu]

I'd keep it as-is, whether you sell it or not. "Corrected" guns usually cost a fortune to do, and unless rare or early don't bring a profit.

Eli

[Super B]

My Blue Sky Garand needed a new stock and barrel. Rather than trying to force a "correct" gun together, I went with a new CMP stock and Citadel barrel. I also put in some NOS feeding parts.

Now it is handsome, solid, and shoots tight. That is what Garands were supposed to do.

[Orlando8]

Its been refinished and rebuilt in the 60's. Even if you did the costly build it would not be worth what you had in it unless you broke it down and sold the parts individually

[partisan50]

Originally Posted by Tuscan Raider

You could go more broke trying to make a Garand original.
Op rods can go for $200 +!

Does it shoot good?
This is all that really matters.

I think it looks just fine.

Exactly! You will spend twice as much trying to "restore" it to original condition , then you won't want to shoot it and it will sit in the safe. Just shoot it and enjoy the piece of history.

[MAINER]

You could put a single slot "Gas Cylinder Lock Screw" on it to be a bit more correct if you like.

I'm doing this change on my "42", but only cause it's a fairly cheap part and Im ordering a new Op Rod spring from Brownell's anyway.

[jbburrows]

Very nice post-war rebuild. Another vote to leave it as is. Lots of history even in the rebuilds.

[shlomo]

Originally Posted by Super B

My Blue Sky Garand needed a new stock and barrel. Rather than trying to force a "correct" gun together, I went with a new CMP stock and Citadel barrel. I also put in some NOS feeding parts.

Now it is handsome, solid, and shoots tight. That is what Garands were supposed to do.

This ^^

Make it tight, new and beautiful, and enjoy it for a lifetime.

[tdb59]

Originally Posted by shlomo

Make it tight, new and beautiful, and enjoy it for a lifetime.

Younger , or cosmetic surgery ?








OH ! RIFLES !

Yeah....rifles....

[shlomo]

Originally Posted by tdb59

Younger , or cosmetic surgery ?








OH ! RIFLES !

Yeah....rifles....

Right. I'm so old and ugly, I couldn't give Rosie O'Donnel the vapors with DakTo's money and a case of tunafish.

[Hebrew Battle Rifle]

Whenever I read that "making it correct" silliness on other forums, I always think of a recently departed Normandy vet that had the good fortune to survive D DAY till the end carrying the same M1 rifle. He brought it home legally and had the transfer papers to prove it. It was a mixmaster rifle even at that point in time.
How goofy would it be to disassemble such a rifle and "make it correct?"
If it is an M1 Garand with all USGI parts on it, it is "correct." If it is fully assembled, functioning, and will hit a 6 inch circle @ 100 yards, it is serviceable. Anything more is just perfume and lip stick.

[randy762ak]

ITEM # DESCRIPTION PRICE
RM1WRAF M1 Garand, WRA (Winchester) Field Grade
Please allow 30-60 days for delivery
*See above for grade description $695
S&H $24.95 per rifle
RM1SAF M1 Garand, SA (Springfield) Field Grade
Please allow 30-60 days for delivery
*See above for grade description $525 Effective 1-3-2012
S&H $24.95 per rifle
RM1HRAF M1 Garand, HRA (Harrington & Richardson)
Field Grade
Please allow 30-60 days for delivery
*See above for grade description $525 Effective 1-3-2012
S&H $24.95 per rifle



From the CMP site today!!!!


http://odcmp.com/Sales/m1garand.htm



Personally-----If you can afford a transferable M-16 I think you can afford to keep the M1 also

[Orlando8]

Personally I would not take the chance on a mail order Field Grade
By Grade description the barrel my be very worn and need replaced
I have personally handled mnay FG Garands at the North Store and if you look through all of them you may find 1-3 that would make good shooters. Most of them will swallow a Muzzle Gauge ,I have seen them up to a 6-7
Best deal for the money is the $625 Service Grades

[PA Garand Boy]

"Correcting" fully functional M1 rifles = Pi$$ing on John Garand's grave.

[JeffJ]

Originally Posted by shlomo

Right. I'm so old and ugly, I couldn't give Rosie O'Donnel the vapors with DakTo's money and a case of tunafish.

For once we completely agree..

[shlomo]

Originally Posted by JeffJ

For once we completely agree..

Yeah, like you got any room to talk. At least yer young...

[JeffJ]

Originally Posted by shlomo

At least yer young...

Young, no younger..yes

[V guy]

Receiver and bbl are likely correct. I have one that is 1470xxx, with 3-43 bbl.

It would take maybe $750 to make your gun correct, but it would still have that rebuild scratch on the receiver.

Lots of guys restore Garands. Scott Duffs Books are the most accepted resource for that stuff.

Lots of guys restore cars and build hot rods.
There is no law that says you cannot dump money into projects and not get it back.

I have several very correct garands; as built------- by buying every correct part off gunbroker!! I'll never tell!! As unk brought it home. Yep!!
If the gun comes out right and looks right, it is a success.

I have a correct one from 1945, that I am not that satisfied with, and it will become a mixmaster .308.

In the case of your gun, do what you want: for the time being, I would put a new cmp or Dupage Trading co stock on it, until you want to change something, to a more correct status.

[Jarhead504]

I received a '43 Winchester from CMP years ago that looked as if it was at Guadalcanal, Okinowa and Iwo Jima. It was rough, but a great shooter! I did have if refinished as my OCD couldn't live with it having as many colors as a Mardi Gras float. Some folks would say, "you ruined it", but its my rifle and it shoots well.

I did have a gunsmith gauge it enitrely for me. He said that it is in the same shape and specs as a rifle that would have been issued to a USGI in WWII. It's my only M-1 and it works. Don't change yours.

[Super B]

What if you get a "correct" barrel and now it won't shoot for crap?

[Tat2]

I would not waste the time/money due to the barrel and receiver being reparked and with the rebuild marks..... just shoot the snot out of it....rebarrel...and repeat.

T

[ac7120]

Yep, I agree...leave it alone because it looks fine. Enjoy it the way it is, and actually, I think it's worth a little more than the $750 I saw posted, but then again, it's only worth what someone would pay for it. Nice rifle.

[Blaster]

A "correct" Garand has to be damn rare. I was a small arms repairman back in the U.S. Army 1955 - 1958 and you know that when we needed a part to replace something on the Garands, we NEVER NEVER looked in or fished around in the parts bin in an effort to make the rifle "correct". Shoot that baby and enjoy it and don't worry about making it look "correct" as they are the best battle rifle ever made.

[randy762ak]

A "correct" Garand has to be damn rare.


John G. Looked upon me from above when I ordered a rifle from CMP years ago,, $200.00 when it came I was hoping for an IH But as I opened the package an All OE untouched Winchester -WIN -13 emerged !!! WOW!!!!!

[Blaster]

Originally Posted by randy762ak

A "correct" Garand has to be damn rare.


I opened the package an All OE untouched Winchester -WIN -13 emerged !!! WOW!!!!!

Like I said, damn RARE!

[Orlando8]

Post War all original are not rare at all ( I have two) , all original WWII are rare but they do exist

[OHShooter]

I'll start out by saying that this is only my opinion but....

Taking the time and going to the expense of making a Garand "Correct" is a big waste of time and money that could be better spent shooting and buying ammo. Anybody with even a little knowledge of the history of the M1 is going to know that with few exceptions they have just about all been rebuilt at some point in their service life. During this rebuild there was little or more likely no effort made to keep them "correct"

Another issue is whether a particular rifle has all of the "original" parts or merely the "correct" parts. A few years ago the CMP found a few brand new, never issued M1s in the some of the ones returned from overseas (I think it was Greece but don't hold me to it) These were not sold in the usual manner but were sold at auction. I forget what they eventually sold for but it was way north of my price range.

The point is that they sold for a very steep premium because they were known and documented to be in factory new condition rather than to have been made up of a bunch of parts scavenged from a number of other rifles that happened to have been made at nearly the same time.

Having a "correct" Garand M1 may be something nice to have but I certainly wouldn't pay much of a premium just to say I had one. Even then I would need sometime more than the story that your uncle brought it back from the war to verify that it wasn't just a pats gun. After all the one I have was personally given to my uncle by John Garand himself.

[kar66]

Take it from a guy that spent a lot of money making WW11 weapons correct. Mostly M1 Carbines, but also M1s,03s,type99s and K98ks. It will give you a lot of self satisfaction, but most people that will pay top dollar can tell correct from original. I still change a part now and then if I find them at a good price. But I don't pay what most of the sellers think they are worth. I started this in the early 80s when parts were plentiful and a lot cheeper. The imports in the 90s changed all that. The extra parts dryed up and got a lot higher. The thing to remember is you can always make them correct, but they can only be original when they are original. Those a the ones that everybody wants.

[Nobody]

I'd like to bring up something that everyone else has apparently over looked. It appears from the photos, that you need to sharpen your lawn mower blade(s). I see a lot of busted up grass tips. No clean cuts. Maybe even water yer lawn.
Carry on citizen.

[bubbagump]

Originally Posted by Bigger_Is_Better

I got this 1943 Garand from the CMP around 2007. I haven't messed with it much other than to clean the stock up a bit. It was originally so bad it would give me splinters. I know the rear sight isn't right, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. Anyway, financial times are tough (just bought a transferable M16) and I'm thinking about selling it. My questions are:

1. How incorrect is it?

2. What do I need to do to make it correct?

3. Is it worth it to "correct" it?

4. What should I ask for it in current state vs. "corrected" state?

Thank You!!

Ok, I'll weigh in, probably only to echo a lot of what's already been said.

1. If you can put 20 consecutive holes in a four inch circle with it every time you pull the trigger from 100 yards away, if it cycles reliably and the rear sight is manageable and stays where you put it it's correct in my book. Others will certainly disagree.

2. Unknown, possibly nothing.

3. If it needs correcting, absolutely.

4. Assuming this rifle is in good working order you might get five or six hundred bucks for it as-is. No idea what someone might pay for a date-matched partsbag if you were to assemble one, that'd depend on your customer I suppose. But I doubt you can gain much monetary premium by swapping out pieces particularly if you have to go buy the parts.

b.