Questions for the Garand enthusiasts

[TheBigCountry]

I am somewhere in the backlog of the CMP waiting on a Service grade. They just announced that all the Service Grades are now out of stock...

I talked to a girl there at the CMP in Anniston, who assured me I am still getting a rifle. At some point.

They now have field grades in stock; would you switch from a Service to Field grade if it helps get a rifle in hand faster? Is there much of a difference? I may call them again this week to ask.

 

[isofahunter]

I would keep your place in line, and wait it out.

 

[ForgeValley]

Any chance you can make it to one of the stores? They have some pretty nice stuff in the racks sometimes. Although it looks like they are temporarily closed right now.

 

[Orlando]

Nope wait...............................Field grades can run from worn out barrels to decent rifles

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Garand barrels can be replaced by the user.

 

[Random Guy]

I would wait for the SG. If you had the opportunity to hand-select a field grade in the stores you can often find a nice specimen with USGI wood or maybe some other neat parts like a WWII barrel, at least in the past....but things are different now re low inventory. I have also seen some FGs that were rough, so its a gamble. For your first Garand I would go for a service grade, as your know at least the barrel wear will be acceptable.

I was at the CMP Eastern Games in late April 2021 and they had no rifles of any type for sale at that event, which is a break from the past.

 

[Orlando]

Yes barrels can be replaced but not for the price difference from a Field Grade to a Service Grade

 

[hlee]

Just echoing what everyone else said. If you know you will be getting a SG- eventually- wait on the SG.

 

[Snoopy513]

CMP has a history of posting "Sold Out" when they still have a pile of them in inventory. They do (or at least did under the old director) as a standard practice to ensure that people who ordered Service Grades will get their orders filled if they were submitted when the site said they were still in stock. They do a little voodoo math based on the number of orders they have and guess at the volume of them containing Service Grade requests.

 

[99106]

I'd wait it out.

 

[TheBigCountry]

Thanks for all the replies; I’m (im)patiently waiting it out for the Service Grade. I was assured I would get a rifle at some point, and to hold me over I just managed to snag a pre-64 Win here from another member.

 

[pmclaine]

Just about everything in this hobby entails waiting.

Good things come me to those the wait.

 

[Foul Mike]

The first Garand I got from them was years ago when you were only to get 1 per person in a lifetime, took 1 year, 1 month and 25 days and cost me $175 and was like new other than the wood.
I would wait it out if I were you.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Mine was essentially the identical experience, except that the issue grade was $250. (Mid-1990's)

 

[Foul Mike]

I don't remember for sure when I got mine but it was the best I could get at the time.
I figured if I could only get 1, go for the best.
I still have the box and papers so sometime I will get them down and check the date.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Issue grade (then?) could be any condition or origin, as long as it was suitable for issue and immediate use.

Mine is a 5-digit-serial SA completed in 10/40. It's in my will. I bedded it, it shoots to match Nat'l Match requirements, and it was nothing special at the time; luck of the draw. I got lucky.

Greg

 

[Random Guy]

FWIW, the last Service Grade I got has a CMP certificate from Sept 2020. It's was mixmaster Winchester with a 1951 SA barrel (TE was 2+, MW 1) along with a WRA trigger housing and trigger guard, with mixed SA parts. I suspect it was likely a Philippine return based on the rack markings on the wood and overall slightly worn condition (see lower band below) that meets, but did not exceed, CMP's Service Grade criteria.

Dissembled. No pitting under the woodline, but very superficial blemishes/oxidation on the heel and some pitting on the rear sight cover. The wood was rougher than I like, no markings except a faint P on the pistol grip....but it was a WRA with a pretty nice heel stamp from May 1943.

Replaced the generic and somewhat rough USGI wood with a nicer post-war USGI stock with DAS cartouche, also used some extra Winchester
parts I had set aside over the years, such as an 1967 dated Winchester "script" barrel, WRA bolt, op rod, hammer and lower band. The surface blemishes on the heel bothered me, so I re-parked the receiver, bolt, and rear sight base at my buddie's house this past winter:

Here's the 'after pic' with nicer USGI wood, a few extra WRA parts (but still very much a post-war rebuilt mix-master), along with a vintage web sling:

Metal finish after manganese-based reparking. (The rear sight cover was replaced with one that lacked any pitting). I was reluctant to refinish the receiver etc, but it had already been re-parked with I think a zinc-based finish at some point in the past, so I decided to lightly restore its appearance.

...so Service Grades can vary a lot, and might not be quite as nice as what was sold 6 or 7 years ago, but still a good value and very functional - and of course a historic firearm. IMO folks interested in vintage US military arms should own one service grade type of M1 Garand, if possible.