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help with u.s. military rifles

wiredogwiredog Member Posts: 116 ✭✭✭
edited September 2001 in Ask the Experts
I have been seeing alot of M1 Garands on the market and want to purchase one. Usually either a winchester or springfield, what other manufacturers are there and which ones are more desirable than the others? What is a fair market value? I have saw cmp's and imports. Are the imports worth having or should you pay extra for a non-import? What are some things to look for? are there dis-advantages to the imports? What about the tanker garands? They appear shorter, are they more or less desirable? And lastly my brother has an armscorp pre-ban national match M14 with a black kevlar stock that was assembled by an ex-marine armorer in iowa. was this an issued firearm or were these available to civilians? anyone want to take a guess on it's value? I think he paid $1700 several years ago. Is an armscorp a good brand or would it be below a springfield. thanks.
I spent all my money on guns, women, and beer. The rest I just wasted.wiredog70@hotmail.com
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Comments

  • smooth_operatorsmooth_operator Member Posts: 227 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The only good receivers are the ones that are locally made...eg. MADE IN THE USAARMSCORP (Arms Corporation of the Philippines) Does the unabbreviated name answer your question if it is better than a Springfield manufactured action? Not to be biased, they make "some" "decent" equipment. But as far as match quality? who knows....maybe, maybe not. Personally, I am not at all that impressed with the quality of their products.-Smooth
    Life is the leading cause of death.Everything else is just a contributing factor.
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  • wiredogwiredog Member Posts: 116 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    smooth, I think you are reffering to armscor, they are mfd. in the philippines, the ARMSCORP are made in Baltimore,MD USA I do not think armscor mfd a M14. Any replies on the Garands? is $500 reasonable for a Springfield Garand if it has deep pitting and rust on the receiver in one spot, about the size of a pencil eraser only not as deep? It is around the rear sight and some on the operating rod. Maybe not a collector but a shooter, where and what should I look for import marks on Garands so I don't get ripped off. Thanks.
    I spent all my money on guns, women, and beer. The rest I just wasted.wiredog70@hotmail.com
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  • nmyers@home.comnmyers@home.com Member Posts: 205 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A lot of questions, and not easy to answer.USGI M1's were made by Springfield Armory, Winchester, International Harvester, & Harrington & Richardson; they are of equal quality, but Winchesters are most sought after by collectors. Commercial companies have made receivers & complete rifles. Currently several dealers are selling CAI receivers assembled with many Danish parts; these receivers are not milspec, and may not function safely or reliably. While there were a few good imports, most were abused by the Koreans and I wouldn't own one; the import marking will be stamped somewhere on the barrel or receiver, possibly under the wood. Tankers are to be avoided; they usually do not work reliably, and have excessive muzzle blast; they were never issued by the government. A service grade M1 from the CMP will have been rebuilt by a qualified USGI armorer and is well worth the $520 cost; they resell for $600-700. The rust spots alone wouldn't make the M1 you are looking at a bad deal; if it doesn't have a CMP receipt, and you don't know how to check the throat erosion, muzzle wear, and headspace, you are buying a pig in a poke. You are correct about Armscorp receivers (and assembled M14 clones) being made in Baltimore. They have had quality control problems, but one assembled by an armorer would probably be a fine gun. Unfortunately, they are difficult to sell since many competitive shooters have switched to AR15's. Only a handful of M14's and M14NM's were ever released by the government; most that you see are M14 clones with the receiver, and some or all of the parts, made by commercial companies.Neal
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  • smooth_operatorsmooth_operator Member Posts: 227 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    my apologies...I read the post wrong about armscorp.
    Life is the leading cause of death.Everything else is just a contributing factor.
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  • beachmaster73beachmaster73 Member Posts: 3,011 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Go with the CMP Garand every time. The imports have been subjected to 40 years of use and abuse. The CMP weapons have been waiting in their armoury for you to pick them up and fire them for the better part of that same 40 years. If you have never bought from the CMP and you tell them what type of rifle you want they generally will try their best to get you something close to your request. No you are not going to get a Winchester with all original parts; but they do go out of their way to try and get it close. If you want a virtually new shooter they recently have been issuing Ledder-Kenney arsenal rebuilds with 10-67 barrels. You can't get much better than that. My L-K rebuild is on a Springfield receiver and showed a true throat erosion of less than 1.5, thats about as good as it gets. Finally, if you don't buy directly from the CMP, make sure your weapon includes the CMP paperwork if the guy is selling it as a CMP weapon. That paperwork adds $100 to the value of the rifle. The original CMP box adds another $50. I've seen guys at gun shows claim that every Garand on their table was a CMP rifle....I'm not from Missouri but "show me". I can't tell you how much a nice letter to the people at the CMP will go in getting you a nice rifle. Just be specific in whether you want a shooter or a more collector oriented weapon. Beach
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  • wiredogwiredog Member Posts: 116 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    thanks for the replies guys. It is alot of information to absorb but will help me in selecting a good rifle. I have found a cmp winchester for $820, I do not know if it has the box and paperwork. I just wanted to know if it was worth the extra $.
    I spent all my money on guns, women, and beer. The rest I just wasted.wiredog70@hotmail.com
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  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sounds kinda high.Join a club,shoot a match and order your own.Have fun and save $350.
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  • beachmaster73beachmaster73 Member Posts: 3,011 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Cpermd has it right....but if it does have a CMP receipt, a winchester receiver, a winchester trigger group and a winchester bolt I'd say that $820 is in the ball park. The more winchester parts it has the more you can get for it. For a shooter though I'd say save the money; buy a shooter from the CMP for about $500. Then buy four cans of Lake City ball ammo for $60 per 280 round can. That's a lot of ammo to start practicing your marksmanship. Beach
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