"...Why is M1 SO much more than M14..." Norinco M305's are commercial copies of the M14. Made in factories owned and operated by the Chinese Army. Mostly to get hard currency. There are no Norinco M1 Rifle copies.
An M1 rifle, other than the few Sprigfield Armory Inc. made, is a milsurp battle rifle that hasn't been made since the mid 50's.
Epp's is listing an H&R(Harrington & Richardson) M1 with an excellent barrel, in 'very good' condition(condition is everything), for $999. That's a bit high, but the condition of the barrel is why. H&R M1's can run well over a grand USD, Stateside.
Most of 'em run around $750 to $800, depending on condition and the seller. A lot of sellers thing M1's are worth the same here that they are Stateside. I've seen M1 Rifles at gun shows, in poor condition, the guy wanted $775 for. He lugged it back and forth a lot. Same guy wanted $4 each for clips. He lugged them too.
"...new at the M1..." Buy a copy of Hatcher's Notebook and Hatcher's Book of the Garand. Your local gun shop or Amazon. About $30 each. Worth every cent.
And go here and download the free .pdf manuals too. Note the need for the provided UN & PW.
http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/