Garand pricing?

Jahnj0584

Jahnj0584

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
48   0   0
Location
Halifax NS
I played as much MoH:EA as everyone else, but can't really figure out the pricing scheme behind M1's right now. On the same day I see one for 1900 and another for 3500. Is there a QUICK rundown on what's valuable and what isnt? I know milsurp can be a can of worms and I just spent this spring becoming well versed in the world of the SKS and decided to skip Lee's since I'll probably never see .303 ammo in this province again lol.

If it matters, IF I were to buy one it would be in 308 so I can take a deer with it and keep my ammo stockpile that much simpler. 30-06 always comes across as overkill to me IMHO.
 
When they had 308 garands in the stores about a year ago, they went from $2100 to $2400 depending on the make of the receiver. Springfields and Winchesters went for more than Breda and Beretta. I bought a good used Breda that has a springfield barrel and I paid $1900 for it on the EE, including shipping. Its in nice shape and has a nice stock too. Functions perfectly with Federal XM80 fmj ammo.

Up and above that in price you are looking at what someone considers a collectable gun, likely based on originality and matching of all parts for make and grade, US manufacture, etc.
 
Last edited:
This isn’t directed at anyone in particular, but once you’ve fired a clip or two from a 30-06 Garand, you’ll have a much better idea of why people speak fondly of them. My go to Garand is a six digit Springfield. There is something magic happening when firing that big old rifle. I also have a Breda and a Beretta M1.

I reload for mine, so no worries about not finding ammo. I reload for all my old milsurps, cast bullets for them as well.
 
kjohn said:
This isn’t directed at anyone in particular, but once you’ve fired a clip or two from a 30-06 Garand, you’ll have a much better idea of why people speak fondly of them. My go to Garand is a six digit Springfield. There is something magic happening when firing that big old rifle. I also have a Breda and a Beretta M1.

I reload for mine, so no worries about not finding ammo. I reload for all my old milsurps, cast bullets for them as well.
Click to expand...

How true, mine is a 1943 Winchester, Danish Lend Lease, with a very nice VAR barrel, great rifle and less recoil than a bolt action with the same load.

I also handload for all my guns, a must especially since a lot of mine are in obsolete calibers.
 
Jahnj0584 said:
I played as much MoH:EA as everyone else, but can't really figure out the pricing scheme behind M1's right now. On the same day I see one for 1900 and another for 3500. Is there a QUICK rundown on what's valuable and what isnt? I know milsurp can be a can of worms and I just spent this spring becoming well versed in the world of the SKS and decided to skip Lee's since I'll probably never see .303 ammo in this province again lol.

If it matters, IF I were to buy one it would be in 308 so I can take a deer with it and keep my ammo stockpile that much simpler. 30-06 always comes across as overkill to me IMHO.
Click to expand...

When it comes to Garand M1 rifles, condition and originality are what dictates prices within reason.

Same with every other milsurp out there.

You can pick up an all correct M1D for less than half of what a No4 MKIT sells for, but an all correct M1C is a rarer bird and will be pricey.
 
Its very difficult to find a Garand with all original parts. The vast majority were overhauled/rebuilt once or more times with many parts replaced. Others had parts replaced as part of normal in service maintentenance. Rifles can be restored with original parts, but correct stocks and barrels are always the hardest to find.
 
I had a very nice Breda, that I paid $225 for about 20 years ago. Don't remember what I sold it for but damn do I wish I had held onto that thing to see todays insane pricing. :(

IMO the Garand was OK but it is a big, heavy rifle that is a slight pain to feed. I didn't hate the thing but clearly didn't love it enough to hang onto it for very long. I never owned it long enough to be comfortable getting the clip into it without fearing for the safety of my fingers.

I liked my TRW M14 a lot more than the Garand. ;)

I just picked up a minty LE No4 MK2 that is a much more svelt rifle than the Garand.
 
When I handle a Garand I can't help but think of the overall load of a US WWII infantry man. All the gear back then was way heavier then it is today.... the Enfields were much easier to carry that's for sure but the GI's were carrying some pretty awesome fire power for the day.

There's a pretty nice looking shooter .308 in the EE right now for what looks like a reasonable price today.
 
purple said:
Its very difficult to find a Garand with all original parts. The vast majority were overhauled/rebuilt once or more times with many parts replaced. Others had parts replaced as part of normal in service maintentenance. Rifles can be restored with original parts, but correct stocks and barrels are always the hardest to find.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The armourers changed parts when something broke. The soldiers switched around parts if they were sitting in a big circle cleaning rifles after firing. Any rifle that went through inspection before storage would have had out-of-spec parts removed and replaced with others from the bins, usually topped up with parts stripped off rifles that were condemned. Not to mention arsenal level recall and refit programs. A perfect example of this is the oldest gas-traps were removed from service and rebuilt with the next version of interchangeable and reliable parts. The only indications of their early fitment is the serial number. Every so often a less-molested rifle turns up which can't be explained as someone swapping parts around. I have seen a two-digit Italian Garand with an early barrel date and a very weathered serial number stamp on the butt. All matching.

To answer the question, Garand prices are rising but seem to be levelling off in the mid-$2500 range. I don't know why, but the supply of rebuilt rifles is not meeting demand but buyers are less interested in clearly put-together guns. Until another arsenal of war stock Garands hits the market, this is what buyers are up against.

For hunting, I recommend a black plastic Ramline stock. It has a cushiony buttplate, checkering on the grip, and is not historic cartouche marked vintage walnut. And, in my experience, the plastic stock whips a bit on recoil and doesn't feel as abrupt as a wood stock rifle. If the hunter takes a tumble and breaks it, or scratches the finish crossing a wet swamp thicket of cedars, no one will cry.
 
Jahnj0584 said:
I played as much MoH:EA as everyone else, but can't really figure out the pricing scheme behind M1's right now. On the same day I see one for 1900 and another for 3500. Is there a QUICK rundown on what's valuable and what isnt? I know milsurp can be a can of worms and I just spent this spring becoming well versed in the world of the SKS and decided to skip Lee's since I'll probably never see .303 ammo in this province again lol.

If it matters, If I were to buy one it would be in 308 so I can take a deer with it and keep my ammo stockpile that much simpler. 30-06 always comes across as overkill to me IMHO.
Click to expand...

Let's run through the makers and try to state why prices are what they are. https://www.rifleshootermag.com/edi...panies manufactured,contracted to make the M1.

Springfield - made millions of Garands starting from the beginning of the run.
Winchester - was a defence production scandal for late and short production deliveries. Had their bacon saved by Springfield several times. Always one of two drawing numbers behind Springfield. But the Winchester scroll gives it an undeserved value cachet.
International Harvester - postwar production, good guns, made by a company in the middle of the Midwest that never made guns before, boring like their tractors.
Harrington & Richardson - another postwar contract and H&R knew how to make guns. Small numbers compared to Springfield.
Breda - probably the smallest producer of all, Italian and only postwar, very good QC, but suffers from not-made-in-the-US of A-prejudice. Significantly more common in Canada due to US border restrictions.
Beretta - great guns made on contracts for whoever paid. Lots of Canadian shooters have Beretta Garands for the same reason mentioned above. Lots of American shooters don't know what they're missing.

Shooter grade Garands can be tuned and tinkered. Collector grade Garands are too important to take to the field, but should be test fired.

Rebarreling to .308 is a wise choice for any shooter grade Garand. There is an almost infinite range of ammunition, including a lot of 147-gr NATO ball. It will work just fine without bending the operating rod. The bigger 30-06 is harder to find in the correct 150-gr FMJ, and you'll be shooting $2 bills every shot.
 
Can-down said:
When I handle a Garand I can't help but think of the overall load of a US WWII infantry man. All the gear back then was way heavier then it is today.... the Enfields were much easier to carry that's for sure but the GI's were carrying some pretty awesome fire power for the day.

There's a pretty nice looking shooter .308 in the EE right now for what looks like a reasonable price today.
Click to expand...
The modern infantry soldiers load out has substantially increased in weight since ww2.
 
RRH.01 said:
The modern infantry soldiers load out has substantially increased in weight since ww2.
Click to expand...



Really, what does "load out" account for? does that include everything? Clothing, helmets boots etc? How substantial?

What's the current weight of all the average kit? I find that shocking, though I guess if your carrying drones and cameras, comms, body armour etc it must all add up...

I suppose the average man is bigger and possibly stronger today as well. I wonder what it costs to equip a modern soldier compared to back in the day with all the new tech some armies have?

Edt, quick search online. Wow thanks for the info! Hard to believe it's over 100 lbs of gear these days! Some suggesting 125lbs or twice the load.
 
Last edited:
The WW2 infantry fought in their cotton or wool uniforms, leather or canvas boots, steel helmets, cotton web or leather personal geat, and whatever they could carry in their pockets. Infantry would have had bandoliers of clipped ammunition and belts for the section or platoon machine guns. The contemporary grunt has all that plus body armour, eyewear, batteries, navigation and night vision devices, batteries, first aid and trauma kits, and several hundred rounds of ammunition in various magazines. If the platoon expects resistance add some claymores and anti-tank rockets. The PBI are burdened!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom