I found an article on fox news website stating that the Obama administration has banned the importation of (American made) Korean war surplus m1 garands and carbines.In other words, there are 850,000 mint condition m1's on the other side of the world looking for a good home.I was wondering if anyone has heard anything
has anyone heard anything about south korean m1 rifles?
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Jwirecom109
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I've heard speculation that they maybe aren't all mint or even that great. But just rumours.
And the Yanks haven't re-imported their exported service weapons for decades, so this is actually NOT an Obama related issue. This is why M1s are so ludicrously expensive down there, or so an American buddy has led me to believe.
Most countries have tended to dispose of their poorer condition small arms holdings first, and no doubt this is the case with S. Korea. A lot of the Korean Garands came into the US in the pre-Clinton years and they were pretty beat.
As far as any of these coming to Canada,chances are slim to none. Small arms control/destruction is a big issue at the UN. Korea will no doubt want to gain gain points from showing how "enlightened" they have become by demilitarizing their surplus small arms, especially considering that the UN Secy-General is currently a Korean.
As far as any of these coming to Canada,chances are slim to none. Small arms control/destruction is a big issue at the UN. Korea will no doubt want to gain gain points from showing how "enlightened" they have become by demilitarizing their surplus small arms, especially considering that the UN Secy-General is currently a Korean.
Several years ago I listed a very nice No. 4 for sale on a US forum to see what would happen. I clearly stated the rifle was in Canada. I had several replies from people seriously interested in the rifle. I got all the forms to export the rifle to the US. One of the restictions was that a military surplus rifle cannot be imported into the US. That ended any potenial sale to someone down there. No problem if the rifle was hunting rifle or shotgun. The US does not want milsurps of any kind to be imported there.
There were a bunch of pictures of them on the CMP site. Not for sale of course but still pics. There was a soldier that was dragging the muzzles on the pavement to stack them on a pallet. Most of the rifles shown, were very well worn. To the point of military unrealiability.
There is one more issue with the Korean Garands/Carbines, they're not really sure who owns them. Supposedly they were loaned, not given to the Koreans. Other rumors are that Korea was supposed to buy them but never paid for them. The rumors abound. There are supposedly several thousand 1911 pistols, Thompson submachine guns and Springfield 03s, along with just about every type of US, Combloc and Japanese small arms that were so abundant 5 years after WWII ended. The US, converted a bunch of Type 99 Arisakas to 30-06 for rear echelon ROK troops as well.
I would love to be able to take a tour through the old warehouses in Korea and Taiwan. I can only dream of what they have buried there.
There is one more issue with the Korean Garands/Carbines, they're not really sure who owns them. Supposedly they were loaned, not given to the Koreans. Other rumors are that Korea was supposed to buy them but never paid for them. The rumors abound. There are supposedly several thousand 1911 pistols, Thompson submachine guns and Springfield 03s, along with just about every type of US, Combloc and Japanese small arms that were so abundant 5 years after WWII ended. The US, converted a bunch of Type 99 Arisakas to 30-06 for rear echelon ROK troops as well.
I would love to be able to take a tour through the old warehouses in Korea and Taiwan. I can only dream of what they have buried there.
I bought a Korean M1 Garand , that came into the country in the mid '90s for $271.00. After I had a chance to run a patch through the bore, I realized I had a smoothbore .30-06. By the time I dropped about $1,600.00 in to rebuilding it I now have an accurate M1 Garand, that looks pretty and now functions flawlessly. Buyer beware!
Note to file: The serial number on the rifle is still as originally manufactured, but thats it.
Note to file: The serial number on the rifle is still as originally manufactured, but thats it.
I don't know what the U.S. import laws are regarding milsurps but right now you can buy any number of recently imported military weapons from a number of U.S. firms. American firms must be registered with the U.S. government to export firearms and firearm components so perhaps importers must be registered as well.
No, the US has a restriction on US made surplus firearms being imported (repatriated?). No such restriction on non US made.
Yah - I officially exported four Lee Enfields to the U.S. in 2001 with nothing more than a phone call to CFC. Interestingly, those four still show attached to my licence, even though they note "exported permanently". Oh well, hopefully THAT will be gone in a few months!!!
Savage No4s may be on that list. for the most part, they are marked "US Property" and were lend lease. Could be why there are so few in the US. Down there, they are the most desireable of the No4s.
I know that the US turned a blind eye to a lot of imports until 1968 and later, a lot of No4s slipped in under the radar. There was also some confusion for a while whether or not the rifles had to be returned to the US government, rather than be sold to the public, through surplus vendors.
This is mostly hearsay that I've garnered from contacts on the internet. Mostly just conjecture but it seems to be reasonably accurate.
I know that the US turned a blind eye to a lot of imports until 1968 and later, a lot of No4s slipped in under the radar. There was also some confusion for a while whether or not the rifles had to be returned to the US government, rather than be sold to the public, through surplus vendors.
This is mostly hearsay that I've garnered from contacts on the internet. Mostly just conjecture but it seems to be reasonably accurate.
