M1 Garand production

Axel J. Rose

Axel J. Rose

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I was wondering the other day. The M1 Garand went out of production 54 years ago. During that time, the M1 has become a worldwide hit with civilian shooters/hunters, the original Springfield Armory was shut down and the new one set up, and the M1's design, even M14, has become sort-of public and open knowledge.

Considering the new Springfield Armory already manufactures the M14 and the M1911 in original configurations, AND keeps a PDF version of the M1 manual on its website, I was wondering if it might be possible to issue a petition to S.A. to restart production on the Garand. Do you believe this could actually work?

After all, the average price for this 70+ years old battle rifle is fast approaching $1000 even for an average quality specimen and is increasingly hard to find. This situation will only worsen in the future, and probably quite quickly. It has been said that M1s retailed for only $200 barely 10 years ago. Would it really be so hard to convince them it might be a good business move?

What are your thoughts, my favorite gun nutz?
 
Springfield Armory Inc did produce M1 Garands with cast receivers until fairly recently. They sold for approx $1000 in the US. I suppose they would entertain resuming production if warranted by demand. There are enough sound and original Garands in circulation so that an original could be had for the same price. Maybe this is why they discontinued production.

I examined and shot a friend's SA Garand in the US. I saw no real advantage over an original. I prefer an original for the forged receiver.
 
Funny you mention this. I had sent and then received an e-mail from Springfield Armory just a couple weeks ago regarding exactly this.

I had written them explaining that I had been on a wait list with a local gun shop a couple years ago for one of their new M1's only to be told that Springfield had mothballed this product line in order to better supply the US military with other products. I asked if there was any intention of re-starting their M1 line?

The short answer I received was simply:

"We have no intention at this time of producing any M1 Garands in either .308 or 30-06. Thanks very much for your interest"

I would be first in line to get one if they started up again, but it doesn't sound likely that will happen any time soon. Maybe if things slow down overseas and they need to make money from the civilian market, we might see them.

Fingers crossed...
 
I understand they have their hands full already, just as much as I understand they used to manufacture M1s themselves in the last few years. My point however is if you think an online petition, say 25 000 names or more, to express the general will for a new batch of M1s from them could nudge them in the right direction. It's not like it costs anyone anything to simply express their interest, even if only in a limited, special production.

I'd buy one, for sure. An original M1 as well, of course. I appreciate a rifle with individual history, but it's getting ever harder to get your hands on one. Consider that on CGN, arguably the biggest gun forum in Canada (if it isn't, it should be), only one or two Garands show up in EE on any given month, and they get snatched up as soon as they appeared.
 
Axel J. Rose said:
I understand they have their hands full already, just as much as I understand they used to manufacture M1s themselves in the last few years. My point however is if you think an online petition, say 25 000 names or more, to express the general will for a new batch of M1s from them could nudge them in the right direction. It's not like it costs anyone anything to simply express their interest, even if only in a limited, special production.

I'd buy one, for sure. An original M1 as well, of course. I appreciate a rifle with individual history, but it's getting ever harder to get your hands on one. Consider that on CGN, arguably the biggest gun forum in Canada (if it isn't, it should be), only one or two Garands show up in EE on any given month, and they get snatched up as soon as they appeared.
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That tells you something, but not something conclusive. One or two a month being offered in the EE and getting snatched up could indicate the potential market in the EE is for 100 a month or it might be that four a month is the saturation point. Personally, I might one day buy a surplus M1 in good serviceable condition, if I can afford it, but at the same or higher price I wouldn't be so much interested in a new production M1 built for retail sale to civilians. I suspect Springfield Armory thinks a significant portion of the demand for M1s is people who feel as I do, and as long as they can use all their production capacity profitably building something else they will, and investing in additional capacity to go back to making M1s wouldn't make sufficient profit without raising the price beyond what they expect the market would bear. Or they'd be doing it.

I don't know whether 25,000 individuals saying online that they would like to buy a new M1 if they were available at retail will impress a manufacturer very much. I would think one distributor or retailer asking "What would the minimum order be, at what unit cost, to make it worth your while to start up that production line?" might get them to crunch some numbers.
 
Springfield Armory used new and surplus parts to build their M1 garand rifles.. When the US gvt started using the CMP to sell m1's for them, it killed the springfield m1 garand production.
 
Axel J. Rose said:
I understand they have their hands full already, just as much as I understand they used to manufacture M1s themselves in the last few years. My point however is if you think an online petition, say 25 000 names or more, to express the general will for a new batch of M1s from them could nudge them in the right direction. It's not like it costs anyone anything to simply express their interest, even if only in a limited, special production.

Start the petition. I will sign on the line.
I'd love to get my hands on a new production M1 :D
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"...When the US gvt started using the CMP to sell M1's for them..." The CMP was selling M1's long before there was such a thing as Springfield Armory Inc. Called The Department of Civilian Marksmanship, originally. One M1 rifle in a life time, at one time.
SA Inc. dropped their M1 because they were too expensive for the U.S. market. U.S. shooters didn't want a cast receiver that wasn't made Stateside either. They're certainly not going to make 'em again for the Canadian market.
 
Good points all around. I'm not blind to the economic and business realities SA Inc. faces.

Restarting a mothballed production line is expensive at best, notwithstanding hiring new labor to man them. Even in its economically weak state, hiring skilled machinists and gunsmiths in America is still a costly affair.

That is supposing they kept the machines to make the M1s at all. In the best of conditions, restarting production nets them a multi-million dollar starting cost before the first rifle rolls out. The break-even point would be in at least the low tens of thousands of rifles sold. I'm aware of that.

So am I that the unit price of milsurp Garands is still in the low-thousand dollar range. Yet keep in mind how much that price has risen in barely a few years. Unless production restarts, prices are bound to rise inexorably up, and the overall stock quality inexorably down. Existing M1s are getting worn slowly but surely, and need to put up with endless refurbishing to maintain a pristine-ish condition.

Suppose we start a petition and manage to get, say, 25 000 signatures. There is no guarantee all or even most of them would buy anything at all. That said, it does show a strong interest from the populace at large in newly-manufactured M1s, demand that might not have been there 3-4 years ago. All politics aside, none of us has failed to see the impact the Obama election has had on the gun market. There is demand unseen of in recent memory.

To finish, I'd also like to say that, as a consumer, I care less about the well-being of the manufacturer than I care about getting what I want. It might seem selfish and it certainly is. With this in mind, there is no cost to any of us who feel the same way to kindly ask SA to start making M1 Garands again. The chances are undoubtedly slim at the moment, but we are all practical people. What do we have to lose?
 
I think chances are more likely that you would see Norinco come out with a budget Garand clone in the same way that they have produced knock-off M14s, M1911s, AR 15s, etc. This would assume that they would be able to flog them on the US market as economies of scale argue against production for the smaller Cdn and other markets.

AFAIK there is still a ban on importing Chicom-produced firearms into the US.

Meantime the original Garands keep soldiering on. If you are shopping for one as a shooter, I recommend one of the ex-Danish Beretta or Breda rifles. These were made to a high quality line and the Danes maintained them in very good shape until the time of export. I've yet to see a pitted receiver or a barrel that gauged over 4 in the throat on any of these. What we do need in Canada is a vendor who will import newly made Garand barrels from the US in both .30-06 and .308. There is definitely a market for these and a dealer who is prepared to go thru the whole licensing nut roll for US export can do a good business with them.
 
purple said:
Meantime the original Garands keep soldiering on. If you are shopping for one as a shooter, I recommend one of the ex-Danish Beretta or Breda rifles. These were made to a high quality line and the Danes maintained them in very good shape until the time of export. I've yet to see a pitted receiver or a barrel that gauged over 4 in the throat on any of these. What we do need in Canada is a vendor who will import newly made Garand barrels from the US in both .30-06 and .308. There is definitely a market for these and a dealer who is prepared to go thru the whole licensing nut roll for US export can do a good business with them.
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Great advice! I've seen some exceptionally nice Danish Garands and the upside is that they often come with the vaunted VAR match-grade barrels.

While the days of sub-$200 Garands were before my GunNut time, I still think $1000 Garands are justifiable. With their interesting history aside, if you handle one you'll note the fine engineering that went into their design and the detailed/extensive machining that you would never find on a similarly-priced new rifle. That and the 8rd capacity in a semi-auto rifle are enough to make me happy to pay up.

DISCLOSURE: I'm the happy owner of two Beretta Garands :)
 
While the CMP continues to sell GI ones the amount of commercial interest will not justify resuming production. When the supply is exhausted, the situation might change.
 
gabrielfrombelgium said:
Dinsdale,

Do you know when AO plan to release its new production of M1 Rifle ?

Also, I fear that those rifles will be different enough from the original to forbid the swap with original parts.
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Will have to go reread the bit in the magazine.
Was in Combat Handguns article about their TA-5 a Thomson 1928 pseudo-copy.
Their M1 Carbine replica and 1911 are both bang on so why wouldn't the Garand?
Current production

The Auto-Ordnance division of Kahr Arms began production of an M1 Carbine replica in 2005. It is largely a faithful reproduction of the original, albeit with a different buttstock (birch vs. walnut) and later lever-safety (instead of the more common button safety).
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Mk VII said:
While the CMP continues to sell GI ones the amount of commercial interest will not justify resuming production. When the supply is exhausted, the situation might change.
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This is why you might see it sooner than later:
SINCE OCTOBER 2008, WE HAVE BEEN OVERWHELMED WITH ORDERS FOR ALL PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY RIFLES AND AMMUNITION. AS A RESULT, IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT DELIVERIES FOR ANY OF THE ITEMS THAT CMP SELLS. PLEASE ALLOW A MINIMUM OF 90-100 DAYS FOR ORDERS TO SHIP. ORDERS ARE BEING PROCESSED IN THE SEQUENCE THEY WERE RECEIVED. DUE TO THE HIGH CALL VOLUME, YOU MAY EXPERIENCE LONG DELAYS WHEN TRYING TO REACH CMP BY TELEPHONE. WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO NOT CALL, BUT TO SEND AN EMAIL WITH QUESTIONS TO custserve@odcmp.com. IF THE QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT AN EXISTING ORDER, PLEASE ENTER THE ORDER NUMBER (IF KNOWN) IN THE SUBJECT LINE TO EXPEDITE RESPONSES.
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It's a mistake to see this as a petition from "mere" Canadians. A petition signed by and for Americans will do the trick far more easily, of course. If SA Inc. restarts production in the States for the States, it'll inevitably trickle down to Canada. As if they could differentiate between Canadians and Americans on an online petition anyway.

But I get your point. It is probable the market does not yet need new M1 production, unfortunately for some of us. Perhaps in 2-3 years, it'll be worth it again. Perhaps sooner, let's hope.
 
From the CMP I can get Service Grade M1 Garand for $595 US. Newly rebuilt ones from the CMP run $995 US. Why would SA or anyone be able to compete against those deals here in the States?

I have both a Service Grade CMP gun with a pristine bore and a new built SA from the 90's that is my glass bedded match grade gun. Got less than $1300 invested into both. :cool: Also got a Mossberg Model 44US for $160 US too. I never seem to have the $ when the good '03s and Carbines are available though.

I live three hours drive from the CMP South store.:evil:
 
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