M1 Garand's and Expensiveness.

private_pile

private_pile

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Does anyone know the reason why M1 Garand's got so expensive? I remember maybe 6 years ago my friend's dad bought him one at a store for about 149.99, as that was the going price. Then it seems after all those war movies and video games came out (saving private ryan, medal of honor) they went up to about $400, now you'd be lucky if you find one under $1000! Is there actually a good reason (maybe they're running out)? Or does Springfield like the extra buck they can get for a popular gun?

P.S.. God bless the Springfield Armory!

pps.. If anyone has an m1 that they want to sell me for under $1000 I'm all ears!.. or eyes.
 
private_pile said:
Springfield must still be producing them because you can buy them brand new from Cabela's..
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Springfield is producing them but Springfield is not still producing them.

Springfield Armory is not the Springfield Armory. Look it up.
 
The rash of recent ww2 films has rekindled interest in the Garand, but I doubt that it will last. An awful lot of those Garands are currently safe queens, sooner or later they will be flipped back on the open market, supply will catch up with demand again, and once people get it into their heads how many MILLIONS of these things were made, and are still around, you'll have a hard time getting 400$ for your typical shooter.
 
When you bought your first LEE ENFIELD for $14.95 how much money were you making per hour. And how long ago was that? When I got married 42 years ago, Kraft dinner came on sale at 10 for $1 and a VW BUG was listed at $1995 brand new but I was making $2.50/hr. I did manage to buy a P-08 9mm LUGER for $35 and a .22/.22mag HERBERT SCHMIDT for $20 in that first year, though. It all has to do with the value or purchasing power of the money and how much you get per hour.
 
I know Hollywood is currently producing a huge Band of Brothers sort of series, based in the battles of the Pacific, due out 2009. Alot of monet and talent behind this one...I can see a resurgence of US firearms and gear again.
 
If you guys think milsurp prices will recede, think again. Unless another big wave of gun control devalues all guns in Canada, it ain't going to happen.

With the new UN restrictions coming into force in December, get ready for alot LESS stuff to find its way here. Know what that means? Demand will remain, but availability will diminish = price hike on all milsurps.

I bought my first M1 for $125 private sale, an all-correct 1.49Mil SA in great shape. My second M1 was $149 at LeBaron, a Danish mixmaster. I bought several more danes ranging from a $199 shooter to $800 for a mint in the paper Breda, mostly from Districorp.

My last M1 was a $600 (after a few worn parts were replaced) 1.98mil SA, again in great shape.

Retail is currently in the $600-800 range or the guns at P&S and Milarm. Don't expect that to change. The guns ARE steadily selling at that price - I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for prices to come down.

And the prices didn't just "bump" to their current levels. There was a very lear ramp up in price that I bought into at several points. No surprises here...

Finally, the SA,Inc. rifles being sold for about $2000 are NOT military guns. They are new production by SA, Inc. Which is NOT the government "springfield armory" that closed in the 1960's. It is a commercial venture that only shares the same name, incorporated much later. They aren't in the same town, nor same facility and they share no continuity - not even staff.

Original guns were forged and milled out of billet. The new guns are made of investment cast receivers that have been known to deviate somewhat from military dimensional specifications. The parts used to assemble them (aside from receiver and barrel) are just used military parts from demilled rifles bought at scrap in the US, Korea, etc. that have been bead blasted and reparkerized. Sometimes they are even significantly worn rattle-traps put out on cheaply cast receivers with the cheapest grade of commercially produced barrel available to the manufacturer that week.

If you want an M1, get a real one - not a copy.
 
"...the reason why M1 Garand's got so expensive?..." Supply and demand. The supply of M1 rifles in decent condition is low while the demand is high. That's why SA Inc. makes 'em and can get the very high prices they ask for 'em.
Lee-Enfields, of all models, are the same way. Rifles in military configuration and in decent condition with good headspace are becoming fewer in number.
 
I bought one of those Korean junkers, imported and sold for $270.00. Buying sight unseen was a mistake on my part, because I ended up with a smoothbore .30-06 rifle. By the time I finished rebuilding it to a rifle that can be used in competition, I had spent at least a total of $1,400.00. Beware the cheap rifle.
 
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Which Korean junkers? I've not seen anything I can readily ID as a Korea return in Canada, though many did go to the USA and are generally import marked on the bbl.

That being said, if I got a shot-out Korean M1, I'd just re-barrel it. Everything else should theoretically be in spec. Most likely problem parts after the bbl are the gas cylinder and op rod.

Most Korea returns in the US had good gas cylinders as Korea manufactured replacements as needed and kept them in decent repair. The op rods usually wear out firs at the receiver tab, but this can be TIG welded back to spec and dressed. I've done more than one this war. Advantage is that you can TIG it up the NM specs if you want and get a really tight fitting operating rod.
 
I missed one for $175 at Goble's. Not a like new but a shooter. Don't know what I was thinking. When I first arrived on Manitoulin in 71 you could buy a 100 acre bush lot with road access for $5000. Now look at about 70,000. I didn't have the $5000 then and I don't have the $70000 now.
 
Claven2 said:
If you want an M1, get a real one - not a copy.
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If you want a M14, get a real one - not a Norc knockoff. Am I allowed to say that?:D:runaway:

Best buy ever on M1 for some of us: Real M1D completes with mil M84 scope, mount & flash hider in good to excellent condition for $500. If you missed this one, you really missed out on best M1 deal of the century.
 
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