Garand reality check
With one exception there is a bunch of leg pulling going on with the Garand ads in the EE right now. The exception is the Beretta based unit with a VAR barrel that the owner seems serious about selling for $1950 plus shipping.
If you consider this offering as a collectable, it's value is no where near what is being asked. It is a non-original "bitster" put together on a Beretta receiver. Other than the receiver I wonder how many other "PB" marked Beretta parts it has. The stock is a modern day Boyds replacement, the barrel is a replacement Danish VAR, the rear sight unit includes a mix of a wartime lock bar unit and a modern National Match base and aperture, and the op rod appears to be a wartime Springfield with the rounded side profile. A non-matching unit like this has no collector appeal or additional collector value.
A collectable Beretta will include all Beretta parts which can be identified by the "PB" marking on virtually every part, except the springs. An all Beretta Garand with 90-95% original finish on wood and metal and a sound barrel gauging less than .302 at muzzle and .303 on the throat gauge should fetch maybe $1200-$1300 tops. It is virtually impossible to find a totally correct Beretta or Breda Garand as original bolts and stocks were marked with the rifle's s/n. You can find Beretta and Breda stocks and bolts, but they will invariably bear a different s/n.
If this piece is considered as a shooter only, which it is, I see no reason to value it over $1000. The Danish VAR barrels tend to shoot well, and most I have seen exhibit very little wear due to the fact that they were later replacements and were obviously lightly used. National Match sight parts or operating rods don't necessarily make a rifle shoot better. It's how the whole package is put together. If the barrel gauges less than .302 in the throat and .301 at the muzzle it is a good prospect for a shooter. There is nothing magical about who installed the barrel. I've re-barreled more than 2 dozen Garands and it isn't rocket science. A barrel must be installed top dead center with correct headspace on the bolt. Nothing more can be said. The receiver on this rifle needs to be re-parkerized to improve the cosmetics.
If one is prepared to pay $2000 for a non-sniper Garand I would expect the following category of rifle to command such a premium price:
1. An original wartime Winchester or Springfield with all original, correct revision parts and un-refinished parts exhibiting 95% original finish on wood and metal with fully intact cartouches on the stock. Original barrel in sound, un-pitted condition with a throat reading of .303 or better and a muzzle reading of .301 or better. OR
2. An authenticated US arsenal built National Match rifle with all unique mods and parts and in 95% overall condition.
Let's watch and see what happens with this one.
With one exception there is a bunch of leg pulling going on with the Garand ads in the EE right now. The exception is the Beretta based unit with a VAR barrel that the owner seems serious about selling for $1950 plus shipping.
If you consider this offering as a collectable, it's value is no where near what is being asked. It is a non-original "bitster" put together on a Beretta receiver. Other than the receiver I wonder how many other "PB" marked Beretta parts it has. The stock is a modern day Boyds replacement, the barrel is a replacement Danish VAR, the rear sight unit includes a mix of a wartime lock bar unit and a modern National Match base and aperture, and the op rod appears to be a wartime Springfield with the rounded side profile. A non-matching unit like this has no collector appeal or additional collector value.
A collectable Beretta will include all Beretta parts which can be identified by the "PB" marking on virtually every part, except the springs. An all Beretta Garand with 90-95% original finish on wood and metal and a sound barrel gauging less than .302 at muzzle and .303 on the throat gauge should fetch maybe $1200-$1300 tops. It is virtually impossible to find a totally correct Beretta or Breda Garand as original bolts and stocks were marked with the rifle's s/n. You can find Beretta and Breda stocks and bolts, but they will invariably bear a different s/n.
If this piece is considered as a shooter only, which it is, I see no reason to value it over $1000. The Danish VAR barrels tend to shoot well, and most I have seen exhibit very little wear due to the fact that they were later replacements and were obviously lightly used. National Match sight parts or operating rods don't necessarily make a rifle shoot better. It's how the whole package is put together. If the barrel gauges less than .302 in the throat and .301 at the muzzle it is a good prospect for a shooter. There is nothing magical about who installed the barrel. I've re-barreled more than 2 dozen Garands and it isn't rocket science. A barrel must be installed top dead center with correct headspace on the bolt. Nothing more can be said. The receiver on this rifle needs to be re-parkerized to improve the cosmetics.
If one is prepared to pay $2000 for a non-sniper Garand I would expect the following category of rifle to command such a premium price:
1. An original wartime Winchester or Springfield with all original, correct revision parts and un-refinished parts exhibiting 95% original finish on wood and metal with fully intact cartouches on the stock. Original barrel in sound, un-pitted condition with a throat reading of .303 or better and a muzzle reading of .301 or better. OR
2. An authenticated US arsenal built National Match rifle with all unique mods and parts and in 95% overall condition.
Let's watch and see what happens with this one.
