montea6b Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 I ran across a couple Garand receivers today in the milsurp area of a local antique store after breakfast out with the family. He was asking $150 for one, but the price tag on the other was turned around and I didn't want to act too interested. (again the family was with me! ) Anyhow, that seemed pretty reasonable, although I didn't check who made them. Some browsing on Gunbroker confirmed that the Springfields go for a lot more, although there are some other brands for around that. I've wanted a Garand for years, but have never taken the plunge. This might be a good excuse to put one together. Questions: 1. Is $150 a pretty good deal? 2. Are there any manufacturers or serial number ranges to stay away from? 3. How much work is involved with installing and headspacing a barrel? (I have a 30-06 reamer, headspace gauges, and a barrel vise, but no Garand action wrench or lathe.) 4. Anybody have a rough price tag for a barrel, parts kit and stock? 5. Anything else to beware of? (i.e. not fully machined or heat treated rough castings... and what to look for to tell if this is the case) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted March 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Cue sound of crickets: "chirp... chirp... chirp..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemson Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Before you jump on those receivers, check the cost of rifles and plain, barreled actions from the CMP. www.odcmp.com Clemson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted March 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 FYI I went back to check them out again and they are Santa Fe receivers. Not real historical... I have looked into the CMP rifles, and will probably eventually go this way. Kind of seems like my civic duty as a veteran to assume caretaker responsibilities for one of these old warhorses. I've wanted to do it for a while, just a little hard to justify with all my other priorities and projects. One day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dindvik Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 FYI I went back to check them out again and they are Santa Fe receivers. Not real historical... I have looked into the CMP rifles, and will probably eventually go this way. Kind of seems like my civic duty as a veteran to assume caretaker responsibilities for one of these old warhorses. I've wanted to do it for a while, just a little hard to justify with all my other priorities and projects. One day... Never heard of a santa fe who made it and where? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted March 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 Don't know much about them myself, just what I found on a quick Google serach. I think they were made by a company named Golden State in the 1970's. Definitely not WWII vintage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoedoh Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Mike, I posed this question to some Garand experts a few months ago and was advised to ditch the idea of building a Garand and buy one from the CMP. Altough the parts are out there, they're not cheap and it would be much more cost effective in the long run to buy one from the CMP. You just can't build one in decent shape for what you can buy them preassembled for. Such was the feedback I got. -Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks Jason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike68 Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 Montea6b-----I word on those Garand receivers...................RUN!!!! Unless they were made by Springfield, Winchester, H & R or IHC, they are junk!! The ones you looked at are probably re-welds of cut up receivers. I've had an M1 for 20 years (Springfield Armory) and several books on them (that doesn't make me an expert though). As others have said above, your best bet is through the CMP. Very good people to deal with and you get a shootable rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.