The M1Garand Rifle - An FAQ for This Website

Charles' M1 Newbie Site - FAQ

Greetings and welcome to the M1 Garand Rife An American Companion In Three Wars website. This site is also known as Charles m1 newbie Page. Since opening this site in 1999 I have received HUNDREDS of emails about this website. Hundreds of those letters asked questions that were somewhat reparative and so I would like to take the time to answer many of the common questions sent in by mail here. I do enjoy correspondence however it is my feeling that answering the most common questions here will allow you to get answers more rapidly.

Please do look over all the questions here before you write as your question on the M1 Garand Rifle is likely to be answered here already.

Lineage and Pedigree Questions:

Question: When was my M1 Garand rifle manufactured, built, made, or produced?

Answer: You can look up the serial number of your rifle here: http://www.jouster.com/serial/serial.html You can also get a copy of Scott Duff's excellent books and look it up in them.

Question: I Just obtained an M1 Garand rifle and I want to know who carried it, can you tell me who used my rifle, what unit it was in, or if it saw combat?

Answer: As far as I am aware there is no real way to find out this information any longer. Any records that may have existed have long since been destroyed and I am afraid that unless you get REALLY lucky and run across a reference in someone's personal effects you will likely never know the history of your m1 Garand Rifle. I would LOVE to be wrong about this and if I am PLEASE do write to me and let me know.

Question: Is there any information on where my rifle was shipped to when it was manufactured?

Answer: You have an OUTSIDE chance (needle in a haystack) of finding your rifle at Armscollector.com. They have many firearms listed by brand and type but the one you will want to click on is the M1 Garand Link. You can put the serial number of your rifle in there and MAYBE just MAYBE you will get lucky. You might also try asking real nice over at CJ Clancy Publishing. Ed MAY have come up with something in your serial number range as well... but don't count on these.

Can You Sell Me A .....:

Question: Can you sell me a rifle or a __________ ?

Answer:

No! I make websites. I do not sell anything.

I make websites about rifles. I make websites about Custom 1911 pistols. I make websites about firearm accessories. I even had the honor of making a ton of pages about the M1 Garand Rifle for the Civilian Marksmanship Program (AKA CMP). I do not sell rifles, pistols, ammunition, bayonets, knives, blanks, parts, or any other item. Please do not ask. If you want a gun go to a gun dealer if you want parts go to a parts dealer, if you want a website. THEN you can come ask me.

Questions On Purchasing M1 Garand Rifles:

Question: I really want an M1 Garand Rifle, where can I purchase one?

Answer: You can purchase an M1 Garand rifle many places. It depends on what you are looking for, what kind of guarantee you want, and if you are a collector. The following are NOT recommendations, I do not make those as I am unqualified to make decisions for you, but my thumbnail opinion on the following companies is as follows.

Civilian Marksmanship Program (also known as the CMP) is well known and well liked by many people. They sell surplus M1 Garand Rifles to the general public straight from military stock. They are the only agency I know that does this and in fact they are a company that was created or enabled by congress to take over from the old government agency (DCM) that was a 100 percent government run agency. My family and I have purchased M1 rifles from the CMP and have been very pleased with their service and VALUE. Do NOT expect showroom queens. These rifles are usually well used. You can read about my experiences with the CMP here and here. CMP officially makes NO GUARANTEE that the rifles will work. In practice they have fixed many problems for customers including me but read the fine print. Also you have to jump through a few extra hoops to get a CMP rifle and many people do not want to do that.

Miltech Arms - If you are looking for a showroom queen, a brand new looking M1 Garand Rifle but do not care about the collector value Miltech might be worth researching. I have seen many of their rifles at the rifle range since they test their work at a semi-local range. I have also gotten the opportunity to walk through their (very clean) shop. They make very pretty guns but near as I can tell they do not make a point of collector value. I have only purchased an ammo can from them, never a rifle.

Fulton Armory - If you are looking for a good solid M1 rifle that you do not have to jump through hoops to get it, Fulton Armoury has a good reputation. I have personally never done business with them but I have yet to hear anything severely negative from anyone I have been in contact with about their service or products.

Scott A. Duff Historic Martial Arms - Scott Duff is one of the best known men in the M1 Garand collecting community. If you are looking for a highly prized and valuable or collectable M1 rifle Scott Duff's reputation is second to none. It is interesting that when the children of John Cantius Garand decided to sell off part of John Garand's estate, they secured the services of Scott Duff to do so. I have purchased a couple of small items from Mr. Duff and I own 3 of his books (which I also highly recommend). If you are looking for a collectable M1, Mr. Duff's site may be a good place to start looking.

Can You Send Me _________:

Question: Can you please send me detailed photos, drawings, and specifications for the M1 Garand Rifle? Can you measure YOUR M1 and mail me the specs? Can you take custom pictures for me and mail me pictures of your M1

Answer: I am sorry but I can not take the time to do anything of the nature noted above. If you truly want some custom photos and are willing to pay me for my time I might consider your request but I simply do not have the time to take a myriad of custom photos for this or that. I am not qualified to do a good job at nor am I inclined to take measurements of my rifle so you can try to build one yourself.

Reloading for the M1 Garand Rifle:

Question: Can you give me some reloading data for the M1 Garand rifle?

Answer: Not a chance in hell. :-) Sorry, but the fact of the matter is that I do not reload, and if I ever start of if I do I would not attempt to share such data because of the fact that you can do some real damage to yourself and your weapon if you do it wrong. I will not take responsibility for that.

M1 Garand Gunsmithing / Service Advice:

Question: Can you help me? I am having the following problem with my M1 Garand rifle and I want you to tell me how to fix it....

Answer: No. I can not and will not help you with any sort of question that falls in the realm of advice or gunsmithing. I STRONGLY urge you to seek out a reputable highly qualified gunsmith who has been certified on and is completely competent with the M1 Garand rifle. Do NOT try to work on the rifle yourself until you have had similar instruction and do not ask me how to do this or that. I am sorry but as with the reloading question above I simply refuse to give out any opinions or advice in this area.

Question: Can you tell me how to take apart my M1 Garand Rifle?

Answer: You can go to the Civilian Marksmanship site where there are sections on how to field strip and detail strip the M1 Garand Rifle. The CMP purchased my services on these pages and they are 100 percent responsible for what appears on them.

Question: Can you tell me what this particular part is on my M1 and can you tell me what it does?

Answer: You can go to the Civilian Marksmanship site where there is a section on nomenclature (parts identification) for the M1 Garand Rifle. Each of those pages shows a photo of the part, names it, and gives a quickie explanation of its main function. The CMP purchased my services on these pages and they are 100 percent responsible for what appears on them.

M1 Garand Collecting and Investment Advice:

Question: Can you tell me what My M1 Garand is worth?

Answer: Nope! I am sorry but I can not. I would suggest finding a real appraiser who knows his stuff. Scott A. Duff is one of the best known men in the M1 Garand collecting community. If you are looking for an appraisal I know he does them. I'd love to run a couple of our M1 Rifles by him, but the fact is he is trying to make a living and the funds for this are not available. However if you are willing to pay his fee you should strongly consider investigating Scott Duff to do your appraisal. I have heard good things about his abilities in this regard.

Question: Should I buy a xxx Garand or a yyy Garand for my collection if I want the value to go up?

Answer: I am afraid I am unable to give advice of this nature. I am not a collector per-se of M1 rifles and I am not qualified to offer advice in this area.

Please feel free to explore the other sections of this website:
[About This Website] [How I Maintain My M1s] [CMP Program - Our Experience]
[Our CMP M1 Garand Rifles] [CMP Ammunition] [M1 Parts Photographs & Nomenclature]
[M1 Garand Accessories] [A Little Important Humor] [Links to Other M1 Garand Sites]




			The M1 Garand Rifle An American Companion In Three Wars Frequently Asked Questions