Okay, so the story of how I scored my first and only, Springfield M1 Garand... One day, I was in the field training (I'm in the Army) and was out there for no apparent reason since I was told I'd be out there doing something "awesome" and ended up just going out there to be another body doing nothing at all. Anyways, I decided to surf the web on my iPhone and decided to check out the latest and greatest on Armslist. Well, normally all of the cool or good deals seem to pop up when I can't jump on them such as what happened with this Garand. I had a friend who wasn't out in the field and asked him to grab it for me and I'd pay him back when I got home, that didn't work out well because he just spent all of his tax money which left me to option two. I asked my wife to go pick it up since I had the "gun funds" hidden somewhere in the house for her to grab and have the guy come meet me. Well, she refused and he said he would feel weird meeting up with my wife. I know, I know, probably sounds shady to the guy selling it which I understood. I explained my situation and was surprised that he said he would just hold it until I got out of the field. The crazy part is, he was selling this fine rifle for $600 with 12 en bloc clips, CMP box, certificate of authenticity, and all of the paperwork! The awesome guy selling it told me that he would hold it. I didn't believe he would keep his word because I've had so many people say that and still let someone buy something right from under me. He had many offers of $200 MORE than his listed price and still kept his word with me. Very generous and I am very thankful because I love this rifle.
Anyways, on to the rifle. From the paperwork, it states that this rifle is a "Service Grade" with a muzzle erosion of 1+ and a throat erosion of 2+. Normally a Service Grade comes with a mix of parts and normally doesn't match. I guess I got extremely lucky because almost 90% of the parts match! The barrel is original to the receiver, same date and within three months of each other (very typical) and all of the parts within the rifle were Springfield. The only things I had to replace were the bolt, the trigger assembly (it was Springfield, just a 1944 make, not a 1955 make) and the stock set. I have already replaced the bolt to a heat lot Z-2 bolt to make it correct for my rifle's era and I have a correct-era trigger assembly en route to me via USPS. Can't wait! All I need now is the correct stock set and I'll be complete. I already ordered an MRT 1955 (May 1955) dated OD Korean War-era sling and a complete original buttstock cleaning kit with the grease pots and all. So, I'm almost complete with this project! If anyone has a DoD Acceptance Stamp stock with the circled "P" and would like to trade, I'm definitely all for it so I can complete my project!
Enough of my story! Here are some pics of my 1955 Springfield M1 Garand!
Anyways, on to the rifle. From the paperwork, it states that this rifle is a "Service Grade" with a muzzle erosion of 1+ and a throat erosion of 2+. Normally a Service Grade comes with a mix of parts and normally doesn't match. I guess I got extremely lucky because almost 90% of the parts match! The barrel is original to the receiver, same date and within three months of each other (very typical) and all of the parts within the rifle were Springfield. The only things I had to replace were the bolt, the trigger assembly (it was Springfield, just a 1944 make, not a 1955 make) and the stock set. I have already replaced the bolt to a heat lot Z-2 bolt to make it correct for my rifle's era and I have a correct-era trigger assembly en route to me via USPS. Can't wait! All I need now is the correct stock set and I'll be complete. I already ordered an MRT 1955 (May 1955) dated OD Korean War-era sling and a complete original buttstock cleaning kit with the grease pots and all. So, I'm almost complete with this project! If anyone has a DoD Acceptance Stamp stock with the circled "P" and would like to trade, I'm definitely all for it so I can complete my project!
Enough of my story! Here are some pics of my 1955 Springfield M1 Garand!
