I was just at my uncle’s house - this particular uncle is like the prototypical short, skinny, scrappy, absolutely insane brawling Marine, self-described “cunt man” and champion drinker. You know the type - one of those guys. Anyway, over Martinis and a lot of off-color banter, he asks me if I liked the beautiful, mint-condition Korea-era M1 Garand rifle that he was showing me earlier. I told him I loved it.
A Garand, my boy, is the Perfect Battle Implement. Heavier than shit, but it fires a serious round a serious distance, and with improved sights and some skill can blow the balls off a housefly at 400 meters. A very comforting piece of Destructive Potential, it is.
Argent, who made your new beauty? What shape is the wood in? Did you get any clips to go with it? Spill, man!
Springfield, INSANELY nice wood - like, mint condition and the color is this reddish brown that’s figured with almost a tiger-stripe-like pattern of evenly-placed splotches of dark brown. This thing was obviously cared for very well. He said it was his “girlfriend” and its name is Sue. Those Marines…
I must admit that I know almost nothing about guns so I never realized these were so highly prized. My father has an antique M1 Garand with bayonet and a rifle that was issued in WWI (based on Wikipedia I think it is a M1903) with bayonet. I’ve fired both of them but I was always most interested in the historical significance. Are they actually expensive collectors items, or just nice guns enjoyed by enthusiasts?
Seriously, I can think of nothing better for an elder relative to pass along to another family member. I can’t remember the last time I was this jealous of someone.
From here forward, and every time I see your name pop up in a thread, I’ll think to myself, “Oh, here’s that asshole that got an M1 handed down to him,” in my best mocking inner voice and then I may post in that thread just to mock you further, so you know, just how bad…
Generally, nice guns enjoyed by enthusiasts- they made millions of them (literally), and they’re well-made, accurate guns with a lot of history.
But some of them are expensive collector’s items- made by particular arsenals that didn’t produce as many guns as others, matching serial numbers, in mint condition, and matching bayonet, sling, and oil bottle/cleaning kit- that pushes the rifle into “Expensive Collector’s Item”, and if it’s a sniper rifle you can easily add another nought to the price as well.
These are generalities, though, and it depends on the rifle. My area of interest and expertise are British firearms, and a 1923 Lithgow SMLE MK III with volley sights, magazine cut-off, matching serial numbers, appropriate bayonet (same year, for example), sling, oil bottle, and pull-through is going to be worth a hell of a lot more than a 1943 Lithgow SMLE Mk III* with matching numbers, bayonet, and oil bottle/pull-through, even though- to the untrained eye, they both look like the same rifle.
What a military surplus firearm is actually worth is anyone’s guess- for example, P08 Luger handguns are worth stupid amounts of money pretty much anywhere in the English-speaking world, even though they aren’t especially rare or otherwise remarkable. People just go OMG LUGER!1! and suddenly what should be a $400 handgun is $1200- more if it has Nazi proof markings on it.
If you’re interested in finding out more about your rifles, send me a PM and I can point you in the direction of some good collector’s boards and other sources of info…
Yep, count me among those who are sore jealous. That beauty is a keeper. Just make sure you take care of her, and shoot her often.
My Garand is a Frankenstein (Springfield barrel mated to an H&R receiver) from the CMP, but I love it anyway. A joy to shoot, and .30-06 is screamingly cheap when you buy it 1000 rounds at a time.
I’m normally not one to go soft in the knees in firearms discussions, but the Garand (or, to me, “Gevær M/50”) holds a place in my heart. My mind knows that the H&K G3 I mostly carried was a more effective weapon, but it was plastic and stamped metal and rattled.
The Garand is all finely machined parts and wood, it has the meanest looking bayonet this side of a two-hand sword and the sound when you load it is final like a bank vault slamming shut. (And like a bank vault, you want to keep an eye out for where you have your thumb.)
Plus, if things go banana-shaped, it makes for a helluva club.
I have no use for a Garand, I don’t want to own a firearm in the first place, I don’t think I’m even allowed to - and yet, the idea of a Garand in the closet is not without its attraction.
My uncle said he’d give me his when he died. In front of witnesses. Imagine my surprise when it [del]ended up in my scum-bag cousin’s gun rack[/del] disappeared… :mad:
