# M1 Garand! M1 Garand! My uncle's giving me his M1 Garand! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 30, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202 "2008-05-30T22:15:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/1 "2008-05-30T22:15:14Z")
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. He said, “It’s yours,” !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 ![SIZE=5]!!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 [/SIZE]!!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 I think my year has officially been made. !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 !!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/2 "2008-05-30T22:16:39Z")
Better take it and hide it under the bed before he sobers up! That’s flippin’ awesome!! ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/3 "2008-05-30T22:18:01Z")
Wow, cool! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/4 "2008-05-30T22:18:17Z")
Pictures. We need pictures. After all the kitten threads we need at least one “look at my cute Garand”. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/5 "2008-05-30T22:21:50Z")
What is a garand? ETA - just reread the OP and realized I missed the word rifle in the post. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/6 "2008-05-30T22:24:58Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] What is a garand? ETA - just reread the OP and realized I missed the word rifle in the post. [/QUOTE] > **[M1 Garand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Garand_rifle)** > > The M1 Garand or M1 rifle\[nb 1\] is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War. > The rifle is chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge and is named after its Canadian-American designer, John Garand. It was the first standard-issue autoloading rifle for the United States. By most accounts, the M1 rifle performed well. General George S. Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised". The M1 replaced the (bolt-acti... ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/7 "2008-05-30T22:27:25Z")
I think he set up those smiley faces as target practice 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/8 "2008-05-30T22:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] What is a garand? ETA - just reread the OP and realized I missed the word rifle in the post. [/QUOTE] 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! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/9 "2008-05-30T23:01:28Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/10 "2008-05-30T23:03:05Z")
Oh yeah he has some block-clips for it, he’ll give them to me later. I don’t have a camera here, so pictures will have to come later. ---
**Author:** ![Alistair\_McCello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Alistair\_McCello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alistair_McCello)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/11 "2008-05-30T23:31:33Z")
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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_M1903#World_War_I)) 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? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/12 "2008-05-30T23:35:36Z")
Both. And since you mentioned it, I’d also love an M1903. That’s a very elegant rifle. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/13 "2008-05-30T23:37:43Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] …and some skill can blow the balls off a housefly at 400 meters. [/QUOTE] This is an American-made rifle, my friend. It does NOTHING at 400 fucking METERS, it hits targets at 400 YARDS!! 😃 Anyhoo, what a gift. Do you have any more uncles, or M1 Garands? Or booze for that matter… ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/14 "2008-05-30T23:51:08Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] 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… [/QUOTE] You sir, **suck**. 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… you suck. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/15 "2008-05-30T23:57:07Z")
[QUOTE=Alistair McCello] 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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_M1903#World_War_I)) 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? [/QUOTE] Depends who you talk to. 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… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/16 "2008-05-31T00:12:59Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/17 "2008-05-31T00:15:08Z")
There are still surplus M1s out there. You can buy them through the [Civilian Marksmanship Program.](http://www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/m1garand.htm) Prices vary. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/18 "2008-05-31T00:17:19Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] 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. [/QUOTE] Well put. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/19 "2008-05-31T00:44:33Z")
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: ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202/20 "2008-05-31T00:50:48Z")
Buy a lot of spare en bloc clips, keep the gas port clean, and watch your thumb. I prefer bottom feeders, but I have to admit that few rifles have the mass and durability of the Garand. Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m1-garand-m1-garand-my-uncles-giving-me-his-m1-garand/451202.md?page=2)