Buy a CMP Expert Grade Garand?

Buy a CMP Expert Garand or buy a historical Garand from an individual?

  • CMP Expert Grade Garand $1000

    Votes: 8 88.9%

  • Garand from a stranger $?

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Total voters
    9
Alabamacoastie

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I don't own a Garand, but I've always wanted one. When I went to Boot Camp, we carried Garands every day. It's nostalgic to me.

I've never purchased a gun from CMP. I am a VFW member, so I meet that requirement..

I have looked at Garands, on CMP, many times over the years, but I always thought, "I'll find one for sale on CFF one day and buy that."

Well, there aren't many for sale online, and the Garands at gun shows are stupid expensive.

I just looked at CMP and all Garands are sold out except for the Expert Grade which is an old receiver with brand new stock and brand new barrel for $1000. I know these too will sell out soon and then CMP will have none...

Should I go ahead and buy one of these? Or should I keep waiting and looking for one to pop up in CFF BST?

I've got $1000 and could make the purchase online right now. I just don't know if it's a good investment or not...

What do you think?
 
Have gun-will travel said:
Cmp are parts guns. They get lots ,strip them down ,clean and put them back together with what ever part they pick up
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The last one I got was a H&R, only needed a trigger group to be correct.
I got lucky.
 
The various grades have been going in and out of availability over the past ~ 6-8 years as panic demand fuels mail in orders. I don't know that they are actually out of "stock" of the normal field/service grades, they may just be behind. I don't have any special knowledge of this though.

Most CMP garands are returns from lend-lease etc and will be mixed. Any garand issued is going to come back mix, the military didn't try to keep anything original/matching when servicing them. If you find one "Correct" it may have just been put together from parts and no guarantee it is original.

If you are worried about missing out, order the expert grade. Expert grade is a great choice for a shooter or competition. New barrel and stock you won't feel bad about adding wear and should shoot great.
I don't know if its an "investment" or not but I wouldn't expect it to lose value. Garands at gun shows are always stupid expensive.
 
Have you thought about driving to one of the CMP stores? The one in Anniston is closed, but the Talladega Marksmanship park is open. When I was there in 2000, they had a whole lot more than they advertised on the website, including different grades of Garands, A3's and P17's. You can go in, look at what they have in stock, fill out the paperwork and take it with you. When you buy there, you get so many hours of range time included in the price. They also have ammo for sale.

Take a long weekend and make a road trip. It took me about 7 hours each way. There might be other folks on here that would be interested in a road trip.


CMP Talladega Marksmanship Hours:
Monday and Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday and Thursday: 11:00am-5:00pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 9:00am-5:00pm
 
Have gun-will travel said:
It does not bother me but some folks want matching numbers
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From what I’ve gathered in my dealings with them is that nearly all are going to be mismatched. When brought back in to the arsenals the parts were often swapped out, replaced, repaired, and so on. So it is common to find a Garand with a parts from multiple manufacturers even from different decades. I could be wrong. Heck, mine has three manufacturers represented.

As far as getting on: I say absolutely go for it. It took them almost 6 months to get me a field grade, and while it has some decent wear on it, I think it looks great for an 80 year old rifle and still shoots magnificently.

Right after I received mine they ran out and started offering the expert grades as options. Last gun show I went to they had Garands with new criterion barrels for around $1,800 bucks. So even at $1,000 they are a good deal.


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Have gun-will travel said:
It does not bother me but some folks want matching numbers
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Well with Garands, there really are no matching numbers because individual parts were not serialized. You can have a rifle that is "correct" or "corrected" in that it has the correct parts for the date of manufacture, but there are very few documented Garands with all their original parts - and those are insanely expensive. Most Garands have been re-arsenaled at some point, and even a "correct" rifle is likely not original unless it has solid documentation.

That being said, to the OP, I would suggest a third option. The CMP is still dropping Garands for sale at the Talladega Marksmanship Park. I know they had Rack Grade Specials a week or so ago for $750, as well as some International Harvester gap letters for $1900. They could have other grades as well. You could take a trip down there and see if you can hand pick a good one there, then hit their range with your new rifle. The rack specials are very similar to the new "Expert Grades", as they are also rifles with new CBI barrels and new Walnut stocks, but are built on rack grade receivers which may have some cosmetic issues.
 
Alabamacoastie said:
I don't own a Garand, but I've always wanted one. When I went to Boot Camp, we carried Garands every day. It's nostalgic to me.

I've never purchased a gun from CMP. I am a VFW member, so I meet that requirement..

I have looked at Garands, on CMP, many times over the years, but I always thought, "I'll find one for sale on CFF one day and buy that."

Well, there aren't many for sale online, and the Garands at gun shows are stupid expensive.

I just looked at CMP and all Garands are sold out except for the Expert Grade which is an old receiver with brand new stock and brand new barrel for $1000. I know these too will sell out soon and then CMP will have none...

Should I go ahead and buy one of these? Or should I keep waiting and looking for one to pop up in CFF BST?

I've got $1000 and could make the purchase online right now. I just don't know if it's a good investment or not...

What do you think?
Click to expand...

I recommend getting the Expert Grade. Rack Grade isn't bad, but for $250 more? Just do it.

I've got a CMP Service Grade "Special". It is an amazing rifle and worth every penny.
 
Alright! Y'all talked me into it. I'll order an Expert Grade...

I went to the site and read the stipulations. Good Lord, they make it hard to give them money!

No ordering online, no ordering on the phone, download a form, print it out, fill out 6 pages of garbage, provide drivers license/ CHP/ VFW membership card, get it notorized, put it all in an envelope, mail it, wait a week for it to get to CMP, wait two months for them to ship the rifle, then they charge my credit card... And hope Fedex doesn't leave it on the ground, in the rain, at the end of my half mile driveway.

Haha!

I know you guys have already been through this before. I'm just complaining...
 
I would get it; all the Garands at gunshows are 1600 - 2400 dollars.
 
Alabamacoastie said:
Alright! Y'all talked me into it. I'll order an Expert Grade...

I went to the site and read the stipulations. Good Lord, they make it hard to give them money!

No ordering online, no ordering on the phone, download a form, print it out, fill out 6 pages of garbage, provide drivers license/ CHP/ VFW membership card, get it notorized, put it all in an envelope, mail it, wait a week for it to get to CMP, wait two months for them to ship the rifle, then they charge my credit card... And hope Fedex doesn't leave it on the ground, in the rain, at the end of my half mile driveway.

Haha!

I know you guys have already been through this before. I'm just complaining...
Click to expand...

Since you have to sign for it, they won’t leave it on the ground. And I hear that the expert grades are going out much faster these days, or at least they were.


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B00ger said:
Since you have to sign for it, they won’t leave it on the ground. And I hear that the expert grades are going out much faster these days, or at least they were.


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Click to expand...

I know that's how it's supposed to work, and I'm really just being cynical... But, in my recent (last 4 years) experience Fedex really sucks.

My wife orders a lot of crap online, and I work from home, so I see Amazon/ fedex/ups trucks come down my driveway multiple times a day.

It's always the same UPS driver, and he's nice. He even jokes about what's in my packages from Midway, PSA, etc...

Amazon is always a different person, but they get my deliveries right...

But, fedex is just garbage. Hahaha. It's always a different person, they get out of the van blasting rap music and smelling like weed smoke. And there have been several times that I've found random packages, on the ground, in the rain, at the end of my driveway.

But @B00ger , you are right. I'm sure it'd work out fine. I'm just trying to be funny and complainy at the same time.
 
beamernc said:
Have you thought about driving to one of the CMP stores? The one in Anniston is closed, but the Talladega Marksmanship park is open. When I was there in 2000, they had a whole lot more than they advertised on the website, including different grades of Garands, A3's and P17's. You can go in, look at what they have in stock, fill out the paperwork and take it with you. When you buy there, you get so many hours of range time included in the price. They also have ammo for sale.

Take a long weekend and make a road trip. It took me about 7 hours each way. There might be other folks on here that would be interested in a road trip.


CMP Talladega Marksmanship Hours:
Monday and Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday and Thursday: 11:00am-5:00pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 9:00am-5:00pm
Click to expand...
This^
I bought several at the North store, and a few 03 Springfields. They loaned me their shop Muzzle Erosion Gauge and Bore Erosion Gauge, showed me how to use it, and told me to stay on the low numbers, otherwise I would be buying a shotgun.
Took me an hour or so to find one with an LMR barrel with ME of 0 and TE of 2. It was an HRA and shot well. Others followed.
The GI was made to clean his rifle, often and thoroughly. They wore the muzzles out with metal cleaning rods, and/or shot the things so much or so fast that the chamber was eroded.
I lived 40 minutes from Camp Perry for a few years, but picking out a good rifle is worth a drive. You’ll not regret getting a good model that you are happy with. Don’t expect an all-correct rifle. Those always go to the CMP AUCTION site.
 
B00ger said:
Since you have to sign for it, they won’t leave it on the ground. And I hear that the expert grades are going out much faster these days, or at least they were.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Ha!
Tell that to the FEDEX idiot that left my Python on the porch, after return from Colt warranty repair. My doorbell camera recorded the idiot, so I called FEDEX corporate and emailed the video clip to them.
Idiot got to go look for another job🤡
 
If you live near a Fedex depot, you can request that it be held there for you. I used to work about 1/4 mile from the Fedex depot and had many, many CMP orders held there for me. But that has been quite a few years ago.
 
Alabamacoastie said:
Alright! Y'all talked me into it. I'll order an Expert Grade...

I went to the site and read the stipulations. Good Lord, they make it hard to give them money!

No ordering online, no ordering on the phone, download a form, print it out, fill out 6 pages of garbage, provide drivers license/ CHP/ VFW membership card, get it notorized, put it all in an envelope, mail it, wait a week for it to get to CMP, wait two months for them to ship the rifle, then they charge my credit card... And hope Fedex doesn't leave it on the ground, in the rain, at the end of my half mile driveway.

Haha!

I know you guys have already been through this before. I'm just complaining...
Click to expand...

The process is not quite as bad as it seems, especially when you go back to order your second one.

If you haven't been there yet, check out the CMP forum, there's an unlimited amount of knowledge there.

http://forums.thecmp.org/

.
 
Gator said:
The process is not quite as bad as it seems, especially when you go back to order your second one.

If you haven't been there yet, check out the CMP forum, there's an unlimited amount of knowledge there.

http://forums.thecmp.org/

.
Click to expand...
Thank you!

I didn't know that forum existed!
 
Amanda4461 said:
Ha!
Tell that to the FEDEX idiot that left my Python on the porch, after return from Colt warranty repair. My doorbell camera recorded the idiot, so I called FEDEX corporate and emailed the video clip to them.
Idiot got to go look for another job[emoji1782]
Click to expand...

Was just speaking of my recent experience ordering from the CMP. I’m sure fedex screws up with regularity.


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beamernc said:
If you live near a Fedex depot, you can request that it be held there for you. I used to work about 1/4 mile from the Fedex depot and had many, many CMP orders held there for me. But that has been quite a few years ago.
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^^^THIS^^^

FedEx is basically 2 companies now. FedEx air (overnight) is the "old" FedEx, which still does a decent job. FedEx Ground is the old Roadway Package System freight service rebranded as FedEx Ground, with the local delivery being farmed out to local independent franchise contractors. Those contractors basically hire anybody they can get for minimum wage and no benefits, and don't care about the brand. They are the ones that you hear about stealing packages or dumping them in the woods rather than delivering them.

This is why you ALWAYS divert your important FedEx packages to a "hold at location" site - this can be the FedEx Station, a FedEx/Kinkos place, a Walgreens, WalMart, Dollar General or wherever the nearest authorized FedEx hold location is to you. The driver can't claim they left it on your porch, or with a neighbor, if you hold at location - because the location itself scans/logs it into their own inventory/possession when they get it. If it disappears from the hold location, you have somebody tangible to hold accountable.
 
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Garands are not making it into shops very often … and when they do they don’t make it to the wall unless they are a pile of parts. The last one I personally saw came in with several other firearms and the LGS owner paid a fair price for the group and sold it to a man who waited for the deal to be done and seller leave. The LGS did not clean it or anything … just entered it in their bond book, had the guy fill out a 4473 and handed over the Garand ... I would say that Garand was in the shop for less than 2 hours easy. When you buy your next Garand IF you do decide to sell the Expert Grade with a CMP pedigree and paperwork I doubt you’ll have a hard time getting what you paid if not more out of it pretty dang quick. It’s a pretty much sure thing investment.
 
I took the trip to Anniston in 2011 and bought an H&R Service Grade for $625. The metal was great but I was totally upset at the time that all of the Service Grade rifles in the store had new replacement stocks. 🤣

If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought a few more.
 
gc70 said:
I took the trip to Anniston in 2011 and bought an H&R Service Grade for $625. The metal was great but I was totally upset at the time that all of the Service Grade rifles in the store had new replacement stocks. 🤣

If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought a few more.
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Last spring I was getting ready to make a road trip to Anniston to pick up a H&R because that's the one manufacturer I don't have. They had just closed the South store about 10 days earlier.

.
 
If I didn't miss it above....do it. I personally am waiting on the right correct/collector grade to come avail and hope my 3rd kidney had grown to an acceptable point to donate when the time comes.
 
beamernc said:
If you live near a Fedex depot, you can request that it be held there for you. I used to work about 1/4 mile from the Fedex depot and had many, many CMP orders held there for me. But that has been quite a few years ago.
Click to expand...


I had my rifle and ammunition held at the depot for pickup, but I didn't realize that the rifle came air and the ammunition ground. So even though they arrived on the same day I had to drive to both depot's to pick up my packages.

Worth it though.
 
There's a gentleman in fayetteville that sells them (just above like barely a 100/150 more than cmp grades). He's good, he specialized in the US armory. My headspace was off which another gun smith (non specialty) didn't check and fixed my bolt face for the 308.
He makes sure they're fixed and all in working order. I have his card and I know he attendeds the shows at fayetteville don't recall him at raleigh.
 
Gman43120 said:
There's a gentleman in fayetteville that sells them (just above like barely a 100/150 more than cmp grades). He's good, he specialized in the US armory. My headspace was off which another gun smith (non specialty) didn't check and fixed my bolt face for the 308.
He makes sure they're fixed and all in working order. I have his card and I know he attendeds the shows at fayetteville don't recall him at raleigh.
Click to expand...

Please message me with his info and welcome
 
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