MI Garand Reciever by C.A.T.

[Leggett71]

Looking for some information on a garand I bought at a garage sale this weekend from a Vietnam vet. It has a danish barrel made in 1961 but has no serial number on the reciever. There are numbers on the upper left of the reciever. Markings indicate Made in USA C.A.T. VT. Can anyone identify the manufacturerof this rifle? Otherwise the rifle is in excellent shape.

Leggett '71

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Neal Myers]

You have a "CAI" M1 rifle, not "CAT". They were produced by CAI, a US ddistributor, about 8-10 years ago, using a new cast receiver & used USGI parts. They originally sold in the $400-500 range, but prices dropped when the shooting community saw how bad they were. I haven't seen any with Danish barrels, but I guess it's possible, or, most likely, a previous owner changed the barrel. The problem is, the receivers are usually far from milspec dimensions & the metallurgy is suspect. Plus, many parts are badly worn. Most do not function reliably. The 2 I have worked on could only be taken apart with a set of pin punches & a mallet. My opinion is that they are unsafe to fire under any conditions other than "life or death".

[Leggett71]

You have a "CAI" M1 rifle, not "CAT". They were produced by CAI, a US ddistributor, about 8-10 years ago, using a new cast receiver & used USGI parts. They originally sold in the $400-500 range, but prices dropped when the shooting community saw how bad they were. I haven't seen any with Danish barrels, but I guess it's possible, or, most likely, a previous owner changed the barrel. The problem is, the receivers are usually far from milspec dimensions & the metallurgy is suspect. Plus, many parts are badly worn. Most do not function reliably. The 2 I have worked on could only be taken apart with a set of pin punches & a mallet. My opinion is that they are unsafe to fire under any conditions other than "life or death".

Thanks for the reply. In short I bought a piece of junk. Owner stated he had had no issues with the gun and had purchased it after he returned from 'nam. Seems to function without problems and barrel is in good shape with crisp rifling. Barrel marking is a crown with VAR. Oh well. Unless someone else has any other info or advice I guess I will chaulk this up to experience.

Leggett'71

[Dave Waits]

That's a CAI receiver, Centery Arms International. If it has a VAR barrel(Danish), the barrel is worth more than the receiver. they were made in St.Albans, Vt.

[mack]

As your answers prior have indicated, these rifles were assembled by Century Arms and used parts kits taken from Danish rifles. The rifles were parted out when the original military receivers were refused importation licenses. The newly cast receivers were so poorly made that rifles are difficult to operate and often have ejection and tracking problems with the op rods.

I would suggest you get someone to look at your rifle and, if the parts other than the receiver, are usable, order a receiver from the CMP and get a good, functioning rifle built up from the parts. The Danish parts are pretty good. I have owned a couple of VAR barrels and they were good tight, accurate barrels. Find yourself a qualified smith who can take those parts and reconstruct a Garand for you.

[Leggett71]

Thanks to all for your help and possibly keeping me from getting hurt. Gun is headed to my local smith for eval and possibly get rebuilt to have a keeper.
My thanks also to the folks who maintain this site for having a forum like this available.

Leggett71

[Calif-Steve]

CMP has real Garand receivers for sale right now! Get one and have your parts kit switched over. Good luck.

[Pattern14]

I can't speak for every CAI parts gun but the M1 I've had for several years is a very accurate and fully functional rifle. All of the parts are Springfield except for the CAI receiver, VAR barrel, and Beretta bolt. I've never had a problem with it and I fire it a lot. I would be interested if anyone knows that there is any real documentation, other than rumors or guesses, that any CAI made receiver has had a catastrophic failure with normal pressure ammunition.

[Dave Waits]

Other than a report from I believe, Fulton Armory on one(Which BTW, mentions no problems with out od spec receiver, headspace, or other dangerous conditions) you won't find anything but second, third and fourth-hand Inernet rumors. I had two CAIs for awhile. Both were in spec in all aspects compared to a set of SA prints and two USGI receivers I measured them against.

AAMOF, I have a CAI receiver on my Reference-book table as a conversation piece. It's perfectly in-spec.

[Rick B]

I have worked on a few and they were horrible. I tried to rebarrel one that was cut short and the op rod would not move without severe pulling.. A handful of others had op rods pop out of there track. Their Junk and this is first hand experience from someone who has handled them and has a great reputation for helping people for free in the Garand world. I rebarrel for free and had to take 5 apart in order to scrap them and put a real receiver on the barrel. Rick B