4-digit question?

Last year I bought a 4-digit reciever at auction, collected a bunch of early parts, GI walnut stock and handguards and an early complete trigger group. I sent it away to a good smith and had a Criterion barrel installed and everything parked to match. I didn't waste parts with decent original finish on this project. All the parts were servicable, most of them had 50% or less original finish and would have been tough to use on a restoration.


Now I have a lovely 4-digit gun for Garand matches. I need to attach a value to the thing in case it disappears. I have well over 1k in parts and labor and it is beautiful. But it probably has little appeal to a serious collector, it is simply neat because it has a low s/n and some nice early parts.


So what do we call this gun and what ballpark is the value?

Well, back in the day when I was spending a summer vacation at Parris Island, SC, if I had called it a "Gun" my ear would have been chewed off.

There's an old antiquated saying. It goes something like this....

"This is my Rifle, This is my GUN......."

RM1SPECIAL

M1 Garand, Springfield Special
Due to heavy demand ,please allow 180 days for delivery.
M1 Garand Springfield Armory receiver. New production stock and handguard set with CMP cartouche, a new production barrel and new leather sling. Receiver and most other parts are refinished USGI, but some parts may be new manufacture.
See photos below for more detail. $995

add some for the 4 digit receiver

Criterion barrel? All parts parked to match? Early parts? Yes, $995.00 tops.

Unless you rounded up the gas trap bits (even the reproduction ones) there's no real premium for the rifle. Mind you, an early uncut op rod probably isn't the best thing to use in a shooter. If it's modded, well, drive on!

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Originally Posted by jmoore

...Mind you, an early uncut op rod probably isn't the best thing to use in a shooter. If it's modded, well, drive on!

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Unless you are shooting rifle grenades, you won't have any problems shooting an un-cut op-rod. Think about it for a moment, millions and millions of such op-rods were fired in combat during World War II, and they didn't decide to modify them until after the War, largely due to cracks caused by shooting rifle grenades. As long as you shoot M2 ball, or equivalent rounds, shooting an un-cut op-rod is no big deal. HTH, KarlKW

Round up all your bills and receipts for parts and labor and shipping. You can insure it as a “custom rifle” or “as built”. You would be insuring your original documented investment.

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Originally Posted by KarlKW

Unless you are shooting rifle grenades, you won't have any problems shooting an un-cut op-rod. Think about it for a moment, millions and millions of such op-rods were fired in combat during World War II, and they didn't decide to modify them until after the War, largely due to cracks caused by shooting rifle grenades. As long as you shoot M2 ball, or equivalent rounds, shooting an un-cut op-rod is no big deal. HTH, KarlKW

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Old Wive's Tale with a bazillion lives - no oprods ever were operated, let alone cracked - by the firing of rifle grenades. A vented system is the ONLY system ever implemented for firing of rifle grenades with M1 rifles.

There was a war on, and oprod failures at the stress raiser in question didn't rate any kind of repair priority, but was indeed recognized as a design deficiency.;)

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Old Wive's Tale with a bazillion lives

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Same as getting M1 Thumb while loading a full clip, just never ends.:banghead:

Old Wive's Tale with a bazillion lives

And don't forget that deadly "Ping!" that could be heard over the din of battle.