The DCM Garand program was much different
It was not unusual to wait 6-8 months or to be denied if your papers were not in order. And $167 was a chunk of change in 1981 but you only got ONE, period. But the wait was worth it, you couldn't find a Garand with a Gieger counter in those days and when you did it was $500+. Some guys got National Match guns, brand new ones, I got a white sack SA rebuild. And some guys got clunkers that still had the wood scars from being thrown into the back of a jeep trailer when the NGs turned them in. Really luck of the draw. The carbines were shown as "unserviceable" wow! Sweet deal.