Newbie Needs Help

[Allen Atore]

I'm new to this forum and this is my first posting. I'm looking for information regarding my M1 Garand.

I have a Springfield Armory gun, serial number 1,7XX,XXX, manufactured, to the best of my knowledge around July of 1943. I have been the proud owner for about 25 years.

I am looking to find a good home for it. The shoulders are not up to the recoil any longer.

I purchased it from a reputable dealer with the understanding that this is not a parts gun. It is also an M1 that did not see service outside the US. I have no way to verify this provenance other than to say that the dealer was a reputable one, who dealt only with the sale of M1s.

Is there some way to accurately value this M1? If so, where would I look? Does this forum permit listings for sale?

Thanks for your time in checking out this posting and for any information you can provide.

Allen

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.

[ORN197]

A few thoughts...

Do you have any pictures of it? GOOD (clear, well-sized) pictures are going to be a must for anyone to tell you much about it.

Head over to the CMP forums and browse the for-sale section; scroll back through the pages a ways and you'll see tons of M1's in a variety of conditions, and be able to get an idea of value.

Are you able to strip it down? A lot of guys like seeing an inventory of the various parts, in addition to the pictures. RE your comment about it not being a "parts gun"... I wouldn't get too hung up on that. Pictures and an inventory of the components will tell that tale.

If the rifle has no import marks of any kind, it's possible that it was surplused through the DCM (predecessor the current CMP). For a fee ($25?) the CMP will check their records for your rifle's s/n. Apparently the pre-CMP (DCM) records can be a little spotty but it seems like guys on the CMP forums get hits fairly often. In any case, if the CMP does have a record of its sale, that's some evidence/provenance.

I'm no expert, just an amateur collector and somewhat-seasoned shooter. Hopefully the above gets you pointed in the right direction. Good luck!

[Allen Atore]

Thanks ORN197 for your comments and suggestions, I do appreciate it.

Photos are in process - I just need to get the M1 to his studio.

I will be checking out CMP forums next and probably get to starting an inquiry on the serial number shortly.

Take care and, again, thanks for the help.

Allen

A few thoughts...

Do you have any pictures of it? GOOD (clear, well-sized) pictures are going to be a must for anyone to tell you much about it.

Head over to the CMP forums and browse the for-sale section; scroll back through the pages a ways and you'll see tons of M1's in a variety of conditions, and be able to get an idea of value.

Are you able to strip it down? A lot of guys like seeing an inventory of the various parts, in addition to the pictures. RE your comment about it not being a "parts gun"... I wouldn't get too hung up on that. Pictures and an inventory of the components will tell that tale.

If the rifle has no import marks of any kind, it's possible that it was surplused through the DCM (predecessor the current CMP). For a fee ($25?) the CMP will check their records for your rifle's s/n. Apparently the pre-CMP (DCM) records can be a little spotty but it seems like guys on the CMP forums get hits fairly often. In any case, if the CMP does have a record of its sale, that's some evidence/provenance.

I'm no expert, just an amateur collector and somewhat-seasoned shooter. Hopefully the above gets you pointed in the right direction. Good luck!

[SRiverrat11]

The M1 garand section of GunBroker.com will also give you an idea of your guns value. Check the completed auctions section of GB find a rifle close to yours, compare correctness of parts and barrel it should give you a decent idea. It will involve a little work on your part, but you can evaluate real world price that way. On GB, the more pictures you take, of the various parts and their drawing numbers, the better.

[Joe W]

If you know little of the M1 rifle from a collectors view point you should first get a good book and learn how to identify the correct parts for the period of manufacture. I would advise you to get a copy of Scott Duff's book "The M1 Garand: World War II". This book is now about 25 years old but still as good as most on the market today. Before you put it up for sale you need to know exactly what you have as the correctness and /or originality of the rifle will make a very big difference in value. If you post good pictures both here and on the CMP forum, and include the numbers of all parts, members will help you out.
You can get Duff's WW2 book at his web site Scott-Duff.com Request Rejected (click on REQUEST REJECTED) or most likely on Amazon.

[mac1911]

out side any "collector" value sell it to someone you know who will enjoy it. Don't get me wrong I like making a buck but I also like seeing someone new to the game get a decent start.
How much did you pay for it back then. If you could get $730 shipped- current CMP service grade price would you ne happy? if not post it on gun broker pick your price point and see if a bidding war starts.