New to Forums and M1 Garands

[Brinks352]

Hi

I am new to the forums and M1 Garand owernship. I just picked up my first Garand on Friday the 23rd.

It is a HRA from 1954. At the moment she needs some work though before I can shoot it. The metal looks great and the wood is in ok condition. My problem now is how to restore it to shooting condition while keep as many original parts as possible. I am pretty sure that I am going to need new barrel and all the metal re-parkenized.

So a couple of questions.

Does anyone know of a great restorer of the M1?

To keep the value up on the gun is it worth getting an original barrel or a new manufactured one?

What oil do recomend for the wood?

What type of grease should you use?

I am looking forward from hearing from everyone.

Here is a pic.

Attachment 27131

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.

[mark1]

Welcome to the forum and collecting Garands. Contact Chuck in Denver for your repark needs and any repairs. He posts here and on the 1903 borad.

[browningautorifle]

We could give a thousand opinions, but it might be best to talk to Chuck through PM and he'll advise you on what he can do. He may have a few things(barrels) lying around the shop as is. What makes you think your barrel is hooped?

[Brinks352]

The guy I bought it from told me that if you wanted to shoot it that it would need a new barrel. From what I could see it look pretty bad. Looked like someone used crosive ammo at one point and never cleaned it afterwards.

Does chuck have a website at all that I could get a link to?

Anyways really looking forward to restoring/rebuilding this gun and bringing one back to shooting condition.

[browningautorifle]

I'm sure Chuck will get to this thread eventually but if you just look through and find him you could pm him. If you use the search at the page top you can find him too. If your barrel is a pipe you could get a Kreiger Criterion barrel for not that much. I put one in .308 on my spare M1 and it's perfect. You will likely want 30-06 though. If you hunt around you may find a military barrel for affordable.

[Joe W]

I think the first thing you have to decide is if you wish to restore the rifle to the way it was upon leaving the factory, which is what collecters refer to as "correct". If that is the case you would need to look for the correct barrel and other parts for your serial number range. You say that you wish to "keep as many original parts as possible". For a "correct" rifle it's got to be all or nothing and once you repark it, it will no longer be a "correct" rifle.
If you want a shooter then the first thing I would do would be to take it to the range and shoot it. You may find that even with the barrel as is, it may shoot just fine for you.
Go either way that makes you happy. As it is your first Garand my opinion is take it to the range and seeing how it shoots would be your best option. Give it some time to decide if you wish to start collecting or not before making any changes to the rifle that can not be undone. In either case, enjoy.

[Brinks352]

Thats a good point Joe will have to think about that.