I'm out of control - another Garand! This time a Dane!

[ShaveTail]

Three months ago I picked up your rifle's WRA twin at the CMP North Store. The stock is beech and looks very much like yours, which the Danes used in rebuilds. Supposed to be a denser wood and less likely to crack, or so I read once. Same barrel marks--but are you sure that's 57 and not 67? Mine is 66 and the 6's look a lot like fives. VAR barrels are supposed to be match-grade or better. The Springfield bolt in mine is penciled with the #s from another rifle, but oddly the finish matches perfectly.

And the Danes sure did take good care of them. It was a CMP odd ball, since the Danes have been out for years, and the only one on the rack. All of the other Field Grade WRAs at the Store were very rough, and I've been looking at them every few months all year waiting for a nice one to pop up.

[Herr Mario]

...I've got one I picked up at CMP back in 2004.....for $400....1943 Springfield receiver with a June '57 VAR barrel....absolutely amazingly accurate for me with LC ball ammo...

...now I can show my wife your post and say "see snookums???...its gone UP in value and is not a piece of **** like you said...".......then I'll run away before she can kick me...

[levallois]

I appreciate the replies, although not the shared facts that these are/were about $300-400 cheaper. You just don't see decent Garands around here for less than $800-1000. Even the rackers are marked up to the $650-700 range. My Dane was $1000 before I bought it for $850.

To answer some specific questions - the barrel is definitely "57" - even though the CMP article on Danish Garands suggests the VAR barrels were first made in the 1960s?



The bolt serials numbers supposedly never match because the bolts were either shipped or stored separately - here's mine - more of a stamp

[campperrykid]

Sweet.
Non-matching bolts are one of the hallmarks of a pure bred CMP Dane.

Yes, my bolt is stamped (I'm guessing) since I can't feel the numbers like I would expect if they were etched in the metal. The 4-digit number does not match the last , first, or middle 4-digits of the receiver.

I can not cite specific sources , but the non-matching bolt situation was discussed in the GCA journal and by CMP early on .
I have a couple of Danes with VAR barrels and they shoot quite well.

The faint US cartouches may be an optical illusion.

[levallois]

"The faint US cartouches may be an optical illusion."

I think they are - just me trying to make what I thought was a USGI walnut stock have the mandatory marks. Thanks!

[gsp2007]

My Dane (from CMP) is a 75,xxx Serial number wiht a like new VAR Barrel (I don't remember the date). All new black re-park, but annealed receiver heal still visable. Great shooter. I was amazed when I opened the CMP box (this was before CMP marketed them as Danes). GI beech stock. Look in the barrel channel - the Danes usually had a sight zero scale on a strip of paper from the arsenal (in meters) stuck inside the barrel channel Enjoy

[ShaveTail]

I wouldn't feel too bad on the price--I paid $695, so not too far off and that was wholesale. Been licking that wound ever since, it's one of the most expensive rifles I've ever purchased. I've been on the fence ever since about keeping her a Danish example, or swapping some parts to making more of a Winchester. Decisions.

Here's your gun's sister:

[levallois]

A beauty! I've wanted a Winchester garand for a while. I've got two SAs and one H&R. I probably should get a Winny but they are just so danged expensive except for the Rack Grades at CMP. Unfortunately, I don't think these are very good guns overall. And so I prowl the gunshows looking for that diamond in the rough Winny with my name on it.

[campperrykid]

The second CMP Dane that I bought was a mid-war Springfeild ( R-17 , IIRC ) with a WW2 Winchester barrel held in place with a solid blued pin. The TE was 1 something with a bright , near new bore. The muzzle is 2 something and appears to have been lightly kissed with a crowning tool.

[Herr Mario]

...I dont know of the CMP article,but mine is a definite hard stamped 6-57...Dane Crown and all...
......