Safe Queen or Shooter: What to Do with a Collector Grade M1 Garand

[mack]

Personally there are plenty of "shooter" grade rifles and I would never shoot a "collector" as there is simply no point to it.

I would hasten to add I have two collectors I purchased from CMP several years ago and more than a dozen "corrects," none of which will I ever fire.

I have many Garands for shooting, well tuned and with new barrels for shooting. No sense in ruining a piece of accurate and correct history except to reduce the value of the piece as it related to others of its kind.

I always liken shooting a new and correct historical rifle to the man who found a valuable antique auto stashed in a barn and, having purchased it for less than market value, decided to use it for a daily driver. Needless to say, the miles, rock chips, worn upholstery and faded paint soon reduced his antique to the status of a well-worn taxicab. He had failed to predict the results of his own shortsightedness.

Do as you like, but rest assured that your piece is no longer a true "collector" to those knowledgeable enough to recognized op rod wear, follower wear or who possess the tools to check a barrel for erosion. If I were to price your piece, I would downgrade it accordingly in price for the wear.

Do what you want with your piece, but shooting an otherwise pristine example is simply making it worth less and the others which aren't shot worth all the more.

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[Amsdorf]

Thanks for your opinion, which represents well the "collect and do not shoot" view on all this. Appreciate it. You have chosen to invest a very sizable amount of money in collecting Garands, and I can respect that choice.

[tazaroo]

Just don't get the point in shooting a collector grade unless you like degraging the value of a weapon that is no longer made. Keep chucking rounds down the tube and putting wear and tear on the parts and your collector grade will be a correct grade real quick. I believe read you say that the money doesn't matter to you in one of the many forums you asked this question in and that's fine because it's your rifle. I have owned many collector grade/proof fired only/unissued US military martial arms and I have always seen myself as a caretaker of something that needs to be preserved. Let's face it............they aren't making these things anymore. I don't fire my collector pieces not because of a money issue but out of respect for future collectors.