Help with M1 Garand Prices please????

[mdarnell19]

I must be so out of touch with prices... haven't bought or sold anything in a long time. $4,000 for a regular 1944 M1? Yikes, seems nuts to me! I better revalue my collection.

Bob, this was my initial thought also. But then I see CMP auctions like this. I know this is a Winchester and is 1943 but still, $16,000???

Civilian Marksmanship Program - Promoting firearms safety training!

If you remember we talked over email about the seller. You said you knew him well and that he knows his stuff.

[Patrick Chadwick]

...Did you show it to Scott Duff, or are you fishing in the dark with him same as you are with us? ...

He's fishing. Note:
"I understand pictures helps but I have none at this time."
and
"I would post pictures if I had them but I don't."

from which one can deduce that ScottDuff hasn't seen anything, not even photos.

This thread is going nowhere without photos.

[mdarnell19]

He's fishing. Note:
"I understand pictures helps but I have none at this time."
and
"I would post pictures if I had them but I don't."

from which one can deduce that ScottDuff hasn't seen anything, not even photos.

This thread is going nowhere without photos.

Man you guys are tough on a new guy to the forum. Do you believe I am trying to do anything other then what I stated? Let me make it abundantly clear, my intention is to purchase a original M1 Garand. In my search I contacted a gentleman that I have purchased from before and he mentioned the rifle in question. I have been studying what makes a rifle original and have been on conversation with Scott Duff, Bob Seijas and Rick borecky about this subject matter. However, these three men have admitted that they are not up to date on the current prices of M1 rifles. This is why I posted this thread, to see what those who are update have to say about values. I feel though that I have not received any help and that my character and intentions have been called into question. Perhaps I am mis-understanding peoples responses. Please correct me if I am wrong. I see many members here are from other countries and communication can be difficult and tricky.

If I receive pictures I will post them, I guarantee this. I sure do not want to make a uniformed purchase. I thought it possible to determine by price only if I should even pursue it further to get pictures. But perhaps this was a unrealistic goal.

[Mike Haas]

QUOTE=mdarnell19;372445]I am not selling anything, I am wanting to buy this rifle. I would post pictures if I had them but I don't. I will as soon as I get them.

From my experience of purchase valuable firearms, there are 2 steps. 1. Authenticating the rifle and 2. establishing a accurate price for the firearm. Since I am waiting on the seller to send me detailed pictures, I am trying to work on step number 2.[/QUOTE]

After you've gotton past step 1. Then post picures; then we maybe able to help to authentic the rifle. Once thats done then we might be able to help you with price estimates.

Nobody on this forum is "being hard on a new guy". Your making it hard for us to help you.

Rob

[Bob Seijas]

Have to say that I see it differently... the guy asks a simple question: what's an original 1944 rifle worth? Is it worth the $4,000 the seller is asking? OK, that's a hard question without seeing it, but there are simple answers that might help him. Mine is NO, unless it is the best 1944 anybody has ever seen, just flat new. If it is a gun in high excellent condition and original, my guess is $2,500.

[mdarnell19]

Have to say that I see it differently... the guy asks a simple question: what's an original 1944 rifle worth? Is it worth the $4,000 the seller is asking? OK, that's a hard question without seeing it, but there are simple answers that might help him. Mine is NO, unless it is the best 1944 anybody has ever seen, just flat new. If it is a gun in high excellent condition and original, my guess is $2,500.

Thank you guys. I will post pictures if and when I get them and then we can continue this conversation. Thanks for the help so far.

[AZshot]

There were tens of thousands of M-1 Garands sold after the war. The DCM has been unloading them for decades. I've seen the prices go from $100, to $300 when I got mine in the 90s. But I find it hard to believe why anyone would pay $4,000 for an ubiquitous service rifle made so abundantly. A sniper version of a USMC Johnson or something maybe. But a regular M-1? Nah....keep looking. I don't know those "experts" quoted and don't care. It sounds like those Mecum car auctions, with guys prancing around yelling "Ho!....'nother bid! YAOW! "

Don't get suckered in by emotions. There are so many M-1s out there it's not funny.

[mdarnell19]

There were tens of thousands of M-1 Garands sold after the war. The DCM has been unloading them for decades. I've seen the prices go from $100, to $300 when I got mine in the 90s. But I find it hard to believe why anyone would pay $4,000 for an ubiquitous service rifle made so abundantly. A sniper version of a USMC Johnson or something maybe. But a regular M-1? Nah....keep looking. I don't know those "experts" quoted and don't care. It sounds like those Mecum car auctions, with guys prancing around yelling "Ho!....'nother bid! YAOW! "

Don't get suckered in by emotions. There are so many M-1s out there it's not funny.

Thanks for the advice, I am certainly trying to take my time to make sure I make a good decision. I understand there are a lot of M1s out there but from my understanding there are not may factory original M1s out there. Should not a original M1 be priced significantly higher then say a restored rifle? Thanks again for your opinion the subject.

[Bob Seijas]

That's very true... the first pair that was new unissued and in the factory box was auctioned by CMP for over $30,000 -- and they were Korean Era late production. Subsequent pairs brought about $16,000 and individual rifles were bid into the $8,000 range. A similar 1944 rifle would be rarer, but of course the problem is determining if it really is a new gun or a near-perfect restoration. I could do one that would fool most people for a LOT less than $4,000.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Man you guys are tough on a new guy to the forum. Do you believe I am trying to do anything other then what I stated?

It's nothing to do with being a new guy. So please do not take it personally. "Tough" tends to have a negative flavor - I would prefer "rigorous". And the rigor is in the interest of your wallet!

You did the right thing in coming to this forum, as the collective eyeballs of forum users will often pick out aspects that a single person might overlook. But to make use of that collective experience, photos are of the essence.

And please beware of the word "original". The swapping out of parts to create what is presumed to be an original configuration for a particular date or number range is so easy that it is not possible to guarantee that a rifle is original (in the sense of being the same assembly of parts as left the factory) merely because the parts match the approved configuration. In this matter one must be rigorous - even tough - and inspect the rifle minutely for signs that parts have been retrofitted. This is often revealed by differences in wear, scratches, dirt etc. All aspects that require no particular knowledge of the type of rifle, but a sharp eye for material inconsistency.

So in the end, even with the best photos, no-one will be able to guarantee that the rifle is original. All we will be able to say is that (hopefully) nothing is visibly wrong. Considering that the price that the seller is looking for is 8 times the price of my 1943 original-enough-for-me Garand, you certainly should be rigorous in evaluation - of the rifle and the seller!

At the price level that you are considering, one should a) have the rifle examined by an acknowledged expert and b) obtain a written guarantee from the seller that he will take back the rifle and return the money if the rifle is subsequently proven not to be as he claims. Remember the old saying: verbal claims are not worth the paper they're witten on!