I suffer from garanditis and the CMP is my enabler.
Oh, most definitely agreed. I have been addicted since about 2004...and I wish I would have started earlier!!
Oh, most definitely agreed. I have been addicted since about 2004...and I wish I would have started earlier!!
JB, I can only add to this thread that the armorers at CMP know what they are doing. You will likely get a rifle "built from a pile of parts" and they know how to pick those parts and ensure that all the correct fits are good to go.
And I'll also add that I got a service grade that looks like brand spanking new. It's not. Well...the birch stock is, but the rifle is a mix of HRA and SA. Pretty typical. CMP is the way to go if you don't know a lot about Garands. I don't know much about them either, I just know they're cool....
The CMP forum is a treasure trove of info too.
And I'll also add that I got a service grade that looks like brand spanking new. It's not. Well...the birch stock is, but the rifle is a mix of HRA and SA. Pretty typical. CMP is the way to go if you don't know a lot about Garands. I don't know much about them either, I just know they're cool....
The CMP forum is a treasure trove of info too.
Speaking of the CMP and armorers, this video gives a pretty good idea of what goes on behind the sceens (although it has been clarified that not all rifles are completely stripped down like what the video seems to imply).
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....or even if you do!
...but the rifle is a mix of HRA and SA. Pretty typical. CMP is the way to go if you don't know a lot about Garands. I don't know much about them either, I just know they're cool....
The CMP forum is a treasure trove of info too.
Darn near every Garand is a mix of parts...even arsenal rebuilds. If you get a "mix-master" from CMP, it's not because CMP built it that way, it's because it's a Garand. Garands, especially the WWII guns, were routinely field stripped and parts piled up by functional group, then cleaned, and reassembled by grabbing from the pile. There are very few "all original" guns out there and few of those can be certified as legit.
Even the "Correct Grade" post war Garands that CMP sold for awhile were only adverstised has having all the correct parts for that rifle, not as "original" guns.
Buying from the CMP guarantees that your mix-master garand is properly assembled and functional...not put together by some bubba with parts bought off of Ebay.
Another +1 for the CMP forums...good stuff there.
HRA vs SA?
HRAs are all post-war. Some people think that in terms of fit and finish the HRAs are a bit better as they benefit from the previous years of production improvement and eased production demands....Comparing my HRA to my SA and Winchester I would have to agree.
That being said, to me Garand = WWII (yes, I know they were used in Korea) so having a WWII Garand was first priority, then the "pretty" and correct HRA got added to the stable.
That being said, to me Garand = WWII (yes, I know they were used in Korea) so having a WWII Garand was first priority, then the "pretty" and correct HRA got added to the stable.
lol. You are right about that!
Good clarification. This is what I was thinking, it just didn't make it out of the keyboard.
IMHO, the HRAs that I've seen are just slightly "nicer" in terms of build quality than any of the WWII SAs or WRAs. They're probably the same as the postwar SAs.
All things being equal, in a choice between a SA and a HRA, I'd go with the Harrington & Richardson.
All things being equal, in a choice between a SA and a HRA, I'd go with the Harrington & Richardson.
Do most of you guys go with .308 or 30-06? I'm with JB on this and have been looking to get my first CMP Garand for a while now. Freakin' .308 is so expensive, it seems that 30-06 is a good option.
Sounds like an a Anniston, Alabama road trip is in order. It's only an 11-hour drive from BA (and that's going the posted limit
).
Sounds like an a Anniston, Alabama road trip is in order. It's only an 11-hour drive from BA (and that's going the posted limit
).
