Shot my M1 Garand for the first time

[Rick B]

Springfield made 10/41 British Proofed. Owned it since 1975. Shot a Caribou with it on the Alaska Peninsula that same year.
Rick

[Got-R-Did]

Collector/Shooter/Armorer for Garands since ‘99. Shot my first one at an M1 Clinic at Scott Mountain KD Range on Ft. Knox with my Father. Dad trained with one early in his Army Career and his Father carried one in WWII.
I suffer from Garanditis in the worst way and 45 rifles have come into my possession over the years with many either replaced with better examples in a particular niche or given to Veterans as gifts. Still have a “few” left.
My suggestion to those who have an issue with recoil is to use 110-125 gr bullets such as the Speer 125 gr TNT. Greatly improved accuracy over any Ball bullet and mitigates recoil impulse a fair amount.
Got-R-Did.

[Beeks]

I have '56 HRA, select grade from the CMP.

I love that rifle.

[Multigunner]

First few times I fired a Garand I didn't even notice the recoil till later that evening.
The weight plus the flat buttplate distributes the kick better than the older musket butt of the Enfields.

[Jack Stanley]

You will realize real joy when you practice enough to beat the guys trying to buy their way to master class . The black rifles are accurate but one must still practice . While the rifle fought against evil it also helped the Brits lose a good part of their empire .

Jack

[goryshaw]

They breed like rabbits. I started in 2013 with a SG from the CMP, a '54 HR. Beautiful rifle, the timeframe when the CMP seems to have had too many collector's grade, so were intentionally swapping parts to create mixmasters to sell as SG rather than CG. Mine is perfect except for an IHC oprod and a later Springfield trigger group, everything else is correct HR. Still my match rifle and general shooter.

Was joined by a Service Grade Special in 2014, again a perfect '55 HR. Too pretty to shoot, collectors grade except for the CMP stock. Got a Service Grade Special in .308 at the same time, this one is a May '44 Springfield. Not eligible to shoot in JCG matches, so it doesn't see much use.

Picked up a SG '55 tractor rifle, when they had a limited release in '15. And a SG Winchester '43 in '16 when they again had a limited release. Last one was a FG '44 Springfield in '17. Took a chance when they were starting to put Hackwood stocks on them, and lucked out with a USGI walnut stock, dirty and ugly at first, but after cleaning and oiling looks very nice.

[Texas by God]

I just want one. When I throw one to my shoulder and look thru those sights, I just KNOW I can hit with it. Maybe this year. I had a Century actioned parts gun that shot great but had function problems- lesson learned.

[3006guns]

I've only fired a Garand once........and loved it. Unfortunately, so does everyone else so the prices have skyrocketed over the years.

There is a psychological term for the satisfaction of hitting a hard target. You get instant feedback and satisfaction that your aim was good. The last time it happened to me was with a type 38 Japanese 6.5mm. I was surprised and pleased when that gun consistently smacked the 200 yard gong with my cast loads and NO preparation or experimentation at all! Took a while for the boolit to get there, but I was all smiles.......

[Beeks]

There's a definite correlation of the time difference of the initial bang and the time it takes to ring the gong to smile factor...

S=IBxT or something...

[mikwat]

Mine is a 1955 HRA that I got from CMP for my 21st birthday. First gun I ever bought, and still a joy to shoot.

[Baltimoreed]

My only Garand is a heinz with a 1970’s SA recvr, a postwar bbl and assorted parts picked up at shows over years. I was gifted a bbl and a bag o’ parts from a hunting bud and from there I bought what wasn’t in the bag. After my retirement I restocked it with a Boyds winter laminate stock. Killed a few deer with it. I shot it in a 100 yd reduced target NRA highpower match last year [that’s as much range as they have available]. Other than all the walking I had fun and didn’t do too bad. I was in the 90’s for the prone slow and rapid strings but blew it on the standing throwing my group left a couple of inches.
Attachment 237581

[rmcc]

SA 55, SA 45, SA44...still looking for more

[WinchesterM1]

I have a 100% matching Winchester made in 1943 and it shoots amazing!!!

[BigAlofPa.]

My 1sy milsurp rifle and still only one is my mosin nagant 91/30. It's a lot of fun to shoot. I still remember that 1st shot and hitting the bullseye. I was like wow this old timer rules lol. It was a lot of work before i could shoot it though. It was packed full of cosmoline. Some elbow grease paid off well though. I refinished the wood too while working on the bore.

[WinchesterM1]

That is a nice 91/30 BigAlofPa!! I’m a bit of a millsurp collector myself



Uhh you know before the fire...

[lefty o]

That is a nice 91/30 BigAlofPa!! I’m a bit of a millsurp collector myself



Uhh you know before the fire...

nice kindling!

[BigAlofPa.]

Wow nice collection.

[Baltimoreed]

Wow again, which ones your favorite there WinchesterM1?

[Wag]

The first Garand I shot was my grandfather's rifle which he brought home from the Pacific theater. It was his go to deer rifle and the man could shoot the smallest groups I've ever seen. At the time, I was only 17-ish and I don't remember the ranges or the group sizes but I remember being duly impressed. When he passed away, someone stole it from my grandmother. Very unfortunate.

But it made me fall in love with the Garand and I spent the next 40 or so years, drooling every time I saw one in a gun store that I couldn't afford to buy. I just kept dying a little more every time the prices went up a little bit.

Finally, a couple of years ago, I finally said ***** it and bought two within a month of each other. The first is an IH with some rework done on it. Great shooting rifle.

The second is a Springfield and appears to be in all original condition. So far as I can tell, all the numbers match and the S/N is a six-digit number that decodes to something like 1942. I have almost no doubt that it has seen some action somewhere out there in the history of WWII. Also a great shooting rifle.

Somehow, I keep having to reload ammo for it to restock.........

--Wag--