New CMP Special Grade

[The Rooster]

Greetings.

This is my one and only M1. Never had one before and I'm a novice with it.

Been completely rebuilt by the CMP. Throat reading zero. Muzzle reading Zero.

New 2017 barrel new stock. Not sure about the bolt in it.

The scratches on the side around the CMP Logo...........dont really look like scratches? Maybe chalk?

I dont have it in yet. Is it advisable to coat the stock with linseed oil?

Or should it be left as is?

Not sure what Special Grade is?

Comes with a hard case.

Looks like its been rebuilt in 2017.

Not fired much if at all?

 

 

 

[M1Garandy]

Special Grade description here: https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/m1-garand/

 

Essentially, new wood, new barrel, refinished metal and the potential for some commercially made replacement parts (stock metal and rear sight parts are not uncommon). It should have shipped with a new production sling as well. 

[The Rooster]

Thank you kindly M1Garandy !

I copied this from the CMP link you gave.

 

SERVICE GRADE: (Good to Very Good)

Service Grade Rifles will show less wear and a better cosmetic appearance than a Field or Rack Grade. Cosmetic condition will be good to very good.  Rifle finish may vary, exhibiting normal wear and/or color variation among the metal parts.  May have some visible pitting, frosting, or other minor cosmetic deformity on the metal parts. Stock sets may consist of any species of wood (or combination thereof); and could exhibit dents, dings, scratches, and/or structurally insignificant cracks. New production, commercial stock sets may be used, and will likely exhibit signs of wear and prior use.  Bores will be bright, and free of any major defect that would be visible to the naked eye. The exterior circumference of the barrel crown may be nicked, dented, or dinged, but such deformity will not extend into the bore.  Service Grade muzzles will gauge “3 or less” and the throat erosion will gauge less than 5.  A reasonable allowance for gauge tolerances will be afforded.

Manufacturer selection guarantees only that the receiver was produced by the manufacturer listed. The barrel, receiver, and other parts may have been produced by other manufacturers; and may also be of commercial origin with original, re-parkerized, or other commercial finish.

 

I think I got a nice one!

[The Rooster]

8 minutes ago, M1Garandy said:

Special Grade description here: https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/m1-garand/

 

Essentially, new wood, new barrel, refinished metal and the potential for some commercially made replacement parts (stock metal and rear sight parts are not uncommon). It should have shipped with a new production sling as well. 

 

I did not get this from the CMP and there was no mention of a sling, but I have a WW2 Leather Garrand sling I will put on it.

What do you think about linseed oil on the stock.?

Thank you.

[M1Garandy]

If you plan on shooting it, I would skip the WWII M1907 sling and get a modern M1907 sling or GI type web sling. Too easy to break vintage leather slings, have a rifle fall or be dropped, etc.

 

As for wood finish, I recommend you read this: https://thecmp.org/wood-cleaning-article/

 

People will fight to the death arguing the pros/cons of Raw Linseed Oil (RLO), Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO), Pure Tung Oil (PTO), Tung Oil Finish and all the other commercial products out there. 

 

A lot of it comes down to what you have already, how you want to apply it, and where you are applying it (geographically as temps and humidity can play into how a finish works/dries). 

 

I have used BLO, RLO and Tung Oil Finish over the years. At the moment, I have a mix of Linseed oil and Turpentine on my bench I've been using. Kind of stinky......but seems to dry faster.

 

I've also experimented with dyes a bit to get a more red color in newer commercial wood with good to mixed results. 

[M1Garandy]

BTW, your barrel is in '06 based on the P/N on the side: https://criterionbarrels.com/products/m1-garand/m1-garand-gi-contour-barrel-2/?v=7516fd43adaa

[The Rooster]

So the barrel was made in O6 and the whole thing was built in 17?

Is that what the 06 and 17 where its stamped 06/17 stands for?

[M1Garandy]

No, your barrel caliber should be .30-'06 based on the way it is marked. 

 

CBI is Criterion Barrels Inc.

6535448 is the GI drawing number for the barrel

1-10 is the barrel twist rate

06/17 is when the barrel was made

5F I'm not sure of, may be a steel lot number or something

 

If this rifle had a CBI barrel that was in .308, I believe it would be marked .308 in front of the P/N and the P/N is different. I believe for their .308 barrels they also list the gas port diameter. 

[The Rooster]

Thank you much M1Garandy.

Really I appreciate the info.

[644td]

Nice M1. 
I take the CMP for granted here in Alabama. The shooting range is 25 minutes from my house and the Store is 40mins.

 

marty

[The Rooster]

 

15 hours ago, 644td said:

Nice M1. 
I take the CMP for granted here in Alabama. The shooting range is 25 minutes from my house and the Store is 40mins.

 

marty

 

Thank you Marty. That must be cool living so close! Im 500 miles away from one.

 

Here is the copy from the ad for the rifle.....

 

8/17/23 - This is a "special grade' Springfield Armory M1 Garand that was sold by the CMP in 2017. Mint, CMP marked wood stock. Just a small scrape on the left side. Springfield receiver that dates to 1942. CBI barrel from 2017 with mint bore. Excellent parkerized finish on the metal with no wear. Comes with the CMP certificate that verifies it as "special grade". Also comes with manual, case and en-bloc clip.

[BryanJ]

Beautiful rifle!  The link above to the CMP site has the best advice you’ll ever find about conditioning the stock.  Otherwise, you’ll ask 100 people for advice and you’ll get 150 recommendations.

[silverplate]

Great looking M1. Shoot it and enjoy it.

[The Rooster]

Here she is, two years later.

A couple hundred rounds and several coats of linseed oil later.

Its a fine rifle! And I really like what the linseed oil did to the stock!

[Wade20th]

Just now, The Rooster said:

Here she is, two years later.

A couple hundred rounds and several coats of linseed oil later.

Its a fine rifle! And I really like what the linseed oil did to the stock!

A beautiful rifle, you have there!

Have fun, shoot safe. 

 

Wade

[UndeadSlayer]

16 minutes ago, The Rooster said:

Here she is, two years later.

A couple hundred rounds and several coats of linseed oil later.

Its a fine rifle! And I really like what the linseed oil did to the stock!

That’s a really nice M1 Garand.

[The Rooster]

1 hour ago, Wade20th said:

A beautiful rifle, you have there!

Have fun, shoot safe. 

 

Wade

 

52 minutes ago, UndeadSlayer said:

That’s a really nice M1 Garand.

Thank you kindly!

It was like a  brand spanking new rifle when I got it. I was practicing with dud rounds through it for a while,

and they kept getting stuck in the chamber. I took it to a gun smith.

He looked it over and all he said was.. shoot it.

It was so new it needed some rounds run through it.

I did not get it to the range until this past summer. 

It runs great! Like it should. Ive seen these rifles since I was a kid.

Held some looked them over but never owned or shot one.

Its a blast! Having no flash suppressor, with every shot,

for a split second, your sight picture becomes a flash of

.30-06 orange flame!

Thought I should mention that for lube I read many different things and settled

on red grease. Seems to do the job. I dont know if its the correct lube though?

Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Thank you.

 

 

[Matt_X]

Dummy rounds should not get stuck.  I don't know what you were using.  I've never tried any of the plastic or aluminum dummy rounds but if that's what you are using, my guess is there is a possibility the extractor doesn't grab them well.   So far the best new "snap caps" I've purchased have been from seller "gregerdave" on ebay.  New shiny starline .30-06 brass, bullet tight in shell, and some steel balls inside that you can hear rattle.  The red rubber primer is another clue that its a dummy round.  Do keep an eye on the overall length.  The bullets can work loose after being chambered and removed dozens of times during your practice.

 

I basically stick with Mil-spec lubes.  For many years the rifle grease was Lubriplate 130A. It's still available new, but the smallest container is about a 1/2 pint.  You can use for other things too of course.  It's thickener is a calcium-soap and is off white in color.  By the 1960s, "Plastilube" grease was accepted.  its dark reddish-brown and uses a bentonite clay thickener.  Some have said its less prone to 'run' in hot weather.  By run they may mean melting but probably meant oil seperating out.  I've not seen it.

Plastilube was dropped in the 1990s or early 2000s.  It may be that its no longer available. The only thing I found with that name currently is a automotive brake grease and IIRC used a difference base.

 

Grease is applied to about 1/2 dozen locations subject to impact or sliding.  You'll find illustrations in the Field Manual (FM 23-5) showing the application points.  General surfaces get a very light coat of 'special' or 'light' preserving oil.  This oil has additives to prevent rust even when relatively dry.  I've been trying out a Mil-spec CLP (G-96 brand) which based on the current specs should do everything the older oil did but a little better.   One thing it did not seem to do as well is clean.   That's just my early impression.  Also if you shoot corrosive primered ammo, a water based cleaner should be used to carry aways the salts, regardless of what you follow with.

 

Final note on grease and lubes.  Be sure to remove any oil or grease from the chamber and barrel before shooting. 

 

The FM 23-5 went through several revisions.  On-line are digital copies of the July 1940 edition with changes through Jan 1942, and Oct 1951 edition.   I actually prefer the WW2 era edition, but those have to be bought in paper format.  Beware of reprints that have less pages than the originals!

[509 PIB]

You did a really nice job on that finish, so stick with it if you get sucked into the rabbit hole, as most of us do, and keep adding them. Eventually one Garand has the tendency to lead you down a road to a whole world of M1s you absolutely have to have. I met a guy at CMP who has 150—he had a great shot of them all, 3-swivel stacked in a field. Here are a couple of Italian Berettas that sucked me in. Sequentially serial numbered imports in .30 Cal. and 7.62 mm, made for Denmark and NATO Allies. They were produced in the 1950s on re-engineered Winchester machinery we sent them.

 

But you can tell that M1 Garand is glowing from being content and happy with where it ended up in this part of its journey. We're all just caretakers for the next guy. 

[The Rooster]

Thank you for the comments and info. It was not the extractor failing to grab the dud round,

I could not even pull back the op rod. Had to cover it with cloth and tap it with a hammer.

Its fine now. The gunsmith was right. I needed to

shoot it. It was too new...

Had my eye on some others refurbished by CMP but Im holding fire on that.

Its tempting though as M1's are just cool! Fun to shoot!