Show us your Guns!

[David Conwill]

It was fun gathering all the pieces to build this rifle, and I ended up spending a little more than if I had simply bought a Service Grade Garand at CMP ($625 plus shipping). But the experience of searching for good parts and building the rifle from those parts was well worth it.

And you know it was done right! Or if it wasn't, that you'll get a warranty repair out of the builder with no questions asked. :lol:

 

[The Inspector]

what i thought might be a four to six month project turned out to take much less time to complete. I just finished it last evening. Here is the completed m1 garand, built up entirely from parts.

wow she turned out greater than i thought!!!!

 

[The Inspector]

Im on there a lot, but I don't really trust some of the sellers as I would like to put my gun in the holster first and see how it fits, and also my friend might give me a deal on one. Thanks for the advice though.!

 

[MattieA65]

Thanks jkingrph,
I used to be a 110% rifleman, but am getting very interested in American SxSs. I have a Parker VHE in 20 gauge, but might look for another Fox, maybe in 16 gauge, to replace it.

 

[matrioshka]

What the Hell was I thinking?

Allow me to introduce you to my latest find:

A Savage 99 takedown in .22 Savage High Power (5.6x52R).

Note the quality Bushnell Banner scope and the multiplicity of screw holes. Looks as if there was a tip off mount at one time or some sort of Griffin & Howe style side mount.

On the good side, the bore is mint, and there's no wobble in the barrel. The scope has clear optics, and is mounted well. Sellier and Bellot makes ammo, so I'll boresight it and see what happens.

 

[Oldsarge]

Killer coyote callin' gun.

 

[Story]

in .22 Savage High Power (5.6x52R). Sellier and Bellot makes ammo, so I'll boresight it and see what happens.

I had to look that one up, turns out you can use .30-30 brass for reloading.

 

[KilroyCD]

New clothes

A week and a half ago (post 3317) I posted about the Garand I built from parts. I wasn't completely happy with the stock so I made a trip to Sarco for one of the stocks they converted to .30-06 configuration from the Italian contract .308 stocks. Here she is in her new wood.

 

[Oldsarge]

NIce fiddleback through the grip, there.

 

[Buggnkat]

I agree with Sarge, that is a nice stock and looks very nice. I too like that striping near the pistol grip. Garands have been a favorite of mine and I own one myself.

Mine is a Blue Sky import back in 89-90. I paid 325 for her. I just replaced my op-rod this past year. She has taken around 30+ Missouri Whitetails and well over 5 National Matches (never a winner but in the top 30) when I was shooting for the 102nd ARCOM rifle team. Rifles are like cars, they might be imported and some gun guys might turn up their noses at them, but with all the parts available now, they are completly rebuildable and worth doing so to. I know some of the later guns were hash throw togethers, but the early ones werent. Just know your gun and know what your tolerances and no-go gages read and you will do fine.

That is a pretty Garand Kilroy! Keep me in mind if you find another stock like that, I will surely pay for that one!

Thanks
Greg

 

[rjb1]

That is a very nice looking Garand.
As for the Blue Sky imports, I'm glad to hear someone got a good one. I bought two for $250 each when they first arrived and when I knew virtually nothing about the nature of Garands. One of the two in particular was one of the "infamous" Blue Sky Garands. (there were good ones and bad ones in the early years also)
Its muzzle wear and stock lockup were so bad that it would not keep 8 shots on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper at 25 yards from the bench. It really was so bad that I found it hard to believe.
I had both re-barreled and added a new trigger guard and stock and they turned out just fine in the long run.
After buying several dozen Garands in the years since and now having a full set of GI inspection/assembly tools and gauges I look at my first Garand purchases as almost funny.
Joel

 

[DeaconKC]

What a great 99! I love the elegance of them and have ever since reading R.C. Andrew's stories.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Just got back from Shipton's here where they have a sale going on Mosin Nagant rifles for a mere 79.99. Couldn't resist nabbing one for that price. I asked about dates, but the guy said they were just random in boxes and they wouldn't open boxes and check to pull an older one.
however, as luck would have it, I got an M91/30 with the more sought after octagonal receiver, dated 1931!
I know, I know,...worthlesswithoutpics,... but I've barely got time to get the cosmoline off myself before I go out to dinner.
Pics will follow.

 

[p51]

..."infamous" Blue Sky Garands.

I never heard it put that way until a year or two ago. Back in the 90s, that's where almost all the re-enactors got theirs (I still have mine, bought for $300 in 1992) and I never heard of any issues with them until very recently for some reason.
Mine worked fine, I shot competitions with it and often won, in stock GI condition (back when you could easily find them, I dropped the set of locking bar sights into it and the correct gas nut) and it's still in the gun safe today.

 

[Buggnkat]

Agreed P51, I think were folks got their bad impressions is the later years of the imports and then the rifles werent being checked and QCed as teh early ones. People stood back the first few years to see what came back, and after the first couple of years you couldnt get one unless you were standing there when the rifles came into the gun shops. With the ban being forthcoming I think Blue Sky and others shipped for the sake of getting as many on the market as they could before they were shut down.

Like yours mine was a fabulous rifle, which required minor work to get her cycling as she should and being a tack driver. As with any used rifle, there are things to be mindful of and have checked either by yourself if you have the knowledge and skills or a gunsmith. M1s are a solid rifle and have withstood years of use and abuse by their "owners". With a bit of knowledge, guages and spare parts you could have a good rifle that with its accuracy can not be matched but by high end rifles.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Here's what I got. Rifle with bayonet and tools, sling from 1948, ammo pouches from the 60's. everything needed to comprise a complete kit. The rifle itself is in remarkable condition, even the wood is not bad. Serial numbers match on all the parts.

[/IMG]
I got # 66610 from the Tula armory I believe. The star with the arrow stamp on the receiver indicates the armory I'm told.

[/IMG]
Quite an awesome piece of history I think, and all for less than 100 bucks including a box of cartridges. They come highly recommended as being extremely reliable, but I will have it checked out by a reputable gunsmith before I fire it seeing as it's 81 years old and may have seen a lot of action on the eastern front.

 

[DeaconKC]

Nick, congrats on a fine rifle. Many from then have rough chambers, so here is a trick if you have sticky extraction. Get a 20 gauge brass brush, wrap it in brass wool, soak the whole thing in acetone or mineral spirits, chuck it up in a hand drill and scrub the snot out of it.

 

[BigFitz]

Here's what I got. Rifle with bayonet and tools, sling from 1948, ammo pouches from the 60's. everything needed to comprise a complete kit. The rifle itself is in remarkable condition, even the wood is not bad. Serial numbers match on all the parts.

[/IMG]
I got # 66610 from the Tula armory I believe. The star with the arrow stamp on the receiver indicates the armory I'm told.

[/IMG]
Quite an awesome piece of history I think, and all for less than 100 bucks including a box of cartridges. They come highly recommended as being extremely reliable, but I will have it checked out by a reputable gunsmith before I fire it seeing as it's 81 years old and may have seen a lot of action on the eastern front.

Outstanding! Been thinking about getting one for years, just haven't "pulled the trigger" yet. And for less than $100, how can you go wrong? Probably my next purchase.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I'll probably get another myself. Perhaps "sporterize" it if it's a newer round receiver type. There's tons of videos about them out there with lots of useful info. Lots of mods like muzzle brakes, stocks, and scope mounts too. I will definitely invest in a rubber butt plate extension too reduce the effects of recoil and to extend the stock out a bit for a more comfortable grip. They are way easy to strip and clean, being designed with the average Russian peasant soldier of the times in mind I suppose.
You can find them at larger sporting goods outfits like Cabela's and Gander Mountain quite often. The place I bought mine had about 50 or 60 more on the shelves, so I expect another sale soon. Got mine on the last day of the sale, so it was too late to go back and snag another yesterday.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Nick, congrats on a fine rifle. Many from then have rough chambers, so here is a trick if you have sticky extraction. Get a 20 gauge brass brush, wrap it in brass wool, soak the whole thing in acetone or mineral spirits, chuck it up in a hand drill and scrub the snot out of it.

Thanks for the tip Deacon. They are generally thoroughly soaked with cosmoline too, which can really gum them up. A thorough cleaning of all metal parts is in order then too. I'll take a bit of fine steel wool to a few rough spots on the wood where there are a few varnish runs too, just to spruce it up a bit.