$375 Garands, to CMP, to PSLs, to Yugo AKs. ADD Hijack Warning

[paul641]

I didnt read all the posts but I want to point out one important thing when buying one of these Garands. I own a few and some were CMP and some were private purchases. Barrel wear is important, but head space is more important than every other cosmetic or or accuracy issue you could check for. Bad head space could be deadly for the shooter on the back side of the reciever. The human head or face is no match for a M1 op rod or bolt comming apart on the shell extraction of the cycle. To say the least,. it is a very violent action taking place even on a properly operating rifle. Ask the seller to head space the bolt before you buy it its your face or head. IMHO
Paul

[Noah_Zark]

I didnt read all the posts but I want to point out one important thing when buying one of these Garands. I own a few and some were CMP and some were private purchases. Barrel wear is important, but head space is more important than every other cosmetic or or accuracy issue you could check for. Bad head space could be deadly for the shooter on the back side of the reciever. The human head or face is no match for a M1 op rod or bolt comming apart on the shell extraction of the cycle. To say the least,. it is a very violent action taking place even on a properly operating rifle. Ask the seller to head space the bolt before you buy it its your face or head. IMHO
Paul

Excellent point, but not all gun shops or individual sellers have headspace gauges. This is another reason to go the CMP route because they do take the time to headspace the rifles they sell, or at least they used to.

For someone investing in a Garand, a $35 FIELD headspace gauge is a worthy investment. Why FIELD? It's the only one you need, unless you are rebarreling rifles yourself. Because a FIELD gauge is the absolute largest headspace that's acceptable in a worn weapon. It's the "worst-case" situation, and if a bolt closes on a FIELD gauge, reject that weapon. If the bolt won't close on a FIELD, it may or may not close on a NO GO, but if the weapon is used, it will likely close on a GO. Further, if a GO gauge is not available, a simple 30-06 cartridge can serve as a workable GO gauge.

If a rifle bolt doesn't close on a FIELD gauge, then you can set a resizing die to just resize cases fired in that weapon and no more. Once the brass is stretched for a particular weapon and NOT pushed back too much through unnecessary over-resizing, it's usually good to go for several more reloadings. Just remember: DON'T RESIZE A CASE ANY MORE THAN IS NECESSARY TO GET IT TO RECHAMBER.

Food for headspacing thought: If you buy SAAMI-spec headspace gauges for the 303 British round and check your Enfields, most of them will fail a NO GO, and even some will fail a FIELD. That's because Enfields aren't chambered to SAAMI spec chamber dimensions. In order to check Enfield headspace, you must use Euro-spec gauges. I have six new or as-new No4 Mk II Enfields with the blonde wookd stocks, three of which have never been fired. All six will close their bolts on a SAAMI-spec NO GO gauge. Unsafe? Hell no. The "measuring stick" (gauges) are not calibrated properly. If you have an Enfield, do not waste your $$$ on US-made SAAMI headspace gauges.

Noah

[X-Man]

Another route to achieve club affiliation is to join the M1CC: M1 Collectors Club. More info at " http://www.m1collectorsclub.com ".

[TJB63]

The only benefit of Garands & 30.06 ammo, over (say) AR's & .223 is that you don't burn through ammo as fast with a Garand...8 rounds, reload....8 rounds, reload.... Or for the ultra conservative approach....1 round, reload.....1 round, reload......

That and the Fact a 30-06 will go thru a House while a 5.56mm will disintegrate with the first hard surface it hits.

Make mine a 30-06 - But each his own

[crlovel]

Ok, I just got home from Surplus City. The manager says they're not South Korean, but South or Central American. I can't speak for certain to this, but on one I looked at, it looked like Asian writing engraved into the receiver. This was the only one with this engraving. They're not bad, I suppose. They definitely need some TLC. As it is, I'm going to go the CMP route.

Also, I figured, since I drove all that way, I sure as hell wasn't coming home empty-handed. I brought home a beautiful PSL. Interesting enough about this PSL, the scope isn't the normal scope they put on, but a new battery-powered one from (I believe) Belarus.

[photoshooter]

Also, I figured, since I drove all that way, I sure as hell wasn't coming home empty-handed. I brought home a beautiful PSL. Interesting enough about this PSL, the scope isn't the normal scope they put on, but a new battery-powered one from (I believe) Belarus.

Score! Very nice.

[crlovel]

Oh, and since you asked, yes, they have Yugo underfolders.

Incidentally, someone said that the newest Yugo underfolders are no longer built on the RPK receivers? Anyone have any info on this?

They also had some very nice looking Polish AKs chambered in 7.62x39.

[ScotsGuards]

[QUOTE=Noah_Zark;1122714]Excellent point, but not all gun shops or individual sellers have headspace gauges. This is another reason to go the CMP route because they do take the time to headspace the rifles they sell, or at least they used to.

For someone investing in a Garand, a $35 FIELD headspace gauge is a worthy investment. Why FIELD? It's the only one you need, unless you are rebarreling rifles yourself. Because a FIELD gauge is the absolute largest headspace that's acceptable in a worn weapon. It's the "worst-case" situation, and if a bolt closes on a FIELD gauge, reject that weapon. If the bolt won't close on a FIELD, it may or may not close on a NO GO, but if the weapon is used, it will likely close on a GO. Further, if a GO gauge is not available, a simple 30-06 cartridge can serve as a workable GO gauge.

Noah: Great posts and thanks to you for being helpfull. One also might be to borrow someones M-1 Throat Erosion Gauge. This can sometimes be a pretty fair indicator of headspace as well as how much life the barrel has left on it. The lower the number the less use the barrel on that particuler rifle has seen. A T.E. of 0-1 is considered a new barrel. 7 is U.S. armorer mandated headspace check. 9 is a manditory re-barrel. Anywhere in between you can make your own call on. CMP will usualy not let anything over a 5 go out the door in any grade, even their lowest. As Noah said, the cheapest way to check muzzle wear is with a 30.06 cartridge as stated. If you can find a dummy '.06 round that would be less likely to make gun shop owners uneasy. I keep one or two in my shop and gun show tool box handy for just that procedure.

I'll be seeing these rifles next week sometime so I'll check them out and give you all my report. If they are decent I might buy a few for the shop. It all depends on what kind of price break my distributor for these gives me.

[clarion44]

Thanks for clarifying.

Nice rifle there.

[photoshooter]

Oh, and since you asked, yes, they have Yugo underfolders.

Thank you sir. I'm hoping to get out there in the coming week.