I just got back from the CMP South store in Anniston Alabama. As you may know, the CMP stores just re-opened after a two week break where the store was closed. The place was packed! I've been to the CMP three times before this and it was nothing close to the crowd that I saw today. Folks were buying four, five, six or more rifles at a time. Good news for those of you waiting for an H&R Garand, they were back on the racks and in good number.
Me, I was there for a woodless M1 (to fill a recently restored extra stock) a couple of carbines, and another rack grade Garand. My goal was to find rack grades to fill the bill, and of all of the guns tha you see below there isn't muzzle wear above 1.75, most between 1 and 1.5. The top gun is a Springfield early January 1944. It looks to have some wild grain, and no cartouches, so a stock restoration is very much in order. Next down is a 699,000 serial number range Inland. It's an SA-49 rebarrel. The stock appears to be walnut and despite being faded appears to have a lot of potential for restoration. Again, no cartouches. A serial number that low at the CMP right now I'm told is uusual. Next down is a siz million serial number range Inlanc carbine. Nothing needs to be done to this one. I'm thinking that is an M2 pot belly stock? Possibly beech? And, at bottom is a woodless 5.7 million serial number range Springfield Armory Garand. I was told that I was lucky to find it as a lot of collectors want a 5.7 million serial number. I didn't ask why. The front handguard I can deal with.
The only minor disappointment was that the 2.4 million Garand turned out to be a 1944, about as early in 1944 as it could be. I already have a 1944 (and a 1942) and I really wanted a 1943. But, the gun appeared to be a diamond in the rough, so I couldn't pass.
Not a bad haul. I'll have a blast respoting the two stocks and dropping the new Garand guts into an already restored stock. The rear sight I can acquire at my leisure as I now have three other Garands to play with.
As to the inventory, there were tons of field grades, but I didn't notice much in the way of higher than field grades. What service grades that were there were selling like hotcakes. There were a fair amount of rack grades in both Garands and carbines. I checked the muzzle wear of every rack grade rifle probably at least three times over, and many were pretty darn shot out. There are really great deals to be had in the rack grades, but you have to measure wear carefully and really hunt. So many rifles with nice wood were shot out. I lucked out with my four rack grades.
I have some photos of the crowd which I will post later. I got there at 8:30 AM and it looked like a lodge meeting.
The staff at the CMP are amazing.
Me, I was there for a woodless M1 (to fill a recently restored extra stock) a couple of carbines, and another rack grade Garand. My goal was to find rack grades to fill the bill, and of all of the guns tha you see below there isn't muzzle wear above 1.75, most between 1 and 1.5. The top gun is a Springfield early January 1944. It looks to have some wild grain, and no cartouches, so a stock restoration is very much in order. Next down is a 699,000 serial number range Inland. It's an SA-49 rebarrel. The stock appears to be walnut and despite being faded appears to have a lot of potential for restoration. Again, no cartouches. A serial number that low at the CMP right now I'm told is uusual. Next down is a siz million serial number range Inlanc carbine. Nothing needs to be done to this one. I'm thinking that is an M2 pot belly stock? Possibly beech? And, at bottom is a woodless 5.7 million serial number range Springfield Armory Garand. I was told that I was lucky to find it as a lot of collectors want a 5.7 million serial number. I didn't ask why. The front handguard I can deal with.
The only minor disappointment was that the 2.4 million Garand turned out to be a 1944, about as early in 1944 as it could be. I already have a 1944 (and a 1942) and I really wanted a 1943. But, the gun appeared to be a diamond in the rough, so I couldn't pass.
Not a bad haul. I'll have a blast respoting the two stocks and dropping the new Garand guts into an already restored stock. The rear sight I can acquire at my leisure as I now have three other Garands to play with.
As to the inventory, there were tons of field grades, but I didn't notice much in the way of higher than field grades. What service grades that were there were selling like hotcakes. There were a fair amount of rack grades in both Garands and carbines. I checked the muzzle wear of every rack grade rifle probably at least three times over, and many were pretty darn shot out. There are really great deals to be had in the rack grades, but you have to measure wear carefully and really hunt. So many rifles with nice wood were shot out. I lucked out with my four rack grades.
I have some photos of the crowd which I will post later. I got there at 8:30 AM and it looked like a lodge meeting.
The staff at the CMP are amazing.
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