Just thought I would post some thoughts on my trip. My Dad and I made a quick road trip over to Alabama this week to the CMP South store.
1. All the staff were real nice and helpful. I can't say anything bad about anyone I came across in Alabama. A few of the other customers were very helpful as well.
2. They had about 15 or 20 Collector grade rifles on racks in the back. I was surprised they had these out there. I didn't know they even had any. Most were not cleaned up and were covered in grease, but at least it let me compare muzzle gauge readings so I knew what was good.
3. The field grade rifles out there were on average better than the rack grades as expected I guess. I finally gave up on the rack grades and decided the $30 difference wasn't worth the savings. By mail order, I would not be so sure, but since I could pick out my rifle, I think I made up for the difference. On my muzzle gauge there was a wide variation in barrels. A few were 1 or less like the one I picked, but most were 2, 3, or higher.
4. The rifles were there in all manner of serial numbers. If you want a particular range of number, it was there. The one I ended up buying is a 5,000,000 number.
5. They had new barrels for about $165 and stock sets for $120. I didn't realize they were that cheap.
6. There were a number of Enfield rifles there. Maybe 30 on the rack. Most were chromed up parade rifles some with white wood. They appeared to be shooters, but I didn't check the condition of the barrels.
7. They had some 1903A3 Parade rifles that were non-firing. They had been cut. They were cheap, but not what I wanted.
8. Security was a little strange. The inner door stays locked and they buzz you in.
9. There was company nearby called Lee Brass Casings. I think it said they were making them since 1919. We also passed a Remington cartridge plant in Arkansas west of Little Rock.
10. If you drive that way, the Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee is a great stop. There is some beautiful country to see off the back roads of Tennessee and Alabama. The nice thing is that the CMP is about the same distance from Houston as El Paso. It was about a 12 hour drive directly back home.
11. I haven't had the chance to shoot my rifle yet. I'll have to post results later. I want to compare to my service grade. The muzzle reading on this rifle is actually better than my service grade. I picked up some Greek ammo as well.
12. On tools, I was using a muzzle gauge and bore light. The bore light wasn't much use since most of the rifles had grease and stuff down the barrel. I couldn't really tell much from looking at the rifling. If they had a low muzzle gauge reading, they generally had good rifling. The muzzle gauge is what I used to pick through rifles. I didn't have a throat gauge or try to borrow one. I figured having a good muzzle was at least a good start. My original intention was to find a cheap rifle to get for a junker that I could either rebuild or have for parts. I think I did much better than that. We'll see how it does at the range.
Mech
1. All the staff were real nice and helpful. I can't say anything bad about anyone I came across in Alabama. A few of the other customers were very helpful as well.
2. They had about 15 or 20 Collector grade rifles on racks in the back. I was surprised they had these out there. I didn't know they even had any. Most were not cleaned up and were covered in grease, but at least it let me compare muzzle gauge readings so I knew what was good.
3. The field grade rifles out there were on average better than the rack grades as expected I guess. I finally gave up on the rack grades and decided the $30 difference wasn't worth the savings. By mail order, I would not be so sure, but since I could pick out my rifle, I think I made up for the difference. On my muzzle gauge there was a wide variation in barrels. A few were 1 or less like the one I picked, but most were 2, 3, or higher.
4. The rifles were there in all manner of serial numbers. If you want a particular range of number, it was there. The one I ended up buying is a 5,000,000 number.
5. They had new barrels for about $165 and stock sets for $120. I didn't realize they were that cheap.
6. There were a number of Enfield rifles there. Maybe 30 on the rack. Most were chromed up parade rifles some with white wood. They appeared to be shooters, but I didn't check the condition of the barrels.
7. They had some 1903A3 Parade rifles that were non-firing. They had been cut. They were cheap, but not what I wanted.
8. Security was a little strange. The inner door stays locked and they buzz you in.
9. There was company nearby called Lee Brass Casings. I think it said they were making them since 1919. We also passed a Remington cartridge plant in Arkansas west of Little Rock.
10. If you drive that way, the Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee is a great stop. There is some beautiful country to see off the back roads of Tennessee and Alabama. The nice thing is that the CMP is about the same distance from Houston as El Paso. It was about a 12 hour drive directly back home.
11. I haven't had the chance to shoot my rifle yet. I'll have to post results later. I want to compare to my service grade. The muzzle reading on this rifle is actually better than my service grade. I picked up some Greek ammo as well.
12. On tools, I was using a muzzle gauge and bore light. The bore light wasn't much use since most of the rifles had grease and stuff down the barrel. I couldn't really tell much from looking at the rifling. If they had a low muzzle gauge reading, they generally had good rifling. The muzzle gauge is what I used to pick through rifles. I didn't have a throat gauge or try to borrow one. I figured having a good muzzle was at least a good start. My original intention was to find a cheap rifle to get for a junker that I could either rebuild or have for parts. I think I did much better than that. We'll see how it does at the range.
Mech
