Wood and Steel

[Morgan338LM]

Anyone else a bit obsessively passionate about the old US ironhorse rifles? I'm a proud owner of two M14's and I really only dream about buying a Garand, 1903A3, M1 Carbine, 30/40, etc.... I might need to get checked out, it's getting to be a real distraction [Coffee]

[argonstrom]

Same here, man. That Garand in the Classifieds is killing me.

[Irving]

I know where a great looking M1 Carbine is for sale, but I can't afford it yet. I never really wanted one until I actually got to hold it.

[Scanker19]

The CMP is my Crack.

I just wish the first one was free. I've been thinking of another Garand.

To me nothing is better that a nice wood stock with the faint smell of linseed oil.

[Scanker19]

P.S. best place (if you don't want the hassle of CMP requirements) the CMP forum has a market place like us, and most of the guys there sell at just over cost from the CMP.

The gun stores just love to mark up the prices as soon as some one says Garand.

[CrufflerSteve]

The Model 1917 is an overlooked one. (You can call it a P17 to a collector to piss him off.) I have a great looking one. Heck, Sgt. York had one.

Steve

[StagLefty]

I love the old military rifles. The only current one I own is a Smith Corona 1903A3.
I also have an old German bolt action shotgun from I believe WWII. I wish I'd picked up a Garand when I was working,had a few good deals slip away. [Beer]

[Bailey Guns]

It's almost as if I can hear those old guns whispering. I've got a nice CMP Garand even though it's a Korean War vintage gun. Absolutely a work of art. It just makes everything feel right holding on to a piece of history like that.

I can only imagine what it took for a guy to carry one of those things, all day, every day, under the worst conditions imaginable. It's hard to know if you could measure up to the guys that did that.

And I agree about the 1917...I like it far more than the 03.

[Bailey Guns]

Anyone else a bit obsessively passionate about the old US ironhorse rifles? I'm a proud owner of two M14's and I really only dream about buying a Garand, 1903A3, M1 Carbine, 30/40, etc.... I might need to get checked out, it's getting to be a real distraction [Coffee]

Nope...nothing out of the ordinary here. You're quite normal. If you didn't feel that way, there might be some problems.

[BlasterBob]

Took my basic training at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas back in 1955. You can just imagine my excitement when I was issued my first M1 Garand. Now, that was some battle rifle and I really loved it although it did have a tendency to shove me around a bit. I do have one now and consider it to be about the favorite of all the guns that I have. No, I never did get an M1 thumb as I was very cautious after seeing one fellow GI get his thumb severely battered by the bolt. OUCH!

[reddevil1111]

We shot 1903's in our rifle club in Jr. High. Cocoa Beach Florida. We also shot our own .22's and stored them in our lockers.
I love shooting older rifles and cleaning them. I wonder about the stories they could tell...Who used them in the past and where they have been. I also like the simplicity. No rails for attachments, just a leather sling and the rifle. ouhh-RAH!
My dream rifle is a socom-16, I want to own another 1903, garand and maybe a .30 cal carbine....maybe...they are fun to plink with but thats about it...

[Scanker19]

My soft spot is for the little M1 Carbine. I think it's cause they were made by companies other than gun companies (minus Winchester).

[BPTactical]

The thing that an old warhorse has that few black rifles has is "Soul". You pick it up and it has a certain heft, something that says: "I have a story to tell".
If they could only talk think of the story they would have.
I picked up a CMP Garand in a trade and it has the same appeal to me that an old Panhead has.
I really enjoyed the look on my Dads face when I handed it to him, he had not held one since September 1945.
He said it was just as heavy as he remembered.

[OneGuy67]

I was laid up with a surgically repaired shoulder and six months of rehab back in 2005 (work related) and got a little OCD with Garands.

I bought a few from the CMP, then started buying parts on eBay (back when you could) and bought receivers on Gunbroker and putting them all back together, serial number and part number correct. I sanded, stained and sealed stocks for therapy and am the proud owner of 23 of the fine rifles! All but one are Springfields, in the 1.3 to 5.5 mil range.

I still have barrels, parts and things to build more and I can't bring myself to sell the stuff off; I may get the OCD bug again for the Garand.

I do believe it to be the finest rifle ever produced. Firm, solid in hand, simplistic, accurate in action and will reach out and touch someone a LONG way away.

[Mazin]

I agree the garand is a great rifle, love the sound of that embloc ejecting "Pading!!!"... I also have had a case of M1 thumb and recently at the tanner everytime I would see one my thumb woould start throbbing. I had a chance to buy a H&R awhile back and kick myself that I didn't so now I just have to save and wait. Also am I to overly anal when I correct people whaen they call it a grand? It really does bug the carp out of me.

[Scanker19]

That's it I'm buying another.

Hey OneGuy just like people who collect cats, I'm going to need to rescue some of yours[Tooth]

Really need an 03 or 1917. Those are the only two that escape me, except a thompson and 41 Johnson.

[OneGuy67]

That's it I'm buying another.

Hey OneGuy just people who collect cats, I'm going to need to rescue some of yours[Tooth]

Really need an 03 or 1917. Those are the only two that escape me, except a thompson and 41 Johnson.


I document all my firearms in a 3-ring binder along with all my pertinent financial information, house instructions, legal, insurance documents and other such things. In that binder, I have photos of each firearm, a brief description and an estimated value each. The binder is for my wife in the event of my death, so she knows the where to find the will, the house documents, the marriage certificate, the value of each of the firearms, the combinations to the safes, etc. I don't want her to get ripped off by some guy who sees a vault full of Garands and gives her $1,000 for it (I know you guys here would give her $2,000...!). I would come back from the dead and get that person!

My dad started me down this road when he gave me his first and only rifle before his death, a 1917 Eddystone, serial numbered correct and rebarrelled in 1918. A beautiful rifle. My brother got his shotgun and I could tell he was disappointed, so I spent a lot of time searching and finally found another 1917 Eddystone at a gunshow that was a near match to dad's and gave it to him for Christmas later that year.

[GhostRider]

I have the 03A3 that has had a stock upgrade, and a National Postal Meter carbine that my wife got to shoot a couple months ago, now she wants one, I can see another little M1 carbine in the safe when I can afford it (maybe two) lol

[jmg8550]

The M1 Garand was my first rifle. After that the love affair grew to the M1A, Next on the list is a BM59, 1903 Springer, followed by the little M1. I definately prefer the old steel and wood to the new rifles.

[Elhuero]

I really want a garand. my old man hates them, guess his thumb got bit one too many times.

[SAnd]

...I wonder about the stories they could tell...Who used them in the past and where they have been....

I totally agree. They can talk some though.

When I get an older military gun I like to sit down with some reference materials and read them. You have proof marks, inspector marks, arsenal maintenance and rebuild marks, and other marks as well as unit marks. The European guns are generally better than the US guns that way.

I have a Mosin Nagant M1891 that was made in 1909. The markings show it was probably "dropped" once. By the Russians. All the early marks are Russian but the latter marks are Finnish. I"m guessing it changed hands during the Winter War.

I get a sense of history and time holding them while thiking about what else was going on when they were made. I think of both family and world events.

[Morgan338LM]

The thing that an old warhorse has that few black rifles has is "Soul".

The soul of a rifle is what makes me love it, all the cool gadgets and toys never earn my heart. The soul in a steel and wood rifle can't be touched by a tacti-cool whizbang gun, as cool as they may look.

http://imgur.com/nRTbf.jpg
This one always makes me smile [Beer]

[Troublco]

I have a Finnish-capture 1891 capture, too. Every Finn Mosin started life as a Russian gun, was captured, and re-built; right down to the M39's.

I like the older surplus guns especially because they have character. They were built in an era where craftsmen built each one by hand, at least to a degree. They've been there and done that, and each little ding or dent was earned.

My next want is a correct .30-40 Krag, and then I'm going to look for a Canadian Ross in the same condition. I don't look for new specimens, just ones that are as-issued. I just have the feeling I'll find one when I don't have the means to get it (usually the way it works...).