Posted on 09/24/2009 6:38:37 PM PDT by Iron Munro
The Ministry of National Defense plans to sell more than 100,000 aging U.S. combat rifles to American gun enthusiasts, ministry officials said Thursday.
The plan is part of the ministry's programs to boost its defense budget, they said.
About 86,000 M1 Garand rifles and 22,000 M1 carbine rifles will be sold to gun collectors in the United States, as the U.S. government has approved the sale.
The rifles were originally given to South Korea as part of a U.S. aid program in the 1950s, according to officials.
The total value of the firearms for sale exceeds $120 million.
The rifles were used by U.S. troops in the Korean and Vietnam wars before being donated to the South Korean military.
They have been mothballed for years in military warehouses, but were occasionally used in drills by reserve soldiers.
The M1s were made first in 1926 and used in World War II and the Vietnam War.
The carbines were first produced in 1941 and used during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Unfortunately, they’ll all come back with deep import stamps on the barrels. These rifles are not going through the CMP.
I want a carbine!
Damn...!! Is there a waiting list? How do I get on it....?
M1 Garand was invented about 1936, NOT 1926, and was first issued about 1937 for testing. They started supplying them in numbers around 1940,41. Marines were still using the 1903 springfield when they landed on Guadalcanal in 1942.
Since many of the CMP rifles were never touched by a U.S. soldier, I don’t see the import stamp as a big issue. Of course, I’m sure that many of these weapons were issued to Korea out of war reserve stocks as well.
How do we buy these guns? Anyone have any info?
Not necessarily. I have a M1 carbine import that has a nearly new 1943 barrel on it. Of course most of them will have more wear than that. Collectors won’t be too interested in an imported carbine anyway.
I’d rather have an M14.
i brought my carbine for 325 a few years back in awesome condition - its selling for 750+ or so now. I wish I had some ammo for it, think I only have about 30rds
Ping! Something to add to your collection :)
30-06 ammo should be easy to find, I would think....
Judging by the response to this article in just a couple minutes, demand — or at least interest — will be high. Darn!
You want a Garand? Buy one [or several] through the Civilian Marksmanshop program. http://odcmp.com/
M1 Carbines are also currently available.
A good cause and probably a better rifle at a better price than this batch of Korean imports.
Based on the number reported, $120 million for 108,000 Garands and carbines? That’s over $1000 each. If they are typical of the Blue Sky imports of the 1990’s, the majority of them will be rack grade rifles (barrel completely worn out, a mix of parts from all manufacturers, no markings on stocks, stocks in poor shape, parts worn beyond specs, etc) and there is NO WAY they will bring much more than $300 each, if that much.
However, if they are cherry picked for condition and originality, rare models, and such, AND they don’t release too many at once, they MIGHT bring that much.
Yes, they will. I had forgotten about the import stamp.
Buy as many as you want in 1000 unit lots. Or do they intend to ship them USPS to individual buyers?
That's over $1000 per rifle. As much as I'd like one, that's too much. IMHO
Get one from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. I have 8 or 9.
It is generally recommended not to use commercial .30-06 ammo in your Garand unless you have an adjustable gas plug. Get some M2 Ball ammo through CMP (while you still can) or one of the surplus retailers to be safe.
Carbines fire .30 carbine rounds, not 30-06. Garand rifles can be found in .308, but most are .30-06, as they were originally.
How are these rifles worth $1,000 each?
They are way old and likely not in great condition.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program has a few million rounds of good Greek imported ammo.
I’m glad you mentioned this, I was going to. Hubby got a Garand a few months ago and we learned then that modern 30-06 isn’t suitable Garand food.
I need to remind him to buy a few more cans of the M2 ball soon.
LQ
“It is generally recommended not to use commercial .30-06 ammo in your Garand unless you have an adjustable gas plug. Get some M2 Ball ammo through CMP (while you still can) or one of the surplus retailers to be safe.”
Federal now makes a special Garand-safe loading in their American Eagle line. I just saw some boxes of it for sale at local gun shows and at a couple retailers. It is in a differently marked red box that states that it is made for M1s. I believe Remington makes an M-2 Ball equivalent loading as well, as does PMC (PMC is probably what most of these Korean rifles were “fed”) I had some of the PMC stuff that I shot up a long time ago, when it came in a camo cardboard box.
They would have to be in very good condition or all correct WWII rifles. Being in Korea for the past 50 years there is no way to verify originality. There has to be some International Harvesters in there, too.
“The Civilian Marksmanship Program has a few million rounds of good Greek imported ammo.”
Before buying that CMP ammo, make sure your range allows for steel cored and/or steel-jacketed bullets. Some places don’t, and the Greek stuff is nearly all steel.
Good info. I had heard about the Federal M1 ammo but have never seen it for sale. I just buy the surplus stuff as long as it is still available. I’ve used up my CMP ammo limit for this year. Hopefully CMP will find another 43 million rounds of the stuff somewhere.
My just received Cheaper than Dirt catalog shows 30 carbine ammo. Both Sellier & Bellot and Wolf.
I know I’ve seen case prices lately. May have been Midway.
CMP shows all out of carbine ammo.
I need to order more cans of -06. I just got my Service grade Garand from CMP and ammo goes too fast.
Yes, it has an import stamp on it's barrel but to me, that only adds to the guns story.
U can buy the brass and reload your own.
U can buy the brass and reload your own.
I don’t want a rifle that has to be loaded down through the breach. Wouldn’t mind having a carbine though.
Make sure you use the CCI-34 primers and good luck finding any of them.
Ping for later.
Yep - their price estimates seem way too high. Especially during a depression/recession, whatever the media calls it today.
They will probably wholesale for a couple hundred and the importers will grade them and retail them according to condition. Unless some go to CMP they will all get an import stamp which will hold the prices down even more.
One thing to think about regarding these rifles and the previous Blue Sky imports; these rifles are the ones the Koreans held back at that time. And they have reportedly been warehoused for many years, so there is some chance that they might not be in as poor condition.
At the very least this will help the parts availability somewhat.
Too late. Holder has branded them assault rifles. They are to be melted down.
Roger that — or FMJ bullets.
Since a good service grade Springfield Armory goes for $595, I can’t see any of the SA’s going for more unless they are M1C sniper rifles. If they have some IHC rifles to come in, a service grade that is mostly original could go for $750 easy.
However, the CMP will not be getting any as they are not in the business of buying and importing rifles.
My dad was never fond of the carbine, which he was issued as a combat engineer. He found himself involved in the taking of a small town in Italy, ran around a corner and literally bumped helmets with a German soldier.
He swung up his carbine, went to hit the safety ("Why did you have the safety on daddy?" "I didn't want to shoot myself in the foot.") and hit the magazine release by mistake and dropped all his bullets in the street.
Fortunately Fritz didn't notice the ominous tinkling sound and kept on beating feet.
Dad threw away the carbine, picked up a Garand from a dead GI, and carried it the rest of the war.
It was easier to find ammo for the Garand then, too.
It is a real bargain.
I reload for pretty much everything else i have - this carbine I have is just a investment - its one of the only 2 WWII guns I own that that have limited ammo for. The other is Luger.
All my others have plenty of ammo :o)reloading is pretty much all i do these days.
The carbine was intended for use by officers, considered a replacement for the .45 auto pistol. It was easier to hit something with it than the with the pistol and up to that point officers were only armed with .45s. My opinion is that they should have chambered it for the .45 and left it at that instead of the carbine .30 round which is, after all, only a pistol round.
I had the M1 Garand, the carbine and an ‘03 Springfield.
Of the 3, the carbine was the most fun to shoot. Neat rifle.
Sadly, a few years ago, we were out shooting on a deserted lake and the boat sank in 60 feet of water and mud and I lost them all and was unable to retrieve them in the murky water.
Hate when that happens.
I want another one anyway.
A Rock Chucker, Lee dies, Hornady bullets, and CCI primers and IMR...yeah, that’s it!
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