Idahoan new to M1s

[Broncovan]

Hello from the Great State of Idaho. I don’t know much about M1s, but I’ve always wanted one. I stopped by my local gunsmith/shop today and he has a M1 hanging on the wall that caught my eye. Problem is, the tag says the barrel is shot out and The furniture is in pretty rough shape. It’s supposed to be a Winchester, but I didn’t see any roll marks on the heel which I thought was very odd. I’ll have to go back tomorrow and take another look. From what I’ve read, I’ll be into it another $300 or so for a barrel + install. He’s asking $600, which seems pretty high to me, but I know absolutely zero about values and which manufacturer is worth more.
Any help for this newby would be much appreciated

thanks!

[TJT]

A lot of the Winchester roll marks are very lightly stamped. It could have also had the snot polished out of it during a refinish. $600 isn't too bad for a Winchester but if you can, take studious and copious notes and pictures, post 'em up here and we can give you an educated guess. A decent, period correct Winchester barrel will set you back almost $500 just by itself. The cheaper ones are usually from the 50's and 60's rebuild programs and are not properly marked to match the receivers. Remember, Winchester made no M1 rifles post WW 2.
Any way, that being said, welcome aboard.
Jon

[m14brian]

Welcome from SoCal!
m14brian

[RDS]

Welcome to the forum. Try to find someone that knows about M1 Garands and have them go with you to check out the rifle. $600.00 is cheap for an M1 Garand and the price my reflect that the rifle has problems. Buying an M1 Garand from the CMP my be a better option for you.

[Broncovan]

I had a few concerns with this rifle, between the barrel and the stock, I was trying to decide if it was better to go with a CMP gun or go with this one.

[Broncovan]

It appears that this rifle was issued through the CMP and from what i can tell, the only thing that is Winchester is the receiver. Everything else seems to be SA. The serial # is very hard to make out, but without a magnifying glass to go with my readers, it looks like it’s a ‘41 build. 130xxx. Lowest he’ll go is $525. I think it’s way too high for a rebarrel when I can get a CMP field grade for not much more than that.

[Prince Humperdink]

Welcome from Montana! Winchester receivers are going for quite a bit now,so may be worth it?

[TJT]

Welcome from Montana! Winchester receivers are going for quite a bit now,so may be worth it?

Ryan is spot-on about the Winchester receivers. You say it "appears" to be a CMP rifle. On what facts do you base this assumption?? If you can, get the numbers and symbols above the right front receiver leg so that we can advise you if it is a welded receiver or legit. There are a LOT of M1 rifles with welded receivers that are pawned off on unsuspecting souls as the real deal. Let us know so we can help you.
Jon

[Orlando]

IMO for your first Garand you should invest in something that you wont have to rebarrel , change the stock and who knows what other parts you may need to replace. It might be worth looking at if you had a working knowledge of the Garand and were able to troubleshoot on your own
Good luck on your decision and welcome to the forum!

[Jersey Devil]

Welcome from NJ!