Will comparably priced 30-06 rifles be
O the same as the M 1
O poorer shooters than the M 1
O the same quality as the c.m.p. M 1
O better
O much better

I am talking about consistent accuracy .

and $1,300.00 is the top of the price scale.

is a $1,300.00 gun a $1,300.00 gun ?

will they all shoot pretty much the same ?

A Garand will not be able to match the accuracy of a precision bolt-action rifle with a nice scope.

Garands did not need to be ultra-accurate. They were designed to be mass-produced military rifles capable of rugged reliability and hits on man-sized targets at reasonable ranges. They were not designed to be competition rifles or precision sniper rifles.

A 5" or smaller 5 shot group at 100 yards was the accuracy standard for a M1 Garand at production. A 6" or smaller group at 100 yards was acceptable for an armorer/arsenal refurbished Garand. Competition shooters and precision marksmen would be very unhappy with a 5 or 6 MOA rifle, or even half that. Their rifles are typically capable of accuracy under 1 MOA (which would be less than 1" groups at 100 yards).

When Garands are used in competition, it is in special matches against other Garands. There are things that can be done to competition Garands that will improve their accuracy a bit, but they still won't be able to compete against dedicated precision rifles.

If you want an ultra-accurate precision rifle, there are a number of better options than a Garand. But there's no better option than a CMP M1 Garand for a quality, affordable, fun to shoot, important piece of American history. I firmly believe every gun enthusiast should have at least one Garand.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
is a $1,300.00 gun a $1,300.00 gun ?

No. Guns, while they may be generally capable at a variety of things, are usually designed to specialize in one or more specific purposes.

For example, a $1300 rifle designed specifically for short-range hunting in overgrown brush will be better at that specific purpose than a $1300 rifle built for long-range competition from the prone position. And vice versa.

Similarly, a $1300 competition pistol and a $1300 police duty pistol will be different in a number of ways.

D

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
A Garand will not be able to match the accuracy of a precision bolt-action rifle with a nice scope.

Agreed. Buy a garand if you want a great piece of history to collect and/or enjoy shooting. I have several and love them, but they are not target rifles.

Unless you have a Garand rebarreled and tuned, it's not going to do better than "minute of man." A commercial bolt will be more accurate any day of the week compared to a CMP.

Have you thought about an M1a? It’s not gonna be bolt gun accurate either but they are pretty good, and pretty close to a Garand

Yeah, you need a Garand because it's awesome, not because it's accurate...

thanks , thats good to know .

another Sigforum member in AZ , let me shoot his M1 , many years ago it was very fun , similar to an sks Yugo that I had at the time.

the thought of owning one weighs a great deal on the decision making process. What a great gun .

But ! it would be be nice to hit basketball's consistently at 200 yards for the same $1,300.00

The average Garand, properly zeroed and fired by a shooter with sufficient skill, should be capable of hitting basketball-sized objects at 200 yards.

The bigger question is whether you can see a basketball sitting 200 yards away, and whether you would be able to hit it using just iron sights.

I just ask the kids to not make so much noise. No need to shoot their basketball.

you can do better if you reload for it and put a scout scope on it.
Back in the seventies I tapped the receiver and mounted a williams side mount on my first M-1.
Hunted for years as it was my only rifle.
The last one I bought from cmp I re barreled with a new old stock barrel I had for decades and mounted a scout scope

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
it would be be nice to hit basketball's consistently at 200 yards for the same $1,300.00

I basketball is about 9.5" in diameter. At 200 yards that's a little over 4 MOA. Low-end ARs and AKs with crappy ammo can attain that minimal level of "accuracy". A Mini-14 should pass that test. I have very limited experience with an M1, but 2-4 MOA accuracy should be the ballpark. Performance closer to 2 MOA will require a good rifle, a good shooter, and good ammo.

Current production bolt-action hunting rifles can be 1-MOA-ish in accuracy in 30-06 with a scope. Last month I sighted in a Winchester he won at a Safari Club auction. I was definitely a lighter weight rifle, with a fairly cheap plastic/polymer stock, chambered in .270 Winchester. The first 3 rounds I shot at 100 yards with Remington hunting ammo produced a cloverleaf group of about 1/8". The second group of 3 Winchester hunting ammo did a group of just over 1/4". A few other loads of Federal and Hornady ammo produced 3-round groups of 3/4" to 1". Amazing performance for a light-weight barrel in a production gun that probably retails for $700-800.

There should be a number of other rifles on the market with similar performance for 30-06, for under $1300. Change the caliber to 308 or 6.5 Creedmoor, and now you can get even greater accuracy potential -- mainly due to factory match ammo -- all for $1300 or less with bolt action rifles. From a solid shooting position, this means 200 yard hits on a tennis ball are possible.

While not match target F class rifles the Garand isnt inaccurate by any means. If you want to shoot tiny groups its not what your looking for off the rack but it is a very nice rifle for the money from CMP and just fine for most purposes.

As always what do you want it for?