M1ssion Accomplished

"Snuze: Needs another Swede" (markg)
10/14/2015 at 14:47 • Filed to: GUNLOPNIK

Work boondoggling paid off - 2 weeks ago in Mississippi I was able to take off that Friday while everyone else was flying back and drive up to Anniston, Alabama to visit the CMP HQ. They have a number of offices in the area, spread out, so I didn’t get to see everything, and mainly went to the Armory to pick up my birthday present to myself, which just arrived yesterday.

For those who don’t know, the CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program) is an organization that was created by the US Government to manage the sale of surplus firearms and promote firearms safety and marksmanship skill. They host numerous training programs and competitions around the country, run the national match at Camp Perry, Ohio, and are about to open a new national facility in Talladega, which is just up the road from Anniston. They also sponsor many clubs and shooting teams, including the junior smallbore team that I coach.

The beauty pictured below is an M1D Garand sniper variant, and assembled as a CMP “Special” grade. What this means is that it’s built on a WWII era USGI receiver and parts of various eras that have been gone over and re-parkerized. What makes it special is the correct M1D sniper barrel which is dated to 1952. It’s a NOS barrel pulled from arsenal reserves. The CMP was given a cache of 350 barrels, so there are only 349 other rifles like this one. The assembled rifle is put in a new production walnut stock with CMP cartouche marking. To top it off, the package comes with an offset scope mount (M1’s load from the top, the mount moves the scope about an inch or so left of the receiver) and a reproduction M82 HiLux scope. It’s not technically the correct scope for the M1D, it should have an M84, but it is period correct, and since the gov’t was sourcing a variety of scopes from different suppliers at the end of WWII and using 3 different rifles (03A4, M1C, M1D) it was not uncommon for armorers to mix and match.

I can’t wait to get her sighted in and out to some vintage sniper matches. Also, if anyone is considering making a CMP purchase, I’d highly recommend it, they were fantastic to deal with.

DISCUSSION (22)

T5Killer > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 15:32

I really want to get a lower grade CMP M1 as a pinking toy.

Frank Grimes > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 15:33

It is a dream of mine to do this. I just want a good shooting clean M1 Garand. It is such a cool program with a cool history.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 15:36

How much does the offset scope mess up aiming, and how much of a PITA is it to account for that at different ranges?

vondon302 > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 15:43

That’s a sweet m1. Nice buy. I had forgotten about the cmp. Thanks for the reminder but my wife is gonna be mad at you.

lone_liberal > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 15:57

I spent two months toting one of those around, though not a sniper variant and it had its firing pin removed. They used to use them in Navy bootcamp for drill purposes as well as in physical training. The latter is because those things are not exactly featherweights. At the time I found it interesting that you could stand one up on its butt and it would stay standing. Then again, in bootcamp anything and everything seems more interesting.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > lone_liberal
10/14/2015 at 16:06

I’m assuming you were in a 900 division then? I wasn’t, I never came close to handling anything like this, but the 900’s did all the drill stuff, and they used to carry rifles, but I never did get a good look at what kind.

When I was in, the closest I got to a gun was shooting CO2 powered M9 training pistols once, and then live fired an actual M9s, with RDCs and RSOs screaming at us the whole time. Which, as you can imagine, is absolutely the best way to teach the fundamentals of safe firearms handling.....

And you’re right, it’s not a lightweight by any means. But when I get home tonight you can bet I’m going to take the scope off and try balancing it. Haha

Snuze: Needs another Swede > T5Killer
10/14/2015 at 16:08

I would highly recommend it. They were fantastic to deal with. All the better if you can make it to Camp Perry or Anniston to hand select one. I will warn you though, if you’re interested, I’d try to make it happen sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t describe the shelves as barren, but it also wasn’t exactly filled to the brim with M1’s like I expected.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Frank Grimes
10/14/2015 at 16:11

It really is a great program, and they were fantastic to deal with. They have armorys in Ohio and Alabama, so you can get an M1 from either. Getting to hand select was fun, and worth the trip in my opinion. They have rifles at various price points but I think the CMP Specials are the best bargain - they run $1000, but the cheapest is around $750. With the “Special” you get an original USGI receiver and parts, all gone through and reparkerized, with a new Criterion barrel, and new CMP cartouche stock. Best of both worlds, really, vintage GI receiver, but it’s going to be a great shooter.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > vondon302
10/14/2015 at 16:12

Everyone’s wife is mad at me. Everyone I know has either ended up with a firearm, or a motorcycle, or both. I’m pretty much a terrible influence.

Also can’t recommend enough going through the CMP, they are a great organization.

Tim > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 16:26

Beautiful piece of history. I would love to get my hands on one from the CMP.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Tim
10/14/2015 at 16:28

I’d highly recommend it, they are great to deal with. And I wouldn’t say it’s at a critical level yet, but their inventory is getting low, so you’d probably best do it sooner rather than later.

Tim > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 16:29

Looked into it years ago. I don’t dare do more than type CMP into the computer here at work, but are the Paratrooper folding stock ones almost impossible to find anymore?

lone_liberal > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 16:30

I don’t think so. I was in a regular old bootcamp company (in Great Lakes) but we marched with those things everywhere we went and used them during PT. I didn’t shoot a thing when I was in bootcamp. We went to the range and went through the training on the old .45 Colt (hey, I’m old) but we weren’t one of the companies who got to fire them. They did throw us a bone and didn’t require us to march with them when the grinders were covered in snow or ice, though. Mighty nice of them.

El Rivinado > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 17:02

My dad went up to one of the CMP camps in Ohio and picked one of these bad boys up along with tons of surplus ammo and a shit ton of en-blocs, and gave it to me before my 17th birthday as my gift. That was probably the only time in history I actually was genuinely happy to have him as a dad.

My M1 Garand is great, although I'm concerned that after running surplus through it one time that I didn't clean it properly. Should probably get a bore light one of these days to check the condition.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > lone_liberal
10/14/2015 at 17:04

I’m sure its change since you were there. Hell, I was there in 2004 and it’s changed a whole lot even since then. I was on a ship inspection last week in Wisconsin and started talking to a sailor who graduated bootcamp a few months before me. He said he went back to visit a shipmate who is an RDC a few months ago and was telling me all the stuff that changed since we were there.

While I was there the regular divisions (I think there were about 10 or so in my graduating class) didn’t march or PT or anything with rifles. Each graduating class has a 900 division in it, made up of select recruits pulled from each division, who do drill with rifles and such. They do all the ceremonial stuff at graduation and things like that.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Tim
10/14/2015 at 17:10

Haha, I feel your apprehension. But I work for a defense contractor now, so nobody here cares.

As far as I know, they never made an M1 Garand with a folding stock. I think you’re thinking of the M1 Carbine paratrooper, but I could be wrong. If that’s the case, the CMP almost never gets carbines anymore. If they do, they put them up for auction on their website, they are not for sale in the store. In fact there was a paratrooper on there for sale a couple weeks ago, I think it brought almost $3k. The paratroopers are very rare and desirable and that price is pretty much the going rate for a correct one.

Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret I got from the armorer down there. The CMP recently got a cache of about 1000 carbines. They are in the process of going over them and prepping them for sale. They got a few paratroopers, a few rare manufactures (Rockola, National Postal Meter, IBM, etc.), and a bunch of Inland and Winchester. They should be going up for sale in a few weeks. The rare ones will be auctioned on their site. The Inlands and Winchesters will be sold at the CMP stores. I’d call or e-mail about availability if you’re interested.

lone_liberal > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 17:18

Yeah, we had those drill companies too, along with ones for band and such, but back then a regular company drilled with rifles and marched with them in graduation. It didn’t make much sense since knowing how to “right shoulder, arms!” didn’t mean much in the Navy.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > El Rivinado
10/14/2015 at 17:53

Wow, that’s quite a gift!

What kind of surplus ammo was it, the stuff the CMP sells? As far as I know, none of that is corrossive, so you shouldn’t have any problems. Maybe it’s just really fouled up in there and you need to clean it again good?

Snuze: Needs another Swede > lone_liberal
10/14/2015 at 17:56

Agreed. And that clip is great. I don’t think I’ve ever watched Stripes, though I’ve heard of it. I think I might have to add it to my play list.

lone_liberal > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 17:58

It follows in the grand tradition of movies set in bootcamp where the movie is solid until they graduate. See also Private Benjamin and to a much lesser extent Full Metal Jacket.

El Rivinado > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/14/2015 at 18:07

I wish I knew, all I know is that it’s steel jacketed rounds, and that some of them have a green ring around the primer caps. They also say HXP 78 on the bottom, and they came in a big old school steel ammo box in army green with period correct writing on it. I know their surplus, I just don’t know if that brand is like some of the old Russian surplus stuff that'll turn a Mosin's bore into a pile of rust if you ain't careful.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > El Rivinado
10/14/2015 at 18:25

That’s the same stuff I have, it should be safe to shoot. I’d try to give it another good cleaning, maybe look into a heavy duty foaming bore cleaner or something.

And Mosins... You had to go there. That old copper wash surplus ammo worst. And the best. Haha. I have one, it was my second rifle I bought, and what got me hooked on shooting old Mil Surp guns. My friends and I went camping and we shot the hell out of it one time. The range was about to close so I threw it in the back of the truck and said I’d clean it out when we got back to our camp site. Between the last shot fired and me starting to clean it back at camp was < 2 hours. Full. Of. Rust. UGH!