New Production Garand?

[raftman]

So apparently the rumor has been swirling for a few months now, but a Palmetto State Armory representative recently confirmed since PSA bought the Harrington and Richardson name and their intellectual property (including technical data packages, blueprints, etc), they have been actively pursuing developing a new production M1 Garand under the H&R name (interview below, Garand discussion starts at around the 12:15 mark).

I was just wondering what people's opinions are on how financially viable this idea actually is and how much demand there even is for something like that. It seems like it would be pretty expensive to manufacture and could easily exceed the cost of just buying an original. It also seems like most people (myself included) enjoy the Garand largely for its historic association and historic significance rather than as a practical firearm... and you'd get less of that from a modern replica. There definitely are modern reproductions of WW2 firearms in production today (eg 1911's and M1 Carbines), but they tend to only have any chance of commercial success if they're far more affordable than the original and I'm just not sure I see that happening with a Garand. Of course original Garands aren't exactly getting any cheaper or more common so who knows if in a couple years the equations look a little different.

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[VinnieBoomBah]

Not that they would have to, but it sure would be nice if they did . . .

OOOD: McCann Industries .458 Win Mag Garand -

Back in early 2000’s, McCann Industries (known for their M1 Garand Gas Trap Adjuster) manufactured an M1 Garand in .458 Winchester Magnum. Not made anymore after the passing of McCann’s primary gunsmith, the rifles are a fine example of ingenuity and practicality applied to big-game hunting. At...

www.thefirearmblog.com

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

That would be awesome. Just wish PSA brought those $800 MP5 clones to market

 

[Stomper]

If they do make new production Garands, hopefully they'll use stronger steel alloys so you can shoot modern '06 rounds through them without worrying about breaking the op-rod.

 

[GWS]

They're going to have to make all the parts
I think this new Garand will have to be all MIM or else very expensive

 

[DLS]

If they do make new production Garands, hopefully they'll use stronger steel alloys so you can shoot modern '06 rounds through them without worrying about breaking the op-rod.

I doubt modern steels would make the op rod less likely to bend with out of spec ammo. The steel used even in WWII was plenty strong. The problem is that the rod is very long and thin so I'm guessing it would take a pretty large increase in strength to allow higher gas port pressures.

Perhaps if it was made out of titanium or another metal? Not so cheap an idea. But what do I know, I am not a materials engineer so I may be totally wrong on this.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

More guns is never a bad thing, and more grands is a beautiful thing indeed. Am I a customer? No, I'd rather have an original any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I wish them all the best though. PSA generally doesn't have trouble moving stock; quite the opposite, actually.

 

[JuglansRegia]

The Garand is a machine that will cause PSA lots of headaches before they iron out all the wrinkles, if they plan on building them.

 

[gmerkt]

Palmetto State Armory representative recently confirmed since PSA bought the Harrington and Richardson name and their intellectual property (including technical data packages, blueprints, etc), they have been actively pursuing developing a new production M1 Garand under the H&R name

This statement by PSA might just be marketing fluff. HRA made M1 Rifles for the US government under contract, I don't know that they would've acquired any "intellectual property" from that. Not any that was unique to HRA, anyway, because it wasn't their design. My point being, PSA"s purchase of HRA name, etc., doesn't give them any particular leg up on actually making the rifle. Being able to say, "Hey, we bought the company that used to make M1 Garands" may have some marketing value. The corporate iteration of HRA that made the M1 Rifle under government contract has been gone since the 1980's, but the tooling to make the M1 was gone long before that.

Remember, Springfield Armory, Inc. used to make their own line of M1 Rifles. I believe their last offerings were circa 2005 or thereabouts. Once the DCM morphed into the CMP, it became a business. With the passage of time, more and more people heard about this source of "original" M1 Rifles. One guy buys a CMP rifle, he tells ten other guys about it, five of them send for their own. So even with continually rising prices, CMP competition against new production is a tough nut to crack.

 

[TTSX]

Unless they can make them for under $500, I wouldn't be a buyer and I really don't see that happening. PSA products, in my general opinion, are cheap mag dump machines.

What I think they SHOULD do is make a bunch of parts so we can repair the real things with modern materials. The whole point of a Garand, to me, is to hold a piece of real history in my hands and contemplate what it would say and the stories it would tell if it could speak

 

[DLS]

...CMP competition against new production is a tough nut to crack.

The CMP is now out of rifles, so that source of original guns is gine.

The blueprints and production notes would be highly valuable if you were to start making these rifles once again.

 

[nehalemguy]

It might be successful venture if the price point could beat what M1 rifles are currently bringing.

As of today 4/5/22, the cheapest and only CMP sourced Garand available for mail order is the $1100 re-barreled, re-stocked, re-finished "Expert" grade rifle. Supply at the CMP appears to be drying up and unless there is another large lot of MAP guns sitting undiscovered in a warehouse somewhere, things are looking grim.

-E-

 

[Andy54Hawken]

New production M1 rifles...?
Sure...that would be fine.

Maybe in addition to having them in .30-06 how 'bout ones in :
.308
7.62 x39mm
.556
Andy

 

[Pepe-lepew]

New production M1 rifles...?
Sure...that would be fine.

Maybe in addition to having them in .30-06 how 'bout ones in :
.308
7.62 x39mm
.556
Andy

There is already commercial versions in those calibers, M1a, mini 30 and mini 14.

 

[Mikej]

Maybe in addition to having them in .30-06 how 'bout ones in :
.308

That's basically what these are....

Very cool, but I don't think you can find them anywhere in the retail scene these days? I'd have one of these. And in my mind, a new model Garand would be the same as the above, and the new model M1 Carbines that Inland had. Fun to have, but doesn't have the "Soul".
There's THAT word again!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

There is already commercial versions in those calibers, M1a, mini 30 and mini 14.

Those are in production.
However...
None of them are of the actual M1 rifle design .
Andy

 

[Andy54Hawken]

That's basically what these are....
View attachment 1171065
Very cool, but I don't think you can find them anywhere in the retail scene these days? I'd have one of these. And in my mind, a new model Garand would be the same as the above, and the new model M1 Carbines that Inland had. Fun to have, but doesn't have the "Soul".
There's THAT word again!

That is a M1A / M14....Not a M1 rifle.

I am talking about a rifle that is true to the design of the M1 rifle...but in different calibers.
Andy

 

[Mikej]

That is a M1A / M14....Not a M1 rifle.

I am talking about a rifle that is true to the design of the M1 rifle...but in different calibers.
Andy

I was just telling my feelings, that a new M1 Garand won't be the same. My new model Inland was touted as being able to exchange parts with the original M1 Carbine. But it's not the same. I have a Garand that's only U.S, parts are a '44 receiver and '52 barrel. It wears an after market blonde stock. All the other parts are BMB. BMB are fine parts. Italian made to original specs. The rifle runs flawless. It's better, but it's not the CMP Garand I have with the warts from service somewhere in the world between WWII and Korea.

 

[User 1234]

PSA has had trouble even producing a reliable AK, so I'm skeptical about them producing a nice Garand.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

To be more clear here in regards to my post #13

A new production M1 Rifle in .30-06 would be good to see.

Also a rifle that uses the actual design of the M1 rifle ( with en bloc clip and all ) in the following calibers :
.308 , 7.62 x 39mm and .556 would be neat as well.

Not wanting to see a M1A , Mini 14 or Mini 30....
Those are good rifles in their own right...however influenced they are by the M1 Rifle...they are not the same.
Andy