I Was Hosed By The CMP Big Time!

[Punch The Clown]

Well, not really. I only bought 2 rifles from them. One was a nice 5.8 and the other was my infamous WRA. I think it was Canes that described his 3 CMP purchases as looking like Orest took some high fiber dumps in the boxes and shipped them off still warm. I'm not looking to bash the CMP. Just curious about what average purchases are like.

[Prince Humperdink]

I've had great luck wit CMP"luck O' the draw.My bayonets were great,and barreled Receivers described as "bad"all had great barrels.My 1917 was way better than described.I have never ordered a complete M1 though.
hugs,
Ryan

[Orlando]

Most of my purchases I handpicked at the NS but probably mail ordered 8-10 rifles and all were as described with the exception of the Service WRA I ordered last year.
Only rifle I didnt feel meet the description and I sent it back

[Punch The Clown]

Most of my purchases I handpicked at the NS but probably mail ordered 8-10 rifles and all were as described with the exception of the Service WRA I ordered last year.
Only rifle I didnt feel meet the description and I sent it back

And you got Checkmates RRAD. Sweet rifle. I still regret not buying that one.

[jak]

I picked out most of my rifles from the NS or SS. I got 4 rifles from mail order and they all met the descriptions. However, out of the four, I would have personally selected only one of them if I had to pick them out at the store.

[Roadkingtrax]

I think living near the store is key.

Regarding the handful of rifles I actually bought, direct from the CMP? I have never gotten a drop dead, nice rifle from the CMP. All other rifles have been purchased on forums 2nd hand or privately from those that got way nicer examples.

I have my HRA (which came with a ugly sonic cleaned USGI stock), sold my first HRA (Black greek park and birch stock, total yuck.), and I have my WRA...which was a nice WW2 era rifle. The rifles all met the criteria spelled out on the sales page, so nothing to complain about there. Aesthetically they needed some help.

As received from CMP all Service Grades:

WRA
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/ttraxler/1942Winny006.jpg

HRA (sold)
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/ttraxler/Picture002.jpg

HRA (Kept but in much better stock now)
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/ttraxler/1955%20HRA/1955HRA001.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/ttraxler/GI%20Wood/GIWood007.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/ttraxler/GI%20Wood/GIWood013.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/ttraxler/GI%20Wood/GIWood010.jpg

[Punch The Clown]

My 5.8 was a mailorder. The rifle was essentially correct, needed a triggergroup of which The Garand Guy swapped one out for me, making the rifle 100%. Living 20 minutes from Tony is almost as good as living near the North or South Store. Metal and furniture are very nice. My SG WRA was a loser. A NOS barrel that was never finished reamed-wouldn't chamber a round. That didn't bother me but the heel stamp was almost unreadable and the furniture was new birch. Overall a piece of crap. The replacement they sent also had a NOS barrel but the furniture was very nice GI and the receiver is very nice.
It seems by the responses so far decent rifles are the rule rather than the exception.

[redheep]

I purchased 3 SG HRA's from the NS last year. I don't have a ton of experience, but they were some of the nicest rifles I've ever seen. When we were there, the whole rack was full of the same quality of garands.

My dad and my brother got the ones with the HRA stocks, which turned out gorgeous after some cleaning and I got a SA stock that was the same. The park and finish was basically like a new rifle. Only mine had some wear on the bayonet lug.

All 3 of them had SA bolts, but original HRA barrels that were ME 1+ and TE 1. They shoot and function well.

I have 2 WW2 bayonets, original 10 inchers, one a UFH and one an AFH. They show wear, but overall fit the description. The 16" SA bayonet that just showed up has the black finish and serial numbers stamped into it, but otherwise looks unsharpened and serviceable.

I think sometimes people place unrealistic expectations on what they're ordering. Sure, sometimes a guy gets some super random rifle in the mail and posts pictures and everyone tells him how amazing it is and what the history is, etc. But then, every person who orders through the mail thinks they're going to be that guy and when they aren't, they get all huffy and want to send their stuff back because it's not "good enough". They invent reasons they think the company owes them a better product.

I don't believe in your guys' case that it was like that, because you got actual rifles that did not meet the criteria and/or functioned poorly. But there are certainly a lot of whiney bitches out there that think they should get a mercedes for a yugo price.

[canes7]

I'll never mail order form the CMP again if I can help it. 3 squishy Cleveland steamers in a row....no thanks.

I'll try to reserve my rifle purchases to store visits.

[checkmate19]

I have one hand pick from the north store and it took Dad a few hours to find it, 3.2 mil GAW stock and original barrel and pretty nice all around. Magna picked out a nice one for me also HRA with mostly correct parts. The rest were mail order and some fantastic rifles at that. WRAs with WWII barrels , SAs HRAs and IHCs even an IHC//SA.

<a href="http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/checkmate19/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_9083.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/checkmate19/IMG_9083.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/checkmate19/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_9087.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/checkmate19/IMG_9087.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Just two of many , the lower is a HRA just swapped the trigger group and its correct.
I had a few that were only ok and was able to sell them with out losing any money.

[checkmate19]

Hey looky here Orlando!
<a href="http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/checkmate19/?action=view&amp;current=100_2091.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/checkmate19/100_2091.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

SG from 05

[Orlando]

Nice, I hope someday to be able to find the SA # 1382174 sister to my WRA

Another one of my favorite Garands is a USGI Field Grade that I mail ordered years ago from CMP. They used to have rifles that were never loaned to other countries and this is one of them.
Field Grades today arent what they were years ago
A Springfield Tooele Arsenal rebuild, correct barrel
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/USGI%20Field%20Grade/MVC-008S-1.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/USGI%20Field%20Grade/MVC-009S-1.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/USGI%20Field%20Grade/MVC-010S.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/USGI%20Field%20Grade/MVC-009S.jpg

[Orlando]

Mail order SA Correct
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Springfield%20Correct/MVC-027S-1.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Springfield%20Correct/MVC-022S.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Springfield%20Correct/MVC-025S.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Springfield%20Correct/MVC-021S.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Springfield%20Correct/MVC-026S-1.jpg
Mail order Underwood Carbine
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Underwood%20Carbine/Picture016.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Underwood%20Carbine/MVC-010F.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Underwood%20Carbine/MVC-011F.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Underwood%20Carbine/MVC-002F.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/Garandlover/Underwood%20Carbine/Picture026.jpg

[timshufflin]

All my mail orders have been just as described, in my opinion. I am quite sure that others would have returned some of my field grades with broken, ugly, yucky stocks and all but I expected that. I just want functioning rifles and, for the most part, they were. Only function issues I've had is about 10% have had broken elevation drums, 10% with broken oprod springs, and 40% with loose rear sights.

[cuppednlocked]

I have only mail ordered 3 rifles, the others I picked up visiting the ss. All were within the sg description but I sold the worst of the 3 because the muzzle measured slightly over 2.

I picked out RG in the store that had essentially a new barrel (turns out it was bent). After sending it back I was told that the receiver was just about out of spec. Only recourse was to have a mail order RG or a refund. I chose the latter. I was hoping for a little better cs... not a brand new rifle. I had taken the trouble to drive to Annistion for the sole intent of buying a couple of rifles. I found a great racker and ended up only being offered what was next in the luck'o pipeline. I understand that it was only a racker but they could have grabbed another racker off the wall, spun a good barrel on the receiver, slapped the original stock set on and shipped the thing out.

After seeing the store inventory of RG and FG I would never mail order. Hand selection is a must!

On the bright side my first was a FG that Leon picked out. 3.5 SA w original 2-45 barrel, and great trigger. I didn't know it at the time but the rear sight had sight black all over it. I'm thinking it was used in matches because of the trigger and sight black. Muzzle gauged a 1.5, and the throat a 5.

[sandsnow]

One CMP mailorder, one of the First release M1Ds. Met all specs but was not a looker.
Stock loaded with cosmo
Sprung sight cover
gas cylinder was silver and rattled like a castanet
bore was dark and loaded with copper
almost silver buttplate
nicked crown

but it turns out to be a fair shooter. So far in shooting it, if I was a sniper, I could get kills out to 300 yds.

[melloman]

No super above average items like a few brag about, just items that fit the description - no disappointments.

[REHRIFLE]

No complaints with the four mail order rifles I have purchased. When tearing apart and cleaning the 22 caliber shortly after it arrived, I notice a hairline crack in the stock near the bolt. I asked customer service if this was something to expect. If it was, my plan was fix it and move on. They responded that no, it should not have gone out and asked that I mail it back for a replacemenet stock. All none rifle purchases (ammo, bayos etc) have arrived as described by cmp. To parrot many others on the cmp forum, I have no complaints with their customer service.

[spinner]

Howdy everyone, been a while and had to be re-registered. No war room for me till I get 5 posts. lol. Most of the mail order rifles have been good. Except for the one carbine with a cracked stock. Take care Spin

[Hamour]

I have 3 rifles from CMP:

A Service Grade SA 5.8 range. Muzzle wear was .5 and it was all correct as far as I could tell. VERY surprised and Pleased.

Two SA Service Grade Specials 5.4 range, muzzle wear was .25 or less. The metal looked to have no wear (It does now!)

I did not buy for collecting but to have M1's to shoot and enjoy for many years to come. My nephew, son and I shoot them quite a lot. The open sights are fun to shoot at 100 and 200 yds. They could not believe how good they could do with the peeps and a big black bullseye to shoot at! My eyes being of poor quality has driven me to put the Ultimak scope base and mount a 2x7 Burris pistol scope.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/HamourKiller/Hunting/DSC07061.jpg

[rlelvis]

Of about 18 Garands that were mail ordered over the years a couple have gone back. The most recent did not meet barrel criteria and the other was a CG that had solder on the heal, sight and op rod, opinion could go either way on that one. I also sent back a Carbine that did not meet barrel criteria. When they had them listed I received RG’s that had decent salvageable wood, met SG criteria and overall were not unlike some of the SG’s I saw at the NS earlier this year. A trip to either store is definitely the way to go but even my last trip left me disappointed.

Now, outside of a few very nice Post War rifles I have never received anything exciting, never an original WWII bbl, no lockbars, not one WWII stock with a visible cartouche, or any other notable parts to speak of.


It is what it is but it’s not what it was.

[KnickKnack]

My only 2 M1 rifles and 3 of my carbines are hand picked from the stores. The other 3 carbines were mail order and I was not disappointed in them. They did look a little ugly out of the box, but I expected that and after doing the clean up on them I was quite happy. :)

[LEAD POISON]

Other than the speacials,Which were nice.
ALL others just meet grade.Sent a few down the road pronto.

[Hamour]

Other than the speacials,Which were nice.
ALL others just meet grade.Sent a few down the road pronto.

The SG I ordered was a correct grade as far as I could tell, when my nephew ordered one, it was just in grade (SG). Since a personal trip to the south store would cost more in time and money than the difference between a SG or a SG Special, I ordered the two SA SG Special and was more than happy. I recomend that people pick up an HRA or SA service grade special before they are gone. My two looked new. No risk on he SG specials.

Hank

[musketjon]

The CMP got one chance to f__k me---------and they did-----in spades. Last year I ordered an HRA SG and asked for USGI wood. When it came I wanted to cry---or send it back. The metal had a slight "been there--done that" look to it which I actually prefer but it had that crappy, not fit to be on anybody's rifle pumpkin wood. Even Maynard is showing his disdain for it as well and Ashley has turned her back to it. So it cost me an extra $200 to dress it properly. So much for the "cheap" rifles from the cmp. Other than that, it was fine. I'll never order from the cmp ever again and a trip to either store is out of the question--I'm 2500 miles from either one.
Just my rant for the day.
Jon
Here it is as received:
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/musketjon/IMG_0018-2.jpg
How should've looked and now does:
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/musketjon/IMG_0031.jpg

[timshufflin]

The CMP got one chance to f__k me---------and they did-----in spades. Last year I ordered an HRA SG and asked for USGI wood. When it came I wanted to cry---or send it back. The metal had a slight "been there--done that" look to it which I actually prefer but it had that crappy, not fit to be on anybody's rifle pumpkin wood. Even Maynard is showing his disdain for it as well and Ashley has turned her back to it. So it cost me an extra $200 to dress it properly. So much for the "cheap" rifles from the cmp. Other than that, it was fine. I'll never order from the cmp ever again and a trip to either store is out of the question--I'm 2500 miles from either one.
Just my rant for the day.
Jon
Here it is as received:



So, would that have been a "disappointed but met grade"?

[musketjon]

[So, would that have been a "disappointed but met grade"? ]

The short answer:
Yes. But a MAJOR disappointment.
Jon

[deputy85]

between garands carbines 03's and 22s probably about 30 rifles since 03 only one i complained about was the SA 03 it looked beyond hope, but after countless hours of work it is a pretty nice rifle

[tljames]

I've only ordered 5 through CMP, all met grade description! The one I had issue with was a S.A. Service grade. Canes7 probably remembers, The thing shot 14" high at 100 yds! I sought the forum for answers / solutions, Canes7 offered several suggestions, which I tried. None worked. Finally I called CMP they said return it and we'll see whats going on. Long story short they said receiver face was damaged and barrel wasn't true. Thus they replaced rifle no question. So I have no complaints with what I've received from them! My only problem has been with some of the "Garand Gods" on their forum! That's why I'm here and haven't visted or posted over there in 2 + years!

[The Garand Guy]

I have been buying M1's from the CMP for many years, and have examined many bought by friends. Othere than minor pitting, and bummer wood, they were fine. I may have had to change out some parts to make them correct, but they came out nice in the end.
If anyone is dissatisfied, and returns the M1 to the CMP, they will replace it.

[Phil McGrath]

I got my first M1 back whan it was the DCM and rifles were once in a life time, me and my buddy did a few matches and sent in our paperwork the wait times were forever almost a full year long wait. I got what you would discribe as a total beater rifle. A WWII SA and a total mix of parts, that rifle looked like it was drug from a jeep, its only saving grace was that it did shoot well ugly as it was. What did my buddy get? a brand new/pristine out of the box looking arrowhead IHC, everything correct right down too the date in the stock, as good as my rifle shot his IHC was even better.

About a year later we get the idea too have the wives go out and shoot a few matches, so we guy's can double down and get another rifle, sounded good at the time and the wives are good sports and go along with our plan. After almost another years wait our rifles came in. My wife gets a better looking rifle than the one that I had, but its a dog in the accuracy dept. it wouldn't hold the black at 200yds. My good buddy what does his wife get? same deal buts its the sweetest H&R I have seen in my life and the walnut stock has the cleanest well defined tigerstripes in not just the stock but up and down both handguards as well, for accuracy its a good shooter almost as good as his IHC.

The two M1's that I have now have been private pickups, seems that I have to find mine the hard way, 1 is a sweet DCM rifle, the other is a good CMP rifle that I rebarreled with a 7.62mm tube, everyone else gets there sweetharts like there M1 magnents.

[Punch The Clown]

Phil, I got my DCM gun in the mid 70's. It was mint and included a muzzle and rear sight protector. I thought all the DCM guns were rebuilds. Guess not and welcome to the forum.

[andykev]

My first CMP rifle was their "CMP SPECIAL" which is the rebuilt. It came with new barrel (Criterion), new CMP stock, and all the metal refinished. It looks magnificent. I wanted a "new" rifle, a shooter that would last me forever (at my age, that is about 25-30 years!).

Since then, I have bought some others, from local people. One is a very nice 1944 SA with very nice metal, and an orig. stock that someone sanded and oiled.

And as my education on these guns grew...I KICK MYSELF for turning up my nose at a M1 just because it has very dirty wood and some idiot carved "JIMMY" in
the stock! It was $1200, and I asked "why do I need another"? I know better now. You know what it had?

Original stock (would have easily cleaned up), uncut op rod, original 3-44 barrel with excellent bore, Lock Bar Sight, all matching numbers inside. Metal finish was excellent. The gun was some guys dad's WWII gun. Of course, the next day, someone came to the club and whipped out the cash and got it!
I then did my homework and found out what I missed. I began research right away......and now I know "the rest of the story".

[timshufflin]

My first CMP rifle was their "CMP SPECIAL" which is the rebuilt. It came with new barrel (Criterion), new CMP stock, and all the metal refinished. It looks magnificent. I wanted a "new" rifle, a shooter that would last me forever (at my age, that is about 25-30 years!).

Since then, I have bought some others, from local people. One is a very nice 1944 SA with very nice metal, and an orig. stock that someone sanded and oiled.

And as my education on these guns grew...I KICK MYSELF for turning up my nose at a M1 just because it has very dirty wood and some idiot carved "JIMMY" in
the stock! It was $1200, and I asked "why do I need another"? I know better now. You know what it had?

Original stock (would have easily cleaned up), uncut op rod, original 3-44 barrel with excellent bore, Lock Bar Sight, all matching numbers inside. Metal finish was excellent. The gun was some guys dad's WWII gun. Of course, the next day, someone came to the club and whipped out the cash and got it!
I then did my homework and found out what I missed. I began research right away......and now I know "the rest of the story".


Don't kick yourself to awfully much, that was a nice rifle to have but not a super bargain. You could do better and you could do worse, it was priced just a bit below top dollar and a bit above bottom dollar.

[Punch The Clown]

Some guy over at the CMP forum commented that the average CMP customer is in the shallow end of the collecting pool. He is correct. If you ever saw Tony Giacobbe's guns you'd realize that and I'm sure Tony is a piker next to some others. I collect within my budget. All of my rifles are restorations as that is all I can afford. I just try to make them as nice as I can.

[Roadkingtrax]

Some guy over at the CMP forum commented that the average CMP customer is in the shallow end of the collecting pool. He is correct. If you ever saw Tony Giacobbe's guns you'd realize that and I'm sure Tony is a piker next to some others. I collect within my budget. All of my rifles are restorations as that is all I can afford. I just try to make them as nice as I can.

Send the link...this guy does not sound very nice. :)

Honestly though, my departed grandmother used to always say..."What you don't have, you never miss." Someone who survived allied bombing of Munich on several occasions...I'd say she would know more about that than a lot of people.

[dpd3672]

Some guy over at the CMP forum commented that the average CMP customer is in the shallow end of the collecting pool. He is correct. If you ever saw Tony Giacobbe's guns you'd realize that and I'm sure Tony is a piker next to some others. I collect within my budget. All of my rifles are restorations as that is all I can afford. I just try to make them as nice as I can.

Who cares whether they are or are not?

I collect for my own pleasure, I really don't GAF whether anyone considers my collection to be impressive or embarrassing. I'm very proud of every gun I've purchased, restored, tweaked, cleaned up, and learned about in the process, but I'm sure there are people, at the "higher end" of collecting, that wouldn't cross the street to receive one of my guns as a gift...God Bless 'em, I hope they're happy pursuing their own interests.

There's a guy I work with whom I talk with every morning, as I'm leaving and he's coming in. He saw me shopping on Gunbroker, looking for some part or another, and we got to discussing guns. He mentioned he had a Garand that he'd got a LONG time ago ("long" meaning about 10-15 years in this case). He said his grandfather had carried one in the Army, and had bought one just like it for himself. Grandfather passed on a while back, he wound up with the gun. He was very proud of it, and wanted me to take a look at it, tell him what he had, and give it a good cleaning and function check. I said I'd be happy to, blah, blah, blah.

He brought the gun in a case he'd obviously spent a bit of money on. I was actually a little excited, the optimist in me anticipating some rare or unusual specimen. What came out of the case was a Century receiver, with a mix of parts from every country that'd ever made M1 parts. He was extremely proud of the gun, so I really didn't want to disappoint him by telling him it was basically worthless as a collectible, had absolutely zero history, and other than a few odd parts, had probably never fired a shot in anger.

The point is, it doesn't matter. HE is proud of his gun, HE has a piece of history (in a manner of speaking), and HE is the owner of a gun "just like his grandfather" carried off to war. High end collectors would sneer at his gun. Even the so called "newbies" at the CMP wouldn't touch his gun, at best they'd offer him a few bucks for the few desirable parts that it had. Me, I told him it was a beautiful gun, and was in very nice condition (it was, the metal was a mix of finishes, but the finish was all factory new; the BMB barrel looked unfired, the PB stock was clean and free of any damage, matched the handguards well, and had a very nice aged look). I took it home, detail stripped and cleaned it, filled out a data sheet for him, with notes for each part, when and where it was manufactured, and wrote a little paragraph on the back about the Century built guns, and how they came to be.

If anything, he's even more proud of the gun now, has a bit more of a connection to it, and will probably get more out of shooting it. He's not a "serious collector" as most of us would define it, but he's certainly a passionate lover of the gun, someone who'll possibly add indirectly to this hobby of ours.

We all have our own list of priorities. Some are blessed with the ability, the luck, the time, and the finances to take a passion "all the way;" others make sacrifices to accommodate other obligations or priorities they have. Some just want to dip their toes into the "shallow end." It doesn't really matter, as long as you are getting what you want out of it. If you're doing it to impress anyone else, you're in it for the wrong reasons, and probably have a few psychological deficits, too. We all appreciate the validation of others, some even crave it, but all that really matters is that it makes YOU happy.

The folks on the CMP forum, as eccentric as many of them are, are largely a very helpful, very knowledgeable group, and I'd rather be associated with the shallow end of the gene pool than get too high on my horse, hoping to reach the point where I look down on others. I like to show off my toys as much as the next guy, I'm damn proud of them, but I've never thought for a minute I was better than anyone else due to what I've been able to acquire, thanks to hard work, luck, and serendipity.

Ok, rant off, the coffee's starting to wear off...

[The Garand Guy]

Your post hit the nail on the head. It is like the widow's mite in the bible; it doesn't matter how small the contribution, or how humble the M1, it's the thought that counts.

[cuppednlocked]

Thats the rub!

Too many people are worried about forcing their beliefs onto others. We are bombarded daily with the op-ed ads, PSA, and political commentary. Everyone is worried about what happens next door and not worried enough about what is happening in their own home. The level of conceit astounds me. It's a telling problem when you believe you are "squared away" enough to impose your set of values on another.

Rant over...

[MH53GUNNER]

Never complained about any order. Have had a few rifles that I could have bitched about, but just fixed or changed out the part. The CMP is real good at shipping the required part if there is a problem. At least this has been my case.

This said I prefer to rummage through the racks at the CMP stores.

[jbkf1003]

The HRA SG I picked out at the NS was nice, the SA SG I bought mail order looked like hell but met grade. It had a lot of finish missing (none on the Gas Cylinder), the stock was sound but beat (but appeared refinished at one point), Buttplate was rusty, ect. The barrel met grade which I think is what they really look at.

I refinished the stock, reparked the buttplate, had Tony G reblue the gas cylinder, and sold it for a VERY modest profit, just to move on from her.

Justin

[stratochief]

Took a gamble recently on a mail order field grade D and it showed up with service grade metal, new CMP stock and near perfect finish. I suspect the only thing that made it FG was the barrel which was marked 4 for both the throat and muzzle.

[timshufflin]

I had a really nice field grade D come in my shop about a week or so ago. Same as yours stratochief, great metal, slightly not great barrel. The rifle was a really nice specimen though.

[Old Guard]

They are getting a Nice price for them now...I have to wonder just how many more 'snipers' are stashed and what grade are they? ? Cmp recently said the regular service grades and field grades rifles was essentially sold like they came out of the crates??

[Grenadier]

I've purchased several rifles from them including a few 1903s and M1 Carbines for the short time they had them available. None were special. All were well used. All functioned well with one exception.

I received a Rock Island 1903 that had a shot-out barrel and a crack in the bolt lugs.

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww123/X180A/1903bolt_zpsce2de491.jpg


I sent the rifle to their gunsmithing department and had them complete a long list of work that included replacing the bolt, re-barreling, and restocking. I am very pleased with what I got back from that.