New M1 Garands: CMP Revives America’s Most-Loved Battle Rifle

The Civilian Marksmanship Program announced this week that it has partnered with Heritage Arms USA to manufacture new, commercial reproductions of the iconic M1 Garand battle rifle. CMP will pair newly made receivers, barrels and stocks with commercial and GI milsurp parts and offer the reproduction M1 Garands for $1,900 plus shipping costs. 

CMP in a press release said: “Thousands of rounds were fired during the Arizona Game and Fish Expo at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility. CMP has conducted thorough testing on the M1 Garand by CMP rifle to ensure performance, reliability and authenticity.” (Photo courtesy CMP)

“Operational and functional testing is almost complete,” CMP Chairman and CEO Jerry O’Keefe said in a press release. “While I can’t share an exact date, I expect we’ll be selling these this summer.” CMP has already amended its rules to allow shooters to use the new commercial Garand in both CMP High Power and CMP Games competitions (see Rule 5.1.4 M1 Garand-Type Service Rifle in the CMP High Power Rifle Competition Rules book, and Rule 5.2.2 As-Issued M1 Garand in the CMP Games Rifle and Pistol Competition Rules).

Heritage Arms USA is manufacturing new forged receivers, utilizing original Springfield Armory drawings and specifications, that bear CMP serial numbers in historical font and format. Compared to many other major firearms manufacturers, Heritage Arms is relatively new to the industry, best-known for its line of inexpensive .22 rimfire single-action revolvers based on the Colt Single Action Army design.

“Heritage Arms USA is one of our many partners in Alabama—they are just down the road from the CMP armories and the Talladega Marksmanship Park,” O’Keefe said. “We’ve worked with them on other projects in the past and approached them several years ago about undertaking this project. The CMP is proud to work with local and U.S. businesses for the parts and services to keep our programs and sales going.”

Tagged and ready—meticulously gauged to 0+ on both TE and ME—and certified by armorer LT for final inspection. (Photo courtesy CMP)

CMP’s new M1 Garands operate in the same 52,000 p.s.i. chamber pressure range as original Garands, so milsurp M2 Ball ammunition is appropriate, and several manufacturers produce new .30-'06 Sprg. ammunition in that pressure range specifically for the Garand’s gas system, including Federal, Hornady, Sellier & Bellot and Prvi Partizan.

CMP is first offering standard M1 Garand reproductions in both .30-'06 Sprg. and .308 Win., with unspecified “historically relevant” variants to follow at a later date, which will sell at differing costs. “Other than the early serial numbers we’ll keep for posterity, we expect to auction the first 100 numbers,” O’Keefe said. “Later, three-digit serial numbers may also have special pricing.” Because these are commercial rifles not falling under government surplus rules, there is no limit on the number of CMP M1 Garands an individual may purchase.

Based on U.S. Army Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) sales records, the highest-known serial number for the M1 Garand is 6100499, sold as surplus to a private individual in 1958 for $102.50 (about $1,146 in 2025 dollars). Though M1 Garand production officially ceased in May of 1957, manufacture of match grade rifles continued into 1959. More than six million M1 Garands were manufactured from 1936 to 1957, at a World War II cost of $85 each, rising to about $110 each by production’s end.

Left: The M1 Garand by CMP will showcase the historically accurate font and formatting on the receiver heel. The receivers will undergo reparkerization as the final step in the process. Right: Progression of M1 Garand forged receivers from raw forging (bottom) to fully machined (top). (Photos courtesy CMP)

CMP provided several reasons for the decision to offer new-made M1 Garands, first and foremost being that sales of milsurp firearms is a major source of supporting income for the non-profit organization operating under a government charter. CMP still has plenty of M1 Garands, and uncounted numbers on loan overseas for many decades are in the slow process of being repatriated, which the U.S. Army will then pass on to CMP. Still, it is a finite resource, and CMP must bring new products to market to sustain itself.

At about twice the cost of its original M1 Garands in NRA Fair to Good condition, CMP is counting on shooter and collector interest in the new CMP M1 Garand as a rarity and another connection to American history. “The combination of the forged receiver and the CMP serial number make it an extraordinary and completely unique product,” O’Keefe said.

Different aspects of the M1 Garand—serial number, manufacturer, matching parts, throat erosion and more—differ in importance to shooters and collectors. Fielding one questioner who asked, “Will it ‘ping?’” O’Keefe replied, “Yes, just like the original, when the last round is discharged, the en bloc clip will pop out with that historic and distinctive sound.”

Learn more about CMP and Heritage Arms USA.