June 21, 2005

I Am Not Alone

Garanditus. Highly contagious. It can even be spread through casual contact via the internet. No known cure or immunization, nor is either desired.

So there's a blogger that goes by (or went by) Publicola II. Now I find one that likes to trick out his Garand. He calls it his FrankenGarand.

What he's done is not too different from mine. He threw on a Boyd's Pepper laminate stock (mine's nutmeg laminate); a Masen recoil pad; added a Smith Enterprises muzzlebrake (mine has a T-37 flashhider now) .

He refinished his metal but I still haven't gotten around to doing that. He threw on a new barrel in .308 Winchester which is on my things to do list (the SS heavy match in '06 with a 1:11 twist). I've done a few other things but the most noticable is the Alley aperture front sight, which is a globe type with interchangeable inserts. You can see pics of the muzzle end here & a pic of the entire rifle here (just scroll down a bit). I'll try to get a better pic or two up when I post on the how's & why's of the modifications I've done.

In other Garand news, The Smallest Minority had his Garand refinished; a recently purchased 8 shooter is keeping Countertop busy; & Les Jones has come down with the initial symptoms of Garanditus (which is threatening to infect Gunner as well judging from his comments at Les' place). I would say I was feeling guilty as I helped to infect Gunner & Les with Garanditus, but I'd be lying.

It's like crack; you know you're addicted & you want your friends to be addicted too so you don't feel like the only addict in the place. Course I've never sold any furniture in the middle of the night to supply my Garand habit, but that's mainly cause I never ran across a really good deal on one past 5 in the afternoon. :D

It's a bit troubling that Say Uncle seems to be immune, but perhaps during High Power season, when the air is thick with gun pollen powder his resistance will wear thin. :) Ditto for Mr. du Toit, though if I find a smith who'll rebarrel one to 7x57 I think he'll see the light. :D & I haven't given up hope for a lovely & talented blogger trapped behind enemy lines. "One Rifle to rule them all, one Rifle to find them, one Rifle to bring them all, & in Garanditus bind them" Ahem. you get the idea.

So that's what's happening with regards to the outbreak of Garanditus in the blogosphere.

Posted by Publicola at June 21, 2005 03:36 AM
Comments

Mine's on order...if I can just get the lady in the office there to accept that I really am still a member of two clubs, not just one, that meet their requirements.

Posted by: Doug in Colorado at June 21, 2005 01:15 PM

I'll admit to being infected. :)

Some day, maybe this year.

Posted by: jed at June 21, 2005 02:25 PM

As a matter of fact, had mine out last Friday to celebrate summer a little early. The clang of the clip coming out must be the start of the infection because you have to hear it MORE!

Posted by: Outlaw3 at June 22, 2005 06:10 AM

Depending on the definition of garanditis (buying vs. upgrading), I either caught the bug in '02 or am a bit behind schedule.

Posted by: Xrlq at June 23, 2005 11:00 PM

I bought my Garand 14 years ago.
Took it to the range, fired one clip through it, said "uh huh --- it works". Stuck it in the (authentic WWII Garand sleeve) and put it in the corner of the closet along with about 150 rounds of .30-06 ammo, which are already plugged into 8-round Garand clips. (I bought out the dealer's entire stock when I bought the rifle ... need any more clips? I have a ton of 'em.)

Good rifle, excellent caliber, but I don't like the iron sights and think the 1903-A3 Springfield is better because these old eyes are just BEGGING for a scope that can be mounted over the bore.

Posted by: Jerry the Geek at June 24, 2005 01:18 AM

X,
You're infected. The upgrade thing is a related symptom but not necessarily present in all cases.

Jerry,

There's a fellow name o Ben Jones. He makes lenses for the Garand's sights that magnify either the target or the front post, depending on which you're having trouble seeing. Might be something that gets that garand out of the closet for ya.

But if a scope is what you must have, might I suggest looking into a 17 enfield? The CMP has those for about $50 less than the Springfields.

Posted by: Publicola at June 25, 2005 08:42 PM
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