Tanker Garand and the mini G

[Jamesb74]

So how does this fit in the scope of things?
I just started looking into the history of the tanker Garand and find that they are somewhat not really that great of an investment. Either there weren't many made. The ones around now are off of screwed up DIY parts kits, etc

So is there a good resource for the tanker G and is the Shuffling one considered a part of the history and an even more technical question does his rifles fall under the C&R guidelines?

Discuss.

[angsniper]

I don't have access to my book from work but I believe that if the tanker garand was originally issued as the tanker model before 1958 it falls under C&R.
An aftermarket conversion like the shuffs would not be eligible.

[Aspp]

Not sure on the C&R.

From what I understand, the Mini-G is a modern answer to the Tankers lack of availability and some reliabilty/function issues. Never actuall issued to the military. I read in the artical that he uses surplus barrels and cuts them off then manufactures the push rod himself from his own designs, cant link at the moment but Ill dig them up in a little bit.

[owenslee]

First...any GI issue M1 Garand is C&R eligible. However some commercial M1 Garands made by Springfield Armory Inc. (not Springfield Arsenal) are not.

Second. There were never any M1 "Tanker" Grands ever issued by the military regardless of the story told by a seller how his grandpa brought one back from the Philippines. There were shortened Garand test rifles made but never approved for issue. The one surviving example is in the Springfield Arsenal Museum.

There were many so called "Tankers' built from surplus rifles returned from S. Korea by Blue Sky Indust. and Arlington Ordanance. These can be fair to good rifles if not modified. However there were also rifles build using re welded demilled Garand receivers that are unsafe to fire and are the basis of many "bad" stories of Tanker Garands.

There were also Tanker Parts kits sold by various companies that were left over parts from Arlington Ordinance when they went out of business. Criterion also made new barrels for the Tanker. I currently have several Arlington Ordinance Rifles and parts kits I acquired years ago. They are not bad shooters.

There have been some excellent Tanker configuration carbines made by Springfield Armory Inc that were built on commercial Garand receivers...and they command a high price because they were new manufacture, very accurate and few were made. But again they are not C&R eligible.

There were also Tankers made by Roland Beaver, a retired Marine armorer living in Arkansas. His rifles are prime, match grade... accurate, reliable and very expensive... but worth it if your prepared to wait a year for him to build one.

But Tim Shufflins Min-G is in a class by itself. They are not the same as a tanker configuration, but are 2" shorter with a barrel length of 16 1/2". Tanker parts and Mini-G parts do not interchange. Tim has succeeded in producing a "better" Garand carbine that the masses can afford. Not every one is as accurate as a Roland Beaver rifle, but some come very close for half the cost. Tim's rifles are well made and surprisingly accurate for being a cut down GI grade barrels. But he does not sell them as match rifles. They are accurate hunting rifles. I have never heard of a single complaint from a Mini-G owner other than they wished they could afford another one.
The nice part is that you can take a C&R surplus M1 Garand with a worn muzzle and send to Tim for conversion to a Min-G for as little as $525...which includes all modifications and a re parkerized finish. It is a bargain for what you get. A rifle muzzle that might have had a gaged reading of over 4 can be restored to 1 or less after shortening the barrel. He removes enough of the original barrel length that the splines for the gas cylinder and new gas port can be added without issue. Plus his quality, workmanship and turn around time are excellent. Highly recommended.

There is more to share but I would suggest visiting Tim's web site and forum.

http://shuffsparkerizing.com/services/the-mini-g/

http://forum.shuffsparkerizing.com/f...Shuff-s-Mini-G

Also the CMP forum has a lot of feedback. This is a recent thread:

http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=74608

Kerry

[Jamesb74]

Thanks Owenslee.
Looks like the mini G is the way to go.

[Equalizer_2]

Thanks for all the good information Kerry. I remembered that the Tanker model was never really an issue weapon I didn't recall that it was actually a government sponsored evaluation.