Law, Buying from the CMP, and the Cheatsheet

The M1 is one of the least legally complicated rifles an American can own. It is not a National Firearms Act weapon, it has no detachable magazine, and it was designed before most of the features that modern laws count existed. This volume covers the handful of places where the law does touch it — curio-and-relic status, a few states, transport, and Michigan specifically — then how to buy one from the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and ends with a one-page cheatsheet for the bench.

This is not legal advice. Laws change, several of the sources needed would not load when this was written, and the places where only a summary could be read are marked. Check the current statute before you rely on anything here. The hub’s general legal-posture notes apply as well.

17.1 Federal

17.1.1 Not an NFA firearm

A semi-automatic rifle with a 24-inch barrel and a 43-inch overall length falls into no National Firearms Act category. An M1 is an ordinary rifle under federal law.

17.1.2 Curio or relic

The regulation, 27 CFR 478.11, defines curios or relics as firearms “of special interest to collectors by reason of some quality other than is associated with firearms intended for sporting use or as offensive or defensive weapons,” and includes firearms “manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date.” Every wartime and 1950s M1 passes the age test.

The regulation’s text does not say “original configuration.” ATF’s long-standing position does: classification of surplus military firearms as curios or relics “has extended only to those firearms in their original military configuration,” and ATF recognizes complete firearms, not frames or receivers alone. That position was read through a search index because ATF’s site would not load; ATF has not published a bright-line test for how much modification disqualifies a rifle.

What it means in practice: a rifle like Springfield 2450021 — a 1944 receiver with a commercial barrel made in 2000 and a receiver drilled for a scope — is hard to call “original military configuration.” The conservative course is not to treat it as a curio or relic for transactions under a collector’s license. This affects only licensed-collector transactions. It changes nothing about owning the rifle.

A Type 03 Federal Firearms License for collectors of curios and relics costs $30 for three years and lets the holder acquire qualifying firearms across state lines directly. It does not cover modern firearms or dealing.

17.1.3 Transporting it across states

The federal safe-passage provision, 18 U.S.C. § 926A, lets anyone not otherwise prohibited “transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle.” In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

17.1.4 Accessories

• Bayonet lugs are not federally restricted (Vol 14).
• Grenade launchers are generally not destructive devices; live rifle grenades are (Vol 15).

17.2 The States That Touch an M1

The threshold point for every features-based state law: the M1’s magazine is internal and fixed, and it holds eight rounds. The en-bloc clip is loaded into the rifle; it is not a detachable magazine. Where a law’s feature test requires “the ability to accept a detachable magazine,” the features never come into play. Where a law covers fixed-magazine rifles, the threshold is more than ten rounds.

Table 1 — The States That Touch an M1

State	What the law says	Effect on a standard M1
California	Penal Code § 30515 defines a “fixed magazine” as one that “cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm action,” and covers fixed-magazine semi-automatic centerfire rifles only above ten rounds	Not an assault weapon. The CMP requires buyers to be 21 and ships to a dealer.
New York	Penal Law § 265.00(22) covers semi-automatic rifles “that ha[ve] an ability to accept a detachable magazine” with one feature — including a bayonet mount	Not an assault weapon; the bayonet lug does not matter without a detachable magazine.
New Jersey	Lists named firearms and “substantially identical” ones — including the Beretta BM59, a detachable-magazine derivative of the M1 — and fixed-magazine rifles over ten rounds	The M1 itself is not listed and is under the capacity threshold. Check New Jersey’s separate purchase rules.
Massachusetts	The 2024 law defines “assault-style firearms” by a detachable magazine plus features, and an enumerated list	The M1 is not enumerated and has no detachable magazine. The same law brought new registration requirements whose scope was not confirmed.
Washington	RCW 9.41.010 covers fixed-magazine rifles over ten rounds; its seven-round fixed-magazine clause applies to shotguns, not rifles	Not an assault weapon. One summary reviewed misapplied the seven-round clause to rifles; the statute does not.
Illinois	Illinois State Police guidance on the 2023 law names the base-model M1 Garand among forestocks that are not barrel shrouds	Not an assault weapon, if unmodified. A FOID card is required to own any firearm.
Colorado	The 2025 law, effective August 1, 2026, covers semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines	Not covered; the fixed-magazine exemption was read only in secondary summaries.
Maryland	Copycat-weapon definition covers detachable-magazine rifles with features, fixed-magazine rifles over ten rounds, and rifles under 29 inches	Not covered. A 2026 amendment to this law exists; it was not reviewed for this dive.

Many consumer articles about whether the M1 is legal get the right answer for the wrong reason. Rely on the statute, not the article.

17.3 Michigan

The state checked most carefully for this dive. Several Michigan government pages would not load, so some of this comes from reliable summaries, and the text says where.

• No assault-weapon or magazine-capacity law affects owning an M1. Michigan’s pistol registration and sales-record system does not apply to rifles.
• Transporting a rifle in a vehicle, MCL 750.227d: a firearm other than a pistol must be unloaded and either taken down, enclosed in a case, carried in the trunk, or inaccessible from the interior of the vehicle. An unloaded M1 in a case satisfies it. (Read through a legal publisher and a Michigan State Police explainer; the Legislature’s site would not load.)
• Private sales, since February 13, 2024: a license to purchase or a background check is required for private sales of all firearms, rifles included. (Read through news and advocacy summaries, not the statute.)
• Safe storage requirements around minors took effect the same day.
• Hunting. Michigan’s Wildlife Conservation Order, as summarized, makes it unlawful to hunt with a semi-automatic rifle that can hold more than six rounds in the barrel and magazine combined. A standard M1 holds more. The Department of Natural Resources has also announced that the Limited Firearms Deer Zone ends in 2026, allowing all legal firearms across the Lower Peninsula. Check the current Hunting Digest before the season (Vol 13).

17.4 Buying from the Civilian Marksmanship Program

The CMP has sold more M1s to civilians than anyone. Its rules, as of September 14, 2026:

17.4.1 Eligibility

• U.S. citizenship, shown by a birth certificate, passport, naturalization record or official government document.
• Age 18 or older — 21 or older for buyers in Washington, California, Florida, Illinois, Hawaii, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia.
• Membership in a CMP-affiliated club. “This requirement cannot be waived.” The Garand Collectors Association qualifies.
• Proof of marksmanship-related activity — waived for buyers 60 and older buying surplus rifles, and satisfied by current or past military or law-enforcement service.
• A federal background check, run by the CMP.

17.4.2 Shipping

• Rifles ship to a dealer for California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.
• The CMP stopped shipping semi-automatic rifles to Rhode Island as of July 1, 2026.
• Elsewhere, rifles can ship to your door; the carrier requires a signature from someone 21 or older.
• Michigan is not on the dealer-required list.
• Limit: up to twelve surplus rifles a year. Shipping is $35 per rifle.

17.4.3 What is left to buy

The surplus pipeline has closed. Rack, Field and Service Grades have been sold out since 2024–25. In September 2026:

Table 2 — The surplus pipeline has closed. Rack, Field and Service Grades have been sold out since 2024–25. In September 2026

Offer	Price
Expert Grade (government receiver, new commercial barrel and stock)	$1,150 + $35
Custom Shop Special	$1,650 + $35
Correct and Collector Grades	By auction
New-production M1s from Heritage Arms, with CMP serial numbers (announced 2025)	$1,900 + $40

The CMP’s ammunition warning applies to everything it sells: no ammunition “loaded beyond 50,000 CUP” with a bullet heavier than 172–174 grains (Vol 12).

17.5 Cheatsheet

17.5.1 The rifle

Table 3 — The rifle

Cartridge	.30-06; issue load Ball M2, 152 gr at about 2,800 ft/s
Capacity	8 in an en-bloc clip
Barrel / overall length	24 in / 43 in
Weight	about 9.5 lb
Sights	1 MOA per click; range knob calibrated for M2 Ball
Trigger pull (service)	5½–7½ lb (1965); CMP matches: at least 4.5 lb

17.5.2 Dating a Springfield or Winchester, 1943–44

Table 4 — Dating a Springfield or Winchester, 1943–44

End of month	Springfield	Winchester
December 1943	2,305,849	2,364,642
January 1944	2,543,412	2,379,642
June 1944	2,981,126	2,454,642
December 1944	3,359,159	2,533,142

Winchester’s assigned block: 2,305,850–2,655,849. The documented duplicate pair: 2,445,470. Duplicates discovered in service got an “A” suffix on one rifle. (Vol 3.)

17.5.3 Drawing numbers

Table 5 — Drawing numbers

Part	Wartime	Post-war
Receiver	D28291	—
Bolt	D28287	6528287
Operating rod	D35382	7790722 (often NM)
Trigger housing	D28290	—
Hammer	C46008	5546008
Barrel	D35448	6535448

17.5.4 Specifications to gauge against

Table 6 — Specifications to gauge against

Check	Figure
Throat erosion	reject at 0.310 in (TE 10); overseas limit 0.306
Firing-pin protrusion	0.044–0.060 in
Operating rod piston	0.525–0.526 in; never abrasives, never lubricant
Gas cylinder	0.528 in pin passes; 0.532 in pin stops just past the threads
Rear sight tension	full up, down two clicks, thumb pressure — must not drop
Operating rod spring free length	sources give 19.0 in minimum to 20.25 in maximum; replace if unknown
Headspace	use commercial .30-06 GO / NO-GO / FIELD; do not compare with the Ordnance 1.940–1.950 in gages

17.5.5 Grease points

Bolt locking lugs and receiver recesses; bolt operating lug and camming surface in the rod’s hump; bolt guides; lip of the receiver; operating rod guide groove; rod spring; cams on the trigger and hammer. Not the chamber, the follower slide, the underside of the bolt, the piston, or the hammer hooks and sear.

17.5.6 Ammunition

• Practice: Federal AE3006M1 (not AE3006N), PPU PP3006G, S&B SB3006M2A, Winchester WIN3006M2.
• Match: CMP/Creedmoor 150 Berger or 167 Scenar; Hornady #81171 168 ELD “M1 Garand.”
• Handloads: 150–175 gr (180 gr is published by Hodgdon); IMR 4895, H4895, IMR 4064, Varget; nothing IMR 4350 or slower; full-length size; seat primers fully.
• Factory hunting loads: fit a gas plug.
• Corrosive: assume anything before 1952 (St. Louis, 1953) is corrosive; clean the gas system too.

17.5.7 Bayonet and scabbard pairings

Table 7 — Bayonet and scabbard pairings

Bayonet	Scabbard
M1905 (16-inch)	M1910, M3
M1 (10-inch), new or converted	M7
M5, M5A1	M8A1

17.5.8 Butt trap, 1944

Two-ended metal oiler and thong case; combination tool M3; small plastic grease container. Not the four-section rod in canvas.

17.5.9 Field strip in one breath

Clear; safety on; trigger guard out and trigger group out; stock off; follower rod and spring out toward the muzzle; follower arm pin out with a cartridge tip; bullet guide, follower arm and rod catch out together; follower out; operating rod out at its notch; bolt out; gas cylinder only if needed. Reverse it; function check. (Vol 8.)

Sources

• 27 CFR 478.11; 18 U.S.C. § 926A; 26 U.S.C. § 5845.
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, curio-and-relic questions and answers (read via search index).
• California Penal Code § 30515; New York Penal Law § 265.00; N.J. Stat. § 2C:39-1; Massachusetts Acts of 2024, chapter 135; RCW 9.41.010; 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 and Illinois State Police PICA guidance; Colorado SB25-003; Maryland Criminal Law § 4-301.
• MCL 750.227d (via FindLaw and a Michigan State Police community article); Michigan Public Acts 18, 19 and 22 of 2023 (via news and Giffords Law Center summaries); Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Conservation Order and 2026 deer regulations (as summarized).
• Civilian Marksmanship Program, eligibility requirements and M1 Garand sales page, checked September 14, 2026.
• American Rifleman, “New M1 Garands Being Offered by CMP” (June 17, 2025).
• The volumes of this dive cited in each section.