So you want a field grade, eh? Well, throat erosion, if it's under 5, is not that important; muzzle condition has WAY more impact on accuracy. Field grade M1s may have rotten muzzles and in some cases, LOTS of wear. Here is my personal experience. You may get lucky -- mail order from CMP is the luck of the draw.
Ordered two CMP M1s, an HRA service grade s/n 5.6M in May '05, and a Springfield field grade s/n 3.8M in August '05.
The HRA SG:
Had a few dings on the wood,
TE=2.75, MW=0
was stone tight
.. and shot fine right out of the box.
The Springfield FG:
Had a rusty bore near the muzzle,
TE=3.25, MW=???
the muzzle was worn oval and had major dings,
the wood was covered with dents, handguards split and mismatched,
upper handguard clip was rusted,
receiver had 1/16" of slop in the stock,
op rod spring was worn out,
op rod rear lug was worn to the point it jumps the channel once in a while,
bolt was bright purple,
gas cylinder was a loose, sloppy fit on the barrel,
receiver left side recoil lugs had rust pitting,
rear sight did not adjust & had a loose aperture,
..and it sprayed bullets all over the range hillside.
Almost sent it back, but since most of the bore looked good, decided I'd try to make it a shooter. Here's what I've done so far:
Replaced op rod spring with an Orion 7 special,
recrowned the muzzle with a reamer from Midway,
peened the barrel splines to tighten the gas cylinder,
tore down and cleaned the rear sight and replaced the spring cover,
soaked bolt in vinegar to restore original finish (it was ugly).
..and dishwashered the stock and handguards, refinished and, shimmed the receiver cutout,
Now it gets most rounds on the paper.
Yet to do:
Have Jim Swartz rebuilt the rear op rod lug,
refinish ugly parts as time permits,
As I said, you may get lucky. Just be prepared to do some work to get it the way you want it.
