Okay, I will listen to you guys, and look a little more for a A303. I was just basing the US$500 from CMP versus the typical street prices of US$900-1200 for a "good" to "very good" mix-master and US$2000 and up for an excellent graded one with matching s/n. I just looked at GunsAmerica and saw the same type of range.
And, yes, the CMP site tells you directly that these guns are coming from veterans orgs and have shot blanks. But I guess I was thinking that a new barrel for US$100 and some cleaning would give me a fairly reasonable A303. It would still be much less than the $900-1200 range. And they still rate these guns as "good" and "very good." And the 1903s that I bought last year with this rating turned out to be in great condition, and I was very happy.
So Pilgrim, when you say the CMP A303s "aren't cheap," what are you seeing for a normal price for an A303?
Where will the M1 carbines be coming from? Will they be parade guns also?
But, I respect your opinions as I know you both have some great collections. So I will do some more looking and thinking and hold on to my order form for now.
Thanks for your comments.