Piglet what is the fps on your mates?
Didnt have a chrono but Simon tested it with Tim at Xsite and it came up 318? With .20's
Will go through the chrono again at Xsite again this Sunday they normally have a couple so will test.
Also he is attending the "Last Bullet" which will be his second WW2 Game 
Interesting.
So then... the mags can have the base plate removed and then fit in the cartridge belt. Great.
But what I don't think I've heard yet is whether they then will fit in the gun.
Will they?
Bad News from the front. 
2 ICS Garand's and both had problems out of the box!
The gun would fire 2 rounds a time so was taken back and a new one given with no questions asked.
The second gun worked for about 10 shots then fired on full auto. 
Managed to sneak a peak today and the tech found that there was slight movement in one of the compoents on the exterior of the gearbox, and if the movement was taken away. (applying pressure) the gun fired flawlessly. Could surpose affect the "first batch" to arrive here. have looked for some pics of the gear box but cant find any that show the part i am on about.
Stu
Hmm, this is a G&G M14 gearbox.
So is a case of it need to be tightened. Have to admit now I'm considering cancelling the order. £400 for a flawed gun is a no go in my book.
Today I rang firesupport to query the issues with the garand. It would appear that one of the main issues is the spring is not strong enough to return the piston and the small screws are indeed very small, about 2/3 mm in length. Once they work loose the the weapon fires full auto. Also they have changed the hop up bucking to a mauri one. So with a 120 spring and the small screws lock tighted in and a bit of luck said weapon will be ready to go. All we can do now is wait and see.
I have to admit the guys at firesupport were very helpful, so big kudos to them.
The ics garand in the uk is firing at around 300 fps give or take. Mine has had a spring change. The original spring used by ics was firing 390 fps. UK ones were downgraded for uk distribution.
Today I rang firesupport to query the issues with the garand. It would appear that one of the main issues is the spring is not strong enough to return the piston and the small screws are indeed very small, about 2/3 mm in length. Once they work loose the the weapon fires full auto. Also they have changed the hop up bucking to a mauri one. So with a 120 spring and the small screws lock tighted in and a bit of luck said weapon will be ready to go. All we can do now is wait and see.
I have to admit the guys at firesupport were very helpful, so big kudos to them.
Glad to hear that Pat. 
The power is not an issue, the casting of parts like I have mentioned and pat has mentioned is. And this is most likely to affect a lot of them. But changing the screws or using locktite seems a simple fix.
The ics garand in the uk is firing at around 300 fps give or take. Mine has had a spring change. The original spring used by ics was firing 390 fps. UK ones were downgraded for uk distribution.
So, it's a UK problem not an ICS
Actually the fact the spring is too weak is the main problem. ICS decided to downgrade them. The UK suppliers did not ask for this, it was a decision taken by ICS themselves. Also the screws are tiny so therefore will work loose much quicker. So sadly as we are now playing a blame game, ICS did not really do themselves any favours. Sorry mate but I can't see why you are defending them.
Well it's arrived so very mini review.
First this gun has been upgraded to 350 fps and haas new mauri hop rubber in it so fingers crossed it should have no issues with firing burst or full auto. As discussed before the spring was too weak.
So this is my first review so be gentle.
It was bought from firesupport and arrived in good time. The box is a box. The goodies with in are to first sight rather nice. Full wood with that nice Lindseed oil smell. It's not as heavy As I expected andthe wood is god knoes what. It is slightly bigger than the real steel garand around the grip. Now this is not a problem for me as I prefer it to last a while rather than snap first outing it gets.
A real steel bayonet will not fit, why?, well this leads meto my first and main gripe why, oh why is there a 3 mm gap between the barrel and the gas return. Have you not seen a real garand ICS. Because of this the bayonet won't fit. The lug is the right size but the 3 mm makes it impossible to slot the retaining ring over the barrel. BOO, is what I say.
So cosmetically it's kinda a garand. The mags fit into a cartridge belt but you can't lose the flaps. The fit into a bandoleer, so at least you have a method of carriage.
Once I had something to eat Ill post some more.
Right as I'm now no longer going to pass out from lack of food, I can continue.
The woodwork is a very nice rich brown. With some more applications of oil, it should darken very nicely indeed.
The trigger guard is post war, so not a lot I can do about that. Again a pity a bit more time wasn't spent on research. So the fact it's got ww2 on the box is actually wrong. It Korean War but again I can live with that.
It's well balanced and the action on the cocking handle is very smooth.
It is fully traded on the rear, with us rifle, Springfield armouries cal .30 M1 and a unique serial number. No stupid chinglish mistakes which really would have annoyed me.
The swivels for the sling are bigger than they should be but not so much as they look out of place.
Battery space, well a large battery may be a squeeze but mini or lipo batteries will be fine. Oh the MOSFET is very close to the mouth of the battery compartment so take care when placing or removing a battery.
Magazines, well what can I say. No prizes for astethics but they fit and are secure. Releasing the is via the button on the side. This button also locks the faux bolt in place so you can access the hop up dial. Which is huge BTW.
The wood fit is ok. Mine has got a 2 mm gap between the front swivel and the rear wood. I may be able to fix this with a damn good whack.
So to make this a very good representation of the M1 the following things need to be fixed.
1. Find a way to fit a new gas tube
2. Change the sling swivels
3. Find away to replace the Korean War trigger guard.
Once these are done its a very fine gun indeed. Is it worth £385?
I don't know, I've not been left with that oh my god feeling, in fact I'm left a little cold about it. So going out on a limb, I'm going to say no its not worth the money. It's good but it should have been so,so much better.
Now I wait for the G&G M1.
Now I know I should be thankful but I'm going to play my last remaining slightly ungrateful card and say ICS take two hundred lines, I must do better.
What a shame, as you say lets see the G&G nice review BTW glad you were honest about it.
Free speech is expensive these days!
Sounds like it has a similar problem with being downgraded as the G&G L85 had. As I've never even fired my S&S M1 in "anger" yet I guess I'll be saving my money!
Sent from my Xperia Mini using Tapatalk 2
-Marc-
4th Wilts LHG
WW2 armoury: WA M1911A1 SCW, TM M1A1 TSMG, AGM STEN Mk2, AGM MP40, S&S M1 Garand.
Yes probably just as well
Nice review Pat.
If you can look past the mistakes it seems to still be a skirmishable Garand though.
I surpose you could compare it to the King Arms / Cyma 1928 Thompson's. Not quite an abortion but with plenty of mags and other spares avaliable its "alright".
My little review was very critical. Given the exceptionally long period of development for what is in effect an m14 with a different front end, these little mistakes are not easily over looked. You are right it is a nice gun and it is a first (ish) and it is skirmish able, it is a definite step forward. I am pleased to have one, its a change from automatic weapons. While I love my Thompson and grease gun but I do like a rifle and one that I don't have to worry about the mags not working or dropping out is great in my book. So it's really up to the buyer. If you are going for realism then wait and see what the G&G one is like. If you want a garand and the little errors don't concern you the the ICS is a perfectly adequate gun. Ill report on the shooting of it in a few days. Gearbox wise, I don't open them, I have no technical ability. If it shoots then that's good enough for me. All I can say is its an m14 gear box and it looks very similar to either a CA or G&G gearbox.
