If you are buying rack grade garands, don't expect much for accuracy. If you buy a SERVICE GRADE, the barrel has been guaged on both ends to assure that it isn't worn out.
If you get a high number Springfield rifle, there's a good chance that the rifle will be accurate. A rifle with a VAR, LMR, or late 1960s springfield barrel will shoot well under 4" with good ammo so long as the rest of the rifle is in spec.
US ball ammo is not of very good quality. Garbage in-garbage out.

Korean and Danish (if you can find it) is good stuff and will shoot better than US stuff.

Accurization: there are a few things that can be done for very cheap.
1. tighten the gas cylinder- peen the barrel splines slightly so that the gas cylinder fits very tight- the gas cylinder lock should go on tight so that it doesn't go past 6 O'Clock' when completely one.

2. tighten the action to stock fit. If the camming lobes on the trigger guard have worn flat, replace the triggerguard with a new one- the stamped trigggerguards are better than the milled ones. If this doesn't tighten up the fit, the action wil either need to be shimmed onto the stock, or better yet, buy a new stock, because the wood grains are compressed and will no longer hold the action tightly.

Other more costly things-

Check the oprod for proper contour- strip the rifle, reassemble without the oprod spring and do the 45 degree test- tilt the rifle forward 45 degrees- the bolt should ride forward and lock shut, tilt the rifle 45 degrees backward, the bolt should unlock and open fully.
If it doesn't, the oprod will need to be recontoured or replaced. This is where shooting proper ammo comes in- If you shoot facotry hunting ammo through the rifle and disregard all of the warnings about using the correct ammo, the oprod will get sprung out of spec, will hang up in the stock channel and cause a decrease in accuracy.

Bedding, unitizing the front handguard.


I've done no more than tighten the gas cylinder and replace a worn trigger guard on mine, and it will shoot 2" or less all day long with handloads. Mine might be a fluke, but I doubt it.