problem with M1 garand

[budiceale]

i hope it's ok to post this here. my father recently gave me an M1 garand. while shooting it at the range the other day i found that it would eject the clip after firing 4 rounds. every time. the clip and the remaining 4 rounds would jump up about halfway out of the reciever. i'm hoping that the problem was just that particular clip...i haven't been able to try any others yet. i'm not very familiar with garands and am hoping that somebody here who knows about them might be able to tell me what's causing this. any help is greatly appreciated

 

[donws2]

Re: problem with M1 garand

Could be several things. If you can find someone nearby with the correct timing gage and have the timing checked. If the timing is bad it's about 90 percent of the time the caming hump on the bullet guide. The caming hump works on the accelerator on the op rod catch to release the op rod and also trips the clip latch when the clip is empty. Also you could try a new clip latch spring but they very rarely go bad. If the clip latch spring does not help you could go ahead and buy a new, not used or refinished, post war bullet guide. The post war guide has a higher caming hump then the WWII item. This will help to correct for wear in the follower, follower arm and op rod catch. Another thing to consider is all new springs all the way around. At least an op rod spring. Wolf Spring Company makes new excellent springs for the Garand and you can get them at Midway and Brownells. Very hard to fix a Garand with out seeing it's condition to these two items cover about 99 percent of the causes for your problem.
Donald

 

[ORD]

Re: problem with M1 garand

It could be a number of different issues or a combination of several. First and foremost...find some more en bloc clips and try out different ones to see if that resolves the problem. They do wear out and it is possible the one you are running has worn out detents. If not then, I'd bet on it being either a bad or weak clip latch spring and/or a worn out/damaged clip latch. Check with Brownells or Midway or Fulton for the parts/springs.

If none of that works, come back and check in. There are a host of other things that can cause the "premature ejection" problem (besides age

), but the list is long and involved.

 

[toolmaker]

Re: problem with M1 garand

The Greek clips are known to troublesome. Try some G.I. clips.

 

[budiceale]

Re: problem with M1 garand

thanks to all for the help. i'm going back to the range today with another handful of clips to try. i'll post the results when i get back and go from there.

 

[budiceale]

Re: problem with M1 garand

it's not the clips. it kicks it out after 4 rounds no matter which clip i use. off to the smith i guess. thanks again for all the help

 

[ORD]

Re: problem with M1 garand

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: budiceale</div><div class="ubbcode-body">off to the smith i guess.</div></div>

Unless you are just really uncomfortable working on your guns, there is no reason to have to send your Garand off to anyone for repair (at least at this point). I recommend that all Garand owners/lovers grab a copy of Kuhnhausen's book on the M1 Garand/M14 (.30cal gas-operated service rifles...Vols. I and II). You can get them from Fulton Armory and MidwayUSA among other places. It is the best $40 or so a Garand owner can spend. It is a great book with tons of excellent info on everything from basic assembly/disassembly to troubleshooting/repairs to tuning/accurizing. Grab a copy of the book from Fulton or Midway and at the same time, grab a heavy-duty clip latch spring, clip latch, clip latch pin, and maybe a Wolff spring repair/upgrade kit. Start there and then with the help of Kuhnhausen's book, inspect and tune/repair as needed.

 

[USGILT]

Re: problem with M1 garand

+1 for a possible bad or weak clip latch spring and/or a worn out/damaged clip latch.

Decent Priced USGI Parts - http://www.m1garandrifle.com/

 

[budiceale]

Re: problem with M1 garand

an update for all who helped me with this problem. i replaced the clip latch, clip latch pin, clip latch spring, bullet guide, and main spring. took it to the range today and after each 8 rounds i was treated to a very satisfying "PING" as the clip shot out of the action right on time. thanks again for all the help folks.

 

[CavalrySoldier3ACR]

Re: problem with M1 garand

Since by your own admission you are not that familiar with Garands, I would encourage you to make sure you have greased it properly. There are points on a Garand that use grease and not oil. Do a search on the web and you will find illustrations of the grease points.

 

[budiceale]

Re: problem with M1 garand

cav
thanks for the info...i learn something new here everyday. i found the grease points. i've only shot it maybe 35-40 times and it has always been well lubed but not with grease. it's freshly cleaned now and i'll grease it properly before i take it out again.

again, thanks

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: problem with M1 garand

In training we were issued Lubriplate grease for our M1's. I still use it (or White Lithium Grease) for my personal Garand. We were instructed to find the sniny wear points and finger swipe a very light coat of grease to cover them.

Look up Scott Duff's <span style="font-style: italic">Garand User Manual</span> for a better insight into the rifle.

My handloads are commercial (I use Rem ) brass, Win WLR primers, and 50.0gr of IMR-4064 with 150/155gr bullets, and 47.0gr of IMR-4064 and 168/175gr bullets.

Make sure the primers sit flush or lower, don't feed/fire any that protrude. No need to manhandle the primer seater, just make sure they're fully seated.

I would strongly advise against hand chambering single rounds and releasing the bolt to fly home free. All rounds should be fed from a clip. The clip feed design prevents the bolt from exceeding a safe speed, and is intended to prevent slam-fires.

A lot of folks blame non-military primers for slamfires, but I personally think the problem stems from incorrect loading/feeding practices. Military primers are made more durable/insensitive because (in my opinion) the military understands that some buck privates are going to ignore the safety lecture. The cost overhead for these military primers is paid in reduced accuracy.

For single feeding, find a SLED (Single Loading Enhancement Device, essentially a modified clip that allows clip feeding and remains inside the receiver when the bolt locks open), and your shooting will be a lot more safe and convenient.

Greg

 

[fdkay]

Re: problem with M1 garand

Did you or your Father replace the stock at some point?

If so, remove the stock, look on the left side of the stock near the top edge near towards the rear. There is a semi-circular cutout there, take a pencil with an eraser, wrap a small piece of sandpaper around it and relieve the that cutout a bit.
It is putting pressure on part of the clip ejection mechanism.

 

[budiceale]

Re: problem with M1 garand

greg and fdkay

thanks for the info and advice. yes the stock has been replaced with a new one. i don't know where my father got it but it's real nice. i'll look for the pressure point and releave it if necessary. also appreciate the reloading info....saved me from having to ask

as far as i know every shot ever fired came from the clip. i won't be doing single loading.

again thanks for all the help. it is truely appreciated.