Any M1 Garand experts here?

[k0ua]

You can live and learn by watching and not repeating the mistakes of others, or you can live and learn by making mistakes yourself. The former is less painful than the latter.

 

[Garandman]

Did someone say Garand?

Most points have been covered. I'd add finding a good video of what to lube and find a lube you like. I bought a bunch of the grease pots which I believe is commercially available as Lubriplate 130A. Other lubs work well.

Do you have some spare clips?

Check the trigger group locks up tight: sometimes the ears are worn and ir doesn't clamp tight.

It takes some effort to keep the barrel clean but it's worth it.

There are now JC Garand Matches to shoot Milspec Garands in. A lot of fun.

 

[nikdfish]

Midway USA has the Schuster DCM adjustable gas valve for about $35 here:
Schuster DCM Adjustable Gas Plug Wrench M1 Garand Steel Parkerized

It is service rifle legal if you are shooting matches. Wide open essentially turns the M1 into a straight pull bolt action & makes virtually any 30-06 ammo safe (no op rod action going on). Lesser settings modify the amount of gas impacting the op rod, so you can accommodate various ammo pressure curves without endangering the op rod. Start open & close just enough for reliable function & you are good to go.

If you want to hunt with the M1 & your state has magazine limits, you can find sources for (or DIY) reduced capacity enbloc clips (5 round/2 round).

I was lucky enough to pick up a CMP service grade HRA M1 a while back & 4 spam cans (2 on clips, 2 boxed) of the Greek HXP when they (spam cans) were going for less than $50 each.

Nick

 

[Threepoint]

Did someone say Garand?

Most points have been covered. I'd add finding a good video of what to lube and find a lube you like. I bought a bunch of the grease pots which I believe is commercially available as Lubriplate 130A. Other lubs work well.

Do you have some spare clips?

Check the trigger group locks up tight: sometimes the ears are worn and ir doesn't clamp tight.

It takes some effort to keep the barrel clean but it's worth it.

There are now JC Garand Matches to shoot Milspec Garands in. A lot of fun.

Garandman, there you are! Was wondering when you'd catch the thread.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I love that rifle also, wish I had one. I shot expert all the time with it. The M-14 we had to switch to was more cumbersome and harder to disassemble. We learned to field strip the M1 in the dark against a time standard. Would always drop a couple points in kneeling and sitting. I shot on a Navy Reserve competition team for about 5 years. I bet some research on the web will find you the Army or Marine Corps manual for the M1.

Ron

 

[rtimgray]

Thanks for all of the advice so far. I think that, for sure, I want to avoid "Garand Thumb". I've smashed enough digits doing other stupid stuff - I don't need to add that one to the inventory.

I'm planning on picking up some surplus m2 (some I've seen says it's Greek, some doesn't say). A local shooting store has some surplus on clips for $6/bloc, so I'll get some of those to try out. I will probably get the adjustable gas plug so that if I want to shoot other ammo - seems like cheap insurance.

I have zero desire to shoot in matches and I don't hunt anything, so I'm not worried with either of those arenas. The only shooting I do is targets and tin cans. Most of the time, it will sit around and be appreciated.

Once more, thanks for the advice, stories and information.

 

[Garandman]

Some milsurp ammo is corrosive, don't buy it.

I scored several cases of Danish M1 ammo. It's almost as accurate as Federal Match, but is not reload able. Also have some of the last batches of Lake City.

The American Eagle is widely stocked, you shouldn't have trouble finding it.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

An interesting sidelight...I read where Garand originally designed the rifle to fire the .276 Pedersen cartridge. It was eventually redesigned to fire the 30-06 at the insistence of General McArthur, primarily because we had millions of rounds of the 30-06 stored in warehouses throughout the country. In retrospect, probably a wise move.

 

[dusty3030]

Some milsurp ammo is corrosive, don't buy it.

I scored several cases of Danish M1 ammo. It's almost as accurate as Federal Match, but is not reload able. Also have some of the last batches of Lake City.

The American Eagle is widely stocked, you shouldn't have trouble finding it.

The Danish ammo is awesome! I wish I would have bought a truckload, I only have a few thousand left.

Thread drift but there was some Australian surplus 7.62x51 (.308) in ammo cans on 5 rd stripper clips on bandoliers that hit the market several years ago cheap. I bought some on a whim and shot some groups - then bought all I could afford at the time. I figured it for plinking rounds when I bought my first can but it ended up shooting so consistent and accurate that I use it for target ammo.

 

[rtimgray]

I've bought and shot a lot of corrosive ammo in my milsurp guns. When I've been done shooting, I usually wash it out with soapy water and then hit it with some ammonia, then clean as normal. Of course, those are all bolt action rifles, so disassembly and cleaning are relatively easy.