Having a (M1) G(a)rand ole time.

[nicoroshi]

The neekster saw a deal for one of his 'Wish list' rifles, and had to jump on it.
And guess what...It's not an 'Evil Black Rifle' this time!

Here's my 1951 M1 Garand:

Detail stripped for cleaning cosmoline, and parts check:



Everything looks in great shape!



Well....except the furniture....
Someone tried to strip the old finish with sandpaper



Some clean up, and FFFF followed by some clear coat, and we're back in business:



Put back together:




Very cool to hold a piece of history in your hands. It'll be even cooler to she how she shoots.
Feeding her is tough though. Recommended to only shoot milsup 30.06 ammo, and it runs about 88 cent per round

I have 900 rounds on order, and will return with a range report when I sight her in.

[XMadness]

OMG

You are soooo lucky. I would love to have/shoot this beauty. <3 WW2 Weapons

[glum]

I could swear Nico's post says 1951 didn't WW 2 end around 1945?
Blame Canada

[XMadness]

still a classic gun

[nicoroshi]

It was the rifle design in service in WWII although this one was most likely sighting Koreans or targets for practice instead of Japanese or Germans. So you're both right.

It has a throat wear of 3.75, and muzzle wear of 2.5. Basically it's graded from 1-5 with 5 being the worst wear on the barrel parts (but still safe to shoot...just not very accurate (normally) with that much wear on the rifling) . For every 1000 rounds the throat gains 1 on the throat wear. Most muzzle wear is from the old all steel cleaning rods used though this one had a pretty careful cleaner. Some rifles that grade over 5 still shoot well, and some don't.
This one still has life in it, and at about 88cents per round I believe it will be a while before I shoot 1250 rounds through it (which for the math impaired would technically put the throat wear at a '5').

M1 Garands are a unique beast when it comes to rifles.
Ammo for one. Most factory loaded ammo is too hot (more powder), and could possibly bend the op rod which cycles the gun (basically a gas piston operating system like the AKs).
Recommended you only fire milsurp ammo through them (lighter load).

The op rod itself is a tube with the recoil spring inside of it. It is also purposefully bent so it can ride over the larger portion of the barrel but still enter the gas tube straight (which is not in line).
During function testing there is a 'tilt test' that one can do to check for a bent op rod or catching on the stock ferrule or front hand guard wood.
You strip the rifle down to the receiver,bolt, op rod, and gas tube. Then tilt the receiver 30 degrees, and the op rod, and bolt should slide easily from the front to the rear. 30 degrees in the other direction, and it should easily slide from the back to locked into battery.
Repeat with stock on also, and again with stock, and trigger group installed (although it will only cycle to the hammer with the trigger group installed).

Mine failed
So I started removing pieces, and rechecking. the front wood hand guard is not cut centered with the ferrule so can move side to side when installed. When cocked all the way to one side the op rod rubs against it, and hence the failure of the 'tilt test'.
Time for some repair!
I took off some of the wood from the inside of the front hand guard on the side it rubed, and used some hide glue, and custom fit a small piece of wood to the forward grip on the protrusion for the stock ferrule so it would fit snug without any movement.
BINGO! Passes 'tilt test' with flying colors.

Another interesting thing about the M1 Garand is it doesn't use gun oil for lube. It uses grease. Placed an order for some mil spec gun grease to properly lube it.
Might have to try some on the AKs as well to see how they like it.

I do not know if this rifle has been head spaced. I do know that it was sold by the CMP to the owner I bought it from though he never shot it.
Although I would like to assume that the CMP would not sell a rifle to the public without first checking that it's safe to shoot I do know how to spell that word, and do not want to look the arse when it blows up on it's maiden trip to the range for me.

The guy I bought it from has the gauges, and is mailing them to me so I can strip the bolt, and check head space. Thanks Jim. i will mail them back when done.

So....Still a couple of things to do before I can shoot her but so far so good.

[nicoroshi]

Received head space gauges, and checked head space.
Closed on a 'Go', and did not close on a 'No-Go'.
PERFECT
Safe to shoot, and passes the tilt test.
I will be receiving my ammo order tomorrow along with grease, and should be test firing this weekend.
I will return with a range report.

[nicoroshi]

Range Report:

Took the M1 Garand, and a couple of my AKs out to the range today for some sighting in.

After getting the AKs sighted in I broke out the Garand.

Took about 7 rounds to sight in at 50 then moved the target to 100 yards.

My last 8 shot group at 100 yards iron sighted (on a windy/ rainy day) looked like this:


Nice.

Rifle cycled perfectly. I did have a couple of the clips that Jim gave me refuse to stay in the rifle but seeing as they were free (and used) I was happy for the three that worked.
They are cheap so I'll buy some more on my next online order.
All in all very happy.