Garand Problems

[Pmoore87]

Hey guys, had a few issues shooting yesterday. Think I know what to do but thought I would run it by all of you.

First off. My trigger group fell out and repeatedly popped loose. And even fell out. It was locked when it fell out once, but it fell so it likely closed when it hit the ground. I am gonna first try using some aluminum can slices as shims to snug up the locking lugs. They are not terribly flat, but they are not round either. After that I will try just ordering a newer trigger guard.

My other issue was that I had one failure to feed properly. The round went into the chamber about 1/3 and it popped loose so the bolt came in under the round and bend the brass.
My thinking here is that the used SA clip was just old and loose, so it allowed the round to pop up when it was feeding.

And lastly I had a few light strikes. I have personally not disassembled the bolt. So I think its either gonna be full of gunk, or the spring is gonna be out of spec. What is the spec on the firing pin spring?

Thanks guys

[quadmx301]

For the trigger guard, you may want to inspect both the receiver and guard itself; there may be excess wear on either that doesn't allow it to seat properly, even though it feels like it. Has you rifle done this before? Have you stripped your trigger assembly? You should try wood shims, just with balsa wood. They generally work pretty well.

I doubt the FTF was short-cycling. However, Google it and you'll find a bunch of different ways to diagnose and correct it. I would just chalk it up as a faulty clip.

For the bolt, strip it down, inspect the firing pin head. If it's heavily pitted, purchase a new one. Clean everything really well, and try it again. The M1 has a floated pin, so I would imagine it's just gunk.

I wouldn't sweat any of it too much... M1s are complicated to get to run well, especially compared to the AR platform. just spend some time on it, and when it runs well, you can have the pride and satisfaction of saying, "I made this rifle great" Cheers!

[Garandimal]

As for the loose trigger guard:

Cut a coupla strips of refrigerator magnet that will fit under the mag-well cover on either side of the well, between the cover and the stock.

Add layers until you get the lock-up you desire.




GR

[6mmintl]

Buy a new stock or properly bed the existing one hysterical ( I mean historical ) collectability be damned.

Is recoil spring fatigued? lubricated? dirty?

Action lubricated with good grease? high temp synthetic wheel bearing grease?

Gas cylinder plug tight?

[Pmoore87]

So I went through the rifle again last night. The firing pin channel was pretty dirty, and not moving well. Problem solved, and it only took 15 minutes to get the bolt back together lol. Bought the M10 tool for future tear downs. The pin looked healthy, and the pin protrusion was right up near max. Had to get creative with the calipers but I figured it out.

The locking lugs were very flat on the bottom. I folded aluminum over and made shims, but I am gonna go destroy a refrigerator magnet and do it again now. Thanks for the idea of using a magnet.

I did not strip the whole trigger assembly, but if the light strikes continue I am gonna replace the hammer spring.

Now with regards to balsa wood shims. Can/should I do this around the receiver? Will it act like a bed or should I just wait till next payday and buy bedding compound? I also replaced the lower band pin with a roll pin to increase accuracy. I tried to also peen the splines, but I do not have the proper equipment to make a dent. My gas cylinder is down as far as the stock will let it be. However I can still pop it off by hand. Is this normal or is my stock a little bit long?

Everything is very well greased with Mobil 1 synthetic. The clip is too loose, as ammunition even fell out when I loaded it the other day. Also the chamber was very dirty.

Thanks guys I appreciate all the help, and I have to say I am getting very familiar with the Garand now. I tried using match grade ammo to see if the group would tighten up, and it did not do much. So hopefully the pin, and the tighter lockup will help out.

What do you guys think of the old sniper barrels? Are they significantly superior than average ones?