Disaster has struck!

bdtyre

bdtyre

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Went out shooting today, after testing my M1 Garand last night. Shot fine, had 1 misfeed. Then after we were done, I went to clear it before locking it back up - pulled the op rod back and the bolt seemed to "skip" out of its track and it would neither pull all the way back nor go all the way forward, even piece the clip pressed down on fully depressed. I was able to force the bolt back in place, and when my friend wanted to see it, it sure enough did it again.

I thought I'd give it one last try and it opened fine, I inserted a full en-bloc and it chambered a round fine. I went through three full clips and it never failed to fire, and when I was done I was able to close the bolt without problems.

But that's not the worst bit - I also discovered a hairline split just under an inch long in the rear of the front handguard. :(

Did have some fun ballistics tests though - 7.62x39 FMJ and tracer will pass through an uncarved pumpkin. .30-06 softpoint will blow it to pieces.
 
No, the 7.62x39 was out of a CZ 858.

I suspected it was something to do with the op-rod. Looks I'll have to try and track one down. Marstar lists them as "in stock" for $89. Not sure if that's a usual price or not.
 
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On the op rod,could be you pulled the handle up while retracting it to the rear causing it to dismount. The good news is that it did not dismount when firing.To check op rod fit and whether or not the rear lug is worn to the extent that it will dismount, you need to do the following. Remove rifle from stock,remove op rod spring and follower rod,remove follower,op rod catch,follower arm and bullet guide.With the op rod and bolt in place perform the tilt test by tipping the muzzle and receiver ends up at a 60m deg angle.The bolt and op rod should travel to and fro without resistance.Observe the op rod in it's fore and aft travel to see if it is a sloppy fit to the extent that it tends to dis-engage from the bolt. Cracked foreward and rear handguards are a common problem.The cause for the front one cracking is insufficient clearance between the metal nosecap and the rear of the gas cylinder.The barrel whip when fired will cause the guard to crack. For the rear handguard there must be some clearance between the rear of the guard and the face of the receiver-about the thickness of a business card.If not, the barrel heats and expands on firing and the tension of a tight handguard will lead to splitting at the rear.
 
M1 Garands

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You did not say if you were using Factory or Reloads.

If you reload for the M1 Garand, some powders or powder/bullet combinations are not suitable. The functioning of the rifle depends upon a certain pressure of gas to come through the port near the muzzle to operate the action.

There have been quite a few BENT OPERATING RODS caused by using a powder that gives a lot more pressure on them than the design calls for.
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I've always used factory.

Purple - that thought had occurred to me, that I might have been pulling upwards. I suppose it something could be worn to the extant that a pull upwards would dismount it, but not the reaward force of the gas.

Rylan - I'm not sure what caused the crack. It could be what purple mentioned, it could have taken in moisture, it could be a change in temperature.

I'll have to pull it apart when I get a chance and check everything. I'm thinking though, if I'm going to have to replace wood I might just do the whole stock.
 
The critical part of the op rod that will cause the rod to dismount is the lug at the rear of the rod which retains the rod in the receiver rail.Height of this lug is .317 to .320. There are other causes of op rod dismounts incl improper handle bend,gas cyl mis-alingment,or an improperly bent tube portion.This is why I suggested you do the tilt test. Obviously this cannot be pinned down without examining the piece. On handguard cracking,you can take what I said to the bank.When I build or check a Garand I always make sure the required clearance exists at the rear of the lower handguard and the front of the upper handguard.In addition to preventing handguard splitting,the main reason for this clearance is to permit consistent barrel harmonics and accuracy when the barrel warms.
 
As a follow-up, I put through two clips of dummy round (i.e. working the action every time) and I didn't seem to have any problems with the action. When I get a chance I'll pull it apart and try the tilt test and look at the whole action.
 
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