Can anyone offer any details on the bore condition of the Garands which hit the shops this summer-muzzle wear,throat erosion,pitting etc.Also any serious pitting found on the receivers below the stock line?I examined a couple in MILARM this summer and thought they were pretty beat up cosmetically.Unfortunately I was in transit thru Edmonton and did'nt have my gauges with me to do a detailed check.Epps and other vendors in the east also have them from the same lot,so curious about what other folks have found.
Condition of recent Garand imports
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I've examined about 20 from one batch. All had fairly beat up wood but many showed all original parts consistent with the time periods and factories of manufacture. This is especially true of rifles from post war production.
In keeping with the usual condition of war time manufactured repair and refurbish rifles those showed a mixture of parts.
I got the impression they were carried and drilled with much but not shot excessively as most bores I examined showed little wear which left me quite suprised considering the external condition.
Remnants of old dried cosmo caked with dirt was in abundance along with very dry wood suggesting long term storage in less than ideal conditions.
In keeping with the usual condition of war time manufactured repair and refurbish rifles those showed a mixture of parts.
I got the impression they were carried and drilled with much but not shot excessively as most bores I examined showed little wear which left me quite suprised considering the external condition.
Remnants of old dried cosmo caked with dirt was in abundance along with very dry wood suggesting long term storage in less than ideal conditions.
I got mine from P&S Militaria - that is IMO the best place to buy one from. The description will be accurate, and if anything it will understate the condition. The metal parts tend to all be VG, with just the wood parts being somewhat beat up.
Beat up wood is an easy replacement.
Metal ? Parkerizing in yer kitchen is a snap... Remember, that these rifles are no longer collectors, maybe great shooters, blasters, and minute of moose gitters, so don't flame me for suggesting re-parkerizing. See my 2004 Clinic video for how to reparkerize on a Coleman double burner stove.
Rebarreling ? That's another snap also, I'm gonna get a couple of new barrels from Bashaw Sports in Alberta for around $ 200ish, I believe.
I demonstrate a couple of rebarreling jobs on the 2004 Abbotsford M14 Clinic CD set. Faster that you can say, "Robert's you dad's brother."
I'm ordering an M1 from P&S Militaria (or something like that) who is a dealer on our board. CGNutter title "JP" on our board.
Metal ? Parkerizing in yer kitchen is a snap... Remember, that these rifles are no longer collectors, maybe great shooters, blasters, and minute of moose gitters, so don't flame me for suggesting re-parkerizing. See my 2004 Clinic video for how to reparkerize on a Coleman double burner stove.
Rebarreling ? That's another snap also, I'm gonna get a couple of new barrels from Bashaw Sports in Alberta for around $ 200ish, I believe.
I demonstrate a couple of rebarreling jobs on the 2004 Abbotsford M14 Clinic CD set. Faster that you can say, "Robert's you dad's brother."
I'm ordering an M1 from P&S Militaria (or something like that) who is a dealer on our board. CGNutter title "JP" on our board.
I bought one of them and answered my original question.I rebuild Garands,incl re-parking and refinishing the wood,so I can basically replicate an arsenal re-build.Mine was an H&R with all H&R parts less trigger group and stock.No interior or exterior pitting,bore clean and gauged OK incl headspace,about 50% park remaining,wood grotty,but sound and restorable,buttplate& r.sight cover toast.Not bad value for $$ if one is able to do metal and wood refinishing yourself.Re the Bashaw barrels.I assume these are commercial,rather than military? Have you found that the barrel shoulder requires facing off on a lathe in order to get them to index properly?
I just installed a barrel for a fellow CGNutter. It was a .308 Win bbl, but I should confirm that it was one of the commercial "Bashaw Sports" or "Tradex" babies. Well this barrel was nice and tight requiring my full body weight (185 lbs. ) on the receiver wrench. Had it done in an hour (going slowly and carefully) so that I can ensure that the index is DEAD Nuts Perfect !! I was very happy with the outcome. Did not need to finish ream since a FL sized .308 case closed so very easily with the bolt.
Teeny bit of bolt slop on an empty chamber, suspect between 5 and 10 thou slop in headspace. Still waiting for owner to test fire , and hopefully send me 5 fired .308 cases so that I can 'mike' them with my .308 RCBS Precision Mic.
Yes, M1 Garands are sweet to rebarrel....
Hope this information helps you.
Barney
) on the receiver wrench. Had it done in an hour (going slowly and carefully) so that I can ensure that the index is DEAD Nuts Perfect !! I was very happy with the outcome. Did not need to finish ream since a FL sized .308 case closed so very easily with the bolt.Teeny bit of bolt slop on an empty chamber, suspect between 5 and 10 thou slop in headspace. Still waiting for owner to test fire , and hopefully send me 5 fired .308 cases so that I can 'mike' them with my .308 RCBS Precision Mic.
Yes, M1 Garands are sweet to rebarrel....
Hope this information helps you.
Barney
When installing barrels I use the Badger Ordnance jigs for f.and r.sight bases with 30" aluminum angle stock to establish parallelism.Also cross check with an angle finder. I like a new barrel to sit between 9 and 15 degrees off index when hand tight-per the Kuhnhausen Shop Manual.More than 15 degrees as a start point puts too much torque against the receiver face.Some of the commercial barrels show quite a bit more offset than this when hand tight,hence my question about adjusting the barrel shoulder on these ones.
i've got a ? concerning the garand.
is a bit of "peening" on the top of the barrel chamber (from bolt impact i assume) normal?i think not but is it dangerous and what would the cause be?
the top of the chamber has a sharp burr not too bad but noticable.
is a bit of "peening" on the top of the barrel chamber (from bolt impact i assume) normal?i think not but is it dangerous and what would the cause be?
the top of the chamber has a sharp burr not too bad but noticable.
toyboy: It would be nice to obtain a close up pic of this peening to evaluate and determine how 'serious' this situation may be ...
Yes, I agree with what Jerry K says in his book, about the offset angle upon hand tightening. Understand also (in my experience) that most of the Garands that we are rebarreling with commercial barrels (that are super tight) have streteched receivers from over the 50 years of shooting countless ball rounds. My NRA High Power coach used to reassure me that often finish reaming was not necessary because of the stretching action of the receivers. After the final indexing, determined by the parallels, he would still check things out by dropping in (we always rebarreled to .308 Win) a .308 GO gauge and made sure the bolts would close on this gauge.
As a matter of fact, I don't recall having (okay, just once... it was a Douglas NM barrel on a Winchester receiver) to finish ream after rebarreling any of the M1 Garands that have passed through my shop.
Cheers,
Barney
Yes, I agree with what Jerry K says in his book, about the offset angle upon hand tightening. Understand also (in my experience) that most of the Garands that we are rebarreling with commercial barrels (that are super tight) have streteched receivers from over the 50 years of shooting countless ball rounds. My NRA High Power coach used to reassure me that often finish reaming was not necessary because of the stretching action of the receivers. After the final indexing, determined by the parallels, he would still check things out by dropping in (we always rebarreled to .308 Win) a .308 GO gauge and made sure the bolts would close on this gauge.
As a matter of fact, I don't recall having (okay, just once... it was a Douglas NM barrel on a Winchester receiver) to finish ream after rebarreling any of the M1 Garands that have passed through my shop.
Cheers,
Barney
The "peening" you refer to occurs on the inner surface of the barrel shroud over the chamber in the 12 o'clock position and is seen quite often.It is due to the bolt impacting this area and rotating into closed position.Generally this is'nt a problem,but excessive metal displacement can cause the bolt to become imobilized in the closed position,requiring a boot heel on the op rod handle to open it.If this happens the fix is to grind/polish the area with a cratex wheel in a dremel tool.At times this can cause a sharp edge to form which will cut your finger.Re finish reaming-I've always had to do this with a new military barrel,except for this summer when I found that a new Springfield 1952 bbl would accept the "go" gauge when a worn/used bolt was installed.
As a matter of fact, I don't recall having (okay, just once... it was a Douglas NM barrel on a Winchester receiver) to finish ream after rebarreling any of the M1 Garands that have passed through my shop.
Cheers,
Barney
In fairness to the M1 design, this was likely only required BECAUSE it was a Winchester receiver. Of all the M1's, the Winchester had the loosest tolerances and used the oldest revision numbers throughout production.
Springfields have nearly 100% parts interchangeability, while Winchesters frequently will not be as forgiving where the barrel and bolt are concerned.
I've seen rebarelled Winchesters need up to 5 different bolt bodies to be tried for fit before one was acceptable. I've also seen WRA barrels that would under and over-index in WRA receivers. Never seen the same from USGI barrels in SA, HRA or IHC receivers.
And yet oddly enough, I long to own a Winchester - go figure. (my SA is a real winner though!, as were the IHC, Bretta and Bredas I've had. Still haven't owned an HRA yet, either.)
Okay, I see that peening. In the past when I experienced those impact marks, my coach would tell me to relieve that high contact point on top of the the extractor (first), then see what kind of clearance is needed in the 'hood area of the barrel face.
There, does that help ? Rest assured that you are not the only M1 Garand out there with this contact situation.
It's all good....
There, does that help ? Rest assured that you are not the only M1 Garand out there with this contact situation.
It's all good....
