M1 Garand enthusiasts

MaelwimA said:
For you guys, the m1 Garand owner. Is there a reason why you won't shoot with an old one ? I mean, something on those old beasts that could be dangerous because of age ?
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Age alone isn't an issue as long as the parts in the rifle are serviceable. Wear and corrosion in critical areas can affect safety and functionality. A cracked receiver ring is a showstopper as is excessive corrosion on areas like the face of the receiver, the "legs" of the receiver, the safety bridge and the rear of the receiver.

I've never seen an unserviceable Danish surplus Breda or Beretta receiver , but have seen some bad US made ones that were neglected and allowed to deteriorate in the hands of foreign users.

The Kuhnhausen Shop manual is an excellent guide to inspecting a Garand for serviceability and safety.
 
My 53 SA/IHC Garand

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Enjoyed reading this thread. The reloading info is helpful. I just acquired a '55 Springfield model. Only fired a handful of shots recently. Going to enjoy it.
 
I got a post war 1955 one, mismatched, still went over 2 grands. Have to say a real WW2 garand is bit difficult to find these days, especially all match ones, those old artifacts are dissolving among collectors very fast. Nowdays even the mosins were going over 500, too bad for my wallet, as I was trying to find a Chinese mosin :(
But the gun itself is fabulous, extremely fun to shoot, even compare to those black guns. The "ding" sound of clip ejection brings you right back to Iwojima or Normandy... Worth the price!
 
Loving mine so far, I bought one of the first batch of Breda recievers for $50 back in 2014 or so, and finally got everything assembled this summer.

I was amazed at how soft a shooter it is, and how nice it sounds as it cycles. Accuracy is 'ok', about 2.5 MOA, but I'm just tweaking loads for the moment.

I also had my first slam-fire. That was on me though: the round popped out of the clip when I let the Op Rod go, but I 'forward assisted' it before I realized what I was doing. Think I may switch my primers to the CCI hard ones, too.
 
Here's a bit of info for the Garand assemblers on headspacing. New barrels come with short headspace so they need to be finish reamed to set up proper headspace with a selected bolt. I've always found this to be the case with both new US GI barrels and commercial barrels with 2 exceptions.

Today I was going to set up headspace on a new and newly installed US GI M1D barrel using a -19 Springfield bolt. I first ran three -12 bolts on the gauge and found that, as expected, the bolts wouldn't close on the "go" gauge. Same results with two WRA bolts which tend to be on the long side of tolerances. I then tried the -19 bolt and found that it would close. Luckily, the -19 bolt was also correct for the receiver s/n which means no finish reaming is needed and I'm GTG with that bolt. Normally -19 bolts are slightly longer than the -12 bolts, but here was an exception.

I've only experienced this once before with a new US GI barrel. It's always good to have a selection of bolts on hand when setting up headspace on a Garand. There are variations in bolt length due to manufacturing tolerances and wear on a used bolt. That barrel was made with a fairly deep chamber too.
 
any good sources for mixed manufacturer parts? i have only really seen Beretta, Breda, Springfield in larger numbers or in stores

my end goal is to own one of each manu, and try to build a mythical tanker in 18.5".

perhaps duplicating stocks in various woods
 
Parts are drying up, you will pay a prem. price for or spend a long time to build a all correct M1 Garand

you might see more Beretta, Breda parts for one reason..... collectors want the other manufactures...

and some times parts are just parts ... NOS are almost worth the price of gold
 
Not gonna lie. Want a good one for a range toy pretty bad. Not a collector but something that I can actually shoot. Can't find any prices or any rifles around (and no I am not going through EE either) up here.
 
I love my Garand. I built mine from a parts kit to be a shooter using a Beretta receiver, a new Boyds stock, and a new Criterion barrel. It was a really fun build, and my first "more challenging" build after an AR build. I did it in 30-06, though if I did it again I would build it in 308, as it is inherently more accurate and cheaper to shoot. I built the rifle as a match gun, for service rifle matches. All the accurizing is done, and the gun LOVES 168 grain Hornady BTHP's and 175 grain Barnes Match Burners over 46.5 of Varget. The 175 grain load is good out to 800 meters. I run National Match sights and the rifle has a mild trigger job.

I love my M1! Fun to shoot, fun to look at, and a cool piece of history.
 
JGPinYYC said:
I really like the Garand and am actively searching for one. I'm not super concerned about matching numbers and such; I just want one that has all the correct parts and is a good shooter.
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There's no such animal as a "matching numbers" Garand--they don't exist---never did. The ONLY serial number on an M1 rifle is the number on the receiver below the maker's name. ALL other numbers are drawing, or part numbers, and revisions when necessary. Those are what are important to see if a rifle is correct. Also, there is a HUGE difference between a "corrected" rifle and an "original" rifle. A rifle is only original ONCE--that is the day it leaves the armory.

Jon
 
The mechanicals are fascinating. There's a lot of complication, compared to other designs and it all works out almost every time. :)

Grizz
 
Grizzly Adams said:
The mechanicals are fascinating. There's a lot of complication, compared to other designs and it all works out almost every time. :)

Grizz
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I’m thinking though , the M1 is a well made rifle , but in the extremely tough environment that the US troops fought in the Pacific , unit armorers, or Gun Plummers must have been kept busy , fixing the M1’s guirky hangups
 
x westie said:
I’m thinking though , the M1 is a well made rifle , but in the extremely tough environment that the US troops fought in the Pacific , unit armorers, or Gun Plummers must have been kept busy , fixing the M1’s guirky hangups
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My late father was in the 503rd PIR in the SWPA and neither he nor any of his buddies that I had the priviledge of meeting and talking with ever had any thing but praise for the M1 rifle. I'd like to know what these quirkinesses are that you refer to and on what do you base your comments.

Jon
 
The M1 was a reliable weapon in a variety of environments in WW2. Probably the only adverse comment was on its weight. It also stood up well under harsh conditions in Korea. As always, user maintenance and a good supply of cleaning equipment is important.
 
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