M1 Garand first round flyer

Joel

Joel

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Have any of you fellows ever dealt with this phenomenon first hand?

I've got a newly put together M1 Garand with a new Criterion 308 barrel that groups splendidly. Like well under an inch and a half at 100 meters for a 4 shot group. The trouble is the 5th being a few inches off the others.

Researching the issue I've found the phenomenon being called the "first round flyer". Gus Fisher and others say its from manually loading the first round, vs all of the other ones having the bolt seat under the rifle's own power, in much rougher fashion, and seating a bit different. Apparently some NM shooters hold off for their first shot and then use the usual point of aim for the others, and it takes a pretty accurate rifle to notice (I imagine its hard to observe in a 3-4 MOA rifle for sure) Some have said the bolt laps in over time and it gets better, or they have tried different components like springs etc. Everything on this rifle is nice and tight.

Next time I am at the range I'll bring an optic and see if it truly is the first round that goes awry. But I was curious if any of you have experienced this and if so, was it ever resolved?
 
Good to know, Snider Shooter! Thanks for the info. I'll play with the crimp and see what happens. Maybe try a different powder or heavier bullet. Its N135 at the moment.

Funny, I remember when VV powers seemed too expensive to me...
 
I've been shooting my Garand (off and on) for 30 years. Early on I noticed the first round would be out of the group at 50yds- Up to a couple inches. I consider my rifle pretty accurate . An inch to inch and a half at 50 yds. 70+ year old eyes. Can't say as I noticed the same thing with my Norinco 305. Too late ?? now to experiment. My 3006 load is mid range 4064 and 165 gr Hornady SP. There is some air space in the case. Interesting!
 
Do you mean like a fouling shot?

The phenomenon doesn't seem to go away as I continue to not clean the barrel though.
 
There is a tendency for the first round out of a clean, cool barrel to impact a bit differently than the rest of the group. That's why a lot of folks prefer to go hunting with a fouled barrel. Its also why the old habit in the Army before shooting for qualification; "1 round warming into the butts". This can be the case with any rifle.
 
A bit differently I get, an experience dozens of other rifles have borne out to some degree. Never approaching this bad.

Research seems to indicate its a known issue with some M1s on any first round from a clip, regardless of barrel cleanliness, dirt, heat etc

I can definitely see why the need to fire one round into the butts if this was the case lol
 
The Criterion barrels are good quality and will shoot well provided that the rifle is set up properly. One of the old bugaboos with the Garand are handguards that are too tight that stress the barrel as it heats up. You always want a bit of clearance between the rear of the gas cyl and the front handgd ferrule. There should also be clearance between the rear of the lower handgd and the face of the receiver.

The Garand barrel is comparatively light and there are a lot of parts in motion when fired. I find that M1903 Springfields always shoot a tad better all things being equal; heavier barrel and more consistent bedding.
 
Thankfully this one has a little bit of front handguard play thats still there when the barrel heats up a bit! otherwise I hope they aren't too tight.

Next time at the range I am going to really use a scope and document WHICH shot goes out of whack during which group. Cause with the flyer discounted (and it isn't called) this one can hang with most milsurps.

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I'd suggest using a half sheet (81/2 x 11) of dull black art paper as a target. Put that rectangle on a buff or white background sheet for contrast. Put the top of the post at 6 o'clock under the black and center it. The rifle will do the rest. A good bullet with IMR4895 is a top bet.
 
Stock Fit can affect where 1-to last shot goes

Q
it is rumoured that touching the front stock/ handguard will throw off shots .... are you picking it up by front handguard ??

I would think the the barrel is touching the stock at the front
 
purple said:
I'd suggest using a half sheet (81/2 x 11) of dull black art paper as a target. Put that rectangle on a buff or white background sheet for contrast. Put the top of the post at 6 o'clock under the black and center it. The rifle will do the rest. A good bullet with IMR4895 is a top bet.
Click to expand...

I actually really like the white paper as an aiming mark, as I find it gives me the most contrast with a black front sight sitting just below it at 6 o'clock and have no problems holding around 1-1.5 MOA with a rifle that is up to the task.

If the rifle isn't throwing one shot several inches out of the group, every time. The flyer is in a different location here, but it was a different projectile.

Likewise the ammo seems quite consistent, at least several bullets have managed the "4 shots into 1.2-1.5" and one flyer" trick. But I am open to trying a different powder just for schits.

20210225-165623-resized.jpg
 
just having some fun said:
Stock Fit can affect where 1-to last shot goes

Q
it is rumoured that touching the front stock/ handguard will throw off shots .... are you picking it up by front handguard ??

I would think the the barrel is touching the stock at the front
Click to expand...

The barrel shouldn't be in contact with the stock at all. The lower band is where it happens and the lower band must be absolutely tight on the barrel. Also, check the rear handguard for hard contact with the top of the stock, esp on the left side. If there is contact, remove wood from the bottom of the handguard, not the top of the stock.
 
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