M1 Garand question: looking for a good Garand Gunsmith

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baybee

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Hi,

I'm a M1 Garand rookie.

I have a Danish Springfield Garand that I'd like a Gunsmith to inspect for me. I live in Vancouver, but in a sense , that's irrelevant as I'm willing to ship my M1 to a Gunsmith elsewhere in the Country, if that person really "knows" their way around a Garand.

So bottom line ... any recommendations re: a really good "M1 Garand Doctor" (Gunsmith) ?? Who would you entrust your Garand to, who really knows what they're talking about / does good quality work ?

Thanks very much,

BB
 
well to be honest, I'm not sure. The first time I fired this rifle (10 years ago) not knowing any better at the time (didn't know it was sensitive to gas pressures) I fired one round of Remington 180 gr Core Lokt ... the bolt flew off after I fired the rifle. I detail stripped it, and checked the rifle over carefully. No obvious damage. Operating rod looked fine. Reassembled, and put it back in the closet determined never to fire it again until I found 30.06 ammo suitable to the M1.

Fast forward 10 years. I got my hands on two boxes of 150 gr Hornady ammo specifically loaded for M1 Garands. Says so on the box ! Perfect. Took it out to the range ... similar story. Checked it over ... no damage that I can see.

Sooo ... at this point I'm second guessing myself, and left wondering if maybe the problem is me .... maybe, somehow, each time I reassembled the rifle parts incorrectly after doing the detail strip ... but I don't think so ... went online and followed the detailed instructions for disassembly / reassembly that I found on a couple of reputable websites

At this point, I don't want to fire the rifle again until I get a good Gunsmith knowledgeable about M1 Garands, to check this rifle over thoroughly. Hence ... my request for some recommendations ... thanks everyone
 
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I don't understand how that could happen.

I can understand the Op Rod coming off the Bolt and zipping back and forth by itself, but only if there was something wrong with the trackway in the receiver, or something wrong with the Op Rod, or if the thing had not been assembled correctly. I HAVE seen a Garand on a rack which had been misassembled in that fashion, have also seen the Op Rod lugs ground down pretty bad by shooting (a lot) with zero lubrication. In that condition, an Op Rod COULD come unglued.

I am no expert but I have worked on a few (including my own). Wish the OP were in this area.

Good luck!
 
If the bolt left the receiver we wouldn't be reading this thread. Most likely the op rod is dismounting during the recoil cycle. If so, 2 primary causes of this would be either a worn tab/lug on the op rod where it engages the slot in the receiver or wear on the receiver slot which engages the op rod lug. The op rod handle or tube portion could also be mis-fitting or deformed to extent that it binds during retraction and comes out of engagement with the bolt lug. The metal of the op rod is comparatively soft and subject to deformation around the interior camming recess where the bolt lug is contained. Quite often you see burrs and metal displacement here which could contribute to the rod "jumping the track" during firing. A worn or off center gas cylinder can also affect the travel of the op rod.

To test for correct op rod fit do the "tilt test". To do this remove the rifle from the stock, remove the op rod spring with follower rod and magazine well components (op rod catch, bullet guide, follower arm, follower) leaving the bolt and op rod installed. Hold the rifle in a horizontal position with the bolt closed and op rod forward, and then tilt the muzzle up to a 60 deg angle. The bolt and op rod should retract fully from their own weight. Next, with bolt open and op rod fully to the rear, depress the muzzle to a 60deg angle below horizontal. The bolt and op rod should close completely from their own weight.

If the bolt and op rod won't travel freely further investigation/correction is needed. Any of the following could be causing this; improperly bent/deformed op rod, worn op rod, loose/deformed lower band, gas cyl worn or out of alignment, or ill fitting front handguard. An improperly indexed barrel could also be the cause as this would cause the op rod to bind in it's travel.
 
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"...I'm a M1 Garand rookie..." Start here and download the free .pdf manuals. Note the need for the provided UN & PW. http://biggerhammer.net/manuals/
"...Danish Springfield Garand..." Look under the op handle at the barrel stamps. It have 'VAR'? That'd be really good if it does. Those barrels are very close to match grade barrels. Significant increase in your rifle's value.
Plus buy a copy of Hatcher's Notebook and Hatcher's Book of the Garand. Both can be had in your local gun shop or Amazon for around $30 each. Worth every cent.
"...the bolt flew off..." One round won't do that and a 180 won't either. Like purple says, worn parts might.
"...until I found 30.06 ammo suitable to the M1..." Internet nonsense. JC Garand proved the strength of the rifle with up to and including 120,000 psi 'blue pill' loads. At that pressure, the left locking lug cracked, but he rifle went on to fire a further 5,000 regular issue ammo with no further damage. Plus literally millions of rounds of reloaded 180 grain bullets, et al have been fired with no effect on the rifle whatsoever.
 
sunray said:
"...I'm a M1 Garand rookie..." Start here and download the free .pdf manuals. Note the need for the provided UN & PW. http://biggerhammer.net/manuals/
"...Danish Springfield Garand..." Look under the op handle at the barrel stamps. It have 'VAR'? That'd be really good if it does. Those barrels are very close to match grade barrels. Significant increase in your rifle's value.
Plus buy a copy of Hatcher's Notebook and Hatcher's Book of the Garand. Both can be had in your local gun shop or Amazon for around $30 each. Worth every cent.
"...the bolt flew off..." One round won't do that and a 180 won't either. Like purple says, worn parts might.
"...until I found 30.06 ammo suitable to the M1..." Internet nonsense. JC Garand proved the strength of the rifle with up to and including 120,000 psi 'blue pill' loads. At that pressure, the left locking lug cracked, but he rifle went on to fire a further 5,000 regular issue ammo with no further damage. Plus literally millions of rounds of reloaded 180 grain bullets, et al have been fired with no effect on the rifle whatsoever.
Click to expand...

As long as the powder used is right the port pressure will be right and not damage the op rod. Wrong powder will cause too much port pressure and bend the rod. That's the only thing Sunray didn't mention
 
Thanks everyone ... some really good advice. I will have a much closer look at that Op rod ... maybe that's the problem .... something being worn out makes sense, and this latest go around didn't involve the bolt ... it was the Op rod slipping out of place. Will take a picture of it tomorrow and post it ... I haven't disassembled the rifle yet .... just put it back into the gun case "as is" ... so you folks can check the pics for yourself and do some "forensic investigating" for me.

Checked my records ... I've actually owned this Garand alot longer than 10 years ....bought it about 1998 (fired a garand total of only two rounds in it, since then, lol) .... bought it from Lever Arms in Vancouver. Alan Lever (then) obtained a large shipment of M1's from the Danish Gov't ... and (my understanding - read this somewhere) he was instrumental in getting (then) Justice Minister Alan Rock to make an exception for the M1's 8 round en bloc clip.

So Stay tuned ... I'll see if I can figure out how to post some pics, and put them on this thread in the next day or so
 
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