This is the third article in a three part series of "Tips and Tricks" for the M-1 Garand.
The first artice, "Tips and Tricks for the M-1 Garand," covered the best owner's manual for the M-1, loading the 'en bloc' clips, and the 'tragedy of M-1 thumb." The second article, "M-1 Garand tips & tricks - Part 2," contained information on cleaning, lubrication, ammunition selection, and spare parts.
Common Garand Malfunctions
One of the most common Garand malfunctions is "short stroking." This is when the case ejects, but the new round does not chamber. There are two easy and inexpensive fixes to try first:
Clean and relubricate the rifle. This works if the rifle was dry or improperly lubed.
Replace the original op-rod spring with a new spring, The springs in these old rifles are often worn out-of-spec and the op-rod spring is more critical than most. Install a new spring from a commercial vendor such as Fulton Armory. You do NOT want a GI take-off spring from the CMP. Installing a new spring very often fixes the problem.
Another common malfunction is when the rifle will eject a partially loaded clip. In this case the likely fix is the replace the clip latch spring and possibly the clip latch itself. If that doesn’t work try replacing the follower arm, follower rod, or op-rod catch. (Try the clip latch/clip latch spring first though, as that is more likely)
If any of these troubleshooting procedures don’t work, ask for advice on the CMP forums or one of the Garand enthusiast boards, such as www.jouster.com.
Garand Accuracy
A stock GI M-1 Garand is a 3 or 4 MOA rifle at best. There are many factors that can affect the accuracy of any particular rifle and other tricks to improve accuracy above that standard.
If the muzzle has been damaged by improper cleaning techniques the accuracy will suffer. The fix is to have a gunsmith recrown the muzzle to repair the damage.
Excessive throat erosion is a sign that the barrel is at the end of its useful service life. For this reason, when purchasing a CMP Garand, I only recommend those rifles with a TE of 5 or less.
A loose gas cylinder will also hurt accuracy because the front sight is mounted to the gas cylinder. You can eliminate any play here by first removing the gas cylinder and then carefully peening the gas cylinder splines on the barrel to tighten the fit. A light hammer works well for this job.
For best accuracy the trigger group should lock tightly into the rifle stock. If the trigger group unlatches easily this is the sign the wood has compressed after years of storage with the trigger group latched. Many shooters store the rifle with the trigger group unlatched to avoid this problem. You can fix this by replacing the stock or by shimming the stock where the trigger group fits with fiberglass or other material. (This is not a legal mod for CMP competition, btw).
A more involved improvement is to glass bed stock to the receiver. Be aware that the bedding is affected every time you field strip the rifle, so avoid taking the rifle apart as much as possible. Glass bedded rifles are not legal for CMP competition.
The ultimate improvement would be to have a good gunsmith tune your Garand to match standards. If you hire a smith make sure you specify whether you plan to use the rifle in CMP sanctioned competitions. Many classic Garand accurizing techniques are not legal for CMP competition.
These tips should be enough to get you started. There is plenty of M-1 Garand information on-line to answer any detailed questions not covered in this article. Make sure to check out my other M-1 Garand articles as well:
Tips and tricks for the M-1 Garand
M-1 Garand tips & tricks: Part 2 - Cleaning, lubrication, ammo & spare parts
How to purchase a M-1 Garand from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP)
A look at the best CMP M-1 Garand choices available
The M-1 Garand brought semi-auto firepower to U.S. troops in WWII
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