First C&R - M1 Garand!

[WeS4]

Finally made my dreams come true. I received my first (and second!) US Rifle, Cal. 30 M1. I’ve wanted one of these since I turned 12 and received Band of Brothers (the book) as a birthday gift. That desire was further fueled when I got to college and began studying History (Military to be exact).



I received a CMP Service Grade Springfield Armory serial 993XXX, which puts it in the November 1942 range. MW of 1+ and TE of 2+. Rearsenaled at Springfield in January of 1965 according to the receiver legs, and has a barrel with a date of 11/64. When I pulled it out of the case from the CMP, I was in love. All the dings and the mid-war serial number made me wonder about the men who carried it. I spent about three days going it over it, piece by piece and evaluating every part against the vast knowledge of the M1 out on the inter webs.



My second is a Special Grade Springfield Armory Serial 1796XXX that I plan to shoot local matches with. Beautiful in it’s own right, its going to require some tweaking to make perfect as there are some areas on the stock that need attention (mainly, the rear hand guard clearance cut isn't complete, causing the operating rod to smack into it when closing the bolt).

A few questions:

1. Using dummy bullets from dummybullet.com, the Special Grade’s bolt and operating rod jam after chambering a round. It cycles fine with AZOOM snap caps, is this just a “tight” chamber from being so new?
2. considering that HXP from the CMP is relatively cheap compared to anything I’ve seen commercially, is an adjustable gas plug really worth it? I do plan on reloading at some point in the future.
3. I live in the South Bay Area, I noticed that Sunnyvale Rod and Gun has a monthly service rifle match, as well as Chabot. Anyone have experience with these? Are they noob friendly?
4. Any other advice anyone can offer?

I can’t wait to hit the range with these beauties!

[evanboyle]

Nice pair of M1s.

Im a member at Sunnyvale and the SR matches are decent there. I prefer shooting with the San Jose Zouaves down at metcalf as we get to use the 200y range.

[JohnnyMtn]

Congratulations to you. You will cherish those for the rest of your life.

My history was similar to yours - I wanted an M1 for 20-something years mainly because of my obsession with history, especially military history. To me, owning an M1 was a way to touch that history via an artifact from it. When the day came when I finally had my own M1 it was magical. And then when the day came that I was actually shooting my M1 it was almost a religious experience.

[JohnnyMtn]

As for your questions, I do not have experience with dummy rounds in an M1 but I have seen dummy rounds not always cycle right in other guns. I would attribute that to the round not being sized correctly.

People routinely swear by the gas plugs but I have never used one. M1 ammo while expensive is still obtainable and not wallet-breaking. CMP ammo or M1 ammo from other sources is out there. PRVI comes to mind.

Can't help you with Chabot because I live in SoCal but I would suggest you take your M1 to an Appleseed clinic. You will fall in love with your M1 even more.

[Orlando]

Forget the dummy rounds, they rarely function well ina Garand anyway. Proof is in the actual firirng
Do a complete tear down ,clean and properly grease the rifle
No need for expensive so called high tech gun grease. Go to a Auto Parts store and buy a tube of wheel bearing grease. It is more than adequate for the Garand.
If you have any questions or need help with them PM me

[milotrain]

Hit up the San Jose Zouaves http://www.zouaves.org/. They shoot a monthly service rifle match that feeds CMP matches and games matches. Really nice bunch of guys.

I have an adjustable gas plug that I've never used. HXP attracts a magnet so if you shoot on ranges that prohibit that then you need other ammo. The PRVI 150gr ball is good stuff for the price. The Creedmoor ammo is excellent for the price but it is expensive, if you are preparing to reload the Creedmoor ammo nets you better brass at the end but PRVI brass isn't bad at all.

[TMB 1]

Nice looking rifles! Kind of cool that they put a November barrel on your November rifle when it was rebuilt.

[TRICKSTER]

I stopped buying HXP from the CMP after the last price increase. It is no longer worth it when you can get new production ammo like this.
http://www.sgammo.com/product/30-06/...and-ammo-pp347

[nbirnbaum2]

Congrats !!!! now go out and have some fun at the range

[highpower790]

Originally Posted by WeS4

Finally made my dreams come true. I received my first (and second!) US Rifle, Cal. 30 M1. I’ve wanted one of these since I turned 12 and received Band of Brothers (the book) as a birthday gift. That desire was further fueled when I got to college and began studying History (Military to be exact).



I received a CMP Service Grade Springfield Armory serial 993XXX, which puts it in the November 1942 range. MW of 1+ and TE of 2+. Rearsenaled at Springfield in January of 1965 according to the receiver legs, and has a barrel with a date of 11/64. When I pulled it out of the case from the CMP, I was in love. All the dings and the mid-war serial number made me wonder about the men who carried it. I spent about three days going it over it, piece by piece and evaluating every part against the vast knowledge of the M1 out on the inter webs.



My second is a Special Grade Springfield Armory Serial 1796XXX that I plan to shoot local matches with. Beautiful in it’s own right, its going to require some tweaking to make perfect as there are some areas on the stock that need attention (mainly, the rear hand guard clearance cut isn't complete, causing the operating rod to smack into it when closing the bolt).

A few questions:

1. Using dummy bullets from dummybullet.com, the Special Grade’s bolt and operating rod jam after chambering a round. It cycles fine with AZOOM snap caps, is this just a “tight” chamber from being so new?
2. considering that HXP from the CMP is relatively cheap compared to anything I’ve seen commercially, is an adjustable gas plug really worth it? I do plan on reloading at some point in the future.
3. I live in the South Bay Area, I noticed that Sunnyvale Rod and Gun has a monthly service rifle match, as well as Chabot. Anyone have experience with these? Are they noob friendly?
4. Any other advice anyone can offer?

I can’t wait to hit the range with these beauties!

Congrats on receiving your M1.Now be a rifleman and shoot the Richmond Rod & Gun Club M1 match on Sun the 21st of this month.
Sign at the 200yd line 0800-0830,shoot at 0900 in relays of up to 10 shooters.
Match costs $15 and covers offhand,rapid sitting,rapid prone,and slow prone.Match to be shot on the very generous military 5V target.
Free coffee and donuts to competitors.
Show up a little early for a brief rundown on what to expect...basic shooting positions,how to score and pull targets.
P.S. minimum ammo required will be 58rds.Bring(80rds) extra!
Richmond also has monthly highpower matches on the 1st Sat/Sun of every month and every 3rd Sat.

[6mmintl]

A few questions:

1. Using dummy bullets from dummybullet.com, the Special Grade’s bolt and operating rod jam after chambering a round. It cycles fine with AZOOM snap caps, is this just a “tight” chamber from being so new?
2. considering that HXP from the CMP is relatively cheap compared to anything I’ve seen commercially, is an adjustable gas plug really worth it? I do plan on reloading at some point in the future.
3. I live in the South Bay Area, I noticed that Sunnyvale Rod and Gun has a monthly service rifle match, as well as Chabot. Anyone have experience with these? Are they noob friendly?
4. Any other advice anyone can offer?

Having built/accurized M1A's and M1's (have two match grade navy M1's) I would say:
1. Chamber may be dirty,
Op-rod may be sticking/rubbing stock in lower right cutout of stock.
Op-rod spring may be worn (check for flat spots on outside of spring)

2. If you are planning on shooting beyond 500/600 yds a solid gas plug is warranted to eliminate vertical stringing (tappet plugs leak).
If you are planning on reloading 180 grain and heavier bullets for longer range (600-1000 yds.) shooting/competition, buy and adjustable gas plug.

Other area's to consider if planning on shooting/competing out to longer distances is:

Have a good trigger job done.

Tighten up Mid band rotation on barrel by degreasing barrel/band, dimpling barrel mid band seat, replacing roll pin, and re-align/lock tight together.

Put an O-ring 1/16" x 5/8" Id between gas cylinder and fore stock to dampen vibration/POI movement.

Tighten up fore stock ferrel on barrel seats.

Tighten up tune up rear sight assembly, to eliminate movement at long range.

Sight stem needs to be modified to lower stem in sight base combined with lowering front sight .035", both of these mods allow sight to have lower alignment, better/lower cheek weld for long range shooting.

I paint front sight screw white to visible use as vertical alignment between target, front sight, and rear sight (white circle sits at 6 o'clock in rear aperature opening) to eliminate vertical stringing at distance. Its an excellent reference point for consistent sight alignment in the standard LARGE opening battle aperature.

All these mods are non viable and allowable (except maybe o-ring) under CMP Garand match rules and will reduce group size and shape.

[serjm1a1]

Nice, I'm a new Garand owner myself and my serial number is one of the first million, right after yours. very cool

[Enfield47]

Congrats OP, you have a very nice pair of Garands.

If you shoot Garand safe ammo you don't need an adjustable gas plug. They are only needed if your using ammo with faster burning powders.

The HXP is good ammo but so is the Prvi Garand safe ammo. It's about the same cost and it's new manufacture. Both are non corrosive so either is a good choice. The one advantage of Prvi is it doesn't attract a magnet so you can shoot it anywhere. Save your spent cases and reload. Even if you don't get into reloading for a while, the HXP and PPU is good quality brass so it will hold up quite well for several reloads.

Time to hit the range and let the fun begin. Eight bangs and a ping will put a huge grin on your face every time.

[2761377]

Originally Posted by 6mmintl

Having built/accurized M1A's and M1's (have two match grade navy M1's) I would say:
1. Chamber may be dirty,
Op-rod may be sticking/rubbing stock in lower right cutout of stock.
Op-rod spring may be worn (check for flat spots on outside of spring)

2. If you are planning on shooting beyond 500/600 yds a solid gas plug is warranted to eliminate vertical stringing (tappet plugs leak).
If you are planning on reloading 180 grain and heavier bullets for longer range (600-1000 yds.) shooting/competition, buy and adjustable gas plug.

Other area's to consider if planning on shooting/competing out to longer distances is:

Have a good trigger job done.

Tighten up Mid band rotation on barrel by degreasing barrel/band, dimpling barrel mid band seat, replacing roll pin, and re-align/lock tight together.

Put an O-ring 1/16" x 5/8" Id between gas cylinder and fore stock to dampen vibration/POI movement.

Tighten up fore stock ferrel on barrel seats.

Tighten up tune up rear sight assembly, to eliminate movement at long range.

Sight stem needs to be modified to lower stem in sight base combined with lowering front sight .035", both of these mods allow sight to have lower alignment, better/lower cheek weld for long range shooting.

I paint front sight screw white to visible use as vertical alignment between target, front sight, and rear sight (white circle sits at 6 o'clock in rear aperature opening) to eliminate vertical stringing at distance. Its an excellent reference point for consistent sight alignment in the standard LARGE opening battle aperature.

All these mods are non viable and allowable (except maybe o-ring) under CMP Garand match rules and will reduce group size and shape.

you do realize these two bolded statements are contradictory, right?

[WeS4]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Lots of knowledge to pour through. Both rifles are greased up and ready for the range tomorrow (hopefully)!

[milotrain]

Originally Posted by 2761377

you do realize these two bolded statements are contradictory, right?

Not at all. In the first part of the statement he's talking about ball ammo at 600, in the second he's talking about running heavies either past 600 or for XTC competition. They are very specific differences and running a solid is not legal for NRA service rifle, but a better choice if you are just playing out to 600 with ball.

Most guys who shoot XTC have three loads, a 200, 300 and 600 load which means you almost have to have an adjustable plug (both to manage the loads and shoot rapid stages), but if you just want to poke at 600 a few times run a solid plug.

Shooting the M1 Garand out to 600 yards is most commonly found in XTC competition associated with the CMP or NRA. This competition is so common in fact that the name of the matches (National Matches) has become synonymous with a model of firearm with "high level of accuracy". It is not strange therefore that 6mm spoke based on a legitimate assumption of the two ways the OP could go shooting a Garand at midrange (XTC or casual).

[highpower790]

Don't exceed what the military loaded for bullet weight and nothing special needs to be done!For xtc if you wanted to shoot one bullet(not recommended due to reoil),use the 175/178 that way your ready for the 600yd line.I would use a 168 for 2&3.

[musketjon]

My poppet valves don't leak and in 30+ years of collecting/shooting/studying the M1 rifle, I have NEVER needed an adjustable gas plug. And yes, the "O" ring is NOT JCG legal.
Jon