Problem with a Garand

calsdad

calsdad

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Although I have had a few Garands for quite some time now - today was the first time I actually got to shoot one of them.

And I ran into some problems.

First thing I noticed was that when I pushed the clip in and released the bolt it would not chamber the first round without a little "help" - I had to actually give the bolt a little push to get the round to chamber. I did double check to make sure the bolt locked in before I fired.

Could this be a lubrication problem?

The ammo I was using was Greek that I got from CMP in the bandoleers (already mounted in clips).

The other problem I had was that out of the 8 clips I shot - 3 of them "stuck" at the 2nd to last round. What happened was with just 2 rounds left in the clip the round would not feed properly and would get stuck sort of sideways in the feed well.

After the en-bloc clips ejected I noticed that the two wings appeared to be canted "in" pretty good - meaning that the clip would have been pretty tight on the rounds with the clip full.

I was wondering if the clips might be so tight that when I get down to the last two rounds it is somehow popping the round out so that it wedges instead of feeding properly.

I have to go back and read my Garand books - just wondering if anybody here might have some insight as to what is going on.

It has been a while since I shot a real caliber - this thing kicks pretty good, but it doesn't feel any worse than my M1A.
 
You pretty much guessed it, Greek Garand ammo has that problem usually. The clips are so tight and newly parkerized that they seem to stick and grab hold of the bullets that it gives the problems that you mentioned.
Also they are very tight. I never had the problem in my Garands with any other ammo both Korean and Lake City. I blame the clips also.
 
My garand will not "self chamber" a round from ANY clip. I've read someplace that some guns are "just like that". I always have to give the charging handle at least a little push to get it to load.

The CXP clips are problematic, though. I've had weird jam issues using these clips. Strangely enough if you unload the clips and then repack them the problems will just go away. The ammo itself seems to be fine.

-Mike
 
Thanks for the responses. I have a bunch of USGI clips, I can try unpacking some of the Greek clips and repacking in the USGI clips and see what happens. Maybe the rounds stick in the Greek clips simply because they have been in them for so long the have simply taken a set in the clips somehow which makes them feed lousy.

From my reading I have constantly heard of "Garand thumb" which is what you get when you load the clip and bolt returns to smash your thumb. So I was expecting the bolt to return on it's own. I was going to ask some questions on the CMP forums also - those guys live eat and breathe Garands.
 
I'd get a new op rod spring if the original is still in the gun. You should also make sure it's lubed. Go to this page with a copy of FM 23-5 and look at Chapter 5. Also right before Chapter 5 there is a table with common stoppages and what the corrective action is.

M1 thumb comes from closing the bolt on an empty magazine after inspection arms. You have to depress the follower enough so that you can use the part of your hand that is resting on the op rod handle to release the bolt.You won't get M1 thumb if you keep your hand tight against the op rod handle. I guess that you could also use your thumb to push the follower all the way to the bottom, in which case you would get a very nasty surprise.

I remember one guy at the club that use to jump at the chance to teach any NooB that came along. He really was in need of some instruction himself, as he managed to get both of his thumbs into the magazine and trip the bolt release. He picked the whole rifle up with just his thumbs. Had to get someone else to pull the op rod back. [rofl]

B
 
I have two Garands, both I have to give the bolt a little nudge forward after inserting a loaded enbloc clip.
 
My HXP clips work fine in my Garand. Most M1s will require you to push the bolt forward slightly or to pull back and release in order to feed.
 
Another possibility is a worn bullet guide. The forward nub that is supposed to hit the accelerator on the op rod catch can wear down enough to not trip the op rod without help. It can be repaired by bending, swaging, or replacing the part.

Kuhnhausen's manual lists a dimension of .183" -.004" for the stamped bullet guides accelerator bearing point. Not a lot of allowable wear there.

The first rifle of mine that did this has already been bent to fix this, so I'm going to have to get a new one. [frown] Found out about it at the car shoot, didn't slow me down much. Alloy wheels don't like 30-06.

[rofl]
 
HXP clips work fine in my Greek service grade - never had any real issues with them but have read about people having problems.

Count me as another that has to bump the op rod handle to chamber the first round. I would be worried if I saw an M-1 that loaded the clip without having to do that...

Joe R>
 
BillK said:
Hey I have a chunk of alloy from that shoot.. I am going to embed it in epoxy resin and mount it to a marble base. [smile]
Click to expand...

Is it the same chunk that came back at the line? That's a prize...Kevin opened up with his Garand and must have hit it just the right way - that hunk of alloy rim came arching back toward the line like a pop fly...[grin]
 

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