The "Garand"…there is one word that is soaked with history. There are dozens of books written about the US Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, commonly known as the "Garand" for its principal designer, John Garand. Issued to U.S. troops in WWII and Korea, this rifle played a significant part in winning WWII, since the German and Japanese enemy soldiers were usually equipped with a bolt-action rifle: not a match for the 8-shot semiautomatic Garand.
The rifle covered in this post was made up for NRA High Power Service Rifle competition from parts, known as a "Parts Gun", so it has little value as a collector's piece.
Here is a photo of a representative Garand, probably a late WWII or Korean War model. This is not my rifle, I can't manage to take a good picture of anything this big.
This is my rifle, a Springfield Armory model: I believe the receiver was built in May, 1943:
If you are interested in the Garand, allow me to direct you to two publications that are readily available, inexpensive, and very complete:
BASIC FIELD MANUAL, U.S. RIFLE, CALIBER .30, M1, dated 30 July 1943, published as FM 23-5 by the (then) War Department.
FIELD MAINTENANCE CAL. 30 U.S. RIFLES M1, M1C (SNIPER'S) AND M1D (SNIPER'S), dated October 1956, published by the Departments of the Army and the Air Force.
Technical Description, According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Garand):
"The M1 is an air-cooled, gas-operated, clip-fed, and semi-automatic shoulder weapon. This means that the air cools the barrel; that the power to cock the rifle and chamber the succeeding round comes from the expanding gas of the round fired previously; that it is loaded by inserting an en-bloc (i.e., it goes into the rifle's action and functions as part of the rifle) metal clip (containing eight rounds) into the receiver; and that the rifle fires one round each time the trigger is pulled. After the eight rounds have been shot the clip automatically ejects causing a "ping" noise to occur."
The Garand weighs about 9.5 pounds, is 43.5 inches long, with a 24-inch barrel, firing the .30-06 Springfield round (in the most common Service rifles), typically with a 150- to 168-grain bullet that has a muzzle velocity of about 2,800 fps. Effective range of the rifle with ball (standard military) ammunition is about 500 yards. The rifle is gas-operated with a rotating bolt, and can fire at a rate of about 40-50 rounds per minute.
Field-Stripping the Garand
Detailed instructions for field-stripping the rifle are found in the 1943 manual reference above, but I wanted to point out a couple of things about maintaining the Garand without getting into too much detail.
First, the Garand barrel cannot be cleaned from the breech with a cleaning rod. Probably for that reason, early maintenance kits included the precursor of today's Hoppe's Bore Snake: a long piece of string with a weight at one end and a slotted jag at the other that will hold a cleaning patch.
There are commercially available guides that allow you to clean the bore from the muzzle safely, avoiding damage to the barrel crown: Dewey Heavy Duty Muzzle Bore Guide M1 Garand
A quick fieldstrip of the Garand is accomplished by making sure the rifle is empty, cycling the operating rod handle to cock the hammer, and then pulling down smartly on the bottom of the trigger guard. This will allow the trigger housing group to be removed from the rifle, and then the barrel and receiver group can be removed from the stock.
My rifle has been glass-bedded, so I don't go this far very often, but I do remove the trigger housing group to spray it down, brush it, and then lightly oil it before putting it back in the rifle. I routinely clean the barrel from the muzzle using the guide noted above, and I do brush out the receiver and wipe it with a rag. The more you disassemble a Garand, the looser it gets in many ways. Don't over-maintain this rifle.
Going any further than this in stripping the rifle, I follow the instructions in the manual step-by-step, carefully.
Operation in Brief
Since I am left-handed, I quickly realized why so many lefties ended up using carbines, or BARs, or '03-A3 Sniper Rifles, or doing something other than becoming an infantryman: the Garand is designed for right-handed operation, it seems to me.
Quoting Wikipedia again:
"Although it is not absolutely necessary, the preferred method is to place the back of the right hand against the operating rod handle and press the clip home with the right thumb; this releases the bolt, but the hand restrains the bolt from slamming closed on the operator's thumb (resulting in "M1 thumb"); the hand is then quickly withdrawn, the operating rod moves forward and the bolt closes with sufficient force to go fully to battery. Thus, after the clip has been pressed into position in the magazine, the operating rod handle should be released, allowing the bolt to snap forward under pressure from the operating rod spring. The operating rod handle may be smacked with the palm to ensure the bolt is closed."
Doing this left-handed is not pretty or fast, and that's one reason why I never used the Garand in NRA competition. The M1A and AR-15 are much easier for lefties to operate.
Shooting the Garand
Having had my left shoulder repaired a couple of times, I am not a friend of Big Recoil in rifles: I approach shooting the Garand with caution. At the range, I set up a target at 50 or 100 yards, but I do NOT put the rifle on a rest and lean into it on the bench while seated. I fire the Garand offhand standing, so that my shoulder and back can pivot with the recoil. What is really cool is to hear the "ping" as the empty clip is ejected: it never fails to get the attention of other shooters at the range.
Accessories
En Bloc Clip: This, ladies and gentlemen, is a CLIP:
Combination tool
Bayonet (M1, "knife" bayonet, 1943-1945)
Bayonet (M5A1, 1953 and later)
Ammunition: 30-06 M1 M2 Garand Ammo Ammunition Bulk Surplus .30 M1 AP Tracer FMJ Ball USGI 30.06 30-06 .308 M2 AP Steel Core GI Surplus Armor Piercing 7.62mm NATO
That's brief look at my Garand. It has a permanent place in my small collection because it represents a historically important rifle, and because I think it's a beautiful mechanical creation. One day I hope to add an M1 Carbine to sit next to the Garand.
Chris
The rifle covered in this post was made up for NRA High Power Service Rifle competition from parts, known as a "Parts Gun", so it has little value as a collector's piece.
Here is a photo of a representative Garand, probably a late WWII or Korean War model. This is not my rifle, I can't manage to take a good picture of anything this big.
This is my rifle, a Springfield Armory model: I believe the receiver was built in May, 1943:
If you are interested in the Garand, allow me to direct you to two publications that are readily available, inexpensive, and very complete:
BASIC FIELD MANUAL, U.S. RIFLE, CALIBER .30, M1, dated 30 July 1943, published as FM 23-5 by the (then) War Department.
FIELD MAINTENANCE CAL. 30 U.S. RIFLES M1, M1C (SNIPER'S) AND M1D (SNIPER'S), dated October 1956, published by the Departments of the Army and the Air Force.
Technical Description, According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Garand):
"The M1 is an air-cooled, gas-operated, clip-fed, and semi-automatic shoulder weapon. This means that the air cools the barrel; that the power to cock the rifle and chamber the succeeding round comes from the expanding gas of the round fired previously; that it is loaded by inserting an en-bloc (i.e., it goes into the rifle's action and functions as part of the rifle) metal clip (containing eight rounds) into the receiver; and that the rifle fires one round each time the trigger is pulled. After the eight rounds have been shot the clip automatically ejects causing a "ping" noise to occur."
Field-Stripping the Garand
Detailed instructions for field-stripping the rifle are found in the 1943 manual reference above, but I wanted to point out a couple of things about maintaining the Garand without getting into too much detail.
First, the Garand barrel cannot be cleaned from the breech with a cleaning rod. Probably for that reason, early maintenance kits included the precursor of today's Hoppe's Bore Snake: a long piece of string with a weight at one end and a slotted jag at the other that will hold a cleaning patch.
There are commercially available guides that allow you to clean the bore from the muzzle safely, avoiding damage to the barrel crown: Dewey Heavy Duty Muzzle Bore Guide M1 Garand
A quick fieldstrip of the Garand is accomplished by making sure the rifle is empty, cycling the operating rod handle to cock the hammer, and then pulling down smartly on the bottom of the trigger guard. This will allow the trigger housing group to be removed from the rifle, and then the barrel and receiver group can be removed from the stock.
My rifle has been glass-bedded, so I don't go this far very often, but I do remove the trigger housing group to spray it down, brush it, and then lightly oil it before putting it back in the rifle. I routinely clean the barrel from the muzzle using the guide noted above, and I do brush out the receiver and wipe it with a rag. The more you disassemble a Garand, the looser it gets in many ways. Don't over-maintain this rifle.
Going any further than this in stripping the rifle, I follow the instructions in the manual step-by-step, carefully.
Operation in Brief
Since I am left-handed, I quickly realized why so many lefties ended up using carbines, or BARs, or '03-A3 Sniper Rifles, or doing something other than becoming an infantryman: the Garand is designed for right-handed operation, it seems to me.
Quoting Wikipedia again:
"Although it is not absolutely necessary, the preferred method is to place the back of the right hand against the operating rod handle and press the clip home with the right thumb; this releases the bolt, but the hand restrains the bolt from slamming closed on the operator's thumb (resulting in "M1 thumb"); the hand is then quickly withdrawn, the operating rod moves forward and the bolt closes with sufficient force to go fully to battery. Thus, after the clip has been pressed into position in the magazine, the operating rod handle should be released, allowing the bolt to snap forward under pressure from the operating rod spring. The operating rod handle may be smacked with the palm to ensure the bolt is closed."
Shooting the Garand
Having had my left shoulder repaired a couple of times, I am not a friend of Big Recoil in rifles: I approach shooting the Garand with caution. At the range, I set up a target at 50 or 100 yards, but I do NOT put the rifle on a rest and lean into it on the bench while seated. I fire the Garand offhand standing, so that my shoulder and back can pivot with the recoil. What is really cool is to hear the "ping" as the empty clip is ejected: it never fails to get the attention of other shooters at the range.
Accessories
En Bloc Clip: This, ladies and gentlemen, is a CLIP:
Combination tool
Bayonet (M1, "knife" bayonet, 1943-1945)
Bayonet (M5A1, 1953 and later)
Ammunition: 30-06 M1 M2 Garand Ammo Ammunition Bulk Surplus .30 M1 AP Tracer FMJ Ball USGI 30.06 30-06 .308 M2 AP Steel Core GI Surplus Armor Piercing 7.62mm NATO
That's brief look at my Garand. It has a permanent place in my small collection because it represents a historically important rifle, and because I think it's a beautiful mechanical creation. One day I hope to add an M1 Carbine to sit next to the Garand.
Chris