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12K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  __jb 
#1 · (Edited)
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.

Air gun Trigger Wood Shotgun Gun barrel


This is my rifle, a Springfield Armory model: I believe the receiver was built in May, 1943:

Auto part Gas Cable Metal Trigger


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.

Font Auto part Fashion accessory Metal Wire


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.

Air gun Trigger Shotgun Gun barrel Wood


Air gun Wood Trigger Shotgun Line


Wood Trigger Air gun Hardwood Wood stain


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:

Brush Tableware Dishware Rectangle Food


Combination tool

Tool Household hardware Auto part Nickel Metal


Bayonet (M1, "knife" bayonet, 1943-1945)

Air gun Trigger Gun accessory Wood Metal


Bayonet (M5A1, 1953 and later)

Air gun Trigger Gun accessory Metal Gun barrel


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
 
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#2 ·
Thanks Chris! Another excellent write up on another excellent rifle.... Thanks for sharing!
 
#4 ·
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.
As well as the enemy! German and Japanese troops found out quickly that the "ping" was a dead giveaway (so-to-speak) to the enemy that the G.I. was empty, and it was time to return fire or rush the shooter. American soldiers figured out that by using an empty clip to flip to the ground to create the telltale "ping," that the enemy would sit up out of their bunker or foxhole to take a shot, and they could pick them off when they did.

As long as I'm spouting off odd trivia for no reason, I'll add something I just learned myself. The ammo used in the M1 Garand is .30-06. The "ought-six" part of this caliber has nothing to do with dimensionality (which is what I assumed), but the year it was developed for use-1906.

So how do you pronounce, "Garand?" Most people I hear pronounce it "Gah-rahnd," but I have read in more than a couple of historical documents that the inventor, John Garand's name was actually pronounced "Gærənd" to sound like the word errand.
 
#9 ·
Thank you, and BlueJawTrigger, and EdF702 for the positive feedback. That's the sort of thing that keeps me going on this Forum.

Chris
 
#7 · (Edited)
i want one !


I do have a matching number era correct, (I believe), M1 Carbine. It has been refurbished and is in like new condition. When i was considering buying one I did lots of reading on the M1, and the history will make you forget the time of day as you go from fact to fact, story to story.


I was at a gun show and a guy had a table with many M1's on display and the one I was interested in was propped up in the corner away from the displays. I asked him about it and he hemmed hawwed about it really was not for sale yada yada and just then this other fellah walks up and asks what I am interested in and when i tell him the Carbine propped up in the corner of the booth, he looks at the other guy with a look of wth, he was the actual owner of the booth and was out getting coffee and happened to return as I was standing there looking at the rifle. Seems the "stand in" sales person was holding it back for some reason and the seller asks me, You want that one, to which I replied yes, and it came home with me.... And I got a good deal, seems I remember it at around 600 dollars ! ! !

Someday i hope to have a Garand to sit next to it .....


:cool:
 
#8 · (Edited)
i want one !

I do have a matching number era correct, (I believe), M1 Carbine. It has been refurbished and is in like new condition. When i was considering buying one I did lots of reading on the M1, and the history will make you forget the time of day as you go from fact to fact, story to story.

I was at a gun show and a guy had a table with many M1's on display and the one I was interested in was propped up in the corner away from the displays. I asked him about it and he hemmed hawwed about it really was not for sale yada yada and just then this other fellah walks up and asks what I am interested in and when i tell him the Carbine propped up in the corner of the booth, he looks at the other guy with a look of wth, he was the actual owner of the booth and was out getting coffee and happened to return as I was standing there looking at the rifle. Seems the "stand in" sales person was holding it back for some reason and the seller asks me, You want that one, to which I replied yes, and it came home with me.... And I got a good deal, seems I remember it at around 600 dollars ! ! !

Someday i hope to have a Garand to sit next to it ...
That Carbine is a keeper, OT. Don't let go of it, whatever you do. These days, a collectible M1 Carbine through Cabela's Gun Library is right around $1,500 plus, but they are available.

I recently learned that there were more M1 Carbines made than any other US Military firearm in WWII. Considering that it didn't hold a candle to the Garand in terms of ballistics, that tells you something about the value of a smaller, handier weapon with lighter ammunition. It was only effective to 300 yards, but apparently that was far enough.

When I was in USAF Basic Military Training School at Lackland AFB (San Antonio) in 1965 (!), I qualified with the Carbine, shot Expert. I still have the Shot Record Card. That was the one and only day I handled a Government-owned firearm in nearly four years in the Service. I still remember ignoring the advice of the Range NCO, leaving my shirt collar unbuttoned and getting a hot empty case down the front of my shirt. Lesson learned!

Several years ago I owned an M1 Carbine parts gun, serial numbers didn't match but it had a decent stock with a cartouche, and it was definitely in shooting condition, reasonably tight and all GI parts. For some dumb reason I sold it, of course. So, to replace it I will have to save my allowance for a while. Until then, I'm going to get a book on the M1 Carbine and study up, that will help me make an informed purchase when the time comes.

Chris
 
#11 ·
I was going through the gun pics for the shotgun thread and found these, the "other" weapon is a Cacaro in 6.5, what is it famous for?

I had just bought the bayo for the M1 at a show and it is the cleanest of the bunch the guy had, the knife is clean just the sheath has the rust, he called it character ?
 

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#15 ·
I was very close to "pulling the trigger" on buying a complete numbers matching International Harvester version from 1953 but unfortunately the barrel was "shot out".... It wouldn't pass the bore size test. It was a nice example, but wouldn't have shot very well so I passed.

I do really want to add one to the collection, I really need to do a little research first. Out of the 6.5 million of them produced, one must be for me!
 
#16 ·
Have you looked into getting a CMP gun? I had one, and although it had apparently been stored muzzle down in a barrel of water for thirty years, it was complete and correct, at least until I had the barrel and most of the parts from the operating rod forward replaced.... CMP can be a good source, if you haven't checked it out.

Chris
 
#18 ·
I looked into the CMP program and was informed that the "list" was over a 10 year wait back at that time .....
 
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