Double firing on my new Garand?

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I am a new member and recently purchased two garands from CMP. One was a special withh all new components. I just fired the rifle for the first time this weekend and found I double fired all four times. I am assuming that I will need a trigger job but what exactly willI need to do. The trigger did not feel like a two stage trigger but pulled like a single stage.

thanks in advance for you advice.

Information

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[M1Riflenut]

First of all,welcome to the insane world of garand collecting!!
There are a few things to check here. One thing is to make sure when firing that you have a firm grip on the rifle. If not you can get double taps as the rifle bounces off your shoulder and towards your trigger finger causing another round to fire. If your ok there,you need to check the trigger group. You say it feels like a single stage? That's not good. Take it out of the gun and see if anything looks broken,like the pin that attaches the sear to the trigger.
With it out of the gun,close and latch the trigger guard. Next,(with the hammer dropped/released),pull the trigger and hold it to the rear,keep psi on it all the time. Make sure at all times when/if the hammer is cocked that you don't let it slam home into the trigger housing or bite your finger if it does. With psi on the trigger,cock the hammer all the way back and it should hook onto the sear. If it does not,then you have a problem. If it does hook on the sear,slowly release the psi on the trigger and the hammer should go from being hooked on the sear to hooking on the trigger itself. Again,if it does not then you have a problem. Could be a broken or worn sear/trigger pin,bent trigger pivot pin,worn/broken hammer and/or pin etc.
If you have another rifle,take the trigger group out of that one and compare them to see if each one works the same. You can also swap the other trigger group into the problem rifle and see if that cures the problem. From what you say though about not feeling the 2 stage pull,it sounds like you have a sear problem. Thats assuming there is no 2 stage pull with it out of the gun. If it is ok out of the gun(2 stage pull) but not when its locked into the gun,you could have a stock fit problem.
Good luck and report back with your findings. You'll find folks here and on the other sites more than willing to help out with any questions you might have.
And remember,the only dumb question is the one that you don't ask. No matter what it is you want to know,just ask.

[Maury Krupp]

Nothing personal but nine times out of ten, doubles with an M1 are caused by "milking the trigger." Especially when shooting off a bench or with shooters new to the M1.

It's caused by a failure to hold the rifle securely and follow through each shot.

What happens is when the rifle fires it recoils back away from the trigger finger enough to reset, then hits the trigger finger on its way back on counter-recoil thus firing the second round. It's an unintended variation of "bump firing."

When the shooter, startled by the unexpected double, firmly grabs the rifle the cycle stops.

If there really is a mechanical problem the rifle will usually run away until empty.

But there is still that tenth time so start with a function check:

1. Ensure the rifle is unloaded
2. Cock hammer
3. Place the rifle on SAFE
4. Squeeze trigger and release - Hammer SHOULD NOT fall
5. Place the rifle on FIRE
6. Squeeze trigger and hold back - Hammer SHOULD fall
7. Re-cock hammer while holding trigger back
8. Release trigger - Listen for handoff from sear to trigger
9. Squeeze trigger - Hammer SHOULD fall

You can also bang the butt on a hard surface during Steps 5 and 7 to see if the hammer will jump off the trigger or sear.

Check that the Trigger Group is assembled properly. If the hammer spring housing is installed improperly (opening to the outside) the trigger becomes a single-stage.

Maury

[John Kepler]

Basically...what Maury said! The newer the Garand shooter, the more likely any doubles are caused by a shooter-induced "trigger milking" defect. It's a military rifle, not a target rifle...with proper trigger control a must.

[mousegun]

Basically...what Maury said! The newer the Garand shooter, the more likely any doubles are caused by a shooter-induced "trigger milking" defect. It's a military rifle, not a target rifle...with proper trigger control a must.

What John said! Proper trigger control includes follow-through. Squeeze the trigger with a mental image of pulling the hook all the way to the rear each time. Don't "search" for the sear release. One smooth squeeze all the way to the end of travel. Works fer me, anyhoo.

[pgadsby]

Thanks for all of your help. I just received a DVD on performing a trigger job on the Garand. Turns out that following a trigger pull the hammer comes back and hooks the secondary sear. What should happen when releasing the trigger is the hammer should engage the primary sear. THis does not happen and the hammer lets go of the second sear firing the rifle again. Not sure why it doesn't go through the full clip but it stops at two. What i will need to do isshorten the gap between the secondary sear and the primary sear by stoning the stop on the tigger for the secondary sear. I pologize if i am not using the terms correctly. Thanks and i will let you know how well this works.

[John Kepler]

DO NOT stone a damn thing until you perform a sear capture test....not unless you want to REALLY b!tch-up the trigger and buy a lot of expensive replacement parts!

Sear capture test: (This is the test performed to insure that the CORRECT sear is capturing the hammer....no other "assumption" is required if the trigger passes this test)

1. With the rifle UNLOADED (don't assume!), the safety off, and the hammer UNCOCKED.

2. While holding the trigger down, cycle the rifle action.

3. With the bolt cycled and closed, release the trigger.

4. Pull the trigger.

5. Repeat at least three times...in each case, you should hear the hammer fall when you pull the trigger. If you do, the sear has fully and completely engaged the hammer and is functioning properly.

If you do not hear the hammer drop, THEN and only then do you have a problem, and it likely has NOTHING to do with the trigger itself, but how its locating itself in the stock!

You DO NOT know what you're doing with this rifle, and mistakes that remove metal are FINAL!

[pgadsby]

John,

I followed your advice. Upon releasing the trigger after cycling the action, the hammer fell before being able to pull the trigger again. This is the same thing I saw when the action was out of the rifle. The secondary sear only just captures the hammer and upon release does not engage the primary sear attached to the trigger. This is a brand new trigger from CMP. It does not function like the old trigger group I have. I am aware that if I take anything off it can not be replaced and because of that I will need to take it slowly, only a few thousands at a time. I could replace the old trigger group in the new rifle and repeat the process at the firing range as the old rifle functioned properly when I took it out for a test fire. I have been taking high power shooting classes with an AR-15 and understand the importance of follow through on the trigger and a two stage trigger. If you were to adjust the trigger group where would you start.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

[JustPassingThrough]

John,

I followed your advice. Upon releasing the trigger after cycling the action, the hammer fell before being able to pull the trigger again.

The trigger assembly is not safe to shoot If the hammer is not correctly handing off from one set of hooks to the other . The hammer must NEVER fall when slowly releasing the trigger (After re-cocking the hammer). In fact you should be able to pull on the hammer and it still should not drop.

Either the hammer hooks are already worn / out of spec or the sear is. Most likely its the hammer. Damaged or bent Hammer pin / Sear Pin might also cause trouble. Someone with a file can wreck a good hammer really fast

If you just got this trigger assembly from CMP call them up and let them know if fails this basic safety test.

[Maury Krupp]

I'm with Mr Passingthrough, if it's fresh from CMP let them know and give them a chance to make it good.

Or swap parts from your other good Trigger Group until you isolate the bad parts then just buy what you need. Also agree it's likely the hammer or maybe trigger pin.

Don't try to fix a buggered up hammer by buggering up the trigger/sear assembly.

BTW, on an M1 the big piece with the T-shaped bit on top is called the Trigger; the other bit is called the Sear (which is retained by the Sear Pin). Unit of issue is as a single assembly.

Maury