Enbloc thumb

Ok Garand gurus,
I was shooting my friend’s Garand. When shoving the enbloc down the hole should the bolt release when the clip hits bottom? A real thumb pincher! :yikes: I assume the bold should remain back till the shooter releases it. What’s a likely cause for this bad behavior?

TIA
SwampRatt

This is called M1 thumb. When pushing the clip down with your thumb you should support the op rod handle with the right side of your little finger and hand. Once the clip is seated get your thumb out and release the op rod.

I don't consider myself an expert, but if you handle the M1 properly you won't have a problem. Most "M1 thumbs" do not come from loading the rifle. They come from handling the rifle with the bolt resting on the follower and not locked all the way back. Instead of pulling the bolt back until the op rod catch is locked, people let the bolt go forward a little and rest on the follower, then the slightest touch on the follower and ..OUCH!!

When loading, be sure the top round in the enboc is to the right. Push down with your thumb until the clip locks. The bolt will not go forward until you release the thumb pressure off the top round. When the clip locks, pull your thumb up quickly and let the bolt go forward. If the bolt releases but does not go forward to chamber the top round, hit the back of the op rod handle to get it going. Hit it with a sweeping motion to get your hand out of the way in case of a rare slam fire. There's no need the be afraid of the M1, just understand how it works and handle it properly.

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by SwampRatt

Ok Garand gurus,
I was shooting my friend’s Garand. When shoving the enbloc down the hole should the bolt release when the clip hits bottom? A real thumb pincher! :yikes: I assume the bold should remain back till the shooter releases it. What’s a likely cause for this bad behavior?

TIA
SwampRatt

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No "bad behavior", the rifle functioned as designed...it's the operator that has the problem! The bolt is released as soon as the clip-latch engages. Failure to retain the bolt with the hand during loading results in an "M1 Thumb" most of the time...a lesson you have just learned!

"The burned hand teaches best...after that, lessons about fire go straight to the heart!" My Grandma

Swampratt,

Here is a good read about the M1. It is the booklet that CMP provides with the purchase of each Garand. Scroll down to page 20 for proper loading information.

http://www.lovemyguns.com/springfield_m1garand.pdf

Duane...

Point of order: the publication you cited is published by Springfield Armory, Inc. It is no doubt useful, but CMP supplies their own pamphlet. (Yes, I have both of 'em!)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Duane

Here is a good read about the M1. It is the booklet that CMP provides with the purchase of each Garand. Scroll down to page 20 for proper loading information.
http://www.lovemyguns.com/springfield_m1garand.pdf

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Also -- and this really is a minor point -- whether the topmost round in the enbloc clip is on the left or or the right makes no functional difference. (True, at one time, the so-called "seventh round stoppage" made top round position vital. It was discovered that a manufacturing error was the cause, and corrected processes and a "product recall" solved that problem.)

Top round on the right may be easier for some folks to load.

HTH

Ben Hartley

And now we go totally off-topic: My rifle will only feed the first round when the clip is loaded up right on top. The tip ramps look clean and proper. Comments?

Bob

"Failure to retain the bolt with the hand during loading results in an "M1 Thumb" most of the time."

This misconception never ends. :banghead:

You cannot get M1 thumb while loading a full 8 round clip.

The bolt is pushing a cartridge into the chamber. As the cartridge rises to fully chamber, it raises your thumb. Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. That's why the first round chambers and your thumb doesn't.

Improperly releasing the bolt while handling an empty rifle is what gets you a resized thumb. :thup:

I'm sure no-one thought about the space-time continuum in this case. :madsmile:

"I'm sure no-one thought about the space-time continuum in this case"

I think Mr. Garand may have thought of it when he designed the M1.

That may be the reason why you can't load a full 8 round cilp and then override the top round while trying to chamber a loose 9th round. The bolt will not override that top round in an unaltered, properly operating M1.

Think about it. If the rifle was designed with the ability to override that top round, soldiers under the stress of combat would sometimes get their thumbs mashed. The military did not need additional casualties caused by a poorly designed rifle.