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i am wondering if there is anything i can do to make my sprinfield m1 garand eject more consistently in the 1-3 oclock direction?
i have a few ejectors to play with as well as a few springs.
it is fairly reliable as long as i watch what clips i use, but it spits brass just about everywhere except where ive heard it should (a few at 5 oclock, a few straight up and on my head)
Garand Poobah (obviously we both watched the Flintstones as kids),
I have shot hundreds of rounds at the range with my 8/41 garand. 90% of the shells eject between 1 and 4 with most at the 2 to 3 position. The rest go to 12 and a few pop me on the head.
How come this variation using the same spring and ejector? I handload but my theory may be applicable to factory loads, too. I think variations in chamber pressure may be the culprit. So many things affect chamber pressure, and, therefore, gas pressure variations at the gas port acting on the op rod piston.
What causes this? type of propellant? diameter of gas port (obstructed by residue), oversize gas port? worn gas cylinder? carbon build-up on surface of piston? gas cylinder position stationary over gas port? Rounds heated in chamber causing chamber pressure increases? Powder in rounds consistently massed at base of shell before firing (hold rifle up to mass powder towards primer before firing), conformity of ammo (commercial vs. military brass)? Cleanliness of chamber? Lubrication of op rod slide on side of receiver? Cleanliness and proper lubrication of spring in op rod? Correct tightness of gas cylinder lock nut? Overall cleanliness and lubrication of all interfacing moving parts? Correct powder (slow-burning vs. fast-burning)? Bullet weight? Consistent bullet/powder/primer manufacture? Action tightly secured in stock? Rifle held consistently taught against your shoulder when firing?
Otherwise, what do I know?
Thomas
Spent brass typically lands in the front right quarter because it gets knocked in that general direction by the bump on the op rod as its forward travel intersects the path of the (spinning) ejected brass. This is where the dent in the case neck sometimes seen on spent brass comes from. There is a lot of complicated and random motion going on here. So as long as the rifle cycles reliably, I wouldn't do anything beyond making sure that it is properly lubricated. Yes, it would simplify things if all the brass ended up (except for the 8th round of course) in a nice little pile at 2 O'clock, but that just isn't going to happen with this design.
When an M1 throws the brass in various areas it usually means there is something not "perfect" with the rifle. There are lots of things that control where the brass lands and most of these can affect or suggest an accuracy issue. Look at: Ammo, Extractor, Ejector, Lube, Op. rod, Op Rod Spring, Gas Cylinder, Lock Nut, Op. Rod Rubbing, Barrel Wear at Muzzle, Chamber Condition, and probally a few more things. When it lays the first 7 fired cases in a neat little pile, it usually means everything is working fine.
Sometimes the reason brass lands in more than one place is due to slight changes in how you hold the rifle after each recoil. You may vary how tight you hold it against your shoulder and you may be canting the rifle at various angles plus you may be flinching as a reaction to the coming recoil. It's usually best to eliminate the shooter before messing with the rifle.
In my humble opinion, the M-1 just scatters brass a good deal more than the M-14 platform. Period. When I was doing a lot of shooting when the M-14 first came in (mid 60's) and all the match guns the service shooters had were nice and tight and new the M-14s threw their brass in neat 2 o'clock piles. I policed a lot of it. In fact In San Antonio the USAF teams from the bases and Security Service, as well as the USMCR 4th Recon Bn, used M-1s and the other shooters used to moan and groan about shooting next to an M-1 shooter. There were always some hot cases down collars at the 600 yard slow fire prone stage! All respect to Devil Dog and he may have several M-1s that make neat piles; but as a practical matter (again, just my experience handling these things for ~45 years) it is the nature of the M-1 rifle to scatter brass, and I think you are worrying about a non problem, Poobah.
Naw, I don't have any M1's that throw brass in NEAT little piles. I whish I did. I do have some that throw in the same general direction that I can pick up without moving my feet. I also have some that just scatter brass everywhere. Guess which ones shoot better?
One of my garands puts them at approx. 2 o'clock. My other garand puts them at 5 o'clock. I don't mind, as I shoot on a large concrete pad.