New Garand Owner

Hi guys,

I tried a buddies Springfield M1 and I just had to have one, after some searching I picked up a Winchester.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22_19012-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22_19012-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22_19012-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22_19012-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22_19012-1.jpg

From the very helpfull "Born on date" thread I have determined it to be a July 1942 production...Please correct me if I'm wrong!

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22_19012-1.jpg

And the very nice VAR barrel.

cheers!

Nice gun, a little bit of everything on it.

Care to eloborate? Im just curious haha

Also I'm used to lee enfields for cleaning with just a pull through and a patch, and this rifle didnt come with a cleaning kit. What should I buy in terms of cleaning equipment?

thanks in advance!

The front sight is narrow so I think it's an earlier Springfield. The gas cylinder lock looks to be WW2 pattern without the high hump for grenade launching. The rear sight's the latest one which you will see the most. It should have had a set of checkered knobs and a flush nut but they're scarce now. The ones right after had a lock bar. Your trigger guard is eary forged and it may well be original but you have to look to see if it's marked. The parts inside are also marked and you will find once you get educated here it's like reading a book when you look at one of these rifles.
You can order a pullthrough and bore brush from various sources and the combination tool. There's a cleaning rod with M10 handle and a grease container plus a small bag for the rod to go in. You need a sling and bayonet. If you go to garandguy.com you can study all the things you might want. Some can be obtained across the border but you can also pick them up at the better gun shows like Calgary, Kamloops and Chilliwack.
You will need a book or so, Scott Duff has three about this rifle that are a set and they would be worth getting, at least the first two. This will answer many questions.

Wow thanks a lot for the info!

Is the M10 cleaning rod/kit a neccecity? I do plan on getting it to have all the correct bits, but I kind of want to take it out this weekend so can I use any modern comecial .30 cal bore brush in the mean time?

Also what is the significance of the gas plug position?

I really appreciate all the info, thanks.

The gas plug position doesn't change. The M10 cleaning rod handle provides the combination tool to service the rifle. Stripping the bolt is done and tightening the screws for instance. A normal 30 cal brush is the same but you should use a pull through instead of a rod from the muzzle to avoid wear at the crown. If you get ammo from Wholesale Sports for instance, don't buy anything more than 150 gr bullets and standard velocities are the most you want. Walmart has Winchester white box at about $1 a round and if it's the 150 grain bullet you will be OK. Keep your brass for reloading later. Don't hunt for US military ammo because all we get here in Canada is so old it's pressures and velocities are all over the place. It can be harder on the rifle than civilian ammo. Don't use any unknown reloads as they can be WAY too hot for the rifle's mechanism. Keep us info'ed on the range day and it's performance. Stripping and cleaning can be found in the stickies on the M1/m14 forum in this forum.

Welcome to milsurps.com D-Bomb.

There's a wealth of info on the site and the guys here are some of the most knowledgable anywhere (and some of the nicest people anywhere)
Besides getting the books mentioned, keep in mind there's a search feature here that works well -
With the wealth of experience and knowledge here, many questions have been asked and answered several times. You can save time by typing in anything you think of, and quite possibly find what you're interested in quickly right at your touch.

~ Harlan

Edit: Revised because browningautorifle answered everything I wrote before I submitted my post (and in better detail) :)

Alright I just noticed I could loosen the gas plug by hand and was wondering if that's normal before I fire it. Well I'll grab a bore brush in the mean time and start hunting for the m10.

Thanks!

You need to tighten the gas cylinder lock screw relief valve (gas plug) and if no M10 tool then try a very large screw driver with a very small cresent wrench at the flat to tighten it. Stand the rifle between your knees for this. It should be tight. Not torqued.

Oh alright so just snug it so it can't turn out on it's own?

A bit tighter than that. Shock of firing may loosen it. Just don't turn it into a fight to remove. If you have cycle problems check there first.

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy your rifle! VAR barrels are Danish and are among the best made. The only thing I can suggest is that you get some quality en bloc clips such as any USGI or Canadian made one. French, Chinese & some Greek clips cause problems.

There are a variety of links to help you learn about your Garand:
The stickies here with articles by BAdger & others
Collecting and Shooting the U.S. M1 Garand .30 Rifle - HISTORY

Detail Stripping The M1 Garand Rifle
Detail Stripping The M1 Garand Rifle
Battle Rifle: The M1 Garand
http://www.northcapepubs.com/m1gar.htm
http://www.memorableplaces.com/m1gar...randlinks.html
MILITARY INFORMATION HQ
Orion 7 Enterprises Inc.
The Garand Collectors Association
M1 Garand Armory

Thank you, BAR, for calling the lock screw by its correct name. Gas plugs are only found on Gas Trap rifles.

On cleaning, I'm a huge fan of the boresnakes. They aren't what you'd call "correct" by any means, but for fast and good cleaning on a .30 cal rifle, they are danged hard to beat. By their very nature they get into the grooves well and you don't have to worry about guarding your muzzle all that much.

Good looking rifle ya got there D-Bomb. Got some very nice grain on the wood and the Danish barrels are nothing to ignore.

I personally use an F.N.C.1 pullthrough and 7.62 brush on my M1s and always have. The days of cleaning from the muzzle are over.

I use USGI cleaning kits, exclusively. I rub a small amount of carbon residue on the threads of the gas screw, and make sure it's tight, but not "gorilla" tight. If the screw works loose, your rifle will make groups that look like a shotgun pattern, you'll know right away something's wrong. I always use milsurp ammo, although Hornady and Federal make Garand-specific ammo now. My favorite is Greek HXP M2 ball, followed by USGI. Here's another excellent site for Garand shooters/collectors: CMP Forums

Did not the pull throughs have a habit of belling out the muzzle due to rubbing as it was pulled through the barrel from the breach ? I believe that is why the takedown cleaning rods were issued for the M1 and later guns.
I've always used a stainless steel one piece rod with a brass or plastic cone shaped centering pilot EVERY time. It now looks like I'll have to rebarrel my old H&R due to a belling at the mouth , but it's taken 25-30 years and a conservative 15-20,000 rounds of M2 ball with a complete cleaning every 60-100 round outing . It's gone from a 2-incher to an 8-incher in the last year.
Chris

One or two issues ago, the GCA journal wrote about a test using USGI steel cleaning rods. A rifle was used, with a MW of "1". The cleaning rod was passed in and out, 66,000 times. The rod was intentionally pushed with some sideways pressure, in order to make sure it hit the rifling. At the end of the test, the MW was "2". Chris, was your rifle used when you got it? Do you know what the MW is now? 20,000 rounds is a testament to the engineering of these weapons!
Charlie

20k rounds??? Wow haha didn't John Garand qoute the barrel life at 10,000 rounds?

Either way it sounds like you got your moneys worth out of that unit.

No Emmagee, pullthroughs don't hurt the barrels. Scrubbing from the bore with a steel rod will. Think about it, which will wear your barrel? Cord or steel?

Agree. And the take-downs are the worst of all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

No Emmagee, pullthroughs don't hurt the barrels. Scrubbing from the bore with a steel rod will. Think about it, which will wear your barrel? Cord or steel?

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Why does this hurt the barrel? Is it being careless and allowing the rod to contact the lands?
The field manual says to put the rod in the muzzle end, then attach the bore brush in the through the chamber end and pull it through.

Just want to make sure I preserve this beauty!

Here's the stuff I use with my rifles. The one piece squad cleaning rod, the buttstock kit, and the older style bolt take down tool with chamber brush.There's also the nylon muzzle guide where the rod connects to the M-10. I use period accessories whenever I can. I don't have a field manual handy, what does yours' say to use, D-BOMB?
Charlie

I was just referencing the scanned one that is available on this site.

If you use a muzzle guide it should be ok. If you put the rod in the bore and draw the brush through it will be not too bad. Most guys don't do that. Most just put the brush on the rod and go at the barrel from the front, scrubbing back and forth. This is what causes the wear. It will eventually wear the muzzle so a bullet will sit in the crown to the cannelure.

I used to use aluminum rods, and brass ones, but got tired of getting a kink and it breaking when I tried straightening them, and the chintzy plastic slots breaking off at the thread. It only takes a slight bump against something and the rod/tip are scrap. I used a steel rod kit for the first time about ten years ago, and I never looked back. I never cared for the string pull through slots that came in the nickle oilers issued with early Garands, new AKs, HK91s, etc. I haven't had to discard a single, damaged piece from any USGI steel cleaning kit, in the last ten years, either. On the one I use the most, I did smooth the edges at the joints with fine grade emery cloth, though. I'm 60, and am certain this will be the last rod I'll ever need, unless I lose it somehow. Hell, it has most of the parkerizing still on it!
Charlie

I had this M1 before I was into WW2 USGI almost exclusively which began in the '84-85 time period. Of course I bought it used , it has a '53 SA barrel on it. Never owned a set of gauges , so I have never checked it. It has been my truck gun for that long , and I usually shoot it at least 6-10 times a year and put a bandolier or two through it each time . It's been the one I've shot the most of all my guns. I've really denied that it's been shot out , it's kinda like losing an old friend . I know that I shot a lot of GI ball , AP , and tracer through it way back when , but now I reserve the AP and tracer to guns with interchangeable barrels. I do know that I purchased about 6-8,000 rds of Hanson when it was around , and most went through her. I bought about 10,000 rds of Tiwan surplus , some went through her , but most through the 1917A1 and the 1919A4 and A6. When the FNM stuff came in and I found out it was really Hanson resurrected , I bought all I could , about 17,000 rds , and I've got about 6,000 left , and maybe 80-90 % went through her. I've never kept a log book on her , but I feel the count is pretty close.
My main point , though , is that after every bandolier or two , she was stripped and cleaned , from the muzzle , with a HD one piece steel rod with a muzzle guide , stainless steel brushes , brass jags and GI cloth patches. After two or three 12 pass sets with the brush and patches between , she was put on an Outer's foul-out till clean. That comes out to almost 11,000 brush passes and another 3-4,000 jag/patch passes. I really question how much more life I would have recieved through any other cleaning method. I don't use jointed rods , coated rods , nor do I use wimppy .22 rods on the .30 cals. , I match the rod to the bore and use the stiffest / thickest I can. I also wipe the rod itself down after every set of passes. If it never touches , it can't wear.
On the pull throughs , I was told ( back when I was young , so I've never used them ) that they would rub along the edge of the bore / crown as people would pull them through and therefore , like stream water on a rock , would wear the muzzle down. Don't know if it's true or not , but I did see a friend file a groove in a piece of steel with a fiberglass ram rod from a muzzle loader , which I never expected could be done .
Take care all , Chris

I use the Otis cleaning system for my Garands, clean from the breach instead of from the barrel.
I use Plastic bristled brushes and BoreTech Eliminator for the cleaning solvent. The BoreTech Eliminator is a copper cleaning solvent that has no noxious odors. It works very well on copper and powder residue.
HTH
smc51