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My wife is all in a tizzy right now. Her brother-in-law told her that a guy at the local range was using an M1 Garande with new ammo and the breach exploded in his face. The ammo was just too powerful.
Has anyone actually seen that happen? She is all concerned because I have a 1940 Mosin Nagant and a 1944 Enfield that I want to take to the range next spring.
In an M1 Garand you should only use M2 ammo. not modern rounds unless the rifle has an adjustable gas plug. It may have also fired out of battery.
Interesting. Thanks.
One wonders if it may have been a reload.
M1 has a "floating" firing pin. Military primers are designed to accommodate "bumps" from the firing pin without "slam firing". We take a chance when using normal commercial primers in garand reloads.
I shoot reloads for hunting but make sure they are fully seated in the primer pocket. However they will receive a slight dent as the bolt goes into battery. Military spec primers are available for reloading and are the safest route to go.
Way too many things can go wrong with ANY firearm to know if, A. The story is true and B. What caused it. Wave a shiny object in front of your wife to distract her, when she's not looking head to the range with your new toys...;)
This guy has been known to exaggerate from time to time, so I thought I would get a second, or third, opinion. The Garand is out of my budget for now, although at some point I would like a collection of the WWII rifles. The Enfield I have has already been fired and the guy gave me a few .303 rounds. The Mosin has not been fired since WWII, but I have yet to hear of an explosion on any of the Mosin boards. I think the 7.62 ammo that is out there seems to be OK. I have fired my AK many times, using 'current' ammo and have not heard a peep from it. Maybe the American stuff is just too 'touchy'. :-)
There are Garands, & then there are Garands.
I was at the range a couple of years ago, & a young soldier from a nearby base was unable to get his new M1 rifle to work. I found that it was a CAI (new commercial receiver, worn USGI parts) that was so out of spec that it was unsafe to fire.
Neal
"Believe nothing that you hear, & only half of what you see."
Everything is contextual, I guess.
I agree with WP'76 but I as a rule of thumb with any fire arm I purchase before putting rounds out of it get it checked fully by my gunsmith I mean I have to pick it up from there so why not have him check it before going and shooting it.
And agree with MTOMS as well it may have been a slam fire as to blow a breech apart would take a gross overload or an obstruction but still scary stuff with the case in any position but in the chamber where it should be before ignition.
Headspace problem more likely than ammo issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by pasvorto
Could be a number of issues, or may not even be the whole truth. Hot factory or hunting rounds aren't recommended for the Garand but you won't have any trouble in a Mosin or an Enfield provided the headspace is good. I've launched plenty of modern projectiles from my Mosin's of varying age and a selection of WWI Enfield actions, scar free. :)
With the bolt properly in battery, the M1 Garand is pretty impervious to "blowing up" with any commercial ammo, hot or not. The Operating Rod can bend (I have never seen one) from excessive use of "light Magnum" type ammo (heavy bullets and large charges of slow powder). There are plenty of modern loads that are just fine in the M1 (Hornaday, Federal, CMP surplus M2 Ball, etc.). An internet search will turn them up. Your rifles with rimmed cartridges the Mosin and Enfield 303 completely support the entire case and will be fine with any commercial ammo. I do not own a 303 but I have shot many rounds of surplus 7.62x54r in my Mosins with good results (corrosive ammo so clean immediately and properly). The "accidents" of blown up guns are usually plugged barrels, wrong ammo, poor mechanical maintenance, or improper reloads. If in doubt of the safety of the rifle, have them checked by a good gunsmith. A few dollars can go a long way to calming your wife. And remember a happy wife is a happy life.
Dave
Interesting insights.
What's that mean?Quote:
Originally Posted by pasvorto
It just means that I'm learning a lot from you folks. I am slowly trying to get a collection of WWII rifles. The Garand was on my list (if I had the $$) .
When you get one, don't worry about the RUMOR you first mentioned. Just don't worry about it...
I saw a guy blow an M1 Rifle up with a high primer many years ago. It fired out of battery, took a chunk out of the bolt runway at the right-front, cracked both sides of the horseshoe at the middle and up about 1/2" and blew the extractor out but held. His bell was rung but he still had his head! Quite a testament to the strength of the action. He would never admit to a high primer handload but I'm sure that's what it was. I knew another guy who blew up a transferable Colt M16A1 with a high primer reload. It didn't even scratch the receiver but blew the magazine out in pieces and broke the bolt in half. Another testament to strength and the fact that one should always strive for quality not quantity if reloading your own ammo!
As we've found out here time and again, you seldom get the truth about what happened when an individual's own hand is involved...
John Garand was pretty adamant that his design was very strong and claimed that 70k psi was not an issue (don't try this at home!!!), even the case head has more support than some other rimless designs. These are 50+ year old rifles and the Mosin and Enfield even older so a health checkup is never a bad thing. Reloading is a fun and safe pastime if common sense and healthy dose of be careful are used. For the Mosin and M1 Garand there are no significant issues reloading and full length sizing the cases. The 303 (again I don't own one, but do a 30-40 Krag with similar issues) can have somewhat loose chamber tolerances, fine for commercial but reloading may require a different approach. Anyway stay warm (we have had glorious weather here in Northern California but will pay for it with the lack of snow for our yearly water supplies) and enjoy your rifles.
Dave
High tomorrow is expected to be about 12 below! I do not do loads. I rely on the expertise of the commercial loaders, even if it means I pay more. I do no pack my own parachute either. :-)
I just got a Nagant M1895 pistol last Friday. I am working on getting the cosmoline off it right now. Ammo on order.
Try a big bath of boiling water, maybe just boil a kettle for tea and pour it over the Nagant. The grease will melt right off.
That's what I did for the Mosin/Nagant rifle.