m1 stuck trigger guard

I've got a 1944 springfield armory Special Grade m1 from the CMP I got about a year ago, and after fully stripping, greasing, and then reassembling the gun and taking it to the range for some shooting I was unable to get the trigger guard to open to allow me to strip and clean the gun again. I used reasonable force to try to get the trigger guard to open up, releasing the trigger group, but it wouldn't budge. Before I got applying any more force, do you guys have any suggestions as to how I best go about unsticking the trigger guard on my beloved m1?

Thanks,

lxvnrsw

Ummm, Does it move at all? If you can unlatch the rear and see the hook, then the most common binding reason is that the hammer is decocked. You CAN pull it hard enough to cock the hammer w/ the trigger guard, but just try cocking it the regular way (Release the bolt from it's rear position an ease it forward after cocking) and see if the trigger guard then doesn't swing open easily. If not, holler!

Oh, BTW, welcome to the forum! I just noticed it's your first post. Nothing like a little drama to get you involved!;)

I'll have to give that a try when I get back home. When I tried it I could not get the trigger guard to budge at all, as in not even enough to unlatch the rear and see the hook, and that was with me and my buddy both pulling on the garand with as much force as we dared apply.

Thanks for the welcome too, I've only belonged to this forum for one day and I already love it! Always glad to meet fellow millsurp enthusiasts!

Wow, if you can't get the hook exposed, then look behind the guard and see if it's bound up against the wood somehow.

The guards are pretty springy, get at the area furthest to the rear and as close to the stock as you can and then pull it straight back, then away from the trigger housing.

It's not glass bedded is it?

if memmory serves me right they are sold with CMP stocks???if so, likely you have a wood clearance issue,
however, to fix the issue at hand, if you have a milled trigger guard, try this.
grab a thick screwdriver, wrap some electrical tape around the shaft, stick the shaft through the hole, and pull down and out, towards the butt of the rifle and down at the same time.
like Jmoore says, the hammer has to be cocked..
some of the new made stocks will bind the wirks enough to prevent the hammer from staying cocked when operated by hand,,youll have to cock it another way..
if what i said works, youll have to call me, and i can walk you through cocking the hammer with the rifle still in the stock.