m1 garand ejector tuning?

[garand poobah]

ive read that if an m1 is ejecting 3 oclock or rearward more than that, and everything else is in good order that you can tune the ejector by clipping a coil off the spring and retest, and repeat until the desired direction is obtained.

here is one example of where i saw it:

(from someone called artee)

Tune your ejector plunger spring (FIRST) to make your brass pattern consistent.

(from someone called fatelvis)

Artee, can you explain how this tuning is done? Thanks-

(artee replied)

Remove ejector spring. Cut off a coil. Reassemble and shoot. Should have brass ejecting at 1 to 1:30 (where it lands). Should only take a coil and a half or so. Wise to order a spare spring before you start....

it is also mentioned, but without as much detail, in "the complete m1 assembly guide" by walt kuleck and clint mckee.

does anyone have experience or input on this subject?

Information

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[chriskat]

General consensus is that if your brass is landing behind 3:00 you need to clean/lube the rifle. Specifically you need to grease the tracks that the op rod and bolt run in.

Also need to grease the underside of the barrel where the op rod saddle may rub; this one is not as critical, in my opinion, since the op rod may not rub much if at all.

The brass goes forward because the op rod "hump" hits it on it's return trip. If the op rod isn't returning fast enough then the brass won't go forward.

To answer your actual question. I have removed a coil or two from ejector springs. When I used to get time to shoot in matches my M1, when singly loaded, would throw spent brass at the shooter to my right. It didn't throw that brass forward because the bolt locks back after every shot.

I felt like I was bothering the guy next to me so I tried to tame the ejection down a little. Very limited success.

Jeff

[musketshooter]

Lubricant or lack thereof has nothing to do with the ejection position of MT cases. By cutting down the ejector spring, the position that the MT cases land in can be regulated until they land at about 1 oclock. Just take a little off and try it until you get it right for your rifle.

[Dave Waits]

Lubricant or lack thereof has nothing to do with the ejection position of MT cases. By cutting down the ejector spring, the position that the MT cases land in can be regulated until they land at about 1 oclock. Just take a little off and try it until you get it right for your rifle.

Musket, clean all the grease off of your rifle or, load it up and see what happens with that carefully-manicured ejector-spring. You will change the position where the brass lands.

[JBS]

First I would suggest you not make changes to your original spring or ejector, put them in a oiled bag and save. Purchase replacements and reproduction is fine. Refrain from thinking about it as cut this many coils off and think in terms of spring length. Use a grinder, ether a bench with a fine wheel or a dremel with cutoff wheel, this produces a flat ended spring. Feed the spring end into the side of the wheel slowly. DO NOT allow the spring to turn red beyond the area being ground off as this removes the spring from the spring steel. I would say no more than half a coil at a time. You can also change by shorting the length that the ejector protrudes from the bolt face. Also how much the tip that contacts the case head is beveled or angled. By adjusting these features you can to an extent control the area that the expended cases land in. And by the way we would never intentionally adjust the ejector system to drop the hot fired case right on the shooter next to you so his score suffers, that would be bad form,,,, the firing line is not a friendly place when Targets Up rings loud.

[Neal C.]

A Garand in new condition cycles the op rod very vigorously, and on rebound it will usually strike a fired case as it is ejected, launching it forward. Brass marks will show on the oprod shoulder and case bodies will be dented where the oprod struck them. Dented case mouths which frequently appear on forward ejected cases are caused by vigorously extracted cases hitting the case mouth against the breech cone on the way out. The only way a case can be ejected forward is to have been struck by the oprod. Eject empty cases manually as fast as you can and you will find they go to 3 or four o'clock.
If you install an adjustable gas plug in a new condition Garand, you can have all cases eject to 4 o'clock because the action has been slowed and the case is out before the oprod returns to hit it on the way out.
When the gas system of a Garand is worn (may still be within limits) the effect on ejection is the same as bleeding gas off with a vented plug, and it will eject cases to 3 or 4 o'clock. Garands in average condition will sometimes throw cases to 3 or 4 o'clock if the shooter is not pulling the rifle in tight to the shoulder, or if the rifle is light (no tools in the butt). Failure to pick up the next round from the clip can also result. M14s can act the same way. This is why instructors watched where trainees cases were ejected. It can indicate poor form is being used.
I made quite a study of this because i built a new condition Garand with a McCann over-the-bore scope mount and had cases hitting the scope tube bottom and the windage knob. The scope had a side focus knob and could not be rotated to put the windage knob on top as some do. Installing and adjusting McCann's vented plug solved that for me and seemed to improve accuracy. The rifle had a very heavy stock and tools in the butt, plus the weight of the scope mount and rings, still i had friends who shot it without pulling it in tight and it short-stroked on them. The rifle had a Holbrook device, and I loaded seven rounds into the clip, which never ejected, in the rifle.

[garand poobah]

hey musket, that is even what walt kuleck said.

forgive me, but what is a "mt case"?

ps for those wondering. the rifle is well lubed with tetra grease everywhere it slides, and mobil 1 everywhere it rotates (the pin and everything that rides on it)

[chriskat]

I assumed MT was short for empty.

Jeff

[Devil Dog]

If you gas system is bad or your op. rod is rubbing, you could experience brass landing everywhere and probally poor acuracy. Messing with the extractor spring or lubrication will NOT solve your problem.

[LavaTech]

"Tuning" the ejector spring doesn't have much effect on changing the direction/clock position of expended brass. It will allow you to pick up your brass in the same county you were shooting it in. Some of those ejector springs are just a bit too well endowed!