Short Stroking M1

[119er]

The rifle has never functioned correctly since I've had it. In my efforts to find the problem I found the cracked gas plug. I replaced it to no avail. Maybe a marginal improvement since it cycled itself a few times after replacement. I see this as further evidence of blowby. I am a newbie and was just asking in the hopes that there was a clear answer. I guess it is just because I bought this particular rifle on an impulse, at a premium price, and I want to minimize the amount of $$$$ I'm throwing at it! I bought it from an individual as well, so there is little to no recourse.

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[george r]

The rifle has never functioned correctly since I've had it. In my efforts to find the problem I found the cracked gas plug. I replaced it to no avail. Maybe a marginal improvement since it cycled itself a few times after replacement. I see this as further evidence of blowby. I am a newbie and was just asking in the hopes that there was a clear answer. I guess it is just because I bought this particular rifle on an impulse, at a premium price, and I want to minimize the amount of $$$$ I'm throwing at it! I bought it from an individual as well, so there is little to no recourse.

Back when I was in high school a friend of mine formulated the rule of Levitt: If you are forced to solve a problem and you don't know what you are doing replace the cheapest thing first in your experiments. Did you disassemble it and clean and lube it when you first got it? It could just be gummy from disuse. Try swapping out the op rod spring. If you can't borrow a good one then clean and stretch the one you have a tad. If you haven't taken it apart already you may even find the spring is in pieces. Anyhow the spring is what operates the gun during the load cycle. Its hard to tell from your post if its failing to pick up a round and closes on an empty chamber or it fails to chamber a round it has picked up. Also with the spring out reassemble the mechanism and the wood and see if the loading cycle is hanging up on something by operating gently it by hand. Put the spring back in before firing it.
Also, try this: M-1 Garand tips accuracy improvements - Detroit Firearms | Examiner.com

[campperrykid]

Some other factors that might be worth checking:

Gas piston diameter 0.525 min. ( seems like your piston is smaller. )
Gas cylinder internal : 0.532
(From Duff's book, M1 Garand Owner's Guide , very good to have)

Try putting a piece of tape on the piston , measure it with a mic , and use it for a crude gas cylinder guage . It is not ideal , but better than nothing.
A tight chamber can complicate function .
What kind of lube are you using & where?

[119er]

I completely disassembled, cleaned, and lubed the rifle following the CMP website for lubrication. The bolt will travel rearward with enough force to eject the empty case 4 to 6 feet away from my position, but closes on an empty chamber. When empty, it takes extra effort to lock the bolt rearward once it reaches roughly the last 1/4 to 1/2 inch or so. When loaded this diminishes somewhat. Also, on the last round fired it ejected the case but not the clip. I'm going to get some measuring tools and get it figured out.