Various problems with new M1 Garand

[Aodhfin]

Greetings,
I just picked up another Garand and am having several issues with it, any help would be appreciated. I am not super familiar with Garands so anything would be informative. It is a Springfield Armory.

1) Very hard to load - It is very difficult to get the enblock clip all the way down and when I do get it down it is usually still not far enough down for the bold to strip off the first round and go over the second round - i.e. the bolt will not close.
2) Light strikes, will not fire 1/2 the time. - Am getting failure to fire about 1/2 the time.
3) Failure to reset trigger - when it does fire it will cycle and load the next round, but the trigger is not reset. I pull the trigger and nothing happens. Cycle manually and then it will fire. Happens about every other time. The first time I did fire it it doubled (fired twice in succession), but then did this about every other round.

Don't know if these are 3 separate problems or somehow connected...

Thanks!

Information

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[browningautorifle]

The loading problem sounds like clip generated. Try some US issue clips if possible. They're getting harder to find and China's now making exact copies, down to the marking. The other two are various possibilities. There's a thread here about that sort of thing. Short Stroking M1 Post 15 has the list of things you can look toward. Read the whole thing though. The double could also be a few different things from worn parts to poor position and hold.

[WarPig1976]

Just throwing this out there, sometimes after shooting a bolt gun and then pick up my Garand I creep the trigger back instead of a pull fully to the rear which sometimes results in a "bump fire". If your getting doubles ever other round though I don't think your bumpin it.

[Bill Hollinger]

First off, please let me welcome you to milsurps.com. We have the best group of folks here you could ever want.

Another Garand which would imply you have more than one. Try swapping the trigger group form a known shooter to you problem rifle. See if it runs better. Also, try completely disassembling it, looking for odd wear, broken parts, parts installed wrong, clean everything and reassemble. Use one of your other rifles as a guide to how it should look when assembled correctly. Then, of course, a full report on your progress.

[emmagee1917]

1) try new clips as said above . Yours may be foreign or just old and " sprung out " .
2) Could be dangerous. Take it out and check for the bolt to fully lock up before each shot. You may be using hammer energy to push the bolt closed and not have enough left for firing. This is dangerous because of the chance of an out of battery discharge. Could be one of many causes...ammo out of spec , somthing rubbing on something ( op rod to stock , for example ) , tired mainspring , not enough lube and/or not where needed, etc.
3) Hammer is caught by the sear on one set of hooks when the bolt cocks it , then transfers to the trigger / other set of hooks when the trigger is released. Then it is freed when the trigger is repulled . This first catch should happen far before the bolt rides back enough to eject and reload , so if it's doing that , you're not short stroking . Check the hooks for wear , check for movement , check for crud and blockage. When you recock by hand , you've released the trigger so the hammer is caught by the trigger and those hammer hooks and never even touches the sear nor uses the sear hammer hooks. The problem is prob'ly in the sear or those mating hooks.
HTH , Chris

[Aodhfin]

The problem is prob'ly in the sear or those mating hooks.

Yep, problem #3 solved. The sear is missing. Gone. Not there.

[browningautorifle]

Actually, there may be more than one thing solved when you replace the sear. We've found for the most part, all the parts are required for full function of the rifle. Once replaced, we'd love to have a follow up range report. I'll bet it works flawlessly...

[WarPig1976]

This just goes to show when you buy a new firearm you must break it down, clean it and inspect it. Thank God there wasn't a hole drilled in the chamber or barrel.
Nobody wants to eat through a straw the rest of his life...

[JBS]

Link another thread on the subject already posted by browningautorifle ..

Short Stroking M1

[Aodhfin]

Problems fixed. Solutions:
1) File out a little bit of weld from the groove that the Enblock clip rides down into. Clip now loads very nicely.
2) Replace missing sear. Trigger now resets just fine.
3) Clean gunk out of firing pin channel, replace worn firing pin.
All problems resolved, shoots great!