New Garand Owner

[D-BOMB]

Hi guys,

I tried a buddies Springfield M1 and I just had to have one, after some searching I picked up a Winchester.











From the very helpfull "Born on date" thread I have determined it to be a July 1942 production...Please correct me if I'm wrong!



And the very nice VAR barrel.

cheers!

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[browningautorifle]

Nice gun, a little bit of everything on it.

[D-BOMB]

Care to eloborate? Im just curious haha

Also I'm used to lee enfields for cleaning with just a pull through and a patch, and this rifle didnt come with a cleaning kit. What should I buy in terms of cleaning equipment?

thanks in advance!

[browningautorifle]

The front sight is narrow so I think it's an earlier Springfield. The gas cylinder lock looks to be WW2 pattern without the high hump for grenade launching. The rear sight's the latest one which you will see the most. It should have had a set of checkered knobs and a flush nut but they're scarce now. The ones right after had a lock bar. Your trigger guard is eary forged and it may well be original but you have to look to see if it's marked. The parts inside are also marked and you will find once you get educated here it's like reading a book when you look at one of these rifles.
You can order a pullthrough and bore brush from various sources and the combination tool. There's a cleaning rod with M10 handle and a grease container plus a small bag for the rod to go in. You need a sling and bayonet. If you go to garandguy.com you can study all the things you might want. Some can be obtained across the border but you can also pick them up at the better gun shows like Calgary, Kamloops and Chilliwack.
You will need a book or so, Scott Duff has three about this rifle that are a set and they would be worth getting, at least the first two. This will answer many questions.

[D-BOMB]

Wow thanks a lot for the info!

Is the M10 cleaning rod/kit a neccecity? I do plan on getting it to have all the correct bits, but I kind of want to take it out this weekend so can I use any modern comecial .30 cal bore brush in the mean time?

Also what is the significance of the gas plug position?

I really appreciate all the info, thanks.

[browningautorifle]

The gas plug position doesn't change. The M10 cleaning rod handle provides the combination tool to service the rifle. Stripping the bolt is done and tightening the screws for instance. A normal 30 cal brush is the same but you should use a pull through instead of a rod from the muzzle to avoid wear at the crown. If you get ammo from Wholesale Sports for instance, don't buy anything more than 150 gr bullets and standard velocities are the most you want. Walmart has Winchester white box at about $1 a round and if it's the 150 grain bullet you will be OK. Keep your brass for reloading later. Don't hunt for US military ammo because all we get here in Canada is so old it's pressures and velocities are all over the place. It can be harder on the rifle than civilian ammo. Don't use any unknown reloads as they can be WAY too hot for the rifle's mechanism. Keep us info'ed on the range day and it's performance. Stripping and cleaning can be found in the stickies on the M1/m14 forum in this forum.

[Harlan (Deceased)]

Welcome to milsurps.com D-Bomb.

There's a wealth of info on the site and the guys here are some of the most knowledgable anywhere (and some of the nicest people anywhere)
Besides getting the books mentioned, keep in mind there's a search feature here that works well -
With the wealth of experience and knowledge here, many questions have been asked and answered several times. You can save time by typing in anything you think of, and quite possibly find what you're interested in quickly right at your touch.

~ Harlan

Edit: Revised because browningautorifle answered everything I wrote before I submitted my post (and in better detail)

[D-BOMB]

Alright I just noticed I could loosen the gas plug by hand and was wondering if that's normal before I fire it. Well I'll grab a bore brush in the mean time and start hunting for the m10.

Thanks!

[browningautorifle]

You need to tighten the gas cylinder lock screw relief valve (gas plug) and if no M10 tool then try a very large screw driver with a very small cresent wrench at the flat to tighten it. Stand the rifle between your knees for this. It should be tight. Not torqued.

[D-BOMB]

Oh alright so just snug it so it can't turn out on it's own?