New M1 Garand Owner - Hello and Questions

[Rhino-lfl]

You paid $900 right? Well, a few hundred more puts you right in the neighborhood of M1's that didn't require a new barrel. Add metal refinishing and/or stock work you'll be underwater on this rifle.

I think that is ok long term ... I didn't buy this to try and turn around and make a quick buck. I think it will probably shoot ok as is, but will really shoot good with a new barrel. The wood to me outside of a ding or two look good. I will make it go pew pew at a hundred yards this weekend so if I'm getting tight groups off a bench rest I'm happy ... If I'm 30 MOA at 100 yards lol ... well

[Rhino-lfl]

Yes, you're right, a new Criterion barrel from CMP is only about $200, plus installation. (No one has NOS USGI barrels, except for a couple of smart folks who have them squirreled away.)

Don't worry about the color of the barrel not matching the rest of the Parkerizing. Actually, different shades of park is desirable, as that is typical for original rifles, assembled from parts in bins. Usually, an all matching color rifle is a commercial repark.

But, WarPig is right, too. I hope that you are right, that all that red stuff is just dried grease and not rust. That's because USGI replacement parts have become scarce & expensive, & it could cost far more than the rifle is worth if you find that there are many parts that are not usable. Let us take a look at it after you have cleaned it.

Neal

Ya, I will run a few rounds down her from a bench Sunday. Strap her to a rifle holder, tie a string to the trigger, stand back and watch. If she fires and cycles (I know she manually cycles) and will try and get a 100 yard grouping. If the grouping is good I'm a happy man. If everything works but the grouping is off I just need a barrel and I'm still happy. I will clean her up after and take some more pics to post to my photobucket in a new folder.

[browningautorifle]

I would doubt there's anything wrong with your rifle to make you fear it enough to fire it remotely. You'll probably find the barrel is good enough as is...good ammo and care make a difference in group size.

[Brian Dick]

I'm with Jim. The proof is in the pudding! I have to ask though. Why do you feel you have to fire it remotely? I've been shooting and working on M1 Rifles for 30 years and it's never crossed my mind to worry about one blowing up. The only time I ever witnessed a mishap was on a range in Florida when a guy I know blew his up with a high primer. It cracked the horseshoe on both sides along with the bolt but other than a good bell ringing and his wounded pride. He was physically OK.

[browningautorifle]

A good grade of ammo from one lot number will also make a difference over a handful of questionable or mismatched cartridges. These guns can be picky...about their ammo.

[no4mk1t]

Some helpful hints for new M1 owners:

As mentioned above, use a good grease to lube the M1, but use it sparingly. As Brian said, a little dab will do ya. In addition to Super Lube, Plastilube is also excellent and was the standard in my rifle team shooting days with the M1 and M14. This can be bought from Champions choice or can occasionally be found in the little pots with the yellow lids at gun shows. If the grease is dark amber colored, it's Plastilube. If it's cream colored, it's Lubriplate.

Install a brand new op rod spring in the rifle. The rifle will be a bit softer recoiling and snappier with a new spring. Fulton Armory tracked down the original contractor and is having newly made springs to the original print made for them.
Don't forget to grease it before installing.

The wood to metal fit is the single biggest reason an M1 either shoots well or not. Clamping pressure is the most important. If you don't have it, it's like shooting a bolt action with loose screws. Improving the clamping tension can be done in several ways depending on the rifles particular deficiencies. If you want to try to do the work yourself, we can discuss your rifles needs and help you get there.

Unless the barrel looks like a sewer pipe, or has a badly damaged crown, I wouldn't consider replacing it until the rifles other deficiencies are addressed and the rifles accuracy potential is evaluated with good ammo. The best shooting M1 I have has a throat erosion reading of 5. More importantly, it doesn't walk it's shots as it heats up, which is important for match shooting.

If you don't reload, Both Hornady and Federal have ammo specifically loaded for the M1. Greek Ball ammo is also still available from CMP and other sources. Do not shoot modern commercial ammo in the M1. The powders used today generate excessive port pressure and are very hard on the op rod. Eventually, you will bend it.

If you do reload, read up on the things you need to do that are specific to loading for the M1. I've made a post on another forum that can be C&P here if there's interest.

If after a good scrubbing with solvent and a stiff nylon brush you are not satisfied with the condition of the parkerizing, consider doing it yourself. This is a very simple process that can be done in your back yard. I can make a thread about that too if needed.

And some folks may not be aware, but CMP has a repair service for USGI rifles. Rebarrel/repark/restock. Whatever you need. They also sell parts.

Here's a couple of threads pertaining to the M1.

How To Improve an M1 Trigger

How to Make an M1 Shoot Better

[Rhino-lfl]

I'm with Jim. The proof is in the pudding! I have to ask though. Why do you feel you have to fire it remotely? I've been shooting and working on M1 Rifles for 30 years and it's never crossed my mind to worry about one blowing up. The only time I ever witnessed a mishap was on a range in Florida when a guy I know blew his up with a high primer. It cracked the horseshoe on both sides along with the bolt but other than a good bell ringing and his wounded pride. He was physically OK.

I've never fired her. I was told that she is in operating condition and it sat in a guy cabinet for 5 years. It looks good, and I've fired sketchier guns ... but I always protect myself when testing out a new girl if you know what I mean lol.

---------- Post added at 07:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:18 PM ----------

Some helpful hints for new M1 owners:

As mentioned above, use a good grease to lube the M1, but use it sparingly. As Brian said, a little dab will do ya. In addition to Super Lube, Plastilube is also excellent and was the standard in my rifle team shooting days with the M1 and M14. This can be bought from Champions choice or can occasionally be found in the little pots with the yellow lids at gun shows. If the grease is dark amber colored, it's Plastilube. If it's cream colored, it's Lubriplate.

Install a brand new op rod spring in the rifle. The rifle will be a bit softer recoiling and snappier with a new spring. Fulton Armory tracked down the original contractor and is having newly made springs to the original print made for them.
Don't forget to grease it before installing.

The wood to metal fit is the single biggest reason an M1 either shoots well or not. Clamping pressure is the most important. If you don't have it, it's like shooting a bolt action with loose screws. Improving the clamping tension can be done in several ways depending on the rifles particular deficiencies. If you want to try to do the work yourself, we can discuss your rifles needs and help you get there.

Unless the barrel looks like a sewer pipe, or has a badly damaged crown, I wouldn't consider replacing it until the rifles other deficiencies are addressed and the rifles accuracy potential is evaluated with good ammo. The best shooting M1 I have has a throat erosion reading of 5. More importantly, it doesn't walk it's shots as it heats up, which is important for match shooting.

If you don't reload, Both Hornady and Federal have ammo specifically loaded for the M1. Greek Ball ammo is also still available from CMP and other sources. Do not shoot modern commercial ammo in the M1. The powders used today generate excessive port pressure and are very hard on the op rod. Eventually, you will bend it.

If you do reload, read up on the things you need to do that are specific to loading for the M1. I've made a post on another forum that can be C&P here if there's interest.

If after a good scrubbing with solvent and a stiff nylon brush you are not satisfied with the condition of the parkerizing, consider doing it yourself. This is a very simple process that can be done in your back yard. I can make a thread about that too if needed.

And some folks may not be aware, but CMP has a repair service for USGI rifles. Rebarrel/repark/restock. Whatever you need. They also sell parts.

Here's a couple of threads pertaining to the M1.

How To Improve an M1 Trigger

How to Make an M1 Shoot Better

I'm sure myself and many other would take you up on your Parkerizing offer, it sounds great.

This is all good advice from everyone, the wood has good fit to me ... doesn't rattle and is tight to the barrel and trigger assembly (which looks much newer than the rest of the rifle). But the proof will be in the shooting Sunday. After that I will post all about it, and before and after cleaning pics.

I'm going to look for that Kroil stuff ... but all the Home Despots and Lowes around me are pretty much just liberal do it yourself weekend warrior garden shops. You can order more types of latte there than you can hardware.

[Rhino-lfl]

Actually I have some Sea Foam Deep Creep now that I think of it. I might bust that out and give some of the pieces a dag rag soaking.

[Rhino-lfl]

So I brought her to the range today for a first time shooting. There was 4 feet of snow on the ground and it looked like I had been the first person there since last week as there were no prints at all in the snow. So I staple my target to some cardboard on a pair of 1x4 wooden post things that the range uses and I trudged my *** out there 100 yards. It sucked ... it really sucked. It took forever and I really wasn't dressed for it as I had sort of assumed it would be cleaned a bit or at least trailed. Anyway I get down there, post my target, and trudge my *** back to the shooting barn. My 10 year old daughter was there because she wanted to 'see the boom'. Well just as I get back to the barn she says to me 'dad the sign blew down' ... God #$%^ ^&*( @#$% *&(! ... looks like I'm shooting at the sand berm then.

I get her mounted on my lead sled, get everyone's eye's and ear's on (we were the only ones there obviously), put in a stripper clip full of 150gr Federal and close the slide ... ok, that went well. Release the safety, sight a spot on the berm, and just pull the trigger. I didn't do a cheek weld, I didn't hold anything down, I let the lead sled to all the work, I just depressed the trigger. PEW! The round goes off and I'm not dead. When I check everything, I notice that the trigger assembly release had popped open like a lever action rifle. I close it and doe the same thing again. PEW! The round goes off and I'm not dead. But again I notice that the guard opened. I look at it for a minute and get to thinking that its the way it is recoiling in the lead sled ... I'm not holding or supporting it like a normal rifle. So I weld up, hold her properly, pull the trigger ... PEW! The round goes off and I'm not dead. Also the guard stayed closed. I fire off the last 5 rounds and ping goes the stripper clip. My daughter goes 'My turn!' ... I reply 'No' lol ... no pew pew for you. I took it out of the lead sled, loaded one more stripper clip and fired one last batch. The fourth round didn't load ... but they are brand new stripper clips from Ammo Garand so I chalked it up to a stripper clip. I ejected the clip, put a new one in and did eight straight pew pews. Call it a day ... oh wait ... I need to trudge back out there and get the fallen target and wood frame ... @?!& ...

I stripped her down later on and soaked the pieces in some Deep Creep. I scrubbed some parts with a brass scrub and most with just a nylon. I noticed I could have scrubbed harder, maybe scrubbed more off, or even use some XXXX steel wool. I'm betting some XXXX steel wool and some Flitz would really clean some of the rust spots up.

But the rust does not look bad and it is really only on the part of the receiver covered with wood, a spot or two on the barrel and the metal plaque in front of the trigger and safety. But you can really only see it close up with the camera with a bright flash. Just looking at the rust with the naked eye in good light .. it just looks like a nice patina ... not devastating corrosion ... so to me the pics are a little misleading.

Anyway, here are the pics below.

Oh and as far as the grouping and the barrel goes ... I seemed to be able to place the rounds on the sand berm and saw and 'POOF' of sand roughly where I expected to see it. I bet if there was something football sized out there I could have hit it ... but then again my target was blowing in the wind so I can't say for sure ... I need to get out there when there isn't 65 feet of snow and a hurricane.

Here are the pics after a full cleaning with Deep Creep after the first shoot

[latigo 1]

You state the rust does not look bad? Looks really bad to me. If I were you I would try to get my $900 back.