Got my Garand back from the shop

[fourfive8]

Here are a couple of handy books for the Garand and other military, WWI and WWII small arms.

 

[kevin masters]

I would love to find an IH! They intrigue me beyond belief. I shoot with some buddies every veterans day!!! They all have Garand's!

 

[sestoppelman]

Oh yah the old en bloc ping story
I’ve always been curious about that. How could the enemy could be so easily dooped? Reverse the roles. You are in a fairly close range fire fight… most likely squad size units or larger. You hear an enbloc ping or maybe two or three spaced out over some time depending upon each rate or fire from one or two or three of your enemy’s positions. You and maybe other members of your unit get up and charge the position….. because you heard a couple of en blocs ping? Give the scenario some serious thought… If I were the squad or platoon leader I wouldn’t give the command! It would make for a good Audie Murphy movie scene though. You’d think if the en bloc ping scenario, as the story is told, played out more than a few times, our units would catch on and carry a pocketful of small tin cans or empty enblocs. Then just toss one or two out so they ring on a rock or anything and wait for the charging suicidal enemy.

You beat me to it. I never did buy that ping baloney. In the heat of the battle with guns and grenades going off all around? Right.....

 

[sestoppelman]

Nice rifle, a Winnie too, the most desirable in my mind. I finally snagged a Win about a year ago, one of my favorite rifles.
Goes nice with my $165 DCM H&R that I got back in 1990 when I was heavy into Highpower match shooting.

 

[Velo Dog]

Fellow Rifle Enthusiasts,

When I lived in Soviet California, I had one made by International Harvester.
The bore was festooned with millions of tiny pits.
But, the lands & grooves were square and sharp.
It looked like a diesel exhaust pipe in there but with rifling.
Nonetheless, it shot satisfyingly small groups, with pretty much every bullet I tried.
Despite the damaged bore, nonetheless it’s chamber was smooth and shiny.

It even cycled with 110 grain spire points, despite their noticeable lack of much recoil.
The only issue was that evidently due to said light recoil, each spent cartridge would get a bent mouth as it ejected from the rifle.
This never happened with bullets of the more common weights (150, 165 and 180).

In Northern California and Northern Nevada, I shot ground squirrels, black tailed jack rabbits a coyote now and then plus, at least one marmot (essentially a giant hamster) as I recall.
Upon escaping from Kremlin controlled California and making it all the way to Alaska, eventually I shot 6 caribou with my Garand and I shot the heads off of a few ptarmigan with it as well.
Ptarmigan, (pronounced; “tar-ma-gun”) are sometimes called “snow grouse” in other parts of the world).
When found in remote places, where they haven’t been hunted by humans much if at all, and if you move very slowly, they tend to not flush until you are only about 10 or 12 paces from them.

My father was in the US Army, 101st Airborne and used to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, during World War II, with an M-1 Garand.
He was quite a character and the Garand is quite a rifle.

The Garand is a real peach, I like them very much.
However, eventually I sold it (and others), to help pay off a safari bill.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[sestoppelman]

Fellow Rifle Enthusiasts,

When I lived in Soviet California, I had one made by International Harvester.
The bore was festooned with millions of tiny pits.
But, the lands & grooves were square and sharp.
It looked like a diesel exhaust pipe in there but with rifling.
Nonetheless, it shot satisfyingly small groups, with pretty much every bullet I tried.

It even cycled with 110 grain spire points, despite their noticeable lack of much recoil.
The only issue was that evidently due to said light recoil, each spent cartridge would get a bent mouth as it ejected from the rifle.
This never happened with bullets of the more common weights (150, 165 and 180).

In Northern California and Northern Nevada, I shot ground squirrels, black tailed jack rabbits a coyote now and then and at least one marmot as I recall.
Upon escaping from Kremlin controlled California and making it all the way to Alaska, eventually I shot 6 caribou with my Garand and I shot the heads off of a few ptarmigan with it as well.
Ptarmigan, (pronounced; “tar-ma-gun”) are sometimes called “snow grouse” in other parts of the world).

My father was in the US Army, 101st Airborne and used to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, during World War II, with an M-1 Garand.
He was quite a character and the Garand is quite a rifle.

The Garand is a real peach, I like them very much.
However, eventually I sold it (and others), to help pay off a safari bill.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

Ptarmigan!! Once had one try to land on my back as I was bent over working on the back deck of the tugboat going up the Kuskokwim River to Bethel!
They were all over the boat, on the masts, handrails etc.
Hilarious!

 

[Woodcarver]

Can't post a pic due to being 160 miles from the rifle, but I have my Dad's M1 that he used with the Navy rifle team in the early 50s. His Dad full length bedded the action and put in a match trigger and checkered the grip and forend for him. That rifle will stack surplus ball ammo if the shooter does his part. My Grandpa told me this was his favorite deer rifle, despite having an excellent scoped 30-06 he built for himself.
My nephew, a Marine pilot like his Grandpa, will be getting this rifle soon, as his wife mentioned she was looking for an M1 for him. She objected when I told her the only cost would be the stipulation that it must stay in the family; don't think I have to worry about that too much.

 

[kevin masters]

Can't post a pic due to being 160 miles from the rifle, but I have my Dad's M1 that he used with the Navy rifle team in the early 50s. His Dad full length bedded the action and put in a match trigger and checkered the grip and forend for him. That rifle will stack surplus ball ammo if the shooter does his part. My Grandpa told me this was his favorite deer rifle, despite having an excellent scoped 30-06 he built for himself.
My nephew, a Marine pilot like his Grandpa, will be getting this rifle soon, as his wife mentioned she was looking for an M1 for him. She objected when I told her the only cost would be the stipulation that it must stay in the family; don't think I have to worry about that too much.

That is too cool!!! Good job sir!!!

 

[503]

I think that's fair. Always hurts to sell a gun no matter what it is

 

[DrBob]

There are some published Garand loads for up to 180 gr bullets. The action itself is plenty strong but most Garand experts recommend staying with either 150 to 165/8 gr Spitzer bullets and medium burn powders like 4895. The issue is the heavier bullets are usually used with or associated with slower powders. The slower powders with any bullet in the Garand causes longer pressure dwell time on the operating rod and can damage that part of the action. So bullets in the 150-165/8 gr range are recommended with powders in the H 4895 burn rate range. Another recommendation for loading the Garand is a preventative safety thing just in case the bolt and striker parts are slightly worn. If certain parts are worn or slightly out of spec, the firing pin can protrude at the wrong time in the firing cycle and cause a slam fire. Therefore, most recommend use of a primer specifically designed to prevent that... like the CCI #34.

I built up a supply of CCI #34s when I had my Garand and have used that specific primer for all my standard large rifle and magnum rifle needs since. It has proven to be an excellent primer for all large rifle applications.

The 34 is a magnum primer. Only primer not to use is Federal.

 

[fourfive8]

The CCI #34 is specifically designed for military style semi autos like the MIA and Garand. Theoretically it has a slightly tougher cup to help prevent slam fires in the rotating head, Garand designed semi auto actions. Additionally, it purposefully has a “magnum” amount of primer mix to help insure reliable ignition of military type ammo used in cold conditions with the ball powders commonly loaded in some of that ammo.

After years and a lot of experimenting with different primers for use in loading reliable hunting ammo, both standard and magnum, I have settled on the CCI # 34 for every large rifled primed cartridge I have. I used that primer for every Garand cartridge I loaded and shot… never an issue. Never an issue using that primer for all the large rifle loads I’ve shot since converting to its use. One thing about loading for the Garand as pointed out by the Garand guys… pay very close attention to all aspects of reloading for the rifle! Anecdotally, one of my local LGS stores had a Garand on display for years as a reminder. The owner of the Garand liked to play fast and loose with gunsmith tinkering and reloading. First shot he took with his “customized” Garand resulted in a slam fire which impressively destroyed the rifle. As far as @503’s rifle goes, I’d have complete confidence in it being on spec. Fulton Armory has a good rep and has done a ton of them over the years.

 

[503]

The CCI #34 is specifically designed for military style semi autos like the MIA and Garand. Theoretically it has a slightly tougher cup to help prevent slam fires in the rotating head, Garand designed semi auto actions. Additionally, it purposefully has a “magnum” amount of primer mix to help insure reliable ignition of military type ammo used in cold conditions with the ball powders commonly loaded in some of that ammo.

After years and a lot of experimenting with different primers for use in loading reliable hunting ammo, both standard and magnum, I have settled on the CCI # 34 for every large rifled primed cartridge I have. I used that primer for every Garand cartridge I loaded and shot… never an issue. Never an issue using that primer for all the large rifle loads I’ve shot since converting to its use. One thing about loading for the Garand as pointed out by the Garand guys… pay very close attention to all aspects of reloading for the rifle! Anecdotally, one of LGS stores had a Garand on display for years as a reminder. The owner of the Gatand liked to play fast and loose with gunsmith tinkering and reloading. First shot he took with his “customized” Garand resulted in a slam fire which impressively destroyed the rifle. As far as @503’s rifle goes, I’d have complete confidence in it being on spec. Fulton Armory has a good rep and has done a ton of them over the years.

Very good info, a round going off when the gun is out of battery is a scary thing. Definitely worth getting the hard primers.

And you are correct, Fulton Armory did an amazing job. Turnaround was less than 2 weeks. They tore the gun down and inspected it. Replaced the op rod spring, trigger pins, hammer spring and one of the sight adjustment knobs, apparently they break a lot. Rebarrel looks good too, that chrome lining is gorgeous

 

[fourfive8]

Very good info, a round going off when the gun is out of battery is a scary thing. Definitely worth getting the hard primers.

And you are correct, Fulton Armory did an amazing job. Turnaround was less than 2 weeks. They tore the gun down and inspected it. Replaced the op rod spring, trigger pins, hammer spring and one of the sight adjustment knobs, apparently they break a lot. Rebarrel looks good too, that chrome lining is gorgeous

Those primers are cheap insurance with the bonus of being really good primers. Interesting aside about the #34 primer. A couple of years ago I bought a couple bricks of them from a friend at our local gunshow- I needed to top off my supply so to never have to worry about ever running out. As the editor of a major gun and ammo reference book, he knows folks in the R&D and management of various big companies in the ammo and gun industry. I asked him specifically about what I discovered about the size consistency of the # 34 having something to do with increasing the reliability of ignition. He said absolutely a fact. Most other brands have some variability in overall size dimensions and that variability will occasionally cause failure to fire. The improper and/or shallow seating because of being slightly out of size spec allows the primer to absorb some of the impact force of the firing pin. Then the pin fails to adequately dent the cup, compress the mix against the anvil and fire the primer. He said the CCI # 34 is one of the most uniform primers currently on the market. And no I don't work for CCI

I think the other secrets of good Garand ammo besides the powder burn rate, bullet weight and primer would also include : Keeping the sizing pretty much to spec with a full length sizing die so the cartridge chambers without resistance while maintaining correct headspace, making sure the bullet is seated correctly and crimped and making sure the primer is seated correctly- from level with base to about .004" below level of base.

 

[503]

Those primers are cheap insurance and the bonus being they are good primers. I think the other secrets of good Garand ammo besides the powder burn rate, bullet weight and primer would also include : Keeping the sizing pretty much to spec with a full length sizing die, making sure the bullet is seated correctly and crimped and making sure the primer is seated at from level with base of case to about .004" below level of base.

I appreciate the info, I'm not into loading as much as I want yet, but I always like learning as much as I can.

 

[Safari Dave]

I have an absolute Frankenstein M1.


Receiver does not have any markings at all except C.A.I. and a serial number.




I can "bang the gong" with it in on a 12" steel every time at 200 yards.

Garands are excellent rifles.


The US Military spends less than $650 per rifle now.


Maybe we should spend $2,000 per rifle and get "The best battle implement ever devised” as described by General Patton.

I don't think we have won a war since we quit using them...

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

yes, excellent battle rifle. but did have two faults, ie you could not top off the mag and on the last round when expended the empty case and clip ejected so anyone in 50 yards knew your rifle was empty.
Carried several in Korea with the USMC during the Korean War.The m1a corrected both issues. But the Garand ,(IMO) was the more durable battle rifle.
Good luck with yours!

@Luvthunt
My dad was in Korea from 50 until the end in 53. He was also at the battle of Kapyong as well as a bucket full of others like Apple orchard, salmon and sardine Hills.
He was with the Australian 3RAR.
Bob

 

[TheGrayRider]

I hunt deer regularly with my Korean War era M1 Garand. Love it. Great weapon. Happy hunting, TheGrayRider.

 

[503]

View attachment 503263
I hunt deer regularly with my Korean War era M1 Garand. Love it. Great weapon. Happy hunting, TheGrayRider.

Awesome, do you load your own or is there a factory load that works well in them?

 

[TheGrayRider]

Cheap factory ammunition works great in my M1 Garand. Best of luck, TheGrayRider.