Getting ready for my M1

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RancidSumo

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My M1 will be here hopefully this week from the CMP so I figured I would do some of the research now so I will be ready when it gets here to get started and go shooting.

1. Do they come coated in cosmoline? (I am assuming that they do)
2. Do I need to completey detail strip it before I shoot it and clean off all of the parts?
3. How do I get cosmoline off of the wood?
4. Is there anything special I need to do to get the bore ready other then regular cleaning (Copper brush/wiping it out with cleaning rod and coating with #9)?
5. Anything else you more experienced posters would recomend I do before shooting?
 
I doubt if it'll come coated in cosmo . .my last two from CMP haven't.

Most people will recommend a full detail strip/cleaning. I tend to function check it and run a few hoppe's coated patches down the bore followed by a dry patch and then go shoot it. (after applying grease to the appropriate spots) My logic is that if I'm going to put the wear/tear on it of doing a full detail strip then I want to have some fun first! :)

Have a good one,
Dave
 
Thanks.

Where do I need to grease it before shooting? I really hope it doesn't come coated in cosmoline because I hate that ****.
 
My M1 not only had cosmoline in it from the last storage time, it had old, sticky, gooey cosmoline in it from the first time it was stored after manufacture.

Be ready to detail strip your Garand and have plenty of cleaning material on hand, i.e. rags, cotton swabs, etc. I used half a big container of Q-tips getting out all the cosmoline in mine.

One book recommended greasing it everywhere two parts slid against each other. I concur. It may take a little more cleaning each time because of the dirt trapped in the grease from firing, but I feel it is worth it to preserve the Garand and to prevent the Op Rod from getting damaged because of too little lubrication.
 
1. I've bought four rifles from the CMP. None had any cosmoline.
4. That's about what I've done.

Your rifle could be entirely different, but this has been my experience.
 
Anymore they have this fancy cleaner they put the guns in before they ship them, like a car was hfor guns that strips out most all of the gunk. In mine that showed up pretty recently there was just a little cosmoline under the sights, the rest of the gun was pristine.
 
I saw it months and months ago.. I just looked and could not find it after several minutes of looking. There were videos and everything.

Still looking.

I may be on crack, still can't find any reference to it.
 
Yeah, I have been looking to. I posted a question about it on their forums, mabey someone their can dig up the link. Thanks for the info though. I really hope that you are right because I hate cosmoline.
 
My garand from CMP back in april had a decent amount of cosmo on it. It only took about 40 minutes to get it all cleaned.

Use a heat gun, or blow-dryer to de-cosmo the rifle. Just hold it up to the wood for a minute or two and you will see the cosmo begin to surface and drip off. Just wipe while you see it begin to beed. Dont hold it on the rifle for 45 minutes though, You dont wanna cook the wood
 
My brother got 3 Garands from CMP.My father and him stripped both down cleaned and then greased with twb25 and they function FLAWLESSLY!We both have the newer Springfield IWO JIMA models and they do not run as well...maybe we just need a few thousand rounds through 'em to break them in!!!!
 
my CMP Garand didn't have any cosmo in it. I field stripped it, ran a few patches through, function check, and range time. I've detail stripped it once since then. I hope yours doesn't come in cosmo.
 
Most of the CMP stuff has very little or none. I use Blast Free on the out
side metal, and of course clean the bore. Do not remove the gas cylinder or
use lubrication on the gas piston. Wipe down metal parts with Breakfree
CPL. The shinney places on the bolt and cam recesses I use a wheel
bearing grease. The old days, lubriplate used for this, but tends to dry out.
Stock conditions vary so I hesitate to advise. If a total wreck, you might
want to consider removal and save the wood. Boyd's if you deal direct
has some really nice wood that all three pieces sell for under $100. I have
done six of them for a military Honors firing detail. Mostly drop in, but two
required a little wood removal around the trigger group. If you go this route,
you will need to use the metal from your old upper and rear forearms. Care
with the rear one as the wood is thin with a spring clip that fits into a barrel
spline or groove.
Remember, these Garand and Carbine stocks are over 50 years old, so if
very bad, only a limited amount can be done to restore them. Sometimes
mixed birch and walnut. Also the wood takes the worst beating. CMP also
sells replacement (pretty sure Boyds, but higher priced) A booklet does
come with the rifles, with good, but limited information. :D
 
1. Do they come coated in cosmoline? (I am assuming that they do)
2. Do I need to completey detail strip it before I shoot it and clean off all of the parts?
3. How do I get cosmoline off of the wood?
4. Is there anything special I need to do to get the bore ready other then regular cleaning (Copper brush/wiping it out with cleaning rod and coating with #9)?
5. Anything else you more experienced posters would recomend I do before shooting?
Click to expand...

1: Generally not, but Greek rifles may have a considerable amount of preservative grease on them, not cosmo.

2: Yes, REGARDLESS of how nice it looks... strip it and clean it.

3: Rags and mineral spirits, dishwasher, Purple Power. All work. Re-oil the wood with either BLO or Pure Tung.

4: The M1 rifle runs on grease, not oil. Make sure all parts are properly oiled after the strip & clean, then lube (GREASE!!) in the prescribed places. See your manual.

5: Buy ammo.


Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
 
What Swampy says...

It's very good advice, indeed...

Also, keep in mind that the current process that CMP is using to 'degrease' the Greek return M1s can leave some moisture inside the rear sight, so I'd certainly advise you to make sure that you include tearing down the rear sight and cleaning it well (including a preservative oil) before putting it back together.

The manual on the M1 that the CMP sends with each rifle is quite good in terms of explaining the care and feeding of the M1, and in terms of disassembling/reassembling the rifle.

Have great fun with your personal M1, which, of course, is the greatest battle rifle of all time (sorry, couldn't help myself)...:)

Forrest
 
By the way, RancidSumo, I share your anticipation since I'm waiting for another service grade to be delivered too...

Let us know when your new baby is delivered...

As an aside, only 592 rds...?

:)

Forrest
 
That was all I could afford at the time and continue to fund my golf habit as well. I need to order several hundred more rounds when I get a chance.

By the way, the rifle I ordered is a HRA service grade. What manufacturer did you go with?
 
Originally posted by RancidSumo
That was all I could afford at the time and continue to fund my golf habit as well. I need to order several hundred more rounds when I get a chance.

By the way, the rifle I ordered is a HRA service grade. What manufacturer did you go with?
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that golf balls make fine, challenging targets for your M1 Garand. If you don't replace the golf balls as you shoot them up, you eventually end up with more money for ammo...:)

I also ordered an HRA service grade. I'm looking for the best possible bore, and I figure that a rifle that missed both WW2 and Korea stands a better chance of having one. Of course, with the constant rebuild program, that's probably not really true, but I don't like to be confused with the facts...:)

Forrest
 
I didn't learn that HRAs weren't in the wars untill after I ordered it. I actually want one from WWII but mabey I will just make this one a great shooter with mabey replaced parts/stock and go hand pick a WWII era one next summer.
 
Some HRAs were used in Korea I believe...

Mine (HRA Rack grade) came with new wood and no real collections of cosmo anywhere except in the trigger group. (though there was a general film of it).

I detail stripped it and cleaned it, greased it, and now it's back at CMP for repair of a hammer-following problem.

I highly recommend these videos if you're not familiar with stripping one down. (the trigger group vid is from an M14 type but the procedure is basically the same).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4v6ptrjeHE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTKfwdmMvVQ

You can sort of see the bit of cosmo/dust on this one
CMPRifles003.jpg
After cleaning (and before rear sight reassembly... I don't recommend taking apart the rear sight unless it's obviously gunked up)
M1Reassembled002.jpg
M1DetailStripped.jpg
 
My favorite method for degreasing a rifle that has been in preservation grease is to do a complete disassembly and put the metal parts in a giant pot that is big enough for the parts to be submerged and boil them for about 10 minutes, this breaks up the grease and they come out looking new. The only reason I leave them in for so long is so that the metal gets hot enough so that any water left on them when you pull them out instantly evaporates. This eliminates the risk of rusting. Then oil/grease all the proper locations during rebuild.

Also anyone who does their own work to their Garands, I recomend this book:

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=582340&t=11082005

It is WELL worth the price
 
1) Mine came covered in some kind of grease, presumably cosmoline. Not slathered, but it was there and all surfaces were tacky to the touch. The stock had absorbed quite a bit of it too.

2) Yes.

3) I did a complete disassembly, degreased all metal parts with brake cleaner, and coated them all with CLP. The stock got hit with Formby's Antique Furniture Restorer followed by mineral spirits, then hot water and dish soap. After it dried out, I used some steel wool to get rid of the raised "whiskers" and applied a few coats of Formby's Low Gloss Tung Oil Finish.

4) My bore was filthy but cleaned up nicely. I used a lot of Hoppe's #9 and Montana X-Treme Copper Killer. I'd recommend a foaming bore cleaner (Breakfree makes a good one) to attack the copper. Use nylon brushes with copper solvents.

5) Try to get the headspace checked. My FIL had a field gage that I used. Any competent gunsmith should have a way of checking headspace on a .30-06. They shouldn't charge too much and it only takes a minute. I'd pay the $10 to have it checked rather than have 50k PSI blow up in my face.

Watch your thumb!
 
Some HRAs were used in Korea I believe...
Click to expand...

Very few... if any.

HRA had barely gotten up to full scale production before the armistice was signed in July of '53.

Best to all,
Swampy

Garands forever
 
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