M1 Garand Concerns?

[FrankieJames7]

hey guys its the alaskan kid again and um, i was looking at my M1 garand, i striped it down to the barrel receiver and bolt, i was checking if the gun had loose headspace and if the chamber and stuff like that was ok, but i went to see if my M1 garand had a loose bore, and i could fit the 30-06 into the bore until it hits the neck of the case, could anyone tell me what the bore diameter of the m1 garand is?, cause usually like on my mosin i could put the loaded round into the muzzle and the bullet would be tight, same thing with my remington 700s, even my ruger 10/22...thank you for your time

 

[rondog]

Mmm, sounds like the muzzle's a little eroded there bub. Probably from steel cleaning rods throughout it's lifetime. The bullet should engage the rifling and stop, like you're expecting it to. Sometimes an issue, sometimes not. How does it shoot? If the accuracy's good, I wouldn't worry about it. But those can be rebarreled no problem. Try shooting it at 100 yds. from a bench with sandbags, or held as solidly as possible, and see how it groups.

Mooseman here on the board is a gunsmiff, and in AK. He might be able to help ya.

 

[FlyinBryan]

i would completely disagree with everything rondog just said,,,,,,,,,,,,, except he is completely right

 

[rondog]

Except for the comment about Mooseman....I'm thinking of a guy on a different gun forum.

 

[USSR]

FrankieJames7,

A little help here. If you take a USGI M2 ball round and insert it into the muzzle, here is what you have: 1/4" of bullet showing - Excellent bore, 0 - 1 on a bore gauge; 3/16" bullet showing - Very Good to Good bore, 1 - 2 on a bore gauge; 1/8" bullet showing - Fair bore, 3 to 5 on a bore gauge (needs replacing for best accuracy); Muzzle "swallows" the bullet, Forget About It. This is just a rough estimate based on my personal experience, but it gives you something to go on.

Don

 

[Slamfire]

and i could fit the 30-06 into the bore until it hits the neck of the case,

That is a little too much.

Not a safety issue, but it sure won't improve the accuracy any.

 

[Tim the student]

I should be a concern if it shoots poorly. If it shoots well, then all is well.

Is it counterbored by chance? I think some M1s have been counterbored during rebuilds, but I may be mistaken.

<deleted>

 

[mshootnit]

your barrel has been shot quite a bit opening up some muzzle diameter. Never Fear! shoot it with some of the Hornady match ammo before you judge it. I knew a man who had 32 M1 Garands and he told me he had never seen an M1 that was shot out.

 

[madcratebuilder]

With that amount of wear at the muzzle I would inspect all other parts very close, check the piston and gas cylinder bore.

 

[caveatimptor]

since the 30-06 is a .308 cal bullet the Grove ougt to be .308 & the lands will be
slightly tighter. If the rifle is shooting well don't worry 'bout it. Or you could have it
air gauged by a gunsmith. Good luck

 

[Huckelberry75]

Sounds like it just has some throat erosion. No biggie if it's still shooting straight.

 

[FlyinBryan]

Sounds like it just has some throat erosion. No biggie if it's still shooting straight.

actually, throat erosion happens on the other end, right in front of the chamber, and can only be properly checked with a throat erosion gauge..... in the o.p.'s case, it might provide some insight as to the cause of his muzzle wear. if t.e. were to show to be evident, it would suggest that the muzzle wear was caused by just being fired a lot, and if absent it might suggest it was the result of careless use of a cleaning rod.

A little help here. If you take a USGI M2 ball round and insert it into the muzzle, here is what you have: 1/4" of bullet showing - Excellent bore, 0 - 1 on a bore gauge; 3/16" bullet showing - Very Good to Good bore, 1 - 2 on a bore gauge; 1/8" bullet showing - Fair bore, 3 to 5 on a bore gauge (needs replacing for best accuracy); Muzzle "swallows" the bullet, Forget About It. This is just a rough estimate based on my personal experience, but it gives you something to go on.

Don

this is very good info. thx don.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

All sticking a ball round in the muzzle does is let you know you have a ball round and a muzzle. Use the proper erosion gauge and you'll know.

The muzzle could have been counterbored, as well.

 

[PreMod70]

What's to worry about, it will still do minute-of-moose.

 

[FlyinBryan]

well, a muzzle wear gauge is certainly the best way to determine the condition of the muzzle, but an m2 ball round is very widely used to just get a general idea of muzzle wear. lots of folks use it as a rough general guide (but it must be an m2 round

heres a decent post by one of the mods over at milsurpsdotcom on the subject.

Welcome to the forum trekvana

Jim and Bubba7 are correct. A gauge is a good investment, but if you're in a pinch an M2 round may prevent you from buying a rifle with a worn out barrel.

Jim also made a good point about gun shows -
Many gun shows frown on carrying live ammo for obvious safety reasons. You may even be bounced right out at some shows.

The bullet test is only used as a rough guide, but it works ok as a quick tool such as if you come across a nice looking rifle but want to know how worn the bore is. If the muzzle swallows the bullet down to the shell casing you know the bore is probably worn out.

You’re only using the taper of the bullet as a relative guide as to how far it goes into the muzzle, and it’s not exact. Also the taper of bullets from different manufacturers may vary.

You asked why an M1 carbine round wouldn't work -
The bullet tip for an M1 carbine is short and round, so it doesn’t work very well because the relative differences in muzzle size is hard to see. (Even on a new barrel, the muzzle is very close to the front of the shell casing)

The taper of an M2 bullet is long, so you can see the small differences of how far it will go into the muzzle better.

The photos below might help to better understand. These are measurements using the same M1 Garand with an almost new barrel.
(It works the same for an M1 carbine)

http://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/2011/01/Bullettest1-1.jpg

 

[Slamfire]

I knew a man who had 32 M1 Garands and he told me he had never seen an M1 that was shot out.

He never saw my "Blue Sky Garand"

 

[Nugilum]

FrankieJames7:
Which one mimics yours?


(just trying to be thorough guys)