M1 Garand

[Catpop]

What’s first thing that comes to mind when Garand extracts fine, reloads fine, but doesn’t recock hammer (and safety won’t engage)?
Short stroking maybe?
Because of?

 

[1KPerDay]

Tighten the gas plug and check your ammo

also confirm it’s not hammer follow. Try it in another stock if you have one, or swap with a known good trigger group.

One of my CMP Garands had hammer follow. They paid to ship it back and it came back with a different trigger group and works perfectly now.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

What’s first thing that comes to mind when Garand extracts fine, reloads fine, but doesn’t recock hammer (and safety won’t engage)?
Short stroking maybe?
Because of?

If the safety won't engage AND the trigger is not resetting, look at the trigger pin. Disassembling the trigger group is heck of a job. This video helped me a lot!

PS: Don't buy a replacement pin from Numrich. Mine hasn't been right ever since. Get your parts from the CMP.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

One of my CMP Garands had hammer follow. They paid to ship it back and it came back with a different trigger group and works perfectly now.

Yep. That problem is definitely in the trigger group.

 

[Jeremy2171]

Tighten the gas plug and check your ammo

 

[edwardware]

. . . Garand extracts fine, reloads fine, but doesn’t recock hammer. . .

The bolt pushes the hammer past fully cocked before the brass clears the chamber, so it's not short stroking. I think your issue is in the fire control group.

 

[FL-NC]

sear

 

[Jeremy2171]

sear

Or hammer or trigger

 

[FL-NC]

Or hammer or trigger

Ok, but the sear is connected to the trigger and generally considered a unit, with the sear wearing out usually before the much more stout corresponding engagement surfaces of the hammer. My experiences with the M21/ M25/ MK14, which use a similarly designed trigger group.

 

[1KPerDay]

The geometry between the stock and the trigger group is vital on the M14/variants as well as on the M1 Garand. I have a Springfield Armory Inc M1A that had hammer follow from the factory until I put it in a different stock. Some people shim their trigger groups with thin strips of wood to fix the problem.

 

[Reloadron]

Within the trigger group I would look at:
Hammer Hooks altered or damaged.
Sear altered or damaged.
Sear pin damaged or broken.
Trigger lugs altered or damaged.
Trigger pivot pin altered or damaged.

The next steps would be under short cycle but I would remove the trigger group and manually cycle it and make sure it cocks and works. The safety won't engage unless the hammer is back and cocked. Also, if you can manually cycle the rifle using the op rod and lock the hammer back I would focus on short stroking as an issue. Short recoil can have any of a dozen or more causes. Some have been already mentioned.

Gas piston undersize.
Gas piston out of round, deformed, or damaged.
Gas cylinder oversize in power stroke area.
Gas cylinder out of round.
Gas cylinder deformed or damaged (drags, binds, stops gas piston).
Gas port in barrel plugged or restricted (carbon or foreign material in gas port).
Gas port in barrel restricted (gas port indented or peened).
Gas port diameter undersize (a problem in some commercial barrels).
Barrel O.D. undersize in gas port area (power diameter undersize).
Gas cylinder loose on barrel (gas cylinder mounting ring I.D. oversize).
Gas cylinder lock screw loose in cylinder.
Valve in gas cylinder lock screw doesn't close (valve warped or carbon build up).
Valve in gas cylinder lock screw leaks (valve cracked or damaged).
Operating rod binds (lower band/handguard assembly fit problem).
Operating rod binds (gas cylinder misalignment problem)>
Operating rod binds (op rod bend/fit problem).
Operating rod spring kinked or deformed (drags, binds, stops operating rod).
Operating rod spring rust stuck inside operating rod spring passage.
Wrong/too long operating rod spring (spring coil binds).
Follower rod body bent, altered, or damaged.
Follower arm twisted or bent.
Bolt assembly binds in receiver (damaged, distorted receiver).
Bolt assembly binds in receiver (warped and/or off-centerline rewelded receiver).
Bolt operating rod cam lug/operating rod cam surface bind.

All of the above taken from The US .30 Caliber Gas Operated Service Rifles Shop Manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen.

Ron

 

[Reloadron]

The geometry between the stock and the trigger group is vital on the M14/variants as well as on the M1 Garand. I have a Springfield Armory Inc M1A that had hammer follow from the factory until I put it in a different stock. Some people shim their trigger groups with thin strips of wood to fix the problem.

Good point about trigger housing fit. Here is an example of using shims.



Also....


The trigger housing should fit tight.

Ron

 

[Catpop]

Wow! Thanks to all!
Looks like I’ve got some places to start checking!

 

[Jeremy2171]

Wow! Thanks to all!
Looks like I’ve got some places to start checking!

You should have sent the whole thing to me

 

[cfullgraf]

Also, the trigger sear and hooks should be dry.

Here is some information.

https://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=60917

https://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=60917

 

[Catpop]

Update:
Armed with all the great info above I disassembled and cleaned the fire control group. I checked all parts for wear and fit while not under spring pressure.
Hammer pin a little stiff so I polished it a bit. And hammer spring was crooked, I was able to straighten it a bit.
I found no issues other than oil on the disconnect and sear surfaces. I reassembled the group and test fired it again at range.
Only fired 6 rounds, but all seems to be working fine now.
I’m having a ball learning about the operation and functioning of the Garand!

Thanks to all!

 

[Reloadron]

Glad it seems to be working. You may want to order and replace the hammer and trigger pins. Parts are still available from a few distributers Sarco comes to mind.

Ron

 

[Eugen]

OP, glad to hear you got it working properly. I find my M1 Cabines and M1 Garands to be fun shooters, but also equally fun to study and work on.

 

[Jeremy2171]

Update:
Armed with all the great info above I disassembled and cleaned the fire control group. I checked all parts for wear and fit while not under spring pressure.
Hammer pin a little stiff so I polished it a bit. And hammer spring was crooked, I was able to straighten it a bit.
I found no issues other than oil on the disconnect and sear surfaces. I reassembled the group and test fired it again at range.
Only fired 5 rounds, but all seems to be working fine now.
I’m having a ball learning about the operation and functioning of the Garand!

Thanks to all!

Glad the barrel worked out for you and it's shooting well!