So...a question about my CMP Garand

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Norton

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I'm excited about the new Garand purchase and can't wait to shoot it. The CMP documentation urges you to go to a gunsmith and have it checked out.

Makes sense for a 60 year old rifle.

Problem is that Fulton is quoting 8 weeks to service it and I'm unsure who else I can get it to locally in MD.

I feel pretty confident that I can disassemble, clean and reassemble the rifle with no difficulty.

Question is, has anyone NOT taken their Garand to a 'smith before shooting it?

Or.....does anyone know a good Garand expert in MD?
 
Disclaimer: I do this, I'm not telling you to:

Anyways, I took my first Garand to a gunsmith who proceeded to tell me that the TE was 6 and the Timing was off and it wouldn't eject clips.

Took it to the range and it was perfect.
I have not taken any more to gunsmiths.
And have had no problems.
I also don't take C&R rifles to gunsmiths first.
I do check them out as well as I can and fire the first round from the hip, then inspect the rifle and extracted shell for problems.
 
I may get 'smoked' for this, but here is what I would do. (BTW, I got one long ago and this is what I did.)

Go ahead, take it apart, inspect it, lube it and put it back together. Shoot that sucker (eye and ear protection)! CAREFULLY inspect the fired brass-it should tell you if the headspace is way off or ok. Check the direction of the fired brass: it should be ejected forward between 1:00 and 2:30 or so and be 2-6 feet in front of you.

M1's are TOUGH, hard to break, made to be used in battles under the worst conditions and CMP does at least some inspection of them. They SHOULD be good to go. I, personally, am not scared of them. YMMV!
 
When I picked mine up from a pawn shop I didn't take it to a smith. I stripped it down the whole way, cleaned it, put it back together, made sure it functioned right and then went out and shot it.

I think most problems can be picked up by a good strip down and visual inspection and a function test. Anything that a smith would have to take care of will come out in firing.
 
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Did you buy a Service Grade Garand? I was under the impression that SG's were test fired by CMP staff after a very careful inspection. The SG rifles are supposed to be in such a condition that you could issue them to soldiers for combat use right after a good cleaning.

In any event, you should take it apart, clean it to remove any traces of cosmoline, and inspect it for excessive wear. Use an appropriate grease where specified and a light film of oil at other areas.

You can do a fairly safe test fire by loading a single round and hold the rifle sideways at the waist. Have the bolt toward your right so the spent case will ejuect downwards. Keep your left hand away from the op-rod while maintaing a steady grip on the stock. Wear safety glasses or even a face shield, ear protection, long sleeve shirt and a good pair of leather gloves.

I've even seen people test-fire a rifle while holding it under a shooting bench at the range.

There's lots of good information at www.battlerifles.com in the M1 Garand section.
 
Thanks folks for the reassurance. My Garand has an "unfired" 1966 barrel. Has a muzzle wear of zero and a TE of 1 I think. The armorer said that with the exception of the test rounds, it had probably never been fired since being re-arsenaled..

CMP is supposed to head space all of their rifles so I'm pretty sure that will be OK.

maybe I'll break it down tonight.....
 
This year I have received three CMP M1's:
1944 SA SG
1953 HR SG
1943 SA Danish Rebuilt SG

In each case, I disassembled the rifle, noted the part numbers, etc., cleaned them up, and out the range. They have shot perfectly from day one.

Following Rusty’s Link: Answers provided by Orest Michaels/CMP.

Q: Does the CMP check headspace on all Garands or just the Service Grade?
A: We check headspace and test fire all grades of Garands.

Q: I am under the understanding that all Rack Grade rifles are test fired, is that correct? If so, what about the Danish "Woodless" Rack Grades? Have they been tested too?
A: The rack grade rifles are all test fired. That includes the less wood. We remove the wood after test firing operations.

Also, per
CMP M1 GARAND
INSPECTION AND REPAIR
Step 34: Place the rifle in the rack for grading and test firing.

Alex
 
I have six CMP rifles, 3 are Garands.
I disassembled all part groups, inspected, lubed/greased, reassembled, went off to the range with each.
One Garand came in with a worn oprod spring (replaced with Orion SS), one with cracked sight pinion (CMP sent pinion replacement).
 
What grease do you experienced folks like to use on your Garand? Is there an automotive product that works well?

For oil lube, I am partial to Breakfree CLP for my other firearms.....will this be adequate for the non-grease lube points?
 
I think you've already reached this conclusion, but there is no reason to take the rifle to a smith to have CMP's work re-checked. In most cases they probably know what they're doing around an M1 rifle far better than the smith.

One of the Lubriplate (white) greases was IIRC the original grease, but there are also those little tubs of milsurp grease out there...I have had success using Tetra grease. Have you seen this CMP page?

I use CLP on the non-greased points and it works fine.

Sounds like you got a very lucky catch with that rifle -- enjoy it!
 
The CMP headspaces and test fires all their rifles. Just take it apart, lube the right points with Lubriplate (if your a traditionalist) or Tetra grease (if you like hi-tech stuff), put it back together and shoot it.

If you have any problems, contact the CMP and they'll make it right.
 
Just another voice chiming in to say I've got nearly 100 rounds through mine without a trip to a gunsmith.

And here's a link to the entire 'Inspect and Repair' process that the CMP Garands go through--it's enough to make me feel pretty comfortable. :)



CMP Inspect & Repair
 
Use grease. It really doesn't matter too much what you use as long as it's not going to get runny when the gun warms up. After you apply the grease, cycle the action and wipe away any globs that form. The important thing about grease is to remove and replace it with fresh grease before you go out the next time. What type really doesn't matter IMO.

If the rifle is clean and adequately lubed, as a general rule, the brass should land between 1 and 3 o'clock.

The only place I can think of where you might use oil is as a preservative or maybe on the firing pin (which incidentally is not something that the GI's were trained to do).
 
The CMP owners manual tells where to use grease and where to use oil. It shows the specific spots and tells how much to use. I can't remember off hand what parts they reccomend you oil, but I dig out the manual whenever I lube my Garands as a reminder.

In short, RTFM!
 
I always have the manual in front of me the first few times I work on a gun. Sure lessens the likelihood of those leftover parts:D

Sounds like I better go out and scrounge up some grease today and get to work!

Now, of course ya'll be here waiting while I do this so that I can wipe my hands off and post for help......right?:neener:
 
I always have the manual in front of me the first few times I work on a gun. Sure lessens the likelihood of those leftover parts:D

Sounds like I better go out and scrounge up some grease today and get to work!

Now, of course ya'll be here waiting while I do this so that I can wipe my hands off and post for help......right?:neener:
 
The whole "take it to a gunsmith" advice in the manual is lawyerese talk. If for somereason that the 1 in a million chance that the gun blows up on you the first time you shoot it, their butts are covered.

The rifle from CMP has already been checked over. Clean it, grease it up, and go shoot it. :D
 
I use Plastilube for grease (from Scott Duff).
FP10 as light film on the metal for rust prohibitor.
 
"...at least some inspection of them..." The CMP does extensive tests and inspections of the rifles they sell. I suspect they put that warning on their liturature as a CYA thing. Field strip it, clean it, re-grease and go shooting. Use good ammo though. The CMP has that too. Garands are almost as much fun to shoot as an M-1 Carbine.
 
"Garands are almost as much fun to shoot as an M-1 Carbine."

Sunray, Yes, almost... Had RO Duty at the Range on D-Day. Had to bring one of my M1's and one Carbine also.:cool:
 
OK....disassembly was a piece of cake. You have to love the brilliance of John Garand and the simplicity of design that went into the creation of this rifle.

I almost feel like it was a waste of time to clean the rifle as it was cleaner than one could have thought possible for a used gun. The only sources of true fouling were inside the gas tube and under where the recoil spring follows the upper hand guard.

Further evidence that the barrel was basically unfired was that there was no dirt whatsoever upon running patches through it. Heck, my other guns are dirtier than that even after cleaning:what:

I couldn't get out to pick up any gun grease, per se......but stopped at the local auto store. Picked up some auto grease that says "high pressure/high temperature" and "suitable for all automotive and industrial uses". Anyone see any potential problems with using that?
 
After action report:p :

Reassembly went well enough with a couple of small hangups.

The follower/bullet guide/operating rod catch assembly was a bit tricky get seated properly. This caused the need for a second dissassembly. The operating rod catch was sitting too close to the barrel and not allowing the operating rod and bolt to slide back fully. The gun was cocking but the bolt would not lock back.

Disassembled that entire mechanism and set it back so the proper clearance was attained.


The third disassembly was caused due to the suprise I received when I retracted the bolt and the follower went flying across the room. Hmmmm....didn't notice that little groove where the follower arm was supposed to engage the follower to prevent that exact sort of thing.:eek:

So....no parts left over, no lost eyes or fingers and everything appears to be functioning properly. Off to the range on Wednesday or Thursday.
 
Norton,
Email me. IN a nutshell, there's a local guy in Catonsville who built NM Garands and M14's for the AMU for years. He's also the guy who showed Clint at Fulton "the ropes" when he was the chief gunsmith at Fulton. He was a double honor graduate at the Army National Match Firearms School in Rock Island Ill (One of only two in the school's history). He built rifles for the AMU, Army counter sniper school at Ft. Meade, built M21's for the 10th SF Grp, the DEA, etc. He's a great guy and does amazing work. I'm pretty sure he'd be happy to check it out for you.

Rich
 
Give us a report, of course, when you get it to the range. :) Mine did about 3" or so (edge to edge, and not closely measured--just glancing at the grid on the sight-in target) w/ the CMP M2 ball once I tightened up the front sight. Still need to do some work adjusting the front sight and getting the rear properly set, as it was hot, humid, and crowded at the range Sat., but I'm still in love with her... :)
 
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