[Jmurman]

I just ordered my Garand from CMP. I know that with all weapons there is a slew of things needed for the lond term function of the weapon.

First of all, are there any spare parts that I need? You know, springs, pins etc...things that break over time and I should stock up on...if so, where is a good place for them?

What about cleaning suppies...will my normal supplies work?

Next, what about take down tools...what should I have?

Finally, any recommendations on books for the Garand?

Thanks!

[Poodleshooter]

I don't know about spare parts. Nothing's broken on my Garand yet. This may sound silly, but have you stocked up on enbloc clips?
.30 bore brush, jag, patches, rod, solvent and grease for cleaning. My CMP was FULL of copper residue. Needed about 30 patches of butch's bore shine to eliminate that.
No take down tools needed for field stripping. There are tools needed if you strip the gas cylinder or stock parts.
Memorize the guide that comes with your CMP rifle. That's the best book for operations information. In the meantime, browse on line for additional info. The CMP site is particularly helpful with links to M1 info.

[Devonai]

Go down to your auto parts store and get yourself a tub of Wheel Bearing Grease. It will cost around $3 and should be a lifetime supply. After cleaning your weapon, be sure and grease up the bolt lugs, receiver raceway, and op-rod detent. According to Jim Thompson, failure to do so can result in bad things happening rapidly.

[BamBam-31]

I thought Scott Duff's book was pretty helpful. You can find it (and spare parts) at Fulton Armory, tho' they're a bit pricey.

[Jmurman]

This may sound silly, but have you stocked up on enbloc clips?

I am buying some Danish ammo through Ammoman.com and they have deals with the enbloc clip. I assume that the manual will tell me how to load these clips.

[Fly320s]

Loading the clips is very easy. Unless you want to load less than eight rounds, then it gets a little difficult.

The CMP manual has good information on loading the clips as well as good info on stripping and cleaning the rifle.

I received my CMP Springfield Garand about two weeks ago. Using just the enclosed CMP manual, I easily stripped and cleaned the rifle.

[hps1]

The Garand is a pretty sturdy rifle, not much goes wrong with them if proper preventive maintenance is performed. I maintained our club's DCM rifles, two of which we completely shot out. Have no idea how many rounds it took, but suffice to say, a lot! The only problems we had with any of these rifles was ejecting the clips prematurely (usually on firing 7th round), caused by wear in follower arm and pin and op-rod springs which lost some tension or broke. Premature clip ejection can be corrected by replacement of parts or the judicious bending of the follower arm. (Good idea to have a replacement follower arm before attempting to bend the old one, just in case you get carried away ;-), however .

One cleaning tool not mentioned above that is a good investment is the chamber brush. A clean chamber is quite important in the gas guns.

Regards,
hps

Edited to add: Did replace an extractor or two, maybe an ejector and a firing pin, but, as previously stated these rifles saw a *lot* of use.

[Sleeping Dog]

The most likely parts to break are in the bolt, if I remember right. Get an extra extractor, extractor spring & plunger. If the extractor breaks, the spring & plunger may go flying into the weeds. Maybe an extra firing pin.

Regards.

[AZ Jeff]

Aside from the usual bore brush, rod, eyelet and jag tips for .30 cal. barrels, you will need the following to give an M-1 the full TLC treatment:

1. chamber brush (available from various surplus dealers)
2. M1 combination tool or large screwdriver (to remove gas cylinder lock on end of gas cylinder for cleaning.
3. gas cylinder wrench (to hold gas cylinder when removing gas cylinder lock)

[NEtracker]

Re: cleaning supplies,
If you use a standard rod, use a one piece coated rod, like Dewey, and a cleaning rod guide. I personally like to use the Otis kit that I use for all my rifles & pistols. Get a combination tool w/chamber brush M3A1 (usually on ebay for $5-$10, or from other sources at $26). The M10 tool is handy, for the handle (bolt disassembly), but not necessary.

Recommended Spares:
http://www.fulton-armory.com/M1Spares.htm
You can buy many of the spare parts from the CMP online store, and can find some at gun shows.

I like Duff's books, Canfield's, and the online freebees!
M1 field manual (scan down the page):
http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/

http://www.fulton-armory.com/M1.htm
http://www.fulton-armory.com/FAQ.htm#M1

M1 tips:
http://www.jouster.com/lanestips/

Enjoy your M1 when you get it!
I got my first M1 in July, SG HRA. Will get a couple more in '04.
(it was my 3rd CMP rifle)

[VG]

Only parts I've ever had to replace are the recoil spring, and trigger guard (to tighten up stock lockup). I buy most such parts from Orion 7 (http://www.m1garandrifle.com/) , or Bill Ricca (http://www.billricca.com) .

Almost any waterproof grease works fine. I use Tetra because it's convenient and you can buy it at WalMart. I have the little teeny tubs as well but tend to use them for my car or other machines.

Any .30 cal cleaning stuff should work OK. Just be careful not to hit the muzzel, since you have to go in from that end. I use the Otis cable type, works great.

You can find detailed assembly/disassembly instructions at the CMP Website (http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/) .

There are even disassembly videos at Surplus Rifle (http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/index.asp) .

I've found "Hatcher's Book of the Garand" to be the most useful for history and technical help. Duff's books are good for collector info on parts and additional history. Kihnhausen has the most detailed gunsmithing info.

[Steve in PA]

When I bought my M1 SA/SG from CMP earlier this year, the only thing I did was punch the bore, lube it and shoot......and its been shooting ever since.

I'll probably order a new spring for it over the winter.......just because.

Buy lots and lots of clips. I only have about 20 or so........I have 280 rounds loaded in one ammo can that I can grab and go shooting. Don't have to worry about loading the clips till I come home.

Normal cleaning supplies work. I would recommend getting a muzzle guard (keeps the cleaning rod from wearing out the muzzle) and a neat little device that you insert between the bolt and chamber (holds the bolt open, stops solvent, grime, etc from dropping into the action) plus several other gadgets already listed.

Lots of good books.......do searches on www.battlerifles.com, www.jouster.com, plus some others and you'll dig up all you can handle.

[Jmurman]

My plan is to get a couple of cases of Danish 30.06 with the clips attached...approx 600 rounds.

Thanks for the help with cleaning and greasing. I would have never thought of using grease, as with any of my other weapons, grease is a no-no