M1 Garand Cleaning Rants

[johnmcl]

Hi all,

Ok, time to vent a little!

I've got a couple of really nice Garands, namely an IH and a H&R. They are so much fun to shoot and to reflect on the history of those rifles.

My frustration is in cleaning them correctly. I first bought a 30 cal cleaning rod from Dewey. Its great with a brass jag that fits tightly and well-protected shafts coated in vinyl. My thoughts were that brass and vinyl are considerably softer than the barrels, so the need for a bore guide was minimized. All I had was two flavors of Hoppes and I'm golden.

Then logic took over and I bought a bore guide, also from Dewey, and a thousand 'Mil-Spec' cleaning patches from Brownells.

Well, hells bells, the cleaning rod won't even go into the barrel with the Brownell patch on the tip, much less through the bore guide. The patch is significantly over-sized at 2 1/4".

So the questions are:

1) Am I right in that a bore guide still makes sense?

2) If true on #1, what's the right size patch to use?

Thanks in advance for the help,

John

 

[Onmilo]

You use a round 3/4" or the specific .30 caliber round patch with a stab jag.
Mil Spec GI patches are 2"X2" squares that are designed to be cut into 4 pieces for cleaning .30 caliber rifles or they can be used as is for cleaning .45 and .50 caliber weapons using a standard Mil Spec slotted tip.HTH

 

[Grump]

IME, don't bother with a "stab" jag if you are cleaning from the muzzle.

One of those old wraparound jags from--those English guys with odd threads and neato ball-bearing handle...--anyway, can't remember the name of that plastic coated rod right now, but the wraparound jag works fine with GI patches.

Use a GI-type patch loop for the GI patches. The Dewey is made for thinner, cheaper, commercial type patches, but not the Brownell's type.

the cleaning rod won't even go into the barrel with the Brownell patch on the tip, much less through the bore guide.

Shouldn't the bore guide be a little WIDER than the muzzle/bore? Narrower would be useless, as your solvents would get all squeezed out.

I've done most of my Garand cleaning with a GI one-piece rod made for machine guns. It has the patch loop built in towards the end of the rod, with a full-diameter guide area maybe 1.5 inches long beyond that at the tip, threaded for brushes. Works great.

 

[loadedround]

Mac: Why not clean your Garand the modern way and use a "Bore Snake"? I use one on my NM M1A and it's the fastest and most convienent way of cleaning a rifle from the muzzle end, and it can't possibly wear or damage your rifle's muzzle or crown. You can usually find them on sale for less than 15.00. JMHO

 

[DMK]

Even with the coated rod, you still need the bore guide for the Garand. The guide protects the crown and the edges of the rifling from wear as you insert the cleaning rod. Yea, I know, GIs never used them, but they didn't have to pay for the barrels either and really didn't care about it.

90% of the time, I clean my Garand with a Boresnake from the chamber end of the barrel. It's much easier than messing with the muzzle guide and will put much less wear on the muzzle of your rifle.

Plus you can fit a boresnake and a little bottle of BreakFree CLP in your buttstock compartment so it's there to clean it right at the range while the barrel is still warm.

 

[Onmilo]

English pull through jags are called 'Parker-Hales'.
Ditto on the BoreSnakes, I love them for all but detail copper removal and chamber cleaning.

 

[johnmcl]

Will Convert

Hi all,

Thanks for all the insight. I do have a 30 cal Boresnake and will start using that for the non-copper cleansing cleaning. As I'm just about out of Hoppe's this may be a great opportunity to make my first try with CLP.

I've got an actuall chamber cleaner for the rifles. It seems to make sense to use that first, and then pull the snake through the chamber and the barrel, pulling all that junk along with it.

Now, pardon the simple question, but is there a significant advantage to cleaning while the barrel's still warm?

John

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Now, pardon the simple question, but is there a significant advantage to cleaning while the barrel's still warm?

In my experience bore cleaners are more effective when the metal is warm.

 

[Rosstradamus]

I'm new to the Garand and am still trying to figure out a system for myself.

If you use a Boresnake, aren't you just doing the equivalent of running a bunch of dry patches through the bore? How do you get any solvent in there? Shouldn't you want to wet down the bore with solvent, let that sit a while, then use the Boresnake to wipe it all out?

And I always thought you were only supposed to clean from the breech. If you run a patch, wet or dry, in from the muzzle, aren't you bringing all the filth into the chamber and mag well? What's the proper way to clean an M1's bore? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

And I always thought you were only supposed to clean from the breech. If you run a patch, wet or dry, in from the muzzle, aren't you bringing all the filth into the chamber and mag well? What's the proper way to clean an M1's bore? Thanks for any suggestions.

Back in the stone age, we used steel, jointed cleaning rods in the field, a ball-bearing "barracks rod" otherwise. We would heat water to boiling in galvanized garbage cans with immersion heaters, strip the rifles down all the way (in definance of regulations), submerge the receiver and pump boiling water through the barrels.

Nowadays, it's foam and bore snake all the way.

 

[ocabj]

I use a Dewey 30cal 25" coated rod with a Tipton .30cal pierce style jag and Sinclair 1-3/8" patches. This is a perfect fit for the Garand (and M14). I use a Dewey brass muzzle guide. I clean with the rifle upside down in a cleaning cradle. This keeps solvent from going into the mag well and action.

I don't believe in Boresnakes. Unless you're washing the Boresnake after each pass, I don't see the point of using one.

 

[Powderman]

You use a round 3/4" or the specific .30 caliber round patch with a stab jag.
Mil Spec GI patches are 2"X2" squares that are designed to be cut into 4 pieces for cleaning .30 caliber rifles or they can be used as is for cleaning .45 and .50 caliber weapons using a standard Mil Spec slotted tip.HTH

Actually, the patch you refer to is the correct patch for .30 caliber weapons. I think that you are thinking about the .223 bore--while the mil-spec patches for this size are smaller, the .308 patch can be cut into 4 pieces to use with the smaller bore.

 

[johnmcl]

Same Rod

Jonathon,

That is the exact rod I use, however I'm still on the Dewey supplied point, rather than a Tipton. Did you see a big difference?

I need to look up Sinclair patches.

Thanks for the insight, (p.s. going to be in Anaheim in three weeks...)

John

 

[DMK]

If you use a Boresnake, aren't you just doing the equivalent of running a bunch of dry patches through the bore? How do you get any solvent in there? Shouldn't you want to wet down the bore with solvent, let that sit a while, then use the Boresnake to wipe it all out?

I soak the boresnake right at, before and after the brush embedded in it. Of course, you could use Breakfree in the spray can and squirt a bunch down the bore, soking it good. However, that wouldn't do much more than just waste a lot of CLP in my opinion.

And I always thought you were only supposed to clean from the breech. If you run a patch, wet or dry, in from the muzzle, aren't you bringing all the filth into the chamber and mag well?

Well, other than with an Otis, Boresnake or sone other kind of flexible cleaning instrument, you unfortunately can't clean a Garand from the breach. When using my Dewey rod, I do exactly like ocabj said. Put the rifle upside down on a cradle and push the patch through with a jag. It will fall out onto the tray when you pull the rod back.

I don't believe in Boresnakes. Unless you're washing the Boresnake after each pass, I don't see the point of using one.

It's only powder and brass in there, not diamond dust. Those boresnakes are really soft and absorbent. Granted, it's not going to do as good a job as as cleaning with a rod and brush, but it's not going to hurt the bore either. I wouldn't use one to clean up after corrosive ammo though.

 

[ocabj]

That is the exact rod I use, however I'm still on the Dewey supplied point, rather than a Tipton. Did you see a big difference?

I need to look up Sinclair patches.

Yes. There is a huge difference between the Dewey supplied jag and the Tipton jag. The Tipton jag is tapered on the bottom end of the jag near the threads. This is critical since this is where the patch will bunch up. Thus, it gives the patch more room on this part of the jag as it goes through the bore. It will be a lot easier to run through the bore, but still be snug for cleaning.

 

[MechAg94]

You can stick the rod in from the barrel end and screw it into the patch holding piece at the breach then pull through.

I use an Otis cleaning kit. It works real well for pulling patches through.
I like boresnakes, but I prefer them for a final polish/wipe since they have a large surface area to wipe the bore.

 

[Dienekes]

Just got done cleaning mine after doing some Memorial Day shooting.

Personally, I use the following: Pull through made from a piece of weed-whacker line to pull a patch of bore cleaner (Ed's Red)through from breech. M16 cleaning rod with a drilled-out .223 case for a muzzle guide to protect the lands; run a .30 caliber brush each way for each clip of ammo fired. Cleaning tray/hold open device in breech to keep fluids out of action. Use an M3A1 tool brush to clean chamber. Let sit a while. A couple more passes with the .30 caliber brush, then wrap a GI patch around the chamber cleaning brush and patch dry. Use a Parker-Hale coated rod with a patch jag and after about four different patchings the bore and chamber are clean. Oil another patch (US Navy surplus light machine oil, 50 cents a gallon 20 years ago) and pull it though from the breech with the weed-whacker line. Wipe rods and line prior to each use to keep any debris off it that might scratch something. At each stage I am particularly careful about the lands at the muzzle because I installed that barrel myself and want to take really good care of it.

Every 300 rounds or so I put the rifle in a cradle and go after the bore with Sweet's 7.62.

Works for me. Don't care for the Otis as fooling with the exact patch folding is a pain. The plastic lining on the cable seems like it could embed stuff and you still have to watch it so as not to touch the lands at the muzzle. I have a kit that was given to me and IMHO they are overrated. Bore snakes seem to be a good way to recycle stuff that should come out and stay out.

There must be one heckuva profit margin in all this gun cleaning stuff because the market is supersaturated with miracle products. Sort of reminds you of the old medicine wagon shows.

 

[91Bravo]

Dienekes

Great idea on the .223 brass. Wish I'd thought of that years ago for all my mausers. New project for the drill press tomorrow...

 

[ball3006]

I always use a nylon brush...

and put a strip of t-shirt over it. No stuck patches that way........chris3

 

[MechAg94]

I have yet worry about folding the Otis patches right. I tend to use normal patches with in. They may not go through as tight, but it gets the job done.