M1 Garand cycling problem

[willp58]

Hello,
In our firing squad for the Legion, we have 7 riflemen that fire the 3 shot volley for military funerals.
We have 2 rifles that will not pick up and chamber the 3rd round ( the bolt cycles - extracts & ejects round #2- and closes on an empty chamber). We load a full clip to start with.
The rifles are well cleaned and greased per the manual.
Could this be the clip spring being weak? If not, what should I look for?

Thanks! Bill P

 

[DFBonnett]

My bet would be the op rod spring. Try swapping out the one from the good rifle and see what you get when installed in one of the others.

 

[jefnvk]

I have the exact same problem with my Garand. It is going to CMP to be fixed Friday, I'll let you know the cause.

 

[JeffC]

I second the op-rod spring. A weak spring can cause the bolt to cycle too fast and at the same time not allow the follower to rise fast enough.

 

[fredcwdoc]

Op rod spring maybe but could be underpowered blanks. I had the same thing happen to one of my Garands and ended up changing op rod spring and gas cylinder.

 

[willp58]

Thanks a lot for the responses. The op spring makes sense. The same thing happens with Remington 1100's. The spring gets short/weak and the action works too fast.
We have had trouble with underpowered blanks too. But in this case, I don't think that's the trouble because on round 3#, the action worked ok, just didn't pick up the 3rd round.
I'm going to order some springs.

Thanks again for the help! Bill P

 

[willp58]

I received the 3 op rod springs from Gunparts Corp. They are 3 inches shorter than the ones that are now installed in the Garands.
Is it possible that the springs for blanks are supposed to be longer?

Or is it as simple as they sent the wrong springs?

What should the length of a new spring be?

Thanks, Bill P

 

[JeffC]

I've looked and found the /springs should be between 19.5 and 20.5 inches...

My 2 Garands have very different length springs but both function fine. Sorry I don't have access to them right now or I'd measure them for you, they are being held for me while I am moving.

 

[Steve in PA]

How a spring works is not based on its length. A spring may be longer or shorter....or the same as the one it is replacing. This is because of different manufacturers of the springs. If you are replacing Company "a" with a Company "a" spring I would expect them to be the same.

But if I'm going with Company "b", it might be the same, longer or shorter.

There is a standard for the M1 spring, but remember the above.

 

[willp58]

Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned that the new springs that I just bought measure about 16 inches.
I slid one in the tube and the operating rod went on the pegs real easy.
This is why I wonder if it's the right spring.

 

[JeffC]

As soon as I can, but may not be till the weekend, I'll get my spring lengths for you.

 

[Onmilo]

Replace the bullet guide in the malfunctioning rifles with new USGI stamped/notched bullet guides.
These are taller in the follower notch and increase the dwell time of action cycle speed and should correct the problem.

It never hurts to regularly replace the operating rod spring but if the guns are functioning at all then this is not likely to be the problem. HTH

 

[30Cal]

16"?? Sounds like an M14 spring.

Possible short stroke causes:
ammo
loose or cracked gas plug
incorrectly assembled gas cyl lock (must be fully threaded down, then backed off as necessary to get the gas plug in)
worn oprod spring
worn oprod piston
worn gas cylinder
badly fit oprod
bent follower rod

Ty

 

[JeffC]

Sorry for the long wait, but I measured both my Garand op-rod springs.

My HRA is 20" and my Springfield is 18 1/2".

 

[willp58]

Jeff,

Thanks for the response. The springs I got from GPC are about 16" so I sent them back this past week.
I'll post the length of the new springs I get from them.

Again, thank you.

Bill P

 

[DnPRK]

Get Wolf springs from gunsprings.com