M1 Garand loading problem

[mindwip]

This is a major problem with M1's, they were built for ruff and tuff stuff. They try to act all mean and grand. But really they like to be patted one in awhile... Well about once in 8. The op rod not sliding home is there little reminder that they need some affection once in a while.


My M1 has never needed to be patted put i always do it after 8 shots, to let it know i appreciate what its doing. And it shows its its appreciation by working great.

 

[Swampy]

So the above methods work well if you can stand there have the rifle below you, on the bench or held at waist level. Yes, some of us weird guys like to sometimes shoot while standing

But GI Joseph, now he was prone in the mud and needed to reload. Did he mostly keep the rifle in place and reach forward, maybe pressing the clip down by using his right hand, curled so the fingers pressed into the reciever while the thumb was in position to hold back the op rod handle?

Bart,

No problem AT ALL. I do it every time I shoot a Highpower match, during the rapid fire prone stage. I never come out of tight sling position more than enough to reach for the full clip, insert it, do da' bump, and I'm back on the trigger.

Best,
Swampy

Garands forever

 

[Bart Noir]

Swampy, you make me remember back many years, to being prone with a tight sling.

So you drop the stock off the shoulder, and with the trigger hand insert a new clip. My question is, can you get your thumb to push down or do you curl your fingers into the receiver and push down?

Or do you keep the stock up against your shoulder during reloads?

Bart Noir

 

[Swampy]

Bart,

Sorry Bud, but I'm not getting the gist of the problem.....

Even from a tight sling, as soon as you drop the butt from your shoulder you have full access to the action with your shooting hand. The full clip re-load takes place exactly as I described in my earlier post. Fingers STRAIGHT along the op-rod, palm edge pushing back along the op-rod handle, thumb pushing down on the top round. Bottom it out, feel the clip latch dis-engage, then rotate the fingers FORWARD to bring the thumb out of the bolts path and let the handle slide under the pinky as it goes home.

Don't matter if I'm prone, sitting or standing on my head. Every re-load is the same.

Best,
Swampy

Garands forever

 

[VAshooter10]

I shot garands in High Power competition for years. We always took the rifle butt from the shoulder, placed it on the ground and loaded the clip with the trigger hand. That way you have something to push against, the ground... and the rifle loads easily. Then pick up the butt of the rifle with the trigger hand, push forward so that the butt clears the shoulder, place the butt in the shoulder and reach forward and regrasp the pistol grip so that your hand is in the proper position and drop your elbow to the ground. If you do it properly your sights will line up on your target.

Doug in Virginia