M1 Garand not chambering new rounds

[WillDe83]

Hello,

I am new to forums. I purchased an M1 Garand about a month ago and I went out shooting with it the other day and it would not chamber a new round after each shot (had to pull back on the bolt each time to get a round chambered). I cleaned and lubed the weapon before I went out; not sure what is casuing this, except maybe a bent operating rod? Not sure. What would be wrong with my M1. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You

Will

 

[dscottw88]

What type of ammo are you using?

 

[WillDe83]

lake city M2 surplus ammo.

 

[mljdeckard]

What Garand? New, used, CMP?

Understand, Garands were built to take a specific loading of '06, and of course it's not necessarily UNSAFE to use something else, but it isn't guaranteed to work as well with other rounds. Remember, one of the reasons '06 is so popular is the very wide range of ways it can be loaded. Doesn't mean a Garand will like them all.

 

[dmazur]

Another thought -

If you remove the op-rod spring and the trigger group, my understanding is that the action should slide back and forth from in battery to fully open when the barrel/stock is tipped up and down from a horizontal position.

If it doesn't do this, the op-rod may be binding somewhere.

It's a quick test, and helps avoid chasing Garand phantoms...

(And, of course, certain areas of the Garand like grease for a lubricant, not oil.)

 

[WillDe83]

used M1 dated to 1943 production, barrel is dated 1947. The previous owner said he fired modern commercial ammunition and surplus ammunition. I heard that you were not supposed to use modern commercial ammunition in the rifle just surplus.

 

[dscottw88]

Using Modern commercial ammo in a stock M1 is a big NO-NO. However, you can get a Schuster Gas Plug which will allow you to adjust the amount of gas cycling the action. It's possible that if he was using commercial ammo (which you said he was) that he had one of these gas plugs installed but that he may have left it open for the hotter loads and not have turned it back down to accomidate for the M2 Ball.

 

[WillDe83]

i looked and it has the stock gas plug on it. I also removed the operating rod spring and it moved freely when i tilted the gun horizontally and vertically. now, when i put the gun back to together and pull back on the operating rod, there is a point that it wants to catch and not go back the rest of the way.

 

[WillDe83]

i left one detail out. the operating rod did jump out of the grooves once while shooting. i shot two en bloc clips and it jumped out during the beginning of the second clip.

 

[heviarti]

ask around your local gun shops and find out who shoots match. locate that person and find out who has ordnance gauges. ingratiate yourself to the person with the gauges. have them check your rifle.... bore throat muzzle erosion timing and op rod.

here is my guess.... it's your gas port/cylinder. DA the gas system. check to see the port is open. the next test is a description of how I debugged this prob on mine. perform at your own risk, because you eat a gun.

I pulled my front handguard and installed the gas cylinder. it went down hella far. this concerned me, because my garand was short-stroking, which is where it cycles enough to cock the hammer and sometimes eject but not strip the next round. I plugged the chamber with my thumb and blew down the barrel. no air escaped through the gas port. I reinstalled the front handguard and gas cylinder together and performed the same test. it flowed, but not well. I pulled up on the gas cylinder and it flowed more. the gas cylinder was going down far enough it was partially obstructing the gas port. I reassembled it with the lock ring pulling the gas cylinder into position. this is hell on your accuracy. that assembly needs to be tight with the handguard for repeatability. however in two clips I only had one short stroke after making the change. YMMV. make sure your rifle is not loaded or you might grow up to be just like Kurt Cobain.

 

[61chalk]

My first thought was a plugged gas vent hole in the barrel, check that out.

 

[dfariswheel]

The standard starting points for M1 problems:

1. Clean the rifle.
Think it's clean...clean it again and do a better job.

2. Make sure the gas cylinder lock screw is tight, and the spring-loaded valve is sealing. A weak spring or grit can jam it open slightly, causing a gas leak.

3. GREASE the M1.
In the M1 oil is to prevent rust. Grease is the lubricant. Check an online M1 GI manual for the grease points.

4. Replace the recoil spring.
The spring may be old or worn. The "recoil' spring in the M1 actually powers the entire action. A bad spring can cause all sorts of odd problems.
Replace with a new USGI spec spring. DO NOT install an "extra power" spring. The M1 was designed to operate with a GI spec spring and aftermarket stronger springs will often cause problems.
The M1 is not an automatic pistol where you can switch and swap recoil springs as you want. The rifle was carefully balanced and timed to operate with the GI spring, and you can't just stick something else in and not expect problems.
Buy a new spring from Fulton Armory or Orion 7. Surplus springs may be weak themselves.

5. Scrub the chamber with the M3-A1 Combination Tool.
Make sure the chamber brush is new and full sized. If someone has wrapped a patch around the brush the bristles will be "sprung" and under sized. The brush will not clean the chamber properly.

6. Make sure the clip is in good condition.
A sprung, dirty, or worn clip will cause feed problems.

Most common cause of failures to feed...... Bad recoil spring.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Please confirm that the spent cartridge is ejecting. I ask that because I want to ensure that the op-rod is being forced back by gas pressure, and thus causing the bolt to unlock, travel rearward such that the extractor can extract the spent cartidge for the ejector to eject it.

 

[30Cal]

You didn't lube the gas system did you? It's supposed to run dry.

 

[WillDe83]

spent cartridge is ejecting but new round is not be chambered afterward. I did not lube gas system.

 

[NC-Mike]

Get some dummy rounds and you can manually cycle the action. Maybe you can see whats' going on.

Disclaimer: Dummy rounds are made for this purpose. Use of live ammo is not recommended.

 

[heviarti]

yeah... heavy spring or no gas. check muzzle erosion and gas cylinder&piston