M1 Garand OP rod

[Dazen]

Went shooting yesterday and had my OP rod on my Garand bend out from the bolt. It was in a hell of a bind, had to disassemble the rifle to get it to move.
This is my first time shooting this rifle. I cleaned it and lubed it but I did not disassemble the gun so I do not know it the OP rod was bent to start with.
Was shooting Greek HXP M2 ball that comes loaded in clips.
My question, the ammo is safe right? Is there something other then the ammo that could have caused the Rod to bend ? I have had the front gas cylinder off of it before I shot it. It came off easy and had zero wear marks inside it. That tells me the Rod was not bent before I shot it.

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[hso]

http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=56027

 

[Ifishsum]

HXP ammo is perfect for the Garand, no issue there.

M1 op rods have a normal bend to them, you can only compare yours with a known good rod to tell if it is actually bent out of spec. Yours partially dismounted the bolt; was it on the first round you fired? It can be caused by torquing the handle outward when loading or bumping the handle upward to close on the first round. There is a slot when the bolt is open that is there for dismounting the op rod from the bolt; inadvertent outward and upward pressure while the bolt is open can partially dismount the rod. Not that hard to do, especially with some wear on the oprod. Try re-assembling and perform the tilt test (linked above), also make sure the op rod wants to stay in it's track on the receiver. It could be damaged now, but not necessarily.

Self dismount can also be caused by a worn oprod tab or worn receiver groove, or a bent op rod, all of which are more serious issues. The CMP forum linked above has a lot of guys who know their M1s so maybe post your issue there for more feedback.

 

[Dazen]

This did happen on the 3rd clip after the first round fired. Was having some feeding issues when shooting the second clip. Self dismount, that's exactly what it did! Gentlemen, thank you for your time this has been very helpful.

 

[joem1945]

You should also check the op rod spring for correct length. If your spring is very worn sometimes that will happen. Springs are cheap anyway.

 

[Reloadron]

You may want to do a Google of "M1 Garand Tilt Test". The tilt test should give you an idea if the operating rod has the correct bend.

As to the dismount?
Operating Rod Dismounts From Receiver During Firing Cycle:
1. Operating Rod Handle arm bent incorrect (not enough downward bend).
2. Operating rod receiver guide stud worn and/or top guide stud corners rounded off.
3. Receiver operating rod guide rail and/or rod dismount notch excessively worn.
4. Operating rod tube section misbent.

The above troubleshooting tips taken from The US .30 Caliber Gas Operated Service Rifles, A Shop Manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen.

I would give the rifle a "tilt test" which can't hurt and may be telling.

Ron

 

[Orlando]

It not a bent op rod issue, one of two things may have happened

#1 you accidentally dismounted the op rod when charging the rifle.
When pulling back on the op rod you must pull straight ba ck. If you pull back and up the op rod will dismount and when you fire the rifle it will jamb
#2 a worn tab on op rod. If you have a Micrometer I can PM you so specs measure it

 

[Onmilo]

You should also check the op rod spring for correct length. If your spring is very worn sometimes that will happen. Springs are cheap anyway.

It is good practice to go ahead and replace the operating rod spring on a newly acquired M1 regardless of where it came from.

 

[MechAg94]

I put new op rod springs in all the CMP Garands I have. They worked just a little more reliably with good springs.

My first Garand had a bent op rod when I got it (second hand). It would never seem to cycle well with mostly FTF. I think my Dad noticed the op rod looked bent when I disassembled it once. I got a new op rod and it performed great after that. I never had the rifle jam up on me.

 

[Dazen]

I did the tilt test this morning and the rod is definitely bent. I can see were the bend is. The dismount definitely caused this. I may try to bend this back,would it hurt to use some heat or should I try to do this cold?

 

[Reloadron]

I did the tilt test this morning and the rod is definitely bent. I can see were the bend is. The dismount definitely caused this. I may try to bend this back,would it hurt to use some heat or should I try to do this cold?

Keep in mind it is supposed to be bent, just correctly bent.
Also, an operating rod which is bent out of specification will not normally jump out of the channel or track on the receiver. Not normally anyway, see Orlando's post #7. You are sure the operating rod tab is not worn? This link shows the dimensions if you scroll down.

Ron

 

[Orlando]

Many functioning rifles will fail the tilt test. A bent out of spec op rod will not make it dismount unless possibly if the tab is worn
The tab should have sharp square corners
Tab/Lug Height: .320 to .317 (under .310 calls for rejection)
Tab/Lug Thickness: .100 to .095
Tab/Lug Width: .265 to .235
Tab/Lug Hang .070 to .055 This is important because it keep the rod from popping out of the track.
Columbus Machine can rebuild the op rod to specs
http://www.columbusmachine.com/oprod.htm

 

[Dazen]

The top corners of the tab are rounded and hang comes out to .049 everything else measures to spec. That's the culprit or one of them. Gentlemen ,thanks for the education and your time.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I'd want:

To see the op rod lug
To know if you charge it underhanded
To be certain that neither the rod nor the receiver were re-welds.

Todd.