New Garand owner - Needs Advice

[Werewolf]

I picked up my new Springfield Armory M1 Garand this afternoon (yes I know it is not completely new - but the important stuff is).

Just to get it out of the way for those who consider getting a Springfield Armory Garand heresy:

Bad wolf, bad, bad. Go to your room!

Okay - now that we got that out of the way:

I'm confused. The SA manual says not to tear the thing down unless absolutely needed. This seems to conflict with the FM included in the package (which is basicaly army habit of clean it every chance you get).

So can I lube and grease it without breaking it into the three groups? If not will just breaking it down into the three groups suffice and provide the necessary access to properly clean, apply oil and grease or must I go further.

Should I follow the maintenance and cleaning instructions in the FM or the ones in the SA manual (they differ slightly and the SA manual doesn't specify lube instructions and I know that certain areas of a garand require grease).

So how do I proceed? All you heritage/history guys feel free to flame me (along with providing advice) and all you Springfield M1 owners tell me I done good and provide your advice...

With luck I'll be taking it out to the range Sunday morning to shoot off a 100 or so Portugese manufactured NATO .308 147gr Ball. If anyone is interested I'll relate the results here.

 

[yankytrash]

Well, let's put it this way -

Some people buy a new car and adhere to the dealer's recommendation to take it in everytime it needs an oil change or new belt.

Some people buy a new car and say, "the heck with them, this is my car, my money, and if anyone's gettin their hands dirty, it's gonna be me."

Sometimes the second guy screws in a new spark plug too tight into the aluminum heads and strips it out. That entails the dealer giving him a big fat "I told you so" and a big fat bill to go with it. However, most of the time he does alright. Either way, he learns as he goes.



So, do you change your own oil in your truck?

 

[DMK]

I'm confused. The SA manual says not to tear the thing down unless absolutely needed. This seems to conflict with the FM included in the package (which is basicaly army habit of clean it every chance you get).

The military way of cleaning guns is to make them sparkling clean and prematurely wear them out so that you don't have to do any more of those nasty jobs the sargeant likes to assign.

Since the trigger group and receiver clamp down on the wood stock, field stripping a Garand every time you shoot it will make the action loose and do bad things to the rifle's accuracy.

 

[dfariswheel]

If you have a National Match grade M1, taking it apart can cause the parts to loosen up enough that accuracy can be degraded.

Most match shooters of M1's do all maintenance with the rifle assembled, then break it down at the end of the season for a good cleaning and check.

I'd do as much cleaning and greasing as possible with the rifle assembled, then do a careful break-down once in a while.

Too much disassembly effects accuracy, too little and the rifle can degrade from rust and worn parts.

Try to find a middle ground.

 

[Murphster]

Have the same rifle and had the same questions. Enjoyed your acknowledgement of the highly opinionated folks that belong to the CMP Garands or nothing crew. Have indirectly been bad-mouthed in a good natured way by them also. First, congrats on your rifle. Mine's great. You'll love it. I take mine apart. The problem as mentioned is that depending on the frequency and zeal you use to remove the stock, the stock-to-action fit will probably loosen...eventually...someday. I figure if I have to restock it in 5 or 10 years, so what? I like clean guns. The CMP site has great info and photos on where and how to lube it. They also mention that when new, the greasing wasn't as important as it is when your gun's older. Nonetheless, I like gun grease and use Lubriplate on mine. I don't remove the handguard or gas cylinder assembly but I do remove the op-rod, bolt, follower, and related innards.

 

[Sunray]

You have to clean it and regrease it before you go shooting. You'll have to field strip it to do that. This is one of the 'absolutely needed' times.

 

[Kevlarman]

As dfariswheel, if you're one of those shooters who wants the ultimate accuracy, do not field strip your gun. Often.

The trouble is that over time, repeated field strippings can compress the wood where the receiver sits (especially the part that holds the trigger group in place), affecting accuracy every time you do it.

When I want to clean my Garand, I just use a quality cleaning rod and bore guide to clean from the muzzle.

 

[chuckles]

Buy a good Otis cleaning kit, some TW25B grease, some FP-10 oil, and enjoy your very fine rifle. www.otisgun.com O yea, buy lots of ammo! Good choice getting the .308. Great surplus is cheap now. I love the Aussie and the Port.

 

[cheygriz]

MY M1 has been conveted to a 7.62X51 NATO match grade. I generally "field strip" it every other cleaning. and I clean it every time I shoot it, even if I've only fired one clip through it.

I guess that I'm just enough of an "old timer" that I'll believe the drill segeant before the owner's manual.

 

[Powderman]

When I got my Garand, I refinished the stock, and with the help of "The M1 Rifle", a publication from the NRA, I glass-bedded it and worked up some good loads for it.

Those who shoot the M1 a lot will tell you--this rifle (along with the M1A) just don't get that dirty. After firing, I clamp the rifle into the cleaning rest, use a bolt stop/cleaning trap, and clean with a Dewey coated rod with Sweet's and Hoppe's. This is followed with a good oiling with Microil, available from Kano Laboratories, the same folks that make Kroil.

If you want, you can remove and replace the bolt assembly without stripping the rifle.

I detail clean my service rifles about once every 6 months, and re-lube with Lubriplate for the internals and the bolt lugs, and Microil for everything else.

One tip: If you clean with a rod, get some of the original mil-spec .30 patches, available in bulk from Brownell's. Nothing else has worked as well for me.

 

[cracked butt]

If you're not supposed to strip the rifle, then why did they make the rifle so easy to strip?

I've heard about the compressed wood grain in the stock causing loose fit, but how many times would you have to break it down for this to happen? 100, 1000 times? Probably more likely to wear down the locking cams on the trigger guard- remember the wood on the stock is compress all the time if you never take it apart. What I've found with my M1, is that the zero will change a bit every time I break it down, and the rifle will take a few dozen shots to settle back down- probably the best reason why competition shooters don't break them down more often.

 

[cheygriz]

Powderman,

In he past, I too, used lubriplate. Then I tried Shooter's Choice high tech grease, the red stuff in the plastic syringe, and I've never opened the can of lubriplate since. Give it a try, my friend! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Dienekes]

Powderman has it about right. I shoot a glass bedded CMP M1 on a fairly regular basis and haven't had it out of the stock for about 1000 rounds. The M1 isn't a particularly "dirty" rifle to shoot and both the gas cylinder and the action stay pretty clean for the rounds fired. Stock rifles come apart easier but there still isn't much need to tear them down each time. Now if I were using it in combat, I would be cleaning it daily!

I just clean from the muzzle with a guide, GI patches, and use a holdopen tray. A chamber cleaning brush is useful. I use Ed's Red for solvent, a decent light oil for the bore afterwards, and Militec grease. Lubriplate is traditional, but any decent chassis lube grease will work fine.

The CSP (Culver Shooting Pages (www.jouster.com)website is very good on all things M1.

If you like the M1 (and that's not hard) I suspect that you will eventually spring for a CMP M1. Patton was right.

 

[30Cal]

I'm confused. The SA manual says not to tear the thing down unless absolutely needed. This seems to conflict with the FM included in the package (which is basicaly army habit of clean it every chance you get)....

Should I follow the maintenance and cleaning instructions in the FM or the ones in the SA manual (they differ slightly and the SA manual doesn't specify lube instructions and I know that certain areas of a garand require grease).

The Field Manual was written so that the guys who waded through surf onto sandy beaches and then spent weeks at a time in a muddy hole getting rained on would have a rifle that wasn't rusted solid. These guys also had folks who could fix the rifle with an endless supply of spare parts.

If that doesn't sound like your situation, then I'd suggest that you read the field manual, and then come up with some sort of cleaning/maintenance method that is more suitable to your needs and resources.

Pulling the gas cylinder on and off all the time will ensure that the stainless steel gas cylinder is clean and that your front sight is wobbly.

 

[VG]

The military way of cleaning guns is to make them sparkling clean and prematurely wear them out so that you don't have to do any more of those nasty jobs the sargeant [sic] likes to assign.

Sir, not In any Army unit I was ever in, or any unit my brother, who was an infantryman in the Marine Corsp, was ever in.

Civilians don't take their rifles out in the field for days or weeks at a time, nor fire in all weather.

 

[Selfdfenz]

My old Hi-Power club had a group of M1Ds that were their loaners for new shooters at matches.
I used one on more than on occassion and on the first round of each match my shooting glasses looked like the windshield of a NASCAR racer in the middle of a race. All kinds of dirty oil came flying out of that thing.

Basically I figured they were never cleaned or rarely. We used LC ammo and I assumed it was NC. All I ever saw was someone spraying some bore cleaner in the bore followed by some kind spray gun oil.

So...I can see how not cleaning an M1 match rifle makes sense or at least might be common practice. The MIs were made to run dirtly unlike many battle rifles these days. Those club M1s shot very well BTW and were very nice. Very nice.

IME

S-

 

[30Cal]

Basically I figured they were never cleaned or rarely. We used LC ammo and I assumed it was NC. All I ever saw was someone spraying some bore cleaner in the bore followed by some kind spray gun oil.

Grease is better because it stays where you put it instead of flying everywhere.

Ty

 

[Sleeping Dog]

I think the oil was for the bore. Grease is good on the fast-moving parts, like bolt and op-rod. I wouldn't put grease in the bore, oil is probably better.

I use the Otis pull-through cleaner. It's the only good way to clean from the breech, whether you field strip or not.

Regards.