Putting the Garand Back Together

I'm having issues getting the trigger guard to latch, it won't even come close when the stock is on. When I remove the stock and do it, it's fine. Any ideas?




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You need to bend adjust the lock tab.
Bend trigger guard slightly rearward a bit at a time until you receive an acceptable amount of latching force.

 

Looks like the stock is new. A tight lock up is a good thing.

I assume it was locked up at one time. Sometimes, get the guard as closed as possible then wrap it with a soft faced mallet will get it closed.

Search the forum or ask over at the CMP forum. Lots of Garand knowledge over there.

http://forums.thecmp.org/index.php

 

It is a new stock indeed. I just finished putting Tung Oil in it and cleaning the rest of the weapon. It came fully assembled from the CMP as well, that's why I'm confused as to why it's being so difficult. I'll get on the CMP Forums and try there as well


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Stop, do not bend anything, there is nothing wrong with your rifle.. That is how a good , properly fitting stock is. Run the aperture all the way in , flip the rifle over on a padded table or carpeted floor and lean hard on it.Another option is to use a rubber mallet
Everyone is used to old worn out compressed wood stocks and dont know how to deal with a properly fitting stock.

 

I have no doubt that his advice came with good intentions, but I had no intentions of bending anything. It came assembled just fine, so it shouldn't need modification to reassemble, in my book anyway. I'm awaiting approval on CMP forum and will post there as well


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The CMP special I bought several years ago was the same way. I had a heck of a time getting mine to open. The Specials have stamped trigger guards (could be either aftermarket or reparkerized GI stamped parts) and don't have the loop at the rear that milled guards have. You could put something, like a screwdriver, through the loop for extra leverage but don't have that option with the stamped guards.

I'd start by trying what Orlando suggested and lean on it. Good luck.

Laphroaig

 

I put a new stock on my Garand, and needed to give it a good rap with a soft mallet. With the old stock I could snap it with my fingers, which just goes to show how worn out it was. A tight lockup is good.

 

The mallet worked! Thanks for the help. I'll post pictures in a bit


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My advice was in every way intended with good and knowledgeable intention.
Have fun getting the trigger assembly back out of the weapon now that you have hammered it into place and hope you didn't split or knock chunks of wood off the internal bedding recesses.

 

This is exactly how it is supposed to fit!!!

 

I searched on this forum, CMP Forum, and many other websites. The overwhelmingly prevailing opinion was to do as Ron, Orlando, and many others said, which is to use some extra muscle or a mallet. Onmilo's idea was definitely an outlier, so I went with the overwhelming majority. No offense intended


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I have personally worked/ custom fitted a dozen of these commercial stocks. That is the way they fit. In a year the guard will be much easier to close as the wood compresses

 

Orlando, do you recommend leaving the trigger assembly unlatched for storage?

 

If you leave the trigger group unlatched the wood won't compress.

I have 2 CMP Garands with new stocks that require the mallet. Use a shoe as a field expedient.

 

There are folks who store their Garands with the trigger guards unlatched.

On the other hand, it takes a number of rounds for the stock/action fit to get happy with each other each time the trigger guard has been un-latched and re-latched.

When the Garand was king of the Service rifle competition, many top shooters would remove the stock from the rifle only once a year so as to not upset the stock bedding.

I leave my Garand trigger guards latched.

 

I leave my shooter Garands latched, they wont compress to the point of being loose in my lifetime

 

Old School armorers liked the trigger unit to be tough to latch, and on the really stiff, hard-to-compress ones they would use a mallet and hammer on it to get it locked. Tight stocks actually help the M1's accuracy.

 

Thank you

I was wondering about that Orlando. Since the stocks on a couple of mine are way older than I am.

 

Another thing to look at besides shims is the lugs on the trigger guard. If they are even slightly flat replacing the gaurd with one with good round lugs will increase lock up
The one in the pic isnt terribly worn but will give you a idea what to look for

 

Where it changed is probably when you oiled the stock.
The wood swelled when it absorbed the additional oil, and that swelling was just enough to cause the change in lock-up.
And, as is pointed out, above, a tight lockup is not a bad thing.