stock fitting question on Garand

[Detritus]

On the M-1 Garand what area of the stock do you adjust/relieve to ease the tension between the stock and the trigger/floorplate assembly?

Bought a CMP "Special" M-1 Garand (the ones that are basically equivalent to a an arsenal rebuild, with new criterion barrels and Boyd's stocks) about 2 years ago. I like everything about this rifle except...

re-latching the trigger-guard is pretty much a "two men and a mule, minimum" job. and after being stored for about 18 months with the guard unlatched I think the stock has swollen or something and now there's enough back pressure that I can't hold the guard closed (down) long enough to use a pistol rod to pull back and latch the bow into the floorplate or whatever you want to call that.

I know that a firm/tight fit is desirable, but this rifle has always bordered on and has now slipped beyond ridiculously hard to latch. also of note is that even if assembled to the action without the stock the triggerguard on my rifle will NOT simply latch with downward pressure, you HAVE to use a tool to pull the tab on the tailend of the bow into the slot/notch at the rear of the assembly.

I'm not looking to take all of the tension out, just wanting to make the amount involved "sane" and quite honestly bring it to the point where my wife could reasonably deal with reassembling this rifle.

As always when I ask for help here. Thank you for any info, assistance, or guidance, you can provide.

 

[Orlando]

Do not sand anything, that is the way a proper fitting stock is. Grease lugs on trigger guard, latch it and leave it latched. No reason to remove the guard for cleaning.

 

[Sistema1927]

Roll the rear sight all the way down. Invert the rifle on a padded surface. Give the trigger guard a good whack with a mallet. A tight fit is preferable. We only think that they should be loose due to the fact that most Garand stocks have 60-70 years of compression.

 

[Detritus]

currently upon attempted reassembly my trigger guard closes just slightly more than the one in Picture #1 at the following link
instructions from CMP on how to deal with issue

got that link in reply (along with a lot of "are you sure its' too tight") on one of the other forums I follow.

Yeah it's too tight guys, a year ago I bruised myself trying to close the thing in the "smack it it'll go" manner, thinking maybe I was babying it or something. and now after a year or being stored unlatched it's even worse and I'd be afraid to take a mallet to it for fear of bending or breaking something.

Btw, storing the rifle with the guard unlatched was something I was advised to do by several Garand owners at my then local gun club. This may have been as a consequence of them all being High Power shooters, and wanting to maintain the tightest possible fit they could stand, who knows.

anyway I think I've found what I need in that CMP tutorial. thank you for your time and advice.

 

[Orlando]

If you would just leave the guard latched for awhile the wood will compress and get easier to close
You can then leave it unlatched if you prefer,you can remove wood if you want but IMO its a mistake
This is how all 4 of my commercial stocks fit, nice tight ,hard lockup

 

[Sunray]

"...the stock has swollen..." Entirely possible in NC. Humidity and all. There 's no need to unlatch the trigger group. Likely best to use a rubber mallet to lock it and leave it locked. A target rifle is most likely glass bedded or the inside of the stock is sealed(regular wood sealer found in any hardware store) so it won't expand and contract.
Removing any amount of wood will probably be too much when the stock contracts again.
"...you HAVE to use a tool..." Original tool for that was a .30 M1/M2 cartridge. Actually normal. Mind you, it's also possible the trigger guard got bent in a tick. You could bend it out a tick.