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Vanity: Firing new M1 Garand for first time

Posted on 09/23/2011 3:41:03 PM PDT by cavdad

Bought a M1 Garand last weekend and shooting it for the first time tomorrow. Range is supplying military grade ammo this time. In the future where is a good place on the web or in Raleigh, North Carolina to buy military surplus 30-06 ammo?

By the way, the rifle is a Springfield Armory 1954 model with proper cartouche and ordinance stamp. No mismatching stock or parts.


TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: banglist
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To: Salamander; TheMom; humblegunner; TexasCowboy

Nope.

Instead of bang it was boom.

Kinda shook the folks around me up some.

Pinging the late TexasCowboy as it was his brand new gun I broke.


61 posted on 09/23/2011 4:54:31 PM PDT by Eaker ("If someone misquotes you, it's because they know you're right.")
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To: Chode
do a proper barrel break in...

Why is that necessary? I'm certain such care wasn't observed when they were first issued to the soldiers during wartime......

62 posted on 09/23/2011 4:55:05 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco (ui)
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To: oh8eleven

Yep, that’s the trick. I was stationed in Germany 1965-68. Every time we went to the range the little PX available to us ran out of Kotex. The guys were using it for shoulder pads. At the end of day there were 55 gal drums overflowing with the tattered Kotex pads.

The wives complained bitterly and damn near marched on Battalion HQs about the third time this happened. BN CO finally instructed S3 to notify PX at least 3 weeks in advance of range firing so it could be sure to have sufficient stock on hand.


63 posted on 09/23/2011 4:55:34 PM PDT by dools0007world
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To: mylife

Here’s a widely-referenced writeup on reloading data:

http://web.archive.org/web/20000620055732/home.att.net/~Masterpo/M1load.htm

The primary rule is “Don’t use slow powder”.


64 posted on 09/23/2011 4:57:08 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: Salamander

Geez..
9mm should be everywhere.


65 posted on 09/23/2011 5:00:32 PM PDT by mylife (OPINIONS ~ $ 1.00 HALFBAKED ~ 50c)
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To: DuncanWaring; Salamander

Not that I know of. It was TexasCowboy’s rifle and he handled the return to Springfield. The ammo was new and theoretically even I shouldn’t have been able to “operator error” this catastrophe.

If they ever figured it out they were quiet about it.

Springfield paid me back for the surgery that I required and I dropped it after that. Then TexasCowboy got sick and I really dropped it after that.


66 posted on 09/23/2011 5:01:13 PM PDT by Eaker ("If someone misquotes you, it's because they know you're right.")
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To: Eaker

Didn’t realize it was Texas Cowboy’s rifle.

It was my understanding that they never came up with an answer.

The only think I could think of would have been a metal shaving inside the bolt locking the firing-pin into the “fired” position, causing a slam-fire, but even that explanation has weaknesses.


67 posted on 09/23/2011 5:09:41 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: DuncanWaring

I don’t have a 30.06

I prefer .308 and the elcheapo 7.62x54


68 posted on 09/23/2011 5:10:01 PM PDT by mylife (OPINIONS ~ $ 1.00 HALFBAKED ~ 50c)
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To: Sea Parrot

The good thing is that once you have perfected the recipe that works the best for you... reloading not only saves money and gives more consistent results... it also gives one a much greater sense of accomplishment. Although I have to admit that once you start collecting reloading tools and materials you can spend a lot of money.

There are reduced load recipes intended for proper operation in the Garand that use a fast powder and a fairly heavy cast bullet. If you cast your own bullets and make your own gas checks... using these reduced load recipes you can reload a 30-06 cartridge for under 15 cents a piece not including the price of the brass. The savings ad up pretty quickly; after a couple hours at the range and you can head home and tell your wife you just saved over a $100 by shooting your Garand. ; ) Hey it is the same kind of logic used by politicians who are “cutting the deficit”!


69 posted on 09/23/2011 5:10:53 PM PDT by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: CJ Wolf
I love the carbine but according to Martin Russ' outstanding chosin campaign re-telling, BREAKOUT, it lacks stopping power against layers of even cotton clothing at distances greater than 100 yds.

And it pales next to the M1911 that it replaced as a support side-arm in terms of knock down power...

But, I do love it too.

70 posted on 09/23/2011 5:15:52 PM PDT by wtc911 ("How you gonna get down that hill?")
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To: DuncanWaring

A slam fire would have exited the barrel the same as an intentionally fired round. The rifle was pointed down range and it wouldn’t have been a safety issue.

TC and humblegunner had fired it previously and I had just fired the twelfth round. When it comes to firearms I have no arrogance at all and will request a step by step walk though as if I had never fired a weapon before.

In my opinion we did everything right the Garand had some internal problem that chose to raise it’s head on magic thirteen. Springfield apparently chose to keep the answer to themselves.


71 posted on 09/23/2011 5:20:18 PM PDT by Eaker ("If someone misquotes you, it's because they know you're right.")
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To: labette
Keep it always. Never sell it.

Why? I have a M1 manufactured by Springfield Armory in 1943, serial # 2117528 that is in really, really good condition that I've been thinking of selling since I never have a chance to shoot it.

The only reason I haven't sold it yet is because I don't know who to take it to in order to get a fair price for it........

72 posted on 09/23/2011 5:21:48 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco (ui)
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To: Eaker
I suspect that Springfield was tight-lipped about what happened to that Garand because they knew that they were at fault. Just looking at your photo, the rifle fired out of battery, i.e., the bolt wasn't fully closed when it set off the cartridge. A properly-built Garand cannot fire out of battery: There is a slot in the rear of the receiver that prevents the tail of the firing pin from going forward if the bolt is even slightly rotated away from eing fully locked. Springfield makes its own receivers (cast) and the first place I would look if I were investigating this incident would be that slot.

The bolt lugs appear to be intact and the receiver recesses that I can see are undamaged, so I think that last bit of safe design provided by John C. Garand was probably incomplete.

It's a little late, but I'd stick to an original Garand instead of a reproduction.

Very sorry you were injured.

73 posted on 09/23/2011 5:44:26 PM PDT by Chainmail
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To: Chainmail

You appear very knowledgeable and I am not able to counter any point except that the bolt was slammed into place and the rifle ready to fire.

It just didn’t wait for me to pull the trigger.


74 posted on 09/23/2011 5:59:16 PM PDT by Eaker ("If someone misquotes you, it's because they know you're right.")
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To: mylife

Watch out for VZ 58’s, Hakim’s, Rasheed’s and Ljungman’s too!
************************************************
I have a Hakim , the 8mm Mauser version of the Ljungman ... goes well with my K98’s ... that Hakim can bite your thumb pretty hard but it’s accurate and soft on my shoulder ,, as it should being a full 14 lbs.


75 posted on 09/23/2011 6:29:53 PM PDT by Neidermeyer
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To: Eaker

WOW!! How bad were you hurt?


76 posted on 09/23/2011 6:48:11 PM PDT by parthian shot
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To: Hot Tabasco
the USA replaces rifles at will, if you own it, it's a different story...

the idea behind it is to burnish the barrel and fill in all the pores of the freshly machined steel with the copper from the bullet jackets to keep out lead etc and make it easier to clean and less prone to rust

at least that is the way it was taught to me...

77 posted on 09/23/2011 7:06:38 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: fireman15
Heck, I wouldn't know much about casting boolits. Just kidding, been doing it for well over 50 years. Pic for few of my boolit molds. Photobucket
78 posted on 09/23/2011 7:21:47 PM PDT by Sea Parrot (Democrats creation of the entitlement class will prove out to be their very own Frankenstein monster)
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To: Sea Parrot
That's a very nice collection of molds! I am a cheap skate so nearly all of mine are Lee, which I have had good luck with once I get them flowing. I have several six cavity molds, but I almost prefer to use two separate two cavity molds and let one mold cool while I am emptying and filling the other one. While I am casting I almost always have a hot plate melting wheel weights for making ingots out where the smoke won't bother me. I try to minimize my motions and when I really get in the swing of things I can churn out a surprising amount. I am sure you operate in a similar manner, but others here might not be familiar.

It is a tremendously satisfying feeling for me to turn a bunch of dirty old wheel weights into trays of nice clean shiny boolits. I need to start stocking up on wheel weights now that the zinc weights are taking over. I have a few hundred pounds but you know how quickly that amount can be used up. The recycler I usually buy from is now charging 40 cents a pound, but I suspect that in the not too distant future that will be a bargain that we will only reminisce about. I am also thinking it might also be a good idea to start building traps to place behind my targets.

79 posted on 09/23/2011 8:07:04 PM PDT by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: Eaker

I think that the bolt did close alright but didn’t completely lock (rotate into position) and firing pin struck the primer with its inertia. It should not have been able to do that - because of that slot in the lower rear of the receiver. I’d also guess that it was relatively new rifle and not heavily lubricated, which added some friction to the bolt closing process. That caused the bolt to slow a bit as it closed, the rotation wasn’t complete but the firing pin continued forward unimpeded and struck the primer.

Your pictures show that there was huge gas release at the breech and that gas split the stock in several places and threw the operating rod aside. The bolt locking lugs appear to be intact, which indicates that they didn’t fail - so the rifled fired with the bolt unlocked.

If I am right, the cartridge case was ruptured at the rear portion and most likely the head of the cartridge was completely severed.

I am not infallible but I have conducted a lot of investigations of weapon and ammunition failures during my career. I was also one of the last Marines issued an M-1 (1965 - carried in ITR before deplying to Vietnam).

Hope you have healed completely.

Semper Fi,
Chainmail


80 posted on 09/23/2011 8:23:14 PM PDT by Chainmail
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