Should I have my M! Garand checked by a gunsmith prior to firing it?

[Blacksmith101]

Don't worry you won't do it wrong more than 2 or 3 times before you learn. Pain is a great motivator.

 

[johnnyb2]

Ok tell you what. I NORMALLY DON'T DO THIS....but.....let me pick up your rifle Friday, gimme about 150 rounds of ammo, and I will return it Sunday with a full range report. I would not want you taking any chances with it, I will do alllllll of that fer ya!! :-) Hahahaha Ask the guy you bought it from. Chances are, looking at that fine tool you should NOT have any issues.

 

[scouse]

Ok tell you what. I NORMALLY DON'T DO THIS....but.....let me pick up your rifle Friday, gimme about 150 rounds of ammo, and I will return it Sunday with a full range report. I would not want you taking any chances with it, I will do alllllll of that fer ya!! :-) Hahahaha Ask the guy you bought it from. Chances are, looking at that fine tool you should NOT have any issues.

You are just too generous, Johnnyb2, thanks for the offer

The more feedback I get from this great group, the more I think that The chances of a problem are so very minimal. I bought it from Good guy and have sent a PM to him. He'll get back to me soon enough. I might just run out to the range give it a go this afternoon with the first few rounds fired from the hip (away from my face) as was suggested.

OK, OK! I'll wait to see if anyone has a good reason why I should not fire from the hip.

 

[Mooseman]

You are just too generous, Johnnyb2, thanks for the offer

The more feedback I get from this great group, the more I think that The chances of a problem are so very minimal. I bought it from Good guy and have sent a PM to him. He'll get back to me soon enough. I might just run out to the range give it a go this afternoon with the first few rounds fired from the hip (away from my face) as was suggested.

OK, OK! I'll wait to see if anyone has a good reason why I should not fire from the hip.

Some of my favorite parts are around hip level. If I were that unsure about the safety of it, I would not shoot it.

 

[scouse]

Well, I took her to the range a couple of weeks ago and ran about 32 rounds through her. She performed flawlessly! I was a very happy man as there was a distinct reduction in group size between the first and last magazines. I love it and now understand the allure that this rifle has.

 

[swinokur]

not gonna say it

 

[Threeband]

... I love it and now understand the allure that this rifle has.

So now you understand what I said in post #17.

(The beautiful women falling at your feet can get a bit awkward at times, though, especially if the wife is around.)

 

[Blacksmith101]

Well, I took her to the range a couple of weeks ago and ran about 32 rounds through her. She performed flawlessly! I was a very happy man as there was a distinct reduction in group size between the first and last magazines. I love it and now understand the allure that this rifle has.

Garands are like potato chips so when you get the urge, the CMP still has some for sale, they also sell suitable ammo, new en block clips, and parts:
http://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/rifle_sales/m1-garand/

And they have a Forum with a section dedicated to the Garand:
http://forums.thecmp.org/forumdisplay.php?f=7

 

[good guy 176]

I am glad that you are happy with the Garand. They are a fine weapon. Yours was built after the Korean conflict had ended and likely saw little or no military action. I doubt, too, that I ever fired it.

I had three Garands at the range today: a Winchester -13 or one of the last off the Winchester assembly line and two International Harvesters that got their first function test fire today.

I continue to trim my Garand inventory and currently have one IHC on GunBroker and I plan to add a second on GB this weekend. Both are or will be priced under $1100.

Good shooting and happy collecting. My original intent was to own four Garands, but I got carried away and that number swelled to close to 90; thus I have been trimming since 2011.

If you ever have any questions, or a problem with your fine piece, shoot me a mail and it'll get resolved.

Lew--Ranger63 & Good Guy 176
US Army (Ret-'84)

 

[IJM]

Garand thumb is almost a myth.

It simply cannot happen while loading the rifle.

It can happen while fooling around with it, if you fail to lock the bolt all the way open. If you open the bolt tentatively and uncertainly, like a nervous schoolgirl, you might leave the bolt held only by the magazine follower instead of the bolt catch. Then if you start fiddling around like an ill-mannered school boy, you might jostle the follower and learn a valuable lesson in gun handling.

It's best to load the rifle with the hand bladed so the back edge of the hand holds the op rod as the thumb presses the clip home, as demonstrated here:

Cigarette is optional. I quit them, myself.

There is an extended discussion on the Myth of Garand Thumb in this thread:
http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=166862

This advice bears repeating.

Good shooting and happy collecting. My original intent was to own four Garands, but I got carried away and that number swelled to close to 90; thus I have been trimming since 2011.

If you ever have any questions, or a problem with your fine piece, shoot me a mail and it'll get resolved.

Lew--Ranger63 & Good Guy 176
US Army (Ret-'84)

Holy crap, that's a lot of M1s.