I went to CMP in Anniston and am now the proud owner of an M1 Garand rifle.
Are there any good information sources available online to teach me the ins and outs of this piece of hardware?
Quote from: Southern Grey on February 13, 2009, 08:58:31 AM
I went to CMP in Anniston and am now the proud owner of an M1 Garand rifle.
Are there any good information sources available online to teach me the ins and outs of this piece of hardware?
Southern Grey
I'd recommend you go to the CMP website www.odcmp.com and go to M-1 Technical Articles page. From there you will find plenty of info on your rifle. For starters, http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/fieldstrip.html
For background and history of the weapon, I like the wikipedia site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garand
There are also sites and books available which will help you determine the birthdate of your new rifle.
I hope you took advantage of the ammo deals at CMP. If you ever get to OH, and want to visit our store, lemme know - I'm always up for a trip to Camp Perry. BTW, OH shoots at Gibsonburg are very close to Camp Perry.
Hope this info helps you !
FiremanBill
I think the NRA has some publications dealing with the M1.
Also Culver's Shooting Pages has an M1 forum.
Look for a copy of FM 23-5, or the appropriate Army TM for the rifle. They can be had at gun shows, and the TM's that are available are reprints, and include the info from the unit and support TMs.
Thank y'all for the replies. I found the FM23-5 online in .pdf, but the illustrations were quite poor.
I want to completely disassemble the rifle and get all the gunk off of it.
You know, I just had a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious).
Here's a link, and kindly forgive my forgetting it eariler.
http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/index.asp (http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/index.asp)
http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/rifledisassembly/index.asp (http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/rifledisassembly/index.asp)
Also most of the folks on the M14 Firing Line www.m14tfl.com have a sub forum marked M1 and it is packed with info. Me? (sniff) Mine left me long ago, but I have an M1A(M14-clone) to keep me warm.
Quote from: Southern Grey on February 13, 2009, 03:08:27 PM
Thank y'all for the replies. I found the FM23-5 online in .pdf, but the illustrations were quite poor.
I want to completely disassemble the rifle and get all the gunk off of it.
If you go to the Fulton Armory site (Google it) they have an information section for the M1 Garand there.
This includes FM 23-5.
You can download it and they have good illustrations.
You will have to reassemble it, the illustrations are at the end of the download now.
I printed it out on 8 1/2" X 11" paper and it worked out great.
Buckshot
The Surplus Rifle site way really great and the clear illustrations were exactly the thing I was hoping to find.
Now with the rest of the links all I need to find is the exact lube points to smear the Lubriplate 130AA which is the synthetic grease I already use.
Here's a pretty neat flash animation site of basic M1 Garand components and operation: http://www.garandflash.com/
You may wish to check out this site;
http://www.90thidpg.us/Reference/Manuals/index.html
They have manuals on just about every small arm the US issued.
If you have not done so. pick up a M3A1 combo tool. You can tear down the rifle for field stripping with just a cartridge, but the M3A1 tool helps with tearing the bolt down.
FYI, you really need to tear the bolt down. The M1 uses a floating firing pin. Unless you clean the FP and bolt well, it can lead to problems.
Just wait till you join the Order of the M1 Thumb. You'll know it when you join. **)
HTH
Douglas
Quote from: Nickle on February 13, 2009, 12:27:20 PM
Look for a copy of FM 23-5, or the appropriate Army TM for the rifle. They can be had at gun shows, and the TM's that are available are reprints, and include the info from the unit and support TMs.
This FM can be downloaded at the M1 Garand place, accessed via Fulton Armory's website.
You have to download it in sections, then download the pictures then put it back together, but it is worth it just for the "Grease Here" chart it contains.
Buckshot
Hey S.G. - Congrats! Nothing like a Garand in the hands of someone who loves history, guns, and Freedom!
Though this doesn't involve the technical end of the rifle, don't miss the WWII training films on use of the M1 Garand (discussed on this forum before) at
http://www.archive.org/details/Rifle_Marksmanship_with_M1_Rifle_Part_1
For me, part of the fun is connecting with the history of the rifle, and these films will certainly put you in the mood!
I agree with Nickle... the Surplus Rifle website is a treasure trove, but don't overlook the little CMP manual that came with your Garand. It is, by far, the best written and illustrated firearm manual that I have ever seen.
Best Regards,
Snaphook
Here's a decent pic of where to apply grease.
(http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7845/ekg9s1.th.jpg) (http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ekg9s1.jpg)
The M1 Owner's Guide by Scott Duff is a very very good reference to have. It has most everything you'll need to know in one small handy book.