M1 Garand Won't always pick up a new round

[golfnutrlv]

Title pretty much says it all. My M1 seems to sporadically not pick up a new round from the clip.

Seems to happen with a variety of loads and bullet weights. Loads that have functioned flawlessly many hundreds of times before.

Happens with more than one clip. Even occurs with a single loader for match shooting.

What is my problem??? I'm kind of thinking follower spring, or maybe the action is just not cycling fully, which would surprise me.

All the handloads I have run through this gun have been reliable, until the last two shooting sessions. Gun is well taken care of, and reliable other than this.

Thanks for the help!!

[chris in va]

Perhaps the gas system has too much carbon? Try pulling your gas plug and have a look.

[James K]

Remove the gas cylinder and check the gas port as well. Also check that the barrel bearings are within spec and that there is no leakage of gas around the cylinder or at the lock screw.

Jim

[T. O'Heir]

"...Happens with more than one clip..." As daft as it sounds, that's not a bad thing. Eliminates the clip as the issue. Would have been better though. Easier to diagnose and fix.
The 'sporadically' part is the issue.
What loads? I'm guessing it's the load. Might be less powder than required.
How's it work with Hornady or Federal factory?
Clean and properly lube the Rifle first. Then look at the gas plug for tightness. Check the diameter of the piston(min .525"), the barrel diameter at the splines(min .5995") and the gas cylinder(max .532"). None are likely.

Go here and download the free .pdf FM-23-5 and TM-9-1275 manuals. Note the need for the provided UN & PW.
http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/

[Howard31]

If you ckecked the piston and it is .525 you should be good to go.With the Gas cylinder installed and the lock tightened down you should have a minimum of .080" from the front of the lock to the face of the op rod piston.If not give the lock another turn. If the measurement exceeds .090 back off one turn and with a rubber mallet tap the cylinder forward to the ring and stop and recheck.
As far as worrying about the gas system gumming up ,it's a waste of time. it's stainless and it's self cleaning. I've fired well over a 100k rounds through an M1 and never had a problem related to the gas system or lack of lube.
If the gas system is correctly installed and you still have the same problem replace your op rod spring. A worn or weak spring allows the bolt to come back fast enough to hit the back of the reciever and bounce forward over top of the round in the clip closing on an empty chamber.
Tony Pucci at Orion in Rocky Point NY has springs,he used to have heavy duty hi-speed springs. Worth the money if you want years of trouble free M1 shooting.

[Hog Buster]

Have you got it properly lubricated? Run them dry and you’ll begin to have problems.

[Unclenick]

I'll affirm the Orion standard strength stainless spring as a good choice. I no longer like the high power springs. like the Wolff, as they increase the odds of a slamfire. But with everything properly cleaned and greased, you should be good to go with a regular strength spring.

The gas port hole in the Garand barrel is specified to be 0.079"-0.0805" diameter for .30-06. This is right inbetween a #46 (0.0810") and #47 (0.0785") drill bit. You could try the #47 as a carbon clean-out drill, but often drill bits are made slightly undersize to allow for them to flex and hog out their holes a little, so you may want a #46 or possibly even a #45 (0.0820"). Some that I have (less expensive) are as much as 0.0030" undersize. You just have to use a micrometer to see what your bits actually are. Don't go over 0.079" actual drill diameter in cleaning out carbon. Also, it is best to start with a slightly undersize drill so you don't gouge steel. Use a pin vice to hold the drill and turn them by hand.

Watch out for loads from the Hornady manual Garand load data section. Lots of the starting loads there are too mild to function some Garands reliably, though others do fine with them. But a different primer or a little bit cooler day, and suddenly they may not run the action all the way back. You didn't say what bullet weight you were shooting, but if it is a 150 grain bullet, then pressure from a 45 grain load of IMR 4895 is down around 32,000 psi peak, according to QuickLOAD, and that's pretty marginal. Figure HXP is about equivalent to a 50 grain load of IMR 4895. John Clark's Garand loads from the mid-1980's are 48.5 grains for LC cases (HXP and Remington cases should be about the same) and the FC cases of his day, and also 50 grains in the FC case. YMMV, but 45 is too low for that bullet weight. For 175 grain SMK's my guns like 46.7 grains and for 168's they like about 47 grains even. Both loads run around 42,000 psi and are not "hot" by any means.