M1 Garand Safe Ammo/ Adj Gas Plugs?

[zackmars]

That makes sense! I suppose there are enough spares that in the worst case it should be easy enough to get replacement parts. Do you recommend I just replace these outright before firing? I feel that even if I relube a potential burr could be disastrous.

If a part is broken or worn, or has a flaw, absolutely replace it.

But make sure you inspect and relube first.

Parts can be sourced from fulton armory or ebay as a last resort

"

 

[TH4DDEUS]

If a part is broken or worn, or has a flaw, absolutely replace it.

But make sure you inspect and relube first.

Parts can be sourced from fulton armory or ebay as a last resort

Yes I have dealt with Fulton before so they are a known quantity. Figuring out where the hang-up is will be an unknown, but I am happy to put some elbow grease into it and figure this thing out for the glorious pings!

 

[TrailerparkTrash]

Well I installed the Schuster adjustable gas plug and it works.

Schuster DCM Adjustable Gas Plug Wrench M1 Garand Steel Parkerized

Made from hardened tool steel and parkerized. Service rifle legal! Has the same appearance and configuration as original; CMP 4th Edition #4-13-2-b. By...

www.midwayusa.com

Theres some YouTube videos on how to do it. I love mine and it’s peace of mind. Realize that if you don’t do it, there’s nobody on the forums here that’s going to replace your M1A for free if it goes (((ka-clank))) with a bent op rod.

 

[zackmars]

Well I installed the Schuster adjustable gas plug and it works.

Schuster DCM Adjustable Gas Plug Wrench M1 Garand Steel Parkerized

Made from hardened tool steel and parkerized. Service rifle legal! Has the same appearance and configuration as original; CMP 4th Edition #4-13-2-b. By...

www.midwayusa.com

Theres some YouTube videos on how to do it. I love mine and it’s peace of mind. Realize that if you don’t do it, there’s nobody on the forums here that’s going to replace your M1A for free if it goes (((ka-clank))) with a bent op rod.

Well, if your M1 bends the op rod on your M1A, you've got bigger problems. Even IF you manage to bend an op rod, it's just an op rod. They might not be growing on trees but replacements are easy to source.


John Garand and Julian Hatcher loaded an M1 up to 125,000 psi and didn't bend the op rod. Proper lubrication and new springs are key.

 

[TrailerparkTrash]

Well, if your M1 bends the op rod on your M1A, you've got bigger problems. Even IF you manage to bend an op rod, it's just an op rod. They might not be growing on trees but replacements are easy to source.


John Garand and Julian Hatcher loaded an M1 up to 125,000 psi and didn't bend the op rod. Proper lubrication and new springs are key.

Ha, I meant M1 Garand. Total Brain fade on my part. I own three Garands and three M1-A variants.

…and that’s great that John Garand didn’t bend his M1’s op rod on the one sacrificial test rifle. Was it a brand spanking new rifle, right off of his assembly line??? That’s like a brand new car which has greater performance and reliability before high cyclic fatigue propagation (aka: wear n tear) sets in. There‘s plenty of cars where owners were dumb enough to push their engines over red line, but still lucky enough that the engines didn’t seize up …yet. It usually depends on the age and condition of the car’s engine. Likewise, firearms sustain wear through shooting them. Everytime one pulls the trigger, a firearm is one step closer to eventually damaging itself before requiring repair. It’s definately not ”strengthening“ itself as a result of shooting It.

There’s several cases where people have bent their M1 op rods, especially older ones as the rod itself starts to take a beating. Nothing lasts forever, it’s just taking steps to minimize or extend the life-limited part of the rifle. A adjustable gas plug + oil is better than oil alone. Prove me wrong.

If I bend my op rod, will YOU replace my M1 with another that’s in the same or better condition? Or better yet, can we replicate John Garand’s 125,000psi experiment on your M1, if you’re so confident about the robustness of the metallurgy of the rifle?

You bring the rifle and I’ll bring the bullets (and beers for after we’re done testing your M1 like Garand himself did it).

 

[Tnhawk]

I've only used ammo purchased from CMP in my M1.

 

[zackmars]

Ha, I meant M1 Garand. Total Brain fade on my part. I own three Garands and three M1-A variants.

…and that’s great that John Garand didn’t bend his M1’s op rod on the one sacrificial test rifle. Was it a brand spanking new rifle, right off of his assembly line??? That’s like a brand new car which has greater performance and reliability before high cyclic fatigue propagation (aka: wear n tear) sets in. There‘s plenty of cars where owners were dumb enough to push their engines over red line, but still lucky enough that the engines didn’t seize up …yet. It usually depends on the age and condition of the car’s engine. Likewise, firearms sustain wear through shooting them. Everytime one pulls the trigger, a firearm is one step closer to eventually damaging itself before requiring repair. It’s definately not ”strengthening“ itself as a result of shooting It.

There’s several cases where people have bent their M1 op rods, especially older ones as the rod itself starts to take a beating. Nothing lasts forever, it’s just taking steps to minimize or extend the life-limited part of the rifle. A adjustable gas plug + oil is better than oil alone. Prove me wrong.

If I bend my op rod, will YOU replace my M1 with another that’s in the same or better condition? Or better yet, can we replicate John Garand’s 125,000psi experiment on your M1, if you’re so confident about the robustness of the metallurgy of the rifle?

You bring the rifle and I’ll bring the bullets (and beers for after we’re done testing your M1 like Garand himself did it).

It was a new rifle, had over 500 rounds shot through it, then had rounds of increasing pressure till they hit 125k, blew a lug, had a smaller secondary crack, and trashed the stock. They replaced the stock and shot another 500 rounds without issue.

The 125k is a point i am making to help explain that you can't kill an m1 that easy. The whole idea of the op rod being this wet noodle and needing tons of care and attention is false. Pushed by people who don't even know the ammo the Garand was designed for, let alone the difference between PSI and CUP.

You know why the op rod takes a beating? Because people are shooting guns with old springs, and don't properly lubricate their rifle. If you are using oil, you aren't doing it right, but then you'd be correct in your concern for your op rod i guess. John Garand designed his rifle to be greased. And you can even buy the exact same grease he intended it to be used with to this day: https://a.co/d/cBCKmxM

I see no need to recreate Garand and Hatchers experiment, but those guys knew a thing or two about M1's, and I'm happy to believe them without trying to blow my stocks apart.

And no, I'm not going to replace any part of your gun. Because if you damage an M1's op rod (and it didn't come that way from the CMP), it's totally your fault. Either because you didn't replace the 80 year old recoil spring, or didn't lubricate the firearm.

Most people don't lube their guns, and it's not shooting that kills an M1 fast, it's friction. Same for any gun.

 

[Nicholst55]

Here's a link to a few YouTube videos on field stripping and cleaning the M1 Garand. You can trust the ones from Brownells, although they're constantly trying to sell you stuff that you may, or may not actually need. A lot of M1s have thrived on a steady diet of 168 grain Sierra (and other brands) HPBT match bullets. Anything 180 grains or under that is NOT 'lite magnum' type ammo should be suitable in your M1. If in doubt, buy the Schuster gas plug and tune it so that the rifle just functions properly with the desired ammo.

Field Strip M1 Garand

 

[TrailerparkTrash]

It was a new rifle, had over 500 rounds shot through it, then had rounds of increasing pressure till they hit 125k, blew a lug, had a smaller secondary crack, and trashed the stock. They replaced the stock and shot another 500 rounds without issue.

The 125k is a point i am making to help explain that you can't kill an m1 that easy. The whole idea of the op rod being this wet noodle and needing tons of care and attention is false. Pushed by people who don't even know the ammo the Garand was designed for, let alone the difference between PSI and CUP.

You know why the op rod takes a beating? Because people are shooting guns with old springs, and don't properly lubricate their rifle. If you are using oil, you aren't doing it right, but then you'd be correct in your concern for your op rod i guess. John Garand designed his rifle to be greased. And you can even buy the exact same grease he intended it to be used with to this day: https://a.co/d/cBCKmxM

I see no need to recreate Garand and Hatchers experiment, but those guys knew a thing or two about M1's, and I'm happy to believe them without trying to blow my stocks apart.

And no, I'm not going to replace any part of your gun. Because if you damage an M1's op rod (and it didn't come that way from the CMP), it's totally your fault. Either because you didn't replace the 80 year old recoil spring, or didn't lubricate the firearm.

Most people don't lube their guns, and it's not shooting that kills an M1 fast, it's friction. Same for any gun.

Well, a mere “500 rounds” and “THEN had rounds of increasing pressure till they hit 125k,…”. So you proved my point. The damage to the gun was a result of cumulative wear -n- tear. Using rounds of increased pressure variances, only accelerates the rate at which a part or component of the gun will fail. Their purpose I suppose was to possibly simulate a rifle that has experienced thousands of rounds through normal use and to see when it’s going to fail.

It’s like if manufacturers used “proof” rounds in a gun repeatedly, it would only increase and cause stress fractures in the gun’s components, something like a thousand times over for every shot. Most everyone’s M1 Garands today do not shoot proof rounds, but the chances are they’ve cycled thousands upon thousands of rounds through them and that’s what’s caused parts like the op rod to become more susceptible to breakage with age/use. The component finally just “gave up the ghost,” like all man man’s things eventually do.

So, again I ask, if it’s 100% “my fault” for the gun to break, then put your money where your mouth is and let’s test your theory on YOUR gun.

An adjustable gas plug definitely doesn’t hurt the gun, but adds another level of protecting the firearm for increased longevity. It reduces needlessly high gas pressures to cycle the rifle’s action.

Also, why on earth would I want to buy the “exact same grease” with a formula designed in the 30’s or 40’s, when such better technologically performing Synthetics are available today? Do you also use motor oil from 1942 in your cars?

 

[zackmars]

Well, a mere “500 rounds” and “THEN had rounds of increasing pressure till they hit 125k,…”. So you proved my point. The damage to the gun was a result of cumulative wear -n- tear. Using rounds of increased pressure variances, only accelerates the rate at which a part or component of the gun will fail. Their purpose I suppose was to possibly simulate a rifle that has experienced thousands of rounds through normal use and to see when it’s going to fail.

It’s like if manufacturers used “proof” rounds in a gun repeatedly, it would only increase and cause stress fractures in the gun’s components, something like a thousand times over for every shot. Most everyone’s M1 Garands today do not shoot proof rounds, but the chances are they’ve cycled thousands upon thousands of rounds through them and that’s what’s caused parts like the op rod to become more susceptible to breakage with age/use. The component finally just “gave up the ghost,” like all man man’s things eventually do.

So, again I ask, if it’s 100% “my fault” for the gun to break, then put your money where your mouth is and let’s test your theory on YOUR gun.

An adjustable gas plug definitely doesn’t hurt the gun, but adds another level of protecting the firearm for increased longevity. It reduces needlessly high gas pressures to cycle the rifle’s action.

Also, why on earth would I want to buy the “exact same grease” with a formula designed in the 30’s or 40’s, when such better technologically performing Synthetics are available today? Do you also use motor oil from 1942 in your cars?

"At least 500 rounds". I don't really want to look for my copy of the book to remember the exact round count before they upped pressure

"due to accumulative wear and tear", once you hit 125k psi, we are well past "accumulative". That is a load that is designed to kill whatever you stick it in. Not to make sure it doesn't blow up (like a proof load) but TO blow it up. It'd be like purposely loading a .300blk into a 5.56. You know what's going to happen

"Their purpose", that was outlined in the book. They had received no reports of catastrophic* M1 failures despite guns being used in combat, and having many thousands of rounds shot through them. By this point it was 1943 or 44, and the Garand was nearly fully developed. They more than knew what tens of thousands of rounds (M1 ball, M2 ball, M2AP, you name it) would do to a gun. They had known that for years.

*There were reports of cracked heels and leg breakages due to improper heat treatment, but that was it.

Test what theory? You seem to be under the impression i am saying that you can just shoot 125k loads willy nilly. I am not. As i said earlier, that is to serve as an example to the idiot fudds that think anything other than M2 ball will bend your op rod. And again, that experiment has already happened. Done by people who are not only smarter than me, but have equipment and unlimited access to M1 rifles and ammo. Why are you so bent out of shape over me bringing up an experiment run by the two most important people involved with the M1?

An adjustable plug has it's uses, but the M1 is overbuilt enough to where you'd need to be putting several hundred rounds a day through it for a very long time before you see any possible difference in wear. You know how I know that? Because two idiot nobodies put a pissin hot 125k psi round through one

Furthermore, the M1 is not a hard cycling gun. It's very reasonably gassed. The only parts that get worn assuming the rifle is kept greased and properly sprung is the gas cylinder, and the piston/op rod tip, but like I said earlier, you have to run the gun extremely hard to see any actual wear. "Staying below 180" is all the level of protecting"you need to do.

"why on earth would I want to buy the “exact same grease” with a formula designed in the 30’s or 40’s, when such better technologically performing Synthetics are available today? Do you also use motor oil from 1942 in your cars?"

well because #1, it's better than the oil you said you were using.

#2, the Garand needs to be wet, as long as it's grease, it doesn't matter what you use.

have you used lubriplate? I'm guessing you haven't. Because it actually works fine in guns, just like any other halfway decent grease.

But yeah you really gotta spend $80 on a 50mL bottle of Navy SEAL cool guy lube to properly lubricate your 70+ year old rifle. Old tech never works the second something new comes around.


I suggest reading Hatchers book of the Garand and Hatchers notebook. You'll learn a lot about the what and why they did things the way they did.