Garand fun

[Floyd]

I had a bit of fun today.
Last week I succumbed to my yearning for an M1 Garand and purchased a one owner CMP Garand at a local gun show. I broke it down, cleaned the cosmoline out and reassembled it today. I couldn’t wait to take it out and shoot it….do I did.

tldr Bio...

Spoiler!

I’m in my late ‘50’s, have been shooting all my life. Pre-kids, I shot a lot of matches and got into IPSC just before hanging up the competition shooting. While I own a variety of guns (rifles/pistols/shotguns), I’ve always been more interested in hunting or modern day weapons. When the bug to own vintage weapons hit, M1’s had already started their stratospheric climb in prices. With kids and having to pay for private schools and then college, I never afforded myself the luxury of chasing the M1’s price.

One of my kids just finished their masters degree and is now gainfully employed. Soooo…. I splurged and bought this Garand. I haven’t been this excited over a purchase in a long time….

I’ve purchased a couple of KarK98’s and a 91/30, but to tell the truth, I haven’t fired any of them. I guess for a couple of reasons. One: I need to check the headspace on all of them, and two: I know what I can do with standard bladed iron sights. The Garand was ready fire and has peep sights… (which as a target shooter, I hate….) I guess they’d be alright if you shot the same gun frequently. Grouping for iron sights is pretty much just about sight picture. With peep sighs, positioning the gun to your shoulder and cheek consistently is paramount for decent groups (same holds true for trap or sporting clays, but you’re shooting shotgun..more lead flying at the target .) And too, I can’t see as well as I used to (perhaps that’s the real reason…. )

Here’s a view toward the targets from my “shooting station” lol. Targets are just 50yds (~46m) away. Beware pic is full size.
[URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/Fromtruck.JPG"][URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/Fromtruck.JPG"][URL]http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/Fromtruck.JPG[/URL][/URL][/URL]

From the target back toward the truck:
[URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/fromtarget.JPG"][URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/fromtarget.JPG"][URL]http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/fromtarget.JPG[/URL][/URL][/URL]

Here is the progression of sighing shots. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time zeroing in as there was a stiff 15-20 mph crosswind blowing about 80degrees left to right. If you’ll notice, there are only 15 holes in the targets. I was chicken and fired the first round from the hip into the ground, just in case there was a problem with the gun. After shot 11, I left the sights alone for the duration of my shoot.
[URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/numberedtarget.jpg"][URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/numberedtarget.jpg"][URL]http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/numberedtarget.jpg[/URL][/URL][/URL]

Ammo is in extremely short supply and I don’t have any 30.06 loaded (other than hunting rounds), so my shoot was short. Just for fun, I stapled up a life-sized “home defense” target and shot two more enbloc clips of 8. First pic is of the green target as its stapled to a cardboard IPSC target. Next is the IPSC cardboard target that was behind it.
[URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/smgreentarget.jpg"][URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/smgreentarget.jpg"][URL]http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/smgreentarget.jpg[/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/smipsctarget.jpg"][URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/smipsctarget.jpg"][URL]http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/smipsctarget.jpg[/URL][/URL][/URL]

And here is the perpetrator:
[URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/theperpetrator1.JPG"][URL="http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/theperpetrator1.JPG"][URL]http://www.ro50pc.net/images/public/theperpetrator1.JPG[/URL][/URL]

[/URL]
All in all, I had more fun than I’ve had in years shooting this thing. I’ve got to work on my enbloc loading skills, though……

 

[r5cya]

nice rifle, Floyd! looks like it's got the cmp stock. how about some more pics of her?

 

[=GG= Mr Moe]

Very nice indeed. Glad you are having fun with it!

 

[C3-Delta]

no need to really head space them unless the serials r mis-matched(bolt/receiver to breach) and then usually the importer will check it for you...just a tip.

 

[TheRealGunther]

That Garand is in really good condition! glad your enjoying it I regret selling mine years ago.

Just don't do like I did and get your thumb smashed by reloading the bandolier clip.The receiver slammed shut on my thumb this happened to many soldiers in the heat of war and, not being careful.

Needless to say that only happened once for me....Lesson learned

 

[Unterscharfuhrer]

Nice piece of history!

 

[PsychoPigeon]

ban guns

 

[r5cya]

no need to really head space them unless the serials r mis-matched(bolt/receiver to breach) and then usually the importer will check it for you...just a tip.

the CMP, where it was put together, will have head-spaced it before they sold it.

ban guns

yeah. seeing as how that worked so well in the U.K and down under.

 

[Floyd]

no need to really head space them unless the serials r mis-matched(bolt/receiver to breach) and then usually the importer will check it for you...just a tip.

Not too worried about the 91/30, it was a cosmoline nightmare. I've got plenty of ammo for it, but I started refinishing the stock and put it on the back burner.

One of the Kar's I'll probably never shoot. The other, my first foray into WWII classics, had a host of "problems". Long story, but it was supposed to be all matching serials, but they appear suspect. So, I've chalked it up to a learning experience. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

The Garand is of no real historical value. Its a Springfield Armory 1955 manufacture and a true CMP weapon. Its virutally flawless in its parkerizing and has the CMP stock. It is just a beautiful weapon. You can still buy brand new M1A's from Springfield Armory.

@TheRealGunther

I'd heard plenty about "M1 thumb". The Springfield M1 Garand manual even states: " If the prospect of having your thumb hit by the bolt is unacceptable do not attempt to load your Garand." Its gonna take a little practice to perfect.

Then, too, in one clip there were a couple of rounds that did not have the bullets seated in the casing far enough. The tip of the bullet would hit the front of the reciever when I tried to push the enbloc down. Took me a while to figure that out....

More pics of the weapon here: http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/showpost.php?p=1180281&postcount=2114

 

[C3-Delta]

yeah...just depends where u get the gun...another tip for mil bolt guns/surplus is to test barrel life(rifling).when at a gun show see if the seller will let you stick a round in the muzzle...bullet sticking in the barrel,the bore should not let the round go as far as the bottleneck...bore light always helps too.Years of manufacture don't really matter to me,quality/condition does. i have found that removing cosmoline can be a pain.I have found mineral spirits to work especially well on the metal and a hand steamer for the stocks.Anything just ask.

 

[Fishsticks]

Time to buy some AR500 steel targets . Much more fun than shooting paper.

 

[Floyd]

The saga continues...

I had so much fun with the Garand, I was inspired to get some of my other guns out and get them checked out and ready. The head space guages for the 91/30 and the M38 Carbine came in and the weapons checked out OK. I'd already decided to take a "chance" on the KAR98K.

After a long week of planting corn, we got rained out Sunday. As I was doing a few "honey-do's" Monday, I came across a box of 7.62x54R surplus ammo I'd purchased a couple of years ago...(what an investment that turned out to be). I'd never opened it up, and as it was stored outside in a non-environmentaly controlled room, I was hoping the ammo was OK. Here's a sequence of pictures. I think I paid about $200.00 + shipping when I bought them. I'd be scared to price them now. There are 1200 rounds in the case. 300 rounds per tin.

Spoiler!

So, today was a gorgeous day. After tending to some business affairs this morning, I loaded up the "ladies", got together some targets (I could not find my homemade steel knock down targets from my old IPSC days.... ) and headed out to the back forty.
Here is a shot of the pistols I took with me. I hadn't shot pistols in a while and couldn't make up my mind, so I took three calibers with me (I had plenty of ammo for them all). I took a Clark customized Ruger .22, a Colt 1911 A1, and the last pistol my Dad made before succumbing to cancer. Its the weapon use at home for protection. Its a .38super on a Caspian fram. Really pretty gun and has lots of sentimental value.

Spoiler!

Colt in front, Ruger in the middle and the Caspian in the back. ust FYI for those unfamaliar, I put one round of each just below the spotting scope.

Heres a shot of the rifles. I took a Kar 98K, a Mosin Nagant 91/30, a Mosin Nagant M38 Carbine, and an M1Garand. I was going to put the ammo of each by the respective weapons, but alas....1200 rounds of 7.62x54R and I forgot to bring all but one round......When I got out there, I had ONE freaking round that I'd stuck in my top pocket for some reason.....bummer. But as I'll describe later, I'm going back out in the morning, so I'll be sure to bring at least a few dozen rounds.....

Spoiler!

Next post has the results......

 

[Floyd]

So, with no ammo for the Mosin Nagants, I put a round in the Kar 98K and aimed down range at the target 75 yards away. Let me first say this...either I'm getting really old and really blind or the sights on this Kar SUCK. I MUCH prefer the Mosin's. It was getting late in the afternoon and unfortunately the sun was behind the targets, so it made it that much harder to see the front post. I'll try again tomorrow with the sun at my back and see what that looks like. But I digress...
As much as one can with these old guns and factory triggers, I "squeezed" off a round. For the life of me I could not find a hole through the spotting scope (at any power). So I walked down to the target. No hole....hmmmm. I walked back and tried again (still having difficulty getting a good sight picture). Same result. Missed the target entirely.....crap!. So I walked up and shot at a silouhette target about 50 feet away. High. I stepped back about 50 more feet...higher still. As you'll see in the pics, I had four targets set up on one cardboard backing, so I shot at the bottom left one. I think I'm going to have to do some sight adjustment...lol (and get some new glasses to help with seeing the front post).

Spoiler!

Considering the problems I was having getting a decent sight picture, the grouping wasn't too bad, imo. But I'll have to study up on how to either raise the front sight or lower the back sight further.

Then I shot of an ebloc of 30.06 in the Garand. I'm amazed at the grouping of the Garand with milsurp ammo, especially as its only the second time I've shot bullseye with a peep sight.

Spoiler!

Then I stepped up to the standard 50yd free hand pistol distance and tried my hand at my old sport. Damn its been a long time!!! Except for the .22 ammo, all of these are handloads and I just picked up an ammo box that had some .45's and .38supers in it. They were reloaded in 1993 and I certainly can't remember what gun each was loaded for (I have several .38supers and .45ACP's). Thats my excuse for my poor performance anyway.... Even though I no longer smoke or drink caffeine (cokes, coffee)and even though I don't take any meds for blood pressure or heart, without a rest, this old dog was struggling to hold the weapon still.... For anyone interested, here's an informative segment on bulleyes pistol shooting:

Spoiler!

From http://www.bullseyepistol.com/getinto.htm

Once you've got the right guns and loads, all you need are steely nerves, a disciplined trigger finger, and a rock-solid hold to compete in this challenging sport.
Here's something new for you to try. Take a one-pound coffee can and spray paint the bottom black. Set the can on its side downrange about chest height with the bottom facing you. Now take your favorite revolver or pistol in one hand, standing up with no rest, and shoot 10 rounds at the bottom of the coffee can. If you need to, take 10 minutes. By the way, set the coffee can 50 yards away.
I've just described one-third of a bullseye handgun match, also known as "conventional pistol" in official NRA terminology. Bullseye is the granddaddy of all popular handgun competition in this country. Its three-gun, 2700-point format goes back to the 1941 National Matches and has been the standard ever since for national and state championships, regional championships, and most outdoor tournaments.
Today the NRA has 42,000 classified bullseye shooters nationwide, and that's not counting the thousands of competitors who compete in unsanctioned matches. An NRA-sanctioned bullseye match is a three-gun affair that requires you to shoot identical 90 shot courses of fire with each gun. Gun one must be a .22 rimfire pistol or revolver, gun two must be a centerfire pistol or revolver of .32 caliber or larger, and gun three must be a .45 caliber pistol or revolver. Most competitors use two guns for an entire match: a .22 rimfire semiautomatic pistol and a 1911-style .45 ACP. Using two guns instead of three saves the expense of a third match-grade pistol, and it requires the shooter to accustom himself to the recoil, grip, and trigger pull of only two guns. Even so, a Smith & Wesson Model 52 in .38 Special or a Walther in .32 S&W Long is occasionally seen on the centerfire line. Also, optical sights are allowed, including conventional scopes and red dot sights, although many shooters still use open sights.

Enough chit chat...Lesson learned. Do your pistol shooting BEFORE your WWII factory trigger rifle shooting....lol.
Here are the results as if in a bullseye match:
(all I was looking for today was grouping....and boy did I suck!)
(AND that should be YDS not ft in my pic edit)

Spoiler!

And if anyone noticed the stray round between the two lower targets (on the edge of the right one)....that was the one round of 7.62x54R I fired through the 91/30. Its only one shot, but it looks like the elevation is good, but the windage needs some tweaking...


Definitely going to have to break out the reloading gear......

 

[fiftyone]

Very nice Floyd.
You know, I've never fired a weapon apart from an Enfield 303 and a couple of bursts on a Bren.
That was many years ago when I was in the Army Cadets back in the UK.

I never really understood the love for guns that you Americans have but going through your "spoilers" leaves me a little envious and I guess at the end of the day the 2nd A has a justified meaning when put in the right hands.

Nice pics, nice story btw.

 

[Floyd]

Thanks, Fiftyone.
Its like any sport. It can be fun, challenging, competitive, and has a definitive winner. Or it can be a hobby (collecting) or a craft (gunsmithing/refinishing/building). Or it can be all of the above.




I did a little search on adjusting the Kar's front sight and found that I what I was experiencing is typical. I really felt vindicated and justified about finding the sights deplorable when reading the forums at the gunboards.com... Here is a post that sums it up pretty well...

From: [URL="http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?44482-k98-sight-adjust"][url]http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?44482-k98-sight-adjust[/URL][/URL]

I've shot original WWII ammo with original WWII k98's. The top of the front sight must indeed be even with the top of the back leaf. I never was in the Wehrmacht (thank God!) but know, as you all have experienced, that a "V" notch is the worst sight anybody could think of. Even 40 years ago, when my vision was perfect, it wasn't easy to take always the same aim.

I may offend some readers but my personal opinion about "V" notch Mausers is: perfect rifles with the most difficult sights ever. The advantage is: you learn to shoot well

So, for the near term, I guess I'll just dab a bit of white paint on the front sight and aim low. When I get some dies and start reloading, I may fine tune a load, move the front sight up (or just get a longer sight and file it down). Though I can set targets up out to 750yds, I don't think these old eyes are going to be able to do much past 200.

 

[NoxNoctum]

You have some really nice rifles Floyd, I hope someday to maybe start a small collection of my own, a bit too broke to do it at the moment though.

 

[=GG= Mr Moe]

Jealous