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In addition to that crappy Univeral Carbine I got at the gunshow ( look in the M1 Carbine section ) I also purchased myself an M1 Garand, trying to avoid the dealers with all the $1000 to $1500 merchandise. I found one that the guy was willing to take $700 for and being the best deal I'd seen so far, I took it. I must admit, I was a bit too eager to get an M1 Garand and I wasn't able to give the gun the inspection I really wanted. Most guns brought into the show have their actions tied shut to prevent anyone from loading them. He said it was from the Korean war and it is roughly from that time period. I believe the barrel date is '54 and it has the cut operating rod but the trigger guard is the milled type, odd since I believe most post war models had the stamped type. The gun rattles a bit and the barrel and everything can wiggle a bit when mounted into the stock and the stocks aren't the same color wood, either. It's obviously built from mismatched parts and it does seem the the barrel is pretty much shot out. Basically, what CMP would sell as a rack grade rifle... so I did pay a bit too much.
But, we are talking about the legendary M1 so I'm considering holding onto it and just using it as a project gun. I could probably refinish the stocks to make them match and have a gunsmith check it out for safety reasons because I have had some failures. No jams. But there were two times when I pulled the trigger and it clicked and nothing fired. I had to recock it and fire again. Some say it could be the hammer spring being weak but I'm not so sure. Is it possible for headspace to be worn so much in an old rifle with a shot-out barrel like this... that the round could be sitting too deeply into the chamber for the firing pin to reach it? I've torn down the rifle and cleaned everything and I've yet to fire it again. So... it's something I'm thinking about. It could be a situation like I have with my carbine and simply get rid of it and buy a better one later on. Any suggestions would be great.
But, we are talking about the legendary M1 so I'm considering holding onto it and just using it as a project gun. I could probably refinish the stocks to make them match and have a gunsmith check it out for safety reasons because I have had some failures. No jams. But there were two times when I pulled the trigger and it clicked and nothing fired. I had to recock it and fire again. Some say it could be the hammer spring being weak but I'm not so sure. Is it possible for headspace to be worn so much in an old rifle with a shot-out barrel like this... that the round could be sitting too deeply into the chamber for the firing pin to reach it? I've torn down the rifle and cleaned everything and I've yet to fire it again. So... it's something I'm thinking about. It could be a situation like I have with my carbine and simply get rid of it and buy a better one later on. Any suggestions would be great.