Rifle US.Cal.30M1 Instructions

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

sunny91

Video Extraordinaire
5,202
134
Apr 2, 2005
Archive footage,

Sunny
 

Attachments

  • Rifle-U.S.Cal.30M1.mp4
    64.5 MB · Views: 161
  • vlcsnap-1760936.png
    18.4 KB · Views: 187
Last edited:
Good stuff. Reminded me of basic training. The trainee firing the rifle did not really know how to load without getting a M1 thumb though. The heel of the palm of the hand loading should be pressed against the operating rod handle to hold the bolt back. The thumb presses the clip down into the magazine until the magazine follower is fully depressed. Then the hand which is pressed against the operating rod handle is rotated, removing the thumb out of the way of the bolt face as it slams forward.
 
I have an old garand....m-1 thumb..it HURTS!!! i have a lot of respect for the boys that had to shot that thing. its punishing to shoot! the metal buttplate that holds the cleaning kit beats the snot out of your shoulder. ran a hundred rounds through the first time i shot it and that night when i went to take a shower...saw i was black and blue! I am not a novice shooter either.
 
Using a loop sling and making sure that you are holding the weapon correctly wiill alleviate the recoil. Because of it's weight and the gas operation the garand does not have as much felt recoil as a sporting bolt action. Use instructions above to avoid M1 thumb.
 
renrich, haha...i pulled that sucker in tight, trust me...used the sling...still got beat up. i was a gun dealer for 25 years and a class 3 tax stamp holder as well. i have shot/own some heavy duty, high performance machinery...nothing to this day has beat me up like that. maybe it was the canadian ammo...perhaps a little hotter but i doubt it.
 
I think that shooting from a bench rest probably makes the recoil have more effect also. The Garand during basic was fired off hand, sitting, squatting or kneeling, prone and from the hip. Can't remember ever firing as many as 100 rounds in one day either. There were some during basic that really got beat up by the rifle. There was one "dud" in my platoon, ( the cadre would not even allow him to throw a grenade) who after being on the firing line looked like he had gone 15 rounds with Rocky Marciano.He also had an M1 thumb.
In the training film, the guy not holding the rifle situated at 90 degrees to the shooter is called the coach. Sometimes a hot case ejected would go down the back of his fatigues. That was not too bad but since we had only cotton for ear protection. you can imagine what the muzzle blast did to the right ear of the coach.
 
Last edited:
we got these back in 1980 while i was living in oklahoma. i saw the add in a circular and mentioned it to my father. he told me he knew someone who could get them for us ( me and a guy i worked with ). so he did. he lived in pennsylvania and he and my mother flew down to visit and brought them along. there was military surplus store near that had cheap ammo. we bought a lot!! haha. it was canadian and some already in the clips, some in boxes. it was like 15.00 for a hundred rounds....armor piercing was a little more ( ah the days ). so we bought a couple hundred rounds a piece and headed to the range. we went through pretty much all that ammo. and like i said it wasnt until i took a shower that night i saw the huge bruise. i shot from the standing, kneeling, and prone on sand bags. I wound my arm through the sling and had it tight to my shoulder...and i dont flinch ( gives you back ejections, jams, and misses ). years later after moving back to PA i took it out to shoot it again. haha....got bruised again. i love the rifle and i can hit very well with it but boy i feel it the next day.
 
What inpressed me about the rifle was it's accuracy. I believe that the bull we were firing at on the KD range at 500 yards was 30 inches. A lot of the trainees were able to put some rounds into that bull at 500 yards and most, like me, had never fired a big bore rifle. I fired expert, barely, but that rifle was accurate and the training from the cadre was excellent. Are you using a loop sling or a hasty sling?
 
Last edited:
Just received the new "American Rifleman" and there is an article stating that the Garands made by International Harvester did not have barrels made by IH but by Line Material Company of Birmingham, Ala. Those LMR barrels were known for being highly accurate and some were even used on National Match M1s.

I earlier stated that my Garand was very accurate and I fired expert with it. It was made by International Harvester and must have had an LMR barrel so I got lucky. The article also stated that LMR barrels were often used as replacement barrels on Garands and they will have LMR stamped on the right side along with the date of production.
 
i will have to look and see which manufacturer it was... i used to know but ( old age thing). OH the thing is freaking accurate...i love the peep site. no problem hitting want i was aiming at. i got the GI leather M1 Garand sling....held it like i would a machinegun to keep muzzle climb down, etc. everybody and their brother was making firearms in WW2. you have winchester, remington, H&R, like you would image but anyone who had a machine shop and could mill recievers got into the action. places like international harvester, general motors, singer sewing machine...and a slew i cant recall made garands, carbines, BARS.... some of the really off brands are valuable collectors items. I sold a ton of them ( carbines and garands) in the mid 80s when tons of lend/lease equipment came back from asia and central/south america. some were pretty good shape some werent. they were graded...but they stripped them and threw them in a vat of phosphate (rifling and all) so they didnt have that nice parkerized finish. but they sold for $150 to $200. ah the good old days!!!!
 
Thank You Sunny91.

That was an interesting film. You can easily tell it is period by the sights on the guns. The locking bar sight didn't remain standard much past WW2. Even the elevation knob on the left side looked different. If you own a gun with this sight, don't try to disassemble it. The parts are staked in place. I believe the coach is in a really stupid place. A lot of my spent cases head out in the correct direction to hit the fellow in the face or neck.

I have fired a bunch that were only mediocre for accuracy and a few that could group near 1 MOA with a scope mounted. Without a scope, the best I have done is around 1.25 MOA and I can't do it on demand. To avoid getting beaten up with the steel butt plate, I rest it on muscle at my shoulder / armpit. In the pocket just leaves me with a bruised up collar bone.

Thanks again.
- Ivan.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Similar threads

Field assembly instructions of P-47
Replies
2
Views
543
Gnomey
The AK-47 Rifle
Replies
0
Views
2K
sunny91
B-26 Marauder Instructions
Replies
8
Views
4K
merlin540
M
Menu
Log in
Register