How to keep America’s classic battle rifle running well.

by RK Campbell

Then Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr. said of the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 (more fondly known as the Garand after it’s designer) in a January 26, 1945 letter to Major General Levin Campbell, Chief of Ordnance at the War Department, “In my opinion, the M-1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised.” I agree, there was nothing to compare with the Garand manufactured during the course of World War Two.

Today, the rifles are sometimes worn and in needs of parts replacement. M1s are often accurate and accurizing is a concern, but there are basic considerations that need to be covered before we worrying about that. If the rifle isn’t functioning correctly, a hand loading program isn’t going to help. Most Garand rifles are over sixty years old, notwithstanding the new production Springfield M1 rifles that are basically identical. Some Garands in circulation are made of combinations of new and older parts in “kits” used to put the rifle together. As such, performance may vary.

It is generally agreed that later model production, from the Korean War forward, is the most…

Read more in the October 2019 issue.

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