[arvie]

I recently bought an M1 from CMP. It looks pretty good and shoots OK except for one thing. Sometimes the recoil causes the trigger housing to open up. When this happens you have to be careful or the entire trigger assembly will fall out. A fellow at the range thought the problem was caused by an ill fitting stock that was not thick enough for the trigger assembly to properly clamp down on the stock when closed. Has anyone else had this problem and found out how to fix it? Thanks.

 

[NORMSUTTON]

arvie

the stock shouldn't have anything to do with it, dose your trigger guard look like this when it's open with the little tab coming down, that tab clips into the trigger housing

NORM

 

[arvie]

yes, my trigger guard has such a tab.

 

[NORMSUTTON]

arvie
may be its worn or bent you should have to smack the trigger guard with the palm of your hand to close and lock the trigger guard to the trigger housing

NORM

 

[NORMSUTTON]

here it is closed and locked
http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/index.asp
NORM

 

[Tom-M]

No need to worry. Go to CMP website, and look for phone#. Call them, and if recent purchase they will fix. My guess is they will either ask you to ship rifle back for armourer repair, or send you a new trigger housing. They will fix!

 

[Cabinetman]

Mine did the same thing years ago when I first bought it. I took it to my indoor range and was so proud of finally being able to shoot a Garand. As I let loose the first shot, the entire trigger assembly fell out into my hand. Wasn't I embarassed!

The "fix" is a bit of a challenge. What I did was heat up the trigger guard with a torch. When I got it hot enough (red), I simply and very slightly bent it so that it would more aggressively engage the slot. When I got it just right, I quenched it and it's been perfect every since. That's one way to reinstall some of the "spring tension" needed to keep the trigger guard in place under shooting pressures.

It got that way because it was opened and closed for a half-century. So, it's understandable that the trigger guard had lost some of it's spring.

Hope that helps!

Rome

 

[Sal]

start collecting spare parts, USGI parts are getting harder to find and change those Op Rod Springs or for that matter all the springs. Plus have some books, best one is:

The U.S. .30 Cal. Gas Operated Service Rifles: A Shop Manual Vol. 1 & 2 by Jerry Kuhnhausen.

 

[Shakey Jake]

When a trigger group is loose in the stock, there are 2 reasons why. First, the stock wood on the bottom where the trigger group bears, may have been compressed after 50+ years of use. You can add shims of wood to correct that situation. Second, the lugs (the little 'pins' on the forward end of the trigger guard ) that cam into the receiver may be worn (flattened). The easiest way to correct this is to peen those pins with a ball peen hammer being careful to support the trigger guard. Remove the guard to do this. All you want to do is 'fatten 'em up' a little or create an edge on the pin. When mounting the trigger group in the stock, it should be a very tight fit. Most correctly fitting groups will have to be rapped with the palm of your hand to click the guard in place. Some are so tight, guys use a small rubber mallet. To open a really tight fitting trigger group, you can use a section of a G.I. cleaning rod or screwdriver to pull the guard out. You pull slightly forward and down. If you have the milled guard with the hole behinf the trigger, that is where you put the cleaning rod or screwdriver.

 

[AzCetme]

start collecting spare parts, USGI parts are getting harder to find and change those Op Rod Springs or for that matter all the springs. Plus have some books, best one is:

The U.S. .30 Cal. Gas Operated Service Rifles: A Shop Manual Vol. 1 & 2 by Jerry Kuhnhausen.

+ 1 I replaced the springs in my Garand and it's amazing how well it functions. Not that it had any issues prior to now, but WOW - she shoots like she's brand new.