Grease for M1A???

S

San Francisquito Bill

New member
Hi all,

I recently purchased a Springfield M1A Scout, and at a recent course, one of the instructors told me that the op-rod rail, as well as the "bolt" rails needed grease rather than oil. He recommended military M1 Garand grease in little containers with yellow screw on tops. He said that they could be easily found at gun shows.

Well, there aren't any gun shows around that I know of, and I have a dirty rifle that needs cleaning. What do you all use to clean and lube your M1A's, and while your at it, what procedure do you use. Thanks a bunch!
 
Sarco or Gun Parts Inc. generally sells those little tubs of grease. If you want to get lazy, you can get the automotive grease and one tube will last you a lifetime.
 
One should also grease the roller. Brownells sells a tool that forces grease into the roller. It's worth the price. There are a few other areas I grease. I grease the disassembly contact surfaces and the upper rear of the bolt. I use Tetra-grease on most areas, but the bolt roller is one area I use regular grease.
 
Use grease for the bolt, op rod, just about all moving parts that contact other parts. Any worn area on the finish of these parts should recive a dollop of grease.

I've used Tetra gun grease on my M1 Garand, and will use it on my M1A when(ever) it gets back from the gunsmiths. It works well enough. You can purchase this online on many sites.

I remember reading somewhere of a shooter that used regular auto grease on his M1. It's about 3 bucks for a one pound tub, and is available from most auto stores.

Good luck.

S.
 
I'll recommend a good book to you: M14 Owners Guide, by Scott Duff. I put off buying the book for some time and finaly purchased one at Camp Perry, was sorry I didn't get it sooner as it has alot of great info for the M14/M1A owner. It contains just about all you'll need for the care, feeding, accurizing of your M1A, with the exception of serious gunsmithing. You can get them several places: Sinclair International, Fulton Armory, http://www.scott-duff.com and some others I can't remember.

To add to the others: I've used Tetra, and Lubriplate(GI Grease, I believe)on mine with good results. I lubricate with a thin coating on the; bolt rails and locking lugs, bottom of the bolt, inside the receiver heel, bolt camming lug on hammer, op. rod groove, were op.rod rides under the barrel chamber, op. rod guide and spring. I would also consider a buffer to install were the op.rod comes into contact with the receiver. I clean mine inverted in a cradle to prevent any solvent or lube from getting into the gas system. I use a Dewey bore guide and a Dewey coated rod. I also use a stripper clip or some other bolt hold open device to protect my fingers while cleaning. If you don't have a combo tool and gas system wrench, I would consider getting both, they are cheap and you can remove the gas plug and take down the bolt without needing any additional tools to carry around. You also can use a padded vice and 3/8 wrench if you don't want to buy then but the tools make your cleaning more portable. For cleaning out the gas system I have a set of drills(I grind the tips off off and operate by hand only: Letter O, p and a 6" long #14)to clean the cylinder and plug cavities out as fouling builds up there and changes the gas system volume which will make it work harder. WHEW, that was alot and this only scratches the surface of what Scott Duff's book covers. There's other good books out there but this is probably the best of it's kind and goes well beyond the GI manuals out there as we are trying to care for it more as a match rifle not a battle rifle.

Brian

[Edited by Mouse Gun on 11-25-2000 at 07:07 PM]
 
Plastilube is excellent

Bill - I highly recommend that you use plastilube as the grease of choice for your M1A. I've used both Lubriplate 130A and Plastilube on my Garand and IMO the plastilube is superior.

The little grease pots that were mentioned usually contain plastilube.

Scott Duff sells 2 oz. jars of the stuff for $5.00.

Cliff
 
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