M1 Garand Reliability

M

M1Rifle30-06

New member
Hello all,
I've been a big fan of the M1 Rifle for quite some time. However, there is some data I've been searching for that I'm unable to find. With most modern weapons, there appears to be military testing data available with some searching that discusses a rifle's "Mean Rounds Between Stoppages". I'm trying to find out if there is any data on this for the M1, and if so, what is it?

What really got me searching was a 1968 military test in Vietnam comparing the M16, M14, M1 Garand, and (I think) AK47. I can't find it right now, but IIRC the M14 showed an average of 599 rounds between stoppages averaged over all types of conditions it was tested in (beach, swamp, dust, etc). This raised a red flag, since I'd think the M1 and M14 aren't terribly far apart in reliability. I do remember the test saying that the M1 was more reliable than the M14, but there were no numbers given for the M1. Apologies for not providing the source for this, I've been looking for it again but am unable to find it.

Anyone have any experience or knowledge of how many rounds an M1 Garand can go, assuming proper maintenance and grease/lube, firing quality ammunition in non-abusive environments? (just ambient conditions)

Even anecdotal would be appreciated. I'm trying to find out if the M1 Garand can be relied upon to go 2000 rounds without a stoppage assuming proper maintenance, cleaning, etc. Basically, imagine it going through a weekend carbine class and the number of rounds fired. A quality AR can usually do it without a single stoppage. How well does the Garand fair?
 
Contact Fulton Armory and the CMP about MILSPEC or MILSTD documents stating M1 reliability standards and tests.
 
Although closely related, I think the M1 and M14 are entirely different animals in regard to this. Enbloc clip vs magazine. M14/M1A/etc seem to be very magazine sensitive. M14/M1A seem to not like 25 round mags so much. I have a few M1As that won't feed on occasion. Clear the jam and good to go. I also have 4 M1s from various years and in various conditions using old enbloc clips and have yet to have a misfeed on any. I also religiously grease the M1s.

M1s were never really designed or intended for a high round count service interval. And most people that have issues seem to have clip related issues. Throw the bad clip out ($1) and the problem goes away. So I'm not surprised it's hard to find documentation on mean round between stoppage.
 
Burgett

Don Burgett, author of "Currahee!" and several other WWI books as well, was a paratrooper who jumped into Normandy, and fought across Europe with the 101st Airborne, states that his M1 rifle never failed......combat conditions. There is a video of that claim out there.......Youtube??

I have read a commentary perhaps by a scribe of that era...maybe Charles Askins Jr , who stated the M1 rifle was no more problematic than the Springfield bolt rifle (but I am really uncertain of where I read that, or who wrote it).

Note those are/were "new" M1 rifles. I dunno if 75 years later a GI M1 rifle, with several wars and who knows how many recruits and rebuilds later, would hold up to extended shooting or not.
 
Certainly reliability is critical.But,IMO,some rifles can be cleared with a quick immediate action ,and some get more complicated jams.
IMO,generally a Garand will be cleared with a cycle of the op rod,unless we are talking Chosin Reservoir or other extremes.

I wonder what percentage of Garands fired more than 599 rounds through the entire WW2 or Korean war.

Certainly,some fired far more !!.But maybe (I don't know) 90? % may not have.

IMO,its safe to say the M-1 Garand had an excellent record of reliability.

In your search for numbers,you might try SLA Marshall.
 
my late uncle who was with the 11th airborne in the phillipenes said he owed his life along with several others to their m1,s, when they encountered a inforce japenese patrol at very close range. in less than a minute they killed them all with only two of the GI,s getting wounded. i ask him how may return shots the japanese got off and he said not many as they were trying to get away or to cover, but with out the m1 rifles they would have been over powered and killed. i have fired my own m1,s and m1a up to 80 rounds at one setting with no ftf-fte(i do keep my rifles clean and lubed).
 
M1s were never really designed or intended for a high round count service interval.
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The M1 Garand was designed and intended to be used as a military weapon. It makes no sense that Garand would have designed/developed it to have a low round count service interval.

The M1 Garand had several design features that were problematic. Among them were the open top receiver which debris could and would enter in combat conditions. Also, there was an open slot behind the operating handle into which debris could enter and interfere with the hammer's intend strike on the firing pin (it happened to me in Basic Training).

Countering those design faults was the fact that, as previously posted, that the M1 could usually be brought back into action by cycling the bolt.
 
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CAUTION: The following post includes loading data not covered by currently published sources of tested data for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this information.

Wearing out 5 M1 barrels totalling over 17,000 rounds of 7.62 NATO and 308 Winchester ammo in competition, never had any problems functionally. Two of them shot several hundred handloads producing proof load pressures.
 
Among them were the open top receiver which debris could and would enter in combat conditions.
Click to expand...

This can be a problem, however, its somewhat balanced by the fact that the "open" receiver also allows debris to get out....

This means that usually the gun, if stopped by dirt, etc is easier to get back into action than a gun with a more enclosed mechanism. There's no free lunch.

Garands had a number of bugs that were eventually worked out. The 7th round stoppage was a famous one, for a time.

The enbloc clip was not Garand's original design for the rifle. Early prototypes used a detachable box mag, but Army Ord brass wouldn't accept that, at the time, so the enbloc system was used instead.

"Mean rounds between stoppages" is something worth knowing as an general average of different designs when you are contemplating purchase of a design and mass producing it for service use.

Don't see any use it has for a civilian, as any individual gun may be above or below the average.
 
You can give a Garand love with a shaving brush. Wrap your hand around the receiver when necessary. Crawl or drag op rod up.

I know,combat can dish horrid conditions,muck,sand,ice and subzero.

Those can give any rifle trouble.

Odds are whoever you are fighting has similar problems.

I'm not a Veteran,but I've spent a fair amount of time in training exercises with an M-1. IMO,night infiltration,etc,it "slithers" crawling,going under wire,carrying one handed,etc better than the M-14 with the protruding box.

(OK,starting in high school,junior year,I became a "Training aid" for a college Army ROTC unit. A Ranger former First Infantry Platoon leader left the Army and went back to school. He came from this schools Army ROTC unit.
He took us under his wing and trained us to play the part of VC in the ROTC field training exercises.Fall,winter,Spring in mountains of Northern Colorado.

We carried M-1s with blank adaptors. Sometimes the 1919A6.

We were all quite serious. We were taken seriously enough to get Huey support from Ft Carson for airmobile exercises and we were invited to accompany the 19th SFG (Guard) later when I was in ROTC.

I received a lot of great training and experience.I've carried the Garand some .
But no,that does not make me a Veteran or an expert. It makes me a Vietnam era former ROTC cadet. In those times,on a troubled campus, I'd raise the American Flag or bring it down in uniform at the Student Center Plaza. No,it was not Khe San.No one shot bullets at me.

A classmate, former 82nd ABN Co Commander who ended up in TRADOC (Training and Development Command) told me that among all the "Aggressor" training units he worked with,We were the best he ever saw.
I attribute most of that to that Ranger 1 Lt, who knew where these ROTC
2 Lt s were going. We all knew that. We gave it our best.
 
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