M1 thumb?

M

mrat

New member
I saw in another thread something called M1 thumb, what is it? I think it means having the bolt slam on your thumb when loading. Is this it? How can I avoid it? I have a M1 that I bought awhile ago and I am planning on shooting it in the next week, I would prefer to keep my thumb in one piece.
 
Mrat,

Your assumption is exactly correct.

When you push the loaded clip down into position, the bolt unlocks and moves "briskly" forward. I hold the edge (opposite the thumb) of my right hand against the slide so when it lets loose it pivots my wrist up and pulls my thumb out of harms way.

The Grand Garand experts mostly hide out in 'The Art of the Rifle' forum, so I'll move your thread over there. ;)

(( I do love that old Garand - shot out barrel and all... :) ))
 
Concur. I also use the knife edge of the hand (pinky finger and side of palm) to restrain the op rod handle from foward movement. Only when the thumb is removed does the knife edge of the hand leave the op rod handle.

BTW, as a southpaw, I will use the right hand to load the Garand.
 
When you open the action, be sure to open it fully to the rear - if you don't, the bolt can rest against the follower (it's not supposed to be able to, but some guns have developed a burr on the follower that allows it). It will look like it's all the way back, but it isn't, and a light touch of the follower will release it. When it's fully open, the bolt won't be touching the follower.
 
Thanks guys.

I am going to try to get out and shoot it later this afternoon, hopefully I'll come back with all my fingers.

Gary,
I am a lefty too, thanks for the tip.
 
M-1 Thumb

OUGH ! ! !
With an M-1 Grand you lock the action bac; insert the ammo; and press down on the ammo, so the bolt will clean.
IT YOU DON'T GET YOUR THUMB OUT OF THE WAY QUICK ENOUGH You have got an M-1 Thumb.
 
My father (Korean War vet) demonstrated how fast the M-1 could be reloaded at a range session last year. A friend of mine had purchased an M-1 and my father was down visiting. At that time neither my friend nor I had had any in-depth instruction on the particulars of the M-1. Dad made a believer out of me! I could not do it anywhere near as fast as my father could (I was very concerned that Garand would eat my thumb) and he became progressively faster as the day went on even though it had been 40 + years since the last time for him. He said it was like riding a bike and that when he first learned the maneuver he was more then a little motivated to acquire the skill (on his way to Korea). He mentioned that he had injured his thumb more then once when first learning and that it was not uncommon. He used the pinky finger against the ?(Charging handle … I’m unsure of the proper nomenclature) then rolling hand back and out of the way when he was going slow taking his time. For speed it seemed as if he just drove his hand straight down and past the bottom of the stock. I couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing. He said that he did something different in the prone but it had been raining earlier that day and he was not about to get down on the damp ground. My Father loves the M-1. If he did not know who invented it and was asked by someone I’m sure his first guess would be God Almighty. I plan on buying him one next year for his 70th birthday.
 
To avoid getting your thumb caught, you can always push down with your middle finger(palm face down), instead. The bolt will push this finger up, and there's no way that it can get caught.

straightShot
 
Most folks got "M1 thumb" on an empty rifle -- not a full one. When doing the manual of arms with the M1, one comes to "Inspection Arms." This is the position with the soldier at attention, the rifle held in both hands accross the body with the muzzle at about 45 degrees above horizontal. The Operating rod handle is hooked by the left thumb and pulled to the rear sharply. It will stay there. (This is by far the easiest way to open an M1 rifle for loading, inspection, etc.!). The M1 Thumb comes from the next maneuver. The command is "Port Arms," but it is issued in two parts. At the command "Port," the soldier, still holding the rifle across his body with his left hand, takes his right hand and, holding the operating rod back with the heel of the hand, depresses the follower with his thumb. This unlocks the operating rod. At the command "Arms," the hand is pulled up and the operating rod slams forward. Failure to remove the thumb results in "M1 Thumb." The whole maneuver is easier to show than to describe here. M1 Thumb rarely occurs more than once. It is also very rare to get M1 thumb when loading the rifle.
 
Clemson, That is exactly right! In a properly timed rifle, you can load the clip and the bolt will not release as long as you maintain pressure on the clip. The bolt should release as soon as you let up the pressure. That's why you should smartly remove your thumb.
 
I can see that "Clemson" has been there, and done that, when it comes to the M1(he probably has the T-shirt too :D). All that he said is right. Unless one is doing the manual of arms with the M1 though, the best way to close the bolt is exactly the way "Clemson" describes it but instead of letting the action slam closed after it is unlocked, just ease the bolt closed with the "knife edge" of your hand. Unless you are loading the rifle it's best not to let it slam. Saves battering the rifle.
 
Hi, guys,

Scott Evans tells us how fast an expert can load an M1 rifle. So much for the old nonsense that an enemy heard a clip "ping", jumped up, charged across 100 yards of open ground, and bayonetted the GI while he was reloading. And of course they were all alone on a very quiet battlefield.

Jim
 
Well, I've got my "thumb" early on while learning to shoot match with my M1. I was in the middle of my first practice match when the bolt closed with full force. I was with five other guys, however, and wasn't going to let them know how bad it was. I simply put the rifle down, went to my supply box, and wrapped my errant thumb with some masking tape and continued to shoot. No one was the wiser! Ouch !

I'll also tell you that other rifles have similar if not worse snags. The best one is the "Ljungman" thumb. You get it with either the Swedish Ljungman or a Egyptian Hakim. That sucker is like a guillotine and can really ruin your evening.

It's been a year, now, since that happened. Once you've mastered the loading sequence, the problem moves to the background just waiting for you to get Complacent.

Rome
 
SouthlA1, Easing the bolt forward is fine but, as you said, it doesn't work with the manual of arms in the military. When I was standing guard mount, the inspecting officer would literally throw the rifle back at you as soon as he was finished with his inspection. You were expected then to smartly close the action and return to port arms.
 
I know EOD Guy, that's why I said if you are not doing it :). For the very short time that some of us carried the M1 on Guard duty for special posts, OOD would never inspect our arms....reason being that the grand old lady had 8 in her. Seven in the clip and one in the barrel. The only thing that was bad about those posts was if it rained and the cleaning that we had to do after being relieved.
 
In Korea, the deal about the "Ping" of an empty clip flying out was a sucker-bait deal. Picture this: Two guys sharing a firing-pit type of foxhole. GI #1 fires his last round; Ping! Joe ChiCom sticks his head up to shoot the GI; GI #2 takes out Joe ChiCom.

Now, how well this really worked, I don't know. I met some 2nd Infantry guys who said they'd occasionally tried this. Sometimes, yes; sometimes, no.

FWIW, Art

[Edited by Art Eatman on 05-22-2001 at 08:02 AM]
 
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