Cleaning the M1 Garand

Every M1 Garand should be stripped down, cleaned and inspected before its initial use. This step allows you to verify that the weapon is safe to shoot. While the weapon is apart, we'll inspect the components and measure their state of wear. Your new M1 has likely been in storage for many decades. Prior to that it may have seen service in several armies around the world. A thorough inspection is the only way to determine what condition your M1 Garand is in.

Before beginning, verify that your M1 is unloaded by pulling the op-rod handle fully back and inspecting the chamber!

Setup:

1 Lay your M1 Garand on its side with the muzzle facing towards your right, Op-Rod handle facing up. The bolt should be closed with the safety on as shown below.

2 If your M1 Garand has a sling attached remove it now.

3 Grab the trigger guard behind the trigger and pull toward the butt plate. This will unhook the trigger guard latch and allow the trigger guard to pivot forward.

Sometimes the Trigger guard latch can be difficult to unhook. A piece of cleaning rod can assist you in pulling back on the trigger guard. The trigger latch hook can be seen in the image below.

4 With the trigger guard unlatched, rotate the trigger guard until it is fully open as shown below. 

5 With the trigger guard fully extended pull the trigger assembly straight out of the rifle. 

6 With the trigger assembly removed rotate your M1 Garand so the trigger assembly well is facing up as shown below. Make sure your rear sight is lowered completely

7 With your right hand hold the rifle at the front handguard forward of the sling swivel. Using the palm of your left hand lift up on the stock left of the trigger . The stock will pivot from the lower band and come free of the receiver. If your stock has a tight fit you may have to physically pull the receiver out of the stock.

A tight stock fit may be the most important factor in achieving good accuracy potential with your M1 Garand.

8 Pinch the follower Rod with your thumb and index finger as indicated in the image below. With a firm hold pull the follower rod back toward the muzzle compressing the op-rod spring and disconnecting the forks from the follower arm. When the forks are free you can lift up on the follower Rod and remove it and op-rod spring.

[Follower Rod]

9 Using a suitable tool, push out the Follower Arm Pin. A small screwdriver or punch can be used.

The Follower Arm Pin can only be pushed out in the direction indicated below.

10 With the Pin removed. Pull out the Op-Rod Catch. Before you do notice how the Op-Rod Catch arm hooks under the clip release lever arm. When re-assemblying the  M1 Garand later you'll need to do this before reinserting the Pin.

11 The bullet guide sits in two notches in the receiver and should be removed toward the muzzle. Remove the follower arm at this time also.

12 Reach into the receiver and remove the follower assembly. Pay attention to the orientation of this part. On assembly it's possible to get this put in upside down if one isn't careful.

13 Slide the Op-Rod back until the Op-Rod tab is aligned with the notch cut in the receiver. When it is aligned with the notch gently push the Op-Rod handle toward the notch. This allows the tab to clear the receiver channel. Gently pull the Op-Rod away from the receiver and rotate the Op-Rod handle. Slide it out from the Gas Cylinder.

NEVER force an Op-rod out of the rifle. The rod can be bent causing accuracy problems and other failures. The OP-Rod has two bends in it. These bends can be seen when looking at the Op-Rod from the side. Do not straighten your OP-Rod! 

14 Slide the bolt forward and let it drop out of the receiver. You may have to rotate the bolt so that the firing pin tang clears the notch in the receiver bridge.

15 Lay the receiver on its side and press out the clip latch pin in the direction shown below. The clip latch spring will want to bind the pin as you remove it. To prevent this, depress the clip latch with your thumb and remove the pin. Once the pin has been removed the entire assembly can be pulled free from the receiver. When assembled the stock prevents this pin from sliding out during use.

 The Clip Latch spring should be replaced when bringing a M1 Garand back into service. A weak spring can cause clips to be ejected early during firing.

16 Using a Gas Cylinder Wrench [Product Link] support the gas cylinder and unscrew the Gas Plug from the gas cylinder. A Gas Wrench is an important tool which prevents torque on the gas cylinder from transferring to the barrel splines. If the barrel splines become loose, the accuracy of the weapon decreases significantly.

17 Unscrew the Gas Cylinder Lock Counter Clockwise when looking at the muzzle.  

18 Slide the Gas Cylinder off the barrel by pulling it toward to the muzzle. If the Gas Cylinder will not slide off freely you can tap on the bayonet lug to free it. 

19 Slide the Front handguard off by pulling on it toward the muzzle. Be careful not to damage the wood at the interface to the Lower Band.  

Stop here if you are performing a once a year tear down and inspection. The following steps should be performed during your initial weapon inspection, but only minimally thereafter. Removing the Gas cylinder and lower band frequently can degrade accuracy by loosening their fit.

now you can do your basic cleaning good luck.