Howdy

So, a few questions, and one comment for you guys. I bought a "Tanker" Garand a couple of years back, and it has been fun. Of course, accuracy is horrible compared to my bolt action sporters. However, I can bust the gong (18") at 250 yds offhand, which is great fun.

The last time I had it out, it suddenly stopped extracting cases. A tap of the butt on the ground would allow the brass to fall free, so it wasn't a bad load/ case issue. After disassembly, I found nothing unusual with the extractor, nor any other parts. It extracts loaded rounds just fine. Odd...so, while I had it apart, I looked at the muzzle crown, and it was horrible! I re- crowned the muzzle and am anxious to see if it helped. Now, how loose is "normal" play in the barrel? I can take the front sight and rotate the barrel about .100" back and forth. Does someone like Fulton Armory make washers to take up the barrel play?

BTW, my load is W-W case, Rem 9 1/2M primer, 46.0 grains H4895, and a 147 gr. FMJBT.

Since you use handloads are you sure the cases are sized properly? What do the fired cases look like? Is the chamber dirty or pitted where it might be holding onto expanded/fired cases enough to let the extractor pop off?

Another thing to check is the extractor plunger spring to see if it is gunked-up.

An easy quick check to eliminate your hand loads from the equation would be to fire a few factory rounds and see if they extract alright.

The cases come out fine, except for the ding in one area of the rim. I am guessing this is normal for a Garand. My handloads are pretty sane, just enough to make the rifle cycle properly. I have not tried factory loads, which is a good idea.

I don't have small base dies, but the same dies are used to load for a Remington 760 pump. There has never been any problems in that rifle, so I am thinking between that and the sloppy chamber in the Garand- no problem, right?

It’s been my experience that some semi-autos will cycle anything that will fit in the rifle while others are really picky as to what they will reliably digest and spit out.

I’ve also found that semi-autos require allot more attention to chamber cleaning than do other types of actions because extraction is accomplished by a purely mechanical force that is regulated by the gas and is somewhat constant. It’s not like you can “feel†sticky extraction and apply more force like you can with a bolt action or even a pump. The force is what it is.

358-
I would avoid the use of factory rounds in my Garand. What I would shoot however, is military ball ammo, or your current reloads.
The gas system on the garand is designed for powders in the burning range of IMR 4895, and bullets in weights ranging from 150-168 grains. Anything else will make the action cycle differently then intended. Bent op-rods aren't uncommon when slow burning powders are inadvertantly used.
My DCM Garand, if you can believe this, had an M-1 carbine extractor in it! The first few rounds I touched off, the extractor practically ripped off the case head, and none of the cases were reloadable. Anyway, it was a $10.00 fix and I've never looked back.
In short, go back and check your size die adjustments, drop the magnum primer, check for the proper angle (wear) on the extractor, and hopefully the issue will be resolved.

Just about every brand of factory 06 ammo uses IMR 4895 for 150 grain bullets...so I don’t see how those could cause problems since the rounds are literally identical to GI ball ammo.

I have also been told to stop using commercial brass. My extractor problems started with Korean era GI brass, though! LOL. I guess this another one of those mysteries with any number of possible remedies. Can i ask what led you to look for a different kind of extractor (M1 Carbine), and how did it differ?

Changing from the Magnum primer to a standard or match primer will certainly help. But I am also wondering if your Garand was "cut down" to make it a Tanker version. It is my understanding that original Tankers are scarce as hens teeth.

I would ask a gunsmith who is knowledgable about Garands if there is a timing issue due to modifications for the Tanker configuration.

358
Let me clear this up -I intended to say M-1 carbine plunger, not extractor ...sorry, brain fart on my part. Anyway, what led me to look was the funny scrape marks left on the case heads that didn't get munched. They looked somewhat like marks (dots and smudges) left by over-pressure rounds, but not as deep. In my Garand, the extractor itself was just worn out, thus some cases would be cleared from the action, when the plunger worked, while others were destroyed. It was not uncommon for my Garand to stove pipe with a case that didn't clear either.

Looking at the bolt face there was a noticable difference in diameter between the two plungers, and in fact the smaller plunger could be "rocked" back and forth while in the bolt. Fortunately for me, it was a cheap, easy fix.

Something I've never had trouble with is case brands, or vintage surpluss ammo. Even tho there are some differences in the bevel angle on the case rims between manufactures, with the new plunger/extractor I've not had a problem.

I reread your post, and am concerned by what you discribe as a loose barrel. It is normal for a small amount of movement in the gas cylinder lock (before the gas cylinder lock screw is torqued down), but not in the gas cylinder, front site, or barrel. "Ordanance procedures required M1 gas cylinder locks to be rotated to hand tight and them backed off to the 6:00 position-even if unthreading the lock almost a full turn was necessary."

I'll close with one last suggestion, buy a copy of Jerry Kuhnhausen's excellent book "The U.S. .30 Caliber Gas Operated Service Rifles" It will pay dividends on the first read.

Hello the capfire:
1. the barrel must not be loose. I suspect you were meaning the front sight and gas cylinder.
If the barrel is actually loose, have that fixed before doing any thing else.
2. relace the extracter. Not hard or expensive
3. bed the action while you are working on the action.
4, Hitting an 18 inch gong at 250 yards offhand sounds damn good to me.

I do not have any experence with "tanker" M1s so do not know if they operate with the same gas ports and operating rod springs as the regular ones. I would suspect not. This might be something to check if it does not function great. Some of the taners were just cut downs.

Rick, I know the young hero is comming home next month, (December). Please let me know when he is home safe, if it is not too much trouble. I think we all need to give him a big AR howdy doo, and thanks for his service.
Bill Brower

Mike, Buckshot, and Judge,

Thanks for the input. I do mess around in the amateur gunsmith world installing recoil pads, glass bedding, trigger work, etc. I could bed the action.

I am under no illusions that this is a genuine Tanker. It has been modified and has a re-welded receiver.

Here's why I say the barrel is loose. After a recent cleaning and muzzle crown job, I ran the barrel in hand tight, and it went past having the handguard clips line up, ie. not level. It's not even an 1/16th of a turn, but she ain't snug either! I can see a slight peening of the shoulder on the barrel as well. I visited Fulton Armory's website and they have all kinds of nasty stuff to say about my type of rifle.

What aggravates me is that I paid a gunsmith $75 to inspect this thing when I bought it...clean bill of health. SIGH

I am sorry to hear this.

I don't know if you would be willing to try this, but I would suggest wrapping some teflon tape around the threads, especially near the top of the threads, with the intent of tightnening up the barrel to reciever fit. I don't believe it would be harmful, and could certainly take up such a small amount of "slack" in the fit. I have used it on the spline, where the front sight slides over the muzzle, trimmed off the excess, and it gives me a tight and durable fix for a loose front sight, without peening the splines.

I still don't know if it would fix extractor problems, but it would be a good starting point.

I tried the Teflon tape trick and it tightened up the barrel fit. Only a trip to the range will show how this works, and for how long. Report to follow...Thanks!

I got to the range finally, and here's what happened:

I forgot my M1 loads at home, but was working up some cast bullet loads for another '06. I shot a 2.57" 4 shot group at 100 yds with the M1 and 28.0 gr H4895 under a Lee 160gr RNGC. I am hoping the M1 loads do even better. Thanks for the advice- the teflon tape tightened up the barrel nicely, and I got a good crown on the muzzle.

I had great extraction and the dinged up rims went away. Must have been related to the barrel bouncing around.

Excited to see the results with jacketed bullets and 8 rd clips!

the proper way to tighten is to remove the gas clynder ,clean the area, and verry gently peen the 3 splines on the barrel then gently put the clynder back on. carefull when u put the lock back on do not over turn . thats general gi stugg. aling when tight at 6 oclock position. i shoot an m-1 match rifle in 308 out to 600 yards. you should not have any problems with the front after that. good luck