M1 Garand trigger guard; latched or unlatched in storage?

My Toy · Jan 7, 2017

Just searched for some info on the pros and cons of leaving the trigger guard on a stored Garand unlatched to reduce the potential of wood compression leading to insufficient draw when latching the trigger guard. I have a number of M1 Garands that I acquired 15 to 18 years ago from CMP. All of them have been stored with their trigger guards latched and I have not noticed any looseness in lock up in that time. I'm guessing that the Garands I received may have had their trigger guards latched for 50 or more years.
I can see that leaving the trigger guard unlatched in a bedded, match tuned Garand would be advisable but for owners of service grade shooters I would imagine that wood in the trigger guard area is as compressed as it is ever going to get (at least as long as you don't allow it to become oil saturated).
What are some other thoughts on the matter? Are the Garands in your safe stored with the trigger guards unlatched?
I must be running out of things to wonder about.

Boondock Saint · Jan 7, 2017

WAG warning:

I would assume that like the loaded/unloaded magazine argument, the issue is with use. Leaving the trigger guard locked or unlocked is fine, but cycling back and forth would cause wear.

Absent evidence to the contrary, I'd store it locked.

j_h_smith · Jan 7, 2017

I have never heard of this before. I've owned my fair share of Garands and this has never been a worry of mine.

fogman · Jan 7, 2017

My understanding is that most of the problem is caused by wear of the lugs that the trigger housing cams against when closing. Regular disassembly is not recommended as it causes wear. I doubt my Garand will ever see the amount of wear caused by a GI's regular cleaning and maintaining of his issued rifle.

dist1646 · Jan 7, 2017

I know some that recommend storing wood stocked Garand's with the trigger guard unlatched but, not removed from the stock. They say that the wood will compress over time. I have not found it to be an issue though, I suppose it could be if the humidity varied a lot where they are stored.

Reptile · Jan 7, 2017

My Garands are stored with the trigger guard latched, which is how they were stored in the gun racks when I was in ROTC for three years. Of course, mine get much less use and don't get field stripped and cleaned once a week, whether they have been fired or not.

nmyers · Jan 7, 2017

Never seen a problem with storing them latched, but I DID see a couple that were stored unlatched & could not be latched until the lock up area was sanded. I suspect that it depends upon the moisture content of the wood.

US arsenals used to sand many stocks for rebuild use, & that included sanding the lock up area. If lock up was loose, they would shim the bottom of the stock with wood strips in the lock up area, so it was not a big deal. (They used a rubber mallet to close the TG.)

Orlando · Jan 8, 2017

Ever try and latch a guard on a new commercial stock? It has very , very hard lock up. After a month or so the gurad will close easier. Yes the wood does compress
Thing is if you have a USGI stock the wood is already compressed, no need to worry about it now

My Toy · Jan 8, 2017

Orlando said:
Ever try and latch a guard on a new commercial stock? It has very , very hard lock up. After a month or so the gurad will close easier. Yes the wood does compress
Thing is if you have a USGI stock the wood is already compressed, no need to worry about it now

This is pretty much the conclusion I arrived at --just wanted to see what some other thoughts on the subject were.

Jumpmaster! · Jan 10, 2017

Mine are stored with the trigger guard latched.

M1 Garand trigger guard; latched or unlatched in storage?

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