Garand Sights

Zorros · Sep 1, 2018

Took out a CMP Garand i am pretty sure i have not shot before. Shot it at 25 and 50 yrds. It was shooting right, more at 50. To get it centered at 50 yds i had to move the sights this far left. It was centered, but is this odd, normal? Thoughts would be appreciated. Pic attached.

Zorros · Sep 1, 2018

Took out this old CMP garand. Don’t think i shot it before and shot at 25/50 yds. To get it centered at 50,had to move the sights all the way left as shown. Anyone think this is normal?

Qbeam · Sep 1, 2018

Um, not seeing the photos. Ok, can see them now.

Q

Qbeam · Sep 1, 2018

How does the front sight look?

Q

Threeband · Sep 1, 2018

Does it have a new stock?

Zorros · Sep 1, 2018

I will look at front sight. I suppose it is moveable. The stock has RIA stamped and P on the pistol grip. Those should indicate govt rearsenaling?

j8064 · Sep 1, 2018

Zorros said:
I will look at front sight. I suppose it is moveable. The stock has RIA stamped and P on the pistol grip. Those should indicate govt rearsenaling?

Yes, the front sight is adjustable. You'll need a 3/16" hex wrench.
Get your front sight aligned to the center line of the barrel and rear sight and adjust the rear sight from there.

:thumbsup:

If it's a CMP rifle it was built with various parts in their shops. That's different than ""gov't re-arsenaled"...

I also suggest you disassemble and clean your rear sight. It's likely you'll find dried up crud in the gears. Once cleaned a little CLP is all you need for lube. It's not hard to do...

dist1646 · Sep 1, 2018

If it is a CMP gun, contact them and describe it to them. I would send it back and have them fix it. That is way too far off center.

Zorros · Sep 1, 2018

On my third set of hex wrenches i found one that fit and moved the front sight a smidge right. I will bring the rear to zero and try it again. CMP may have had a go at parts, ut its a 3.2m springfield with a ‘51 springfield barrel. It has a springfield bolt but i have no idea re the parts numbers in terms of date. Taking the sight apart may be a little nerve wracking. I can see the parts on the table and be unable to put them back. Maybe i can talk my wife back to the range tomorrow or mon. She shot and enjoyed a winchester m1 carbine and a colt AR today but did not want to shoot this. Guys, thanks for the help and good ideas on this.

Zorros · Sep 1, 2018

dist1646 said:
If it is a CMP gun, contact them and describe it to them. I would send it back and have them fix it. That is way too far off center.

I have probably owned this 7 years. Just shooting it now.
You think they would sight it if i can’t?

38super · Sep 1, 2018

Check your muzzle crown, they did sell some years ago that had dings in the muzzle crown on the service grade.

dist1646 · Sep 1, 2018

Zorros said:
I have probably owned this 7 years. Just shooting it now.
You think they would sight it if i can’t?

If it came from CMP this way, they will make it right. No need to disassemble the rear sight, as some have suggested, it will not affect the issue. If your front sight is centered, it could be moved to correct point of impact but, not that much.
Without seeing the gun, I would suspect that the barrel is not indexed properly to the receiver.
CMP is pretty good about taking care of any issues with the guns they sell.

Qbeam · Sep 1, 2018

Zorros said:
On my third set of hex wrenches i found one that fit and moved the front sight a smidge right. I will bring the rear to zero and try it again. CMP may have had a go at parts, ut its a 3.2m springfield with a ‘51 springfield barrel. It has a springfield bolt but i have no idea re the parts numbers in terms of date. Taking the sight apart may be a little nerve wracking. I can see the parts on the table and be unable to put them back. Maybe i can talk my wife back to the range tomorrow or mon. She shot and enjoyed a winchester m1 carbine and a colt AR today but did not want to shoot this. Guys, thanks for the help and good ideas on this.

Did the front sight appear centered prior to moving it?

Q

Zorros · Sep 1, 2018

38super said:
Check your muzzle crown, they did sell some years ago that had dings in the muzzle crown on the service grade.

Crown looks good.

j8064 · Sep 1, 2018

Zorros said:
On my third set of hex wrenches i found one that fit and moved the front sight a smidge right. I will bring the rear to zero and try it again. CMP may have had a go at parts, ut its a 3.2m springfield with a ‘51 springfield barrel. It has a springfield bolt but i have no idea re the parts numbers in terms of date. Taking the sight apart may be a little nerve wracking. I can see the parts on the table and be unable to put them back. Maybe i can talk my wife back to the range tomorrow or mon. She shot and enjoyed a winchester m1 carbine and a colt AR today but did not want to shoot this. Guys, thanks for the help and good ideas on this.

First let me send you to this thread: https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?217956&p=5027148#post5027148.

Having recently attended a CMP AMC class doesn't make us "experts", but I think we "maybe" learned a little something about building, maintaining and accurizing Garands at the class...

As I said before, the tool you need to loosen and adjust the front sight is a 3/16" hex wrench. You can get one for < $1 at any hardware store. Align your front sight to the center line of the barrel. Then adjust your rear sight's elevation and windage.

The ammo you shoot in your Garand will also effect its performance and sighting. Please make sure you are shooting "Garand-Safe" ammo.

Zorros said:
I have probably owned this 7 years. Just shooting it now.
You think they would sight it if i can’t?

Sure, you could send the rifle back to the CMP. But why? 1) It would cost you shipping; 2) It would take a long time, and 3) Cleaning and adjusting your sights is something you can easily do yourself.

38super said:
Check your muzzle crown, they did sell some years ago that had dings in the muzzle crown on the service grade.

That's a possibility, but sight alignment is the first thing to check and can easily be done.

dist1646 said:
No need to disassemble the rear sight, as some have suggested, it will not affect the issue.

Without seeing the gun, I would suspect that the barrel is not indexed properly to the receiver.

With respect to the need to clean the rear sight I totally disagree! It's a simple procedure to perform. If there is dried cosmoline or other crud on the gears it can and will affect sight adjustment.

Could the barrel be out of alignment and not timed to the receiver? Sure. But that's not difficult to check. If it is, that would require re-torquing the barrel, confirming head space and a trip back to the CMP or a gunsmith unless one has the tools and knowledge to do it themselves.

Zorros,

Aligning your front sight to center line and cleaning your rear sight isn't difficult. If you'd like additional help you're welcome to send me a PM...

dist1646 · Sep 1, 2018

j8064 said:
First let me send you to this thread: https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?217956&p=5027148#post5027148.

Having recently attended a CMP AMC class doesn't make us "experts", but I think we "maybe" learned a little something about building, maintaining and accurizing Garands at the class...

As I said before, the tool you need to loosen and adjust the front sight is a 3/16" hex wrench. You can get one for < $1 at any hardware store. Align your front sight to the center line of the barrel. Then adjust your rear sight's elevation and windage.

The ammo you shoot in your Garand will also effect its performance and sighting. Please make sure you are shooting "Garand-Safe" ammo.

Sure, you could send the rifle back to the CMP. But why? 1) It would cost you shipping; 2) It would take a long time, and 3) Cleaning and adjusting your sights is something you can easily do yourself.

That's a possibility, but sight alignment is the first thing to check and can easily be done.

With respect to the need to clean the rear sight I totally disagree! It's a simple procedure to perform. If there is dried cosmoline or other crud on the gears it can and will affect sight adjustment.

Could the barrel be out of alignment and not timed to the receiver? Sure. But that's not difficult to check. If it is, that would require re-torquing the barrel, confirming head space and a trip back to the CMP or a gunsmith unless one has the tools and knowledge to do it themselves.

Zorros,

Aligning your front sight to center line and cleaning your rear sight isn't difficult. If you'd like additional help you're welcome to send me a PM...

Cleaning the rear sight will not change the sight alignment to point of impact.
Nothing wrong with cleaning the rear sight though. Since the presumption is that the front sight is centered ( no pic so, don't know for certain), the rear sight is way too far off center. Since it is supposedly a CMP gun, instead of spending money on trying to fix the problem, I recommend sending it back to CMP who should fix the issue for free. Failing that, another option is to have Charlie Maloney inspect the rifle for a professional smith's recommendations.

Zorros · Sep 1, 2018

Great thoughts. Thank you. I did move the front sight a bit and i will take the rear back to zero. The ammo i used today is greek surplus from CMP somthat should be safe. Looked for corrosion.pic of front sight before i moved it.

j8064 · Sep 1, 2018

dist1646 said:
Cleaning the rear sight will not change the sight alignment to point of impact.
Nothing wrong with cleaning the rear sight though. Since the presumption is that the front sight is centered ( no pic so, don't know for certain), the rear sight is way too far off center. Since it is supposedly a CMP gun, instead of spending money on trying to fix the problem, I recommend sending it back to CMP who should fix the issue for free. Failing that, another option is to have Charlie Maloney inspect the rifle for a professional smith's recommendations.

Oh Kay -> Two questions:

- When was the last time you built a Garand from parts to a complete and "range-proven" rifle?
- Your solution to the OP's sighting issue is to simply send the rifle back to the CMP or take it to a gunsmith? Trust me, it's NOT free either way...

:sad20:

Sir, it won't cost the OP a dime to diagnose the issue himself. And maybe he'll learn something about his Garand in the process. Wouldn't it make sense to identify the issue before putting additional $'s into it?

The OP knows he can send me a PM if he seeks input.

I've been on too many threads over the years where inaccurate advice is served up. I'm done with this thread...

:outta her

Doco Overboard · Sep 1, 2018

Nearly 16 minutes at 25-50 yds is way over. I think either the barrel has been under/over tightened or in the extreme it may be bent. In the first picture it also looks like the aperture has taken a hard hit to the top. Run it all the way up and down and see if it heads east or west on you.
After I did that, I would strip the rifle and do a tilt test. The rear sight that far over you may see some binding. If every thing slides the way it should, look inside the gas piston and at the piston itself to see what the wear pattern looks like for galling.
If your still not happy with what you discover, remove the rear sight and put a nice straight steel rod through the sight ears and fix another to the dovetail on the mounted gas cylinder, set it on a level bench or level the receiver and give it the calibrated eyeball when viewed from the rear and see what you see. A level mill vise is even better if you have one available. Let the vise jaws support the steel rod at the receiver.
Dont forget to check for the obvious like the F/S not tightened or the gas cylinder loose as a goose or even the front site bent or some other wacky thing.

Orlando · Sep 2, 2018

there is nothing wrong with your rifle. Why do you think they made both the front and rear sights adjustable??
Early on the gas cylinders had narrow bases so the front sight couldn't be moved without hanging over the edge on the base
This is the very reason the changed to wide base, so you can adjust the front sight and leave the rear closer to center

Garand Sights

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Attachments

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

The M1 Does My Talking

Ultimate Member

Garrett Co Hooligan #1

Attachments

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Active Member

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Garrett Co Hooligan #1

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Attachments

Garrett Co Hooligan #1

Ultimate Member

Active Member

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics