OverTheTop
Member
I'm gonna go over the backstop of this CAI garand and how I ended up buying it, as I think it will help inform the discussion and answer some questions. However if you are only interested in the gunsmithing related questions, skip past the next 5 paragraphs to the gunsmithing questions.
Backstory:
In early December 2017, I decided I wanted to buy a garand. I had investigated the CMP, but the process seemed complicated and turned me off from trying, so I instead decided to look around on Gunbroker(first noob mistake). I found what I thought was an excellent deal at the time, where a gunstore had posted a garand with a bandoleer of ammo on clips and only for ~$740! Considering most GB offerings were well into the 1000+ range, this seemed like a potentially great deal. Even so, I was a bit suspicious and started looking at the description, to see if there was anything wrong with the gun. The only apparent thing was that it was a CAI production gun, red flag number one, which at the time I had no idea what CAI was. That should have been my clue to do my damn research, but I just assumed CAI meant it was a modern production gun and didn'tthink much else of it.
Since I just wanted a shooter I didn't care if the gun had any historical value or not, so I decided to bid on the garand. Unlucky for me, although I didn't know it at the time, I won. Fast forward a week or so, the gun arrives, and I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl, because now I own a garand! I also had put additional $60 in at this point for shipping and transfer fees, so my total is now up to $800. Still I always field strip, inspect, clean, and re-lube any gun I buy. I finish cleaning inspecting and start practicing how to load and unload the gun, which is when I discovered the next red flag, number two. The bolt felt very stiff to open and if I brought the bolt forward slowly it would sometimes not rotate correctly and seize just out of battery. Having never owned a garand, I thought both those issues were odd, but didn't think as much about it as I should have. I assumed that I just didn't lube the gun right, so I field stripped it again and added more grease to the bolt lugs, the oprod bolt interfaces, and the oprod track.
I take the gun out to the range the following weekend, and start putting rounds through. Don't worry nothing catastrophic happened, but after a clip or two through the gun, the oprod guide lug jumped its track, which was red flag number three. To the guns credit it seemed fine before this happened, but I knew the oprod jumping its track was definitely not supposed to happen, so I immediately stopped shooting.
At home, I spent more time inspecting the gun and doing research on why this might happen. And most of my research pointed to a bent or worn out oprod. Looking over the oprod, the wear on it seemed to confirm this conclusion, so I purchased a new oprod, oprod spring, and bolt for good measure, an additional $200 bringing my total up to $1000. I bolt the new bolt, as the old bolt also seemed to have excessive wear and I figured if the old oprod was damaged then the old bolt could be damaged as a result. I get the new parts, lube them as before and reassemble the gun with them. The gun seemed to work better. Unlocking wasn't as stiff and riding the bolt forward slowly seemed to more reliably rotate and lock the bolt closed. Unlocking the bolt still felt a little stiffer than seemed right and if I rode the bolt forward in just the right way, it wouldn't rotate and lock closed. Looking back this should have been the final straw and my point to turn around a get rid of this gun, but I kept it and moved on.
I took the gun out to a few more range trips in early 2018, firing about 100 rounds through it and it seemed to be fine. However around this time I graduated college and started a new job and was tight on money, so I didn't get a chance to shoot the gun until recently. I took it out last weekend and I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but the gun just felt off. It felt and sounded like the action cycling was noticeably delayed after each shot. Admittedly this could have been paranoia, but if got me looking at the gun and digging into the CAI garands. I've put no more than 200 through this gun and the new bolt and oprod, just seem way to worn for that amount of use. I also discovered online that CAI garand receivers are known for being a crap shoot and best to just stay away. Thinking through all the problems I've had, it seems likely that I have a bad CAI receiver, and that further shooting this gun is just going to result in another worn out bolt and oprod.
Skip here past the backstory, if you just want to read the Gunsmithing questions:
So that brings us to the present. I have a CAI garand which I think is showing clear signs, that it has one of the bad out of spec receviers.
Should I pay to have it inspected to know for sure? I was considering having Fulton Armory do this.
Is it better to just cut my losses and sell this as a cheap for parts gun?
I was also considering finding a different receiver and having someone strip the parts off the CAI receiver and reassembling them on the new receiver. Not sure if this is worth it though? The gun does have a Danish stock and barrel and both the original bolt and oprod as well as the new set are Springfield armory, so there is some potential value in doing this.
I could also turn around and sell this to someone else as is, but the thought of selling someone a defective gun, just doesn't sit right with me. Especially because someone took advantage of my ignorance to do the same.
Anyways this is where I open the floor to hear suggestions or answers to my questions. Also I can post pictures if anyone want to see particular areas of the gun. Appreciate anyone who has taken the time to read this far!
Backstory:
In early December 2017, I decided I wanted to buy a garand. I had investigated the CMP, but the process seemed complicated and turned me off from trying, so I instead decided to look around on Gunbroker(first noob mistake). I found what I thought was an excellent deal at the time, where a gunstore had posted a garand with a bandoleer of ammo on clips and only for ~$740! Considering most GB offerings were well into the 1000+ range, this seemed like a potentially great deal. Even so, I was a bit suspicious and started looking at the description, to see if there was anything wrong with the gun. The only apparent thing was that it was a CAI production gun, red flag number one, which at the time I had no idea what CAI was. That should have been my clue to do my damn research, but I just assumed CAI meant it was a modern production gun and didn'tthink much else of it.
Since I just wanted a shooter I didn't care if the gun had any historical value or not, so I decided to bid on the garand. Unlucky for me, although I didn't know it at the time, I won. Fast forward a week or so, the gun arrives, and I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl, because now I own a garand! I also had put additional $60 in at this point for shipping and transfer fees, so my total is now up to $800. Still I always field strip, inspect, clean, and re-lube any gun I buy. I finish cleaning inspecting and start practicing how to load and unload the gun, which is when I discovered the next red flag, number two. The bolt felt very stiff to open and if I brought the bolt forward slowly it would sometimes not rotate correctly and seize just out of battery. Having never owned a garand, I thought both those issues were odd, but didn't think as much about it as I should have. I assumed that I just didn't lube the gun right, so I field stripped it again and added more grease to the bolt lugs, the oprod bolt interfaces, and the oprod track.
I take the gun out to the range the following weekend, and start putting rounds through. Don't worry nothing catastrophic happened, but after a clip or two through the gun, the oprod guide lug jumped its track, which was red flag number three. To the guns credit it seemed fine before this happened, but I knew the oprod jumping its track was definitely not supposed to happen, so I immediately stopped shooting.
At home, I spent more time inspecting the gun and doing research on why this might happen. And most of my research pointed to a bent or worn out oprod. Looking over the oprod, the wear on it seemed to confirm this conclusion, so I purchased a new oprod, oprod spring, and bolt for good measure, an additional $200 bringing my total up to $1000. I bolt the new bolt, as the old bolt also seemed to have excessive wear and I figured if the old oprod was damaged then the old bolt could be damaged as a result. I get the new parts, lube them as before and reassemble the gun with them. The gun seemed to work better. Unlocking wasn't as stiff and riding the bolt forward slowly seemed to more reliably rotate and lock the bolt closed. Unlocking the bolt still felt a little stiffer than seemed right and if I rode the bolt forward in just the right way, it wouldn't rotate and lock closed. Looking back this should have been the final straw and my point to turn around a get rid of this gun, but I kept it and moved on.
I took the gun out to a few more range trips in early 2018, firing about 100 rounds through it and it seemed to be fine. However around this time I graduated college and started a new job and was tight on money, so I didn't get a chance to shoot the gun until recently. I took it out last weekend and I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but the gun just felt off. It felt and sounded like the action cycling was noticeably delayed after each shot. Admittedly this could have been paranoia, but if got me looking at the gun and digging into the CAI garands. I've put no more than 200 through this gun and the new bolt and oprod, just seem way to worn for that amount of use. I also discovered online that CAI garand receivers are known for being a crap shoot and best to just stay away. Thinking through all the problems I've had, it seems likely that I have a bad CAI receiver, and that further shooting this gun is just going to result in another worn out bolt and oprod.
Skip here past the backstory, if you just want to read the Gunsmithing questions:
So that brings us to the present. I have a CAI garand which I think is showing clear signs, that it has one of the bad out of spec receviers.
Should I pay to have it inspected to know for sure? I was considering having Fulton Armory do this.
Is it better to just cut my losses and sell this as a cheap for parts gun?
I was also considering finding a different receiver and having someone strip the parts off the CAI receiver and reassembling them on the new receiver. Not sure if this is worth it though? The gun does have a Danish stock and barrel and both the original bolt and oprod as well as the new set are Springfield armory, so there is some potential value in doing this.
I could also turn around and sell this to someone else as is, but the thought of selling someone a defective gun, just doesn't sit right with me. Especially because someone took advantage of my ignorance to do the same.
Anyways this is where I open the floor to hear suggestions or answers to my questions. Also I can post pictures if anyone want to see particular areas of the gun. Appreciate anyone who has taken the time to read this far!