M1 Garand Gas Plug Question

Sharps40

Sharps40

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Looking for experienced responses. I've read the ad copy for the products listed. Figgered I'd ask for experiences before I hit the range this weekend.

Dads Garand. M1. 30-06, 1944 Manufacture, Springfield Armory, Total overhaul/renew/purchased new from Springfield armory in 1990 for $425. (It is a 1944 SA Serial number, not one of the high SN commercial copies made in the late 90s by a company that used the SA name.....so, its an all Military Garand.)

It shoots and has shot everything from Factory 165s to 150-220g reloads.....(yep, finally studied up on it, no more 220s!) It survived. Garands are tuff, op rod is fine.

Dad can't possibly shoot irons anymore. So, I installed the Amiga Low Mount Scout with Vortex 2-7 scout scope. Sighting it this weekend.

Also, ordered the Garand Gear ported (not vented) gas lock plug to, ostensibly, reduce those port pressures and thus, action / op rod wear.

So.......

Anybody used the Garand Gear Ported (not vented) gas lock plug?

If so, where does your factory non garand specific loaded ammo place its ejected brass on the clock, 1-2 like the factory M1 specific Ammo with standard gas plug? Or out at 5-6 oclock like non garand ammo with the standard gas plug......?

i.e. Has your use of the ported plug seemingly softened recoil (really, non existent in this boat anchor of a rifle) and/or seemingly slowed bolt velocity (as indicated by position of ejected brass)?

Any other thoughts....?
 
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Gewiz....its a boat anchor! Been a long time since I shouldered an 11 lb sharps or roller......gonna have to get a dolly to wheel this monster to and from the stand for dad. Will need a real rope to get it off the ground safely!
 
Ok....never mind. I got this.

But.....thank all of you for not jumping on here and giving me advise and admonishments on every component of the M1 Garand except the aforementioned after market gas plug.

I'm gonna stop asking questions on forums and just go to the range. Results will be sufficiently informative.

Ya'll are a good bunch. Quiet. That's refreshing. Really!
 
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Sorry, Sharps. Didn't have an answer for you and elected to keep my damn mouth shut...maybe learn a little from the accumulated wisdom of the group. I think that they're all sleeping.
 
Windage-n-Elevation said:
Sorry, Sharps. Didn't have an answer for you and elected to keep my damn mouth shut...maybe learn a little from the accumulated wisdom of the group. I think that they're all sleeping.
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No, you are good good good good. Quiet, where you don't know for sure is.....PERFECT! Love you for that! (not in a gay way). Another forum, I asked the same question (s) in a similarly direct manner looking for real experiences. Wow. They made my head hurt with specious internet fear mongering about bent rods, broken in half receivers, misaligned ports and the effects of bacon grease on linseed oil finished stocks for all I can remember now.....I just quit wading through the pap and decided that on Sat or Sun when I shoot the gun with both original and ported plug, I'll know for sure!......

Meantime.....you all are great for not foundering me in pounds of poo....
 
Well be sure to update us with your experience with the gas plug. I'm curious to see what kind of results you get.
 
Me too.....I think/hope it will be positive. Hopefully the main benefit is somewhat bolt velocity/easier on the action, but my ability to report there will be all subjective, recoil feel, etc...... But, if nothing else, I'll be hoping that my brass landing points even up some with non Garand specific hunting ammo and that I should be able to directly observe and report on with confidence.
 
AD43576 said:
Well be sure to update us with your experience with the gas plug. I'm curious to see what kind of results you get.
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This. Didn't see the post earlier, have no answer. Have wondered about options. Though handloading for mine shouldn't be much trouble.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 
USPS done good....two days ahead of schedule New Ported plug arrived from Garand Gear. Looks great, fine quality, color matches the Park. So....pulled out the grenade launching poppet plug and installed the ported plug. Dab of grease on the threads and torqued it to 100 in lbs with the 1/4 driver. Ready to hit the range.
 
I keep a Schuster ported plug on my H&R except during CMP matches. It is not necessary with the HXP surplus I usually shoot. It may, or may not be necessary on most other 'reasonable' ammo. I just use the Schuster to theoretically reduce operating pressure a tiny bit to maybe save a bit of wear and tear. Or in other words, I do it just to be on the safe side. That being said, shooting HXP surplus using both plugs, I have not noticed any difference in performance or recoil between the original plug and the Schuster.
 
I thought about going with an adjustable plug but I know Dad won't be willing to fiddle with it when he buys this box or that of ammo. So, I got this one to try and stocked him up with 500 rounds of factory hunting ammo. Worst case and only if I think I need to, I'll get a solid pug and vent it just like a carburetor.....drill it out till it runs reliably and then go one number higher. My guess, there will be little or no difference in function between the grenade launching plug and this ported one except a reduction of peak pressure which is the goal. Give dad and his rifle a wider safety margin (yep, like you, stay on the safe side). And as long as I keep him supplied, 220g bullets won't slip back into the mix again.
 
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Ok. Fired 5 magaclipload thingies today (Magaclipload is a composite word meaning Garand BulletCartridgeRound holder and should account for "acceptability in lexicon" of just about 90% of nimrods and arm chair innerweb gunbug typemeisters some of whom get their panties bunched in a knot if ya call a mag a clip or a clip a loader or a loader a stripper or a stripper a ho.....but, to the gun). 40 rounds. PRVI Partizan, 2009 MFG 165g BTSP. 1944 M1 SA Springfield Garand. Vortex 2x7 Scout Scope on Amiga Lighter Weight M1 Garand Scout Mount. Garand Gear Ported (not vented) Gas Plug installed in place of the factory Grenade Launcher Poppet Valve.

Damn.

Shoulda scoped this bitch years ago.

Zeroed at 50 yards. Cranked it up to 7 and rang the 12" steels at 100, 150, 200 and 250 yards with careful center holds.

Damn.

Shoulda put in the Garand Gear Ported (not vented) plug years ago.

Shots 1-6 or 7, you can watch them come out and just over the scope when shooting with both eyes open. They all land in the 1-3 oclock positions. Shots 7 and 8 typically falling in the 2 to 4 oclock position. So, I can assume a proper/safe bolt velocity and momentum with the Garand Gear plug and Prvi 165g BTSP since these clock positions are about where Military Ball winds up. I'm happy enough with the reduced scattering of the brass to leave the Garand Gear plug installed and the factory poppet as a spare in the butt trap.

As for recoil. Its all subjective. I feel it is slightly reduced with the install of the Garand Gear plug. At least, I didn't notice that the skin of my right elbow was abraded off until the end of magaclipload thingie number 3. Typically, I notice the loss of elbow hide against the bench in the first 10 rounds or so.
 
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Oh hells clangin forkin bells of typo mistakes!!! I hadda fix my post cause I misspelled Garland! Grand! Damnit. Garand. Friggin auto fill. Damages the poetry.
 
Hi - just getting back in action and noticed this thread. I don't have any personal experience with the ported (or vented) plugs but do know about them and why they are used. You may already know this but in case you don't I thought I'd toss it out in case it's of use to you. On the CMP forums (thecmp.org) you can find a number of discussions about the plugs and possibly of more interest is that the guy who runs Garand Gear is an active member out there and always willing to help folks out. I believe that his user id is Ericc ... and if you google something like "cmp forums garand gear plug" you should find much info / opinions about the plugs. Toss eric into the search and you'll probably get hits on him as well.

Hope this is helpful and if you've already gone that route I apologize for eating the bandwidth.

Mike
 
Took it back out to fine tune the zero for Dad. Fired another three magaclipload thingies....loaded first round left and fist round right.....the gun don't care. It continues to lay the brass in a neat pile about 2 o'clock. The zero is right on the money at 207 yards, I lasered it with my new Aculon A11 mini sized range finder. Super neat device. So, the grenade launching poppet valve is in the butt trap and the Garand Gear ported gas plug is installed and I'm happy that I can fire all the 165 commercial I want with reliability (and some confidence that its not being over worked). Now its up to Dad, to check zero for himself and go out and make meat.
 
Yeah. Saw those. They helped me decide to make the purchase as on 5 forums, no one had any constructive commentary. Lots of advice on the proper name for enbloc clips and rightietoppie bullet vice leftie toppie bullet and super hyper paranoia bout bent parts and blown off gas buttons and erosion of the gas tube and Chinese Rifling Eating Nanobots in the imported ammo and.....well..... you know the drill......no answers to the basic question. So, per the video, some slide velocity reduction overall, no screws to loose. I'm happy with the Garand Gear plug and feel confident its doing what it advertises....And I'm firmly sure the Garand is much less inclined to break with modern ammo than the innerweb would have one believe, whether or not you use a ported plug. For me....the Garand Gear ported plug is a conservative measure and doing no apparent harm. At the least, my brass is stacking neatly in front of the gun instead of flying behind into the next county.
 
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And, I love that Vortex 2x7 scout scope on the Amega Mount. The 5" swingers at 200 yards are just getting murdered from the bench....as they hang on a rubber strap, we can wrap them clear around the cross pole with a couple shots!
 
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