Care & Cleaning

The Care And Cleaning Of Your M1

Lets say you have just received your "new" M1 Rifle from the CMP. The big problem is that it is NOT new! Your M1 Rifle is a used (probably well used) military surplus arm at least 40 years old, maybe as old as 60, straight from a military warehouse. IT WAS SOLD BY THE CMP STRICTLY "AS IS". THERE IS NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED!

There is no certainty that this rifle will function reliably or safely in the condition which you receive it - or, if it will, how long it will continue to do so... and we haven’t even gotten to the question of accuracy yet.

So the first thing you do is have it carefully examined by an experienced gunsmith familiar with the internal mechanism of the M1 and the design of its safety features. Any deficiencies must be corrected before you take the rifle out to shoot it.

This examination is especially important if you will shoot any ammunition other than U.S. military standard cartridges. The M1 is a rugged, wonderful rifle; it will keep shooting despite wear, damage and abuse that would halt a lesser arm - so long as you use the ammunition it was designed for. But if you alter its diet and feed it unfamiliar fodder (like home-brewed handloads), a marginal condition that might not have been a problem before, can suddenly become serious, or even potentially dangerous.

Let’s assume that after a careful going over, your gunsmith smiles reassuringly and says your M1 is not bad considering its age (as a doctor might to a man of 50). After stoning off a few burrs or adjusting the timing, he pronounces it safe for sensible use. What’s next? The second thing you do is learn how to take it apart, so you can clean and lubricate it properly. Study Army FM 23-5, the NRA disassembly manuals, the M1 Owner’s Guide by Scott Duff or other sources that explain the disassembly of the M1 into its three basic groups:

1. The Barrel and Receiver Group

2. The Trigger Housing Group

3. The Stock Group

Once the rifle is broken down, the barrel and receiver group should be disassembled. Do not remove the rear sight assembly or the gas cylinder unless absolutely necessary. Ignore minor dings, dents, and scratches on the stock, as the rifles are from 40-60 years old. Cosmetics are not what make the rifle function, and we will cover stock cosmetics in a later issue.

The rifle should be cleaned thoroughly using a good gun solvent. The gas cylinder should be cleaned from the rear using a .45 caliber bore brush and a short section of cleaning rod (or pistol rod). You can clean the gas cylinder from the front by removing the gas cylinder plug. DO NOT REMOVE THE GAS CYLINDER UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!

As you reassemble the rifle the appropriate portions of the rifle should be lubricated with a non-temperature sensitive, non-water soluble grease. The perennial favorite lubricant for the M1 rifle has been "Lubriplate" (still available from Brownell’s) or a lubricant called "Plastilube". Both of these would withstand a rainstorm and were long lasting. Simple gun oil is not satisfactory, and most gun grease does not hold up well.

Let’s go through this step by step, prior to lubricating the rifle. Temporarily install the operating rod and the bolt in the rifle. The bolt and the operating rod should function in the rifle under their own weight, when the rifle is tilted in either direction. If the bolt and operating rod function correctly, remove them and lubricate the following areas of the rifle prior to reassembly:

1. The bottom of the barrel in front of the receiver (you’ll see "wear" marks).

2. The camming surfaces on the inside of the hump of the operating rod.

3. The right rail of the receiver where the operating rod rides.

4. The inner (left hand) rail of the receiver that acts as a receptacle for the left hand locking lug of the bolt.

5. The locking recesses for the bolt locking lugs located in the receiver (where the locking lugs of the bolt fit when the bolt is closed).

6. The locking lugs on the bolt.

7. The "bolt camming lug" on top of the hammer and the top of   the hammer where the bolt rides as the bolt moves to the rear.

8. Bottom of the bolt and the raised curved surface of the top of   the bolt.

9. Use a "Q-tip" (or similar) to apply grease to the guide grooves in the receiver that guide the follower on its way downward when a full clip is installed.

10. Apply grease to the camming surfaces on the follower arm where they fit into the follower.

11. Put a drop of light oil in the hole on the underside of the bolt.

12. Put a drop of light oil on the extractor plunger and spring.

13. Use your greasy fingers to apply a light coat of grease to the operating rod spring, or place a small amount of grease into the spring hole in the operating rod with a cleaning rod and patch - be sparing, what you put on, you must also be prepared to clean off later! Most locations need only a light film of lubricant!

14. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PUT GREASE ON THE HAMMER HOOKS! A perfectly safe trigger job has been known to "double" (fire multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger) when lubricant is applied to the engagement surfaces of the sear and hammer hooks! IN A WORD - DON’T!