Range Report 1941 Garand vs 1941 Johnson

[Rarecat 0]

I don't know about the rest of you but I like to shoot my rifles.  Today I decided to reenact the M1 vs M1941 shoot off 80 years later.  The Garand is a 1941 vintage SA with the original barrel and the JSAR is an A series.  I used Greek Surplus HXP 30.06 in both rifles.  The results were almost as expected.  The M1 ran flawlessly, the JSAR ran flawlessly until it got hot after about 30 rounds and had a few extraction issues.  The JSAR was a bit more accurate and we were ringing steel at 200 yard with little effort.  So from a reliability & shooting perspective, the M1 edged out the M1941 but from an attention getting at the range standpoint, there was no contest, the Johnson was the winner.

It seems like the JSAR likes to run "wet" like the M-16, is that what others have experienced?  The Garand likes grease, what about the JSAR?  I'm also going to look at the brass and see if it tells me anything.  Last time I took the JSAR out there were no malfunctions so something changed....

 

[Ed Johnson 0]

As has been noted in the Johnson book and in previous trials, the Garand was possibly a little easier to carry in the jungle if only a few rounds were fired and the wood surrounding the barrel was warm but not too hot. The Johnson had less wood surrounding the barrel and was designed to allow the barrel to cool or even be quickly changed out. With extensive sustained fire, the Johnson remained more accurate because the barrel heat would dissipate more quickly, whereas the accuracy of the Garand would be affected by the barrel heat being encased or trapped within the wood.

As to your test above, if the 30 rounds were all fired at the same rate (fairly rapidly), the heat might have affected the Garand accuracy. I'm a bit surprised at the problems mentioned with the '41 extraction, since it is a strong design, and wonder if there is/was a problem with that individual gun. ej

[M48TANKER 0]

RareCat,

Forgive me if I'm explaining things which you already know!

Remember "Extraction" is done by the "extractor" on the right side of the bolt pulling the spent cartridge out of the chamber. The "Extractor" is under spring tension and must be strong enough to really grab onto the spent brass casing.

Sorry for the dark picture.....it's not mine.

.

"Ejection" is done when the rim of the spent casing hits the "ejector" located on the left side of the receiver. You can have problems with either or both. When the chamber gets hot the brass is more likely to stick to the chamber walls when the casing expands.

Many extraction problems with the JSAR are related to the chamber needing to be polished or even honed. Check the Johnson's spent brass for any indication of a scratch in the chamber.

Mr. Joe Scott has addressed this issue many times. Looking up some of his old posts will yield several methods of dealing with this. Sometimes the chamber just gets dirty and other times the problem can be addressed by a good polishing of the chamber walls to remove any imperfections which might cause the extraction problems.

A chamber which is a bit dirty or too oily might cause sticking problems when hot. Also check the condition of your extractor. You didn't indicate exactly what the problems are, so there are several areas to inspect depending on the malfunction.

Johnsons need a good full length recoil/buffer spring in order to function properly. The spring should measure a full 12 inches at least. Most old springs "take a set" or suffer from fatigue. For example if your spring measures 11& 3/4 inches, even that could cause "overactive ejection" issues.

With an extractor that is in good shape and a polished chamber, your problems should be resolved. Of course don't overlook the condition of the "ejector" and make sure it's operating properly. The "Ejector" on the left side of the receiver is often overlooked and might need a good cleaning. There is a "wire spring clip" that operates the ejector with a pivot pin holding it on.

[Rarecat 0]

Obviously my range day was not scientific or meant to get any feathers ruffled.  M48Tanker is likely on to the issue, the chamber seemed sticky and the brass shows some lines.  On two or three rounds, the action would not cycle and I had to manually cycle.  It was intermittent so a deep cleaning may solve it.    

[Ed Johnson 0]

You didn't ruffle any feathers. And your posters arrived. They look just fine. Thank you very much !