Precision Garands: The National Match M1

The explosion of mass produced, yet accurate, rifles in the 1880’s made individual marksmanship training worthwhile. Despite this, such training was slow to take as no prescribed system or standard existed and was left to the whim of the unit commander. Influenced by civilian competition shooters, forward-thinking high echelon leaders such as General Philip Sheridan, then Army Chief of Staff, began encouraging competitive shooting programs to find the best talent among the ranks.

What would eventually evolve into the rifle National Match Course was first created for the M1873 Trapdoor Springfi eld, the issue rifle of the day. The course of fire comprised three seven round slow fi re strings shot at 200 yards Standing, 300 yards Kneeling, and 600 yards Prone. By 1892 the US had adopted its first repeater, the Krag-Jørgensen rifle, and first smokeless cartridge, the .30 Army (.30-40 Krag.) This made rapid fire practical and a change to the course of fi re was made.

The slow fi re portion was mostly the same with two stages of rapid fi re added, each fi red as two fi ve round strings. At 200, from Standing, the time limit was 20 seconds per string and at 300, from Sit or Kneel, the time limit was 30. Rapid fire would evolve again when the Springfi eld 1903 came into service. The magazine was readily filled with chargers and speed loading became possible.

Rapid fi re times were increased to 70 seconds, but participants now had to adopt the prescribed shooting position and reload after shooting five rounds with another fi ve rounds via stripper clips. While this would remain the standard for bolt actions, it would take a semiautomatic to change the National Match format. U. S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 was the first practical self loading rifle to be standard issue by a major military power.

A product of Springfi eld Armory’s consulting engineer John Cantius Garand’s genius, the rifle was never officially titled "M1 Garand" but that is the name by which it is so widely known. Even the Civilian Marksmanship Program, the most recognizable supplier of these rifles, refers to them as such. The M1 was adopted in 1936 as the 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle’s replacement and served in the US until supplanted in 1957 by the M14.

M1s would continue to soldier on in numbers throughout the 1960’sand later by other nations friendly to the United States. The fi ve-reload-fi ve cycle wasn’t convenient with the eight round en bloc clips of the Garand. Service rifle rapid strings were again modifi ed to shoot two rounds first, then reload with eight. This change has remained in National Match rifle shooting ever since. The M1 did more than usher changes in the course of fire. It was—and is!—a solid contender in its own right.

Some argue that the M1 was the last Service Rifle used in National Match shooting that remained true to the martial intentions of the course. When Springfi eld Armory was directed to provide M1s for National Match use through the 1950’s, only minor gunsmithing was needed. Production standards for Garand’s design had been high enough that only slight modifications were necessary. Before discussing the National Match version of the M1 and modifi cations, we should look at the reasons why match shooting is useful.

Too many shooters, military and civilian, don’t realize that formal competition has been the primary driving force behind nearly every shooting skill in existence. Almost every skill and training program concerning good shooting and gun handling can ultimately trace its origin back to some guy trying to earn points and win a contest. National Match shooting comprises range exercises originally developed to train skills with military issue rifles and pistols.

As shooters improved, match grade versions were developed. This provides a number of benefi ts. New ideas and improvements for the current issue service weapon can be tested. As event participants improve skills, accurized versions encourage further practice and development. While most shooters will never out-shoot rack grade equipment, skilled competition marksmen can. Furthermore, top shooters trained on accurate versions of issue service firearms typically make the best instructors.

A recent example of this occurred during the mass mobilizations in 2004. There was a heightened demand for Designated Marksmen, however, personnel in charge of training soon realized that they lacked the skill and

On top is a .308 National Match M1 and below it is a standard Garand in .30-06. The rear sights of this NMC M1 and CMP-legal AR-15 are lined up to show the difference. know-how to provide it. High level civilian Service Rifle competitors were recruited at a number of mobilization platforms to augment military instructors to handle the load. While organized shooting events are clearly superior for developing higher level marksmen, there are a few black marks against it.

One of the more common complaints is the use of overly specialized competition-only firearms and accessories. The skills learned there are useful in any form of rifle shooting, including combat. What’s more, some of the modifi cations that let the M16 win in competition have trickled down into combat gear, notably the A2 rear sight, free float hand guards/ rails, and magazine length 77 grain projectiles (Mk 262).

However, few individuals competing in service rifle matches today would choose to carry their competition service rifle to battle. Heavy barreled and stocked rifles using optical aids in the rear sight (CMP legal M16s are sometimes weighted to double the poundage of rack M1s) and hard back shooting coats are not practical in the field. This was not the case in the early days of Service Rifle shooting and remained true with the M1 until the M14 supplanted it.

National Match M1s used through the early 1970s were service guns worked over a bit. Springfield Armory produced M1s until 1963 and they were fully combat ready service rifles, albeit more mechanically precise. Personnel conditioning military match M1s improved refitting and parts selection processes. The first bedding jobs began by wedging match book covers between the trigger group flats This helps keep the shooter’s cheek welded where it belongs! and stock, holding the barrel group tighter.

Later, techniques like epoxy bedding and gluing the hand guards to higher-quality barrels were used. The best match conditioned M1s could shoot close to one minute of angle groups at 600 yards routinely.

At 1000 yards, these same rifles could still hold two minutes, well inside the thirty-six inch fi ve ring of the old ‘C’ target before it was superseded by the current LR target. .30-06 Springfield was the only cartridge allowed in standard NRA match rifle competition at the time and bolt action rifles chambered for it weren’t much more precise. The best

Each click is a full minute of angle and the aperture is fairly ample. Each click of windage (knob on the right side) is a half minute. Marks on the sight indicate mechanical zero and allow the shooter to always return to an exact known point. Windage settings are based off this initial setting. The notch on the hood indicate the rear peep is up. Rotating 180 degrees will put the sight a half minute down. of the day struggled to stay inside six inches at 600 yards and fifteen inches at 1000.

In 1963 7.62mm NATO was allowed for competition at the National Matches and further accuracy improvements began. Shooting from machine rest, military team-converted M1s could shoot match grade ammo inside four inches at 600 yards and twelve inches at 1000. The best bolt actions cut this to under three at 600 and eight at 1000. The accuracy improvement enjoyed by .308 rifles was due to better ammunition consistency and military produced .30-06 had much greater velocity deviation.

Rifle builders and shooters of the day found that a ten foot per second deviation would yield a half minute vertical impact change. This isn’t to say the .30-06 is inherently imprecise. Remember, .308 was introduced about fi ve decades later and a number improvements in ammunition manufacturing had occurred. Service Rifle competition was shot with issue ammunition.

Prior to 1963 participants were still using ammunition manufactured from an age when metallic cartridges and smokeless power were a relatively new thing. Improvements in rifle and ammunition precision forced scoring rings on High Power targets to be reduced. Shooters were routinely 30-06, this National Match M1 fi res 7.62x51mm or .308 Winchester ammunition through a medium-heavy Barnet barrel.

Service Rifle triggers need not weigh more than 4.5 pounds and a good gunsmith can make that feel much lighter. shooting clean Vcounts on the A, Band Ctargets used since the turn of the century so tie breaking was common and painful. By 1966 the 200, 300 and 600 yard targets were changed to the current decimal targets used today. 200 and 300 yard targets went from a twelve-inch fi ve ring down to a seven-inch ten ring, and the twenty-inch center on the

This M1 was built by Don Mc Coy, known for his great workmanship on these rifles. On match conditioned M1s the front handguards are fitted and then glued into place. 600 yard ‘B’ reduced to twelve inches. Five years later the 1000 yard ‘C’ target morphed down from thirty-six inches to a twenty-inch ten ring. Tweaking The Garand Some argue the M1 was the last "true" Service Rifle, in that the NMC version is a slightly improved issue piece.

My National Match Garand was built by legendary Navy Armorer Don "Mac" Mc Coy, an M1 specialist. Upon retiring from the Navy, he moved to San Diego and become renowned among the southern California High Power community for exceptional workmanship, his trademark being a very shiny finish on his stocks. Besides the stock’s sheen, the most obvious change is rebarreling with a medium-heavy Barnet barrel (Douglas blank) chambered to 7.62x51mm with a 1-10 twist.

This is perfect for 168 grain bullets, such as those loaded in the superb Lake City match ammunition. Internally, the action is set tightly with a mirror fit to the stock via bedding compound. The barrel floats without touching the stock. A common problem among Garands is the tendency for point of impact shifts as the rifle heats. There are a couple things a gunsmith must check. The op rod can’t touch the stock anywhere.

The rear handguard should also float with only the retaining clip touching the barrel and a slight gap between the receiver, otherwise the amount of pressure on the receiver will change with temperature shifts. Another point of concern is the forward handguard. Some shooters claim that if the gas cylinder is too tight here point of impact can vary six to eight minutes as the barrel heats up. To avoid this, the front handguard and stock must be aligned with no barrel contact forward of the lower band.

Gunsmiths fix this by gluing it into place and ensuring sufficient clearance. These fixes raise the accuracy potential greatly. To use that potential, we need to improve the fi re control systems, namely the trigger and sights. Garand iron sights are among the best ever on a military rifle. As issued, each click of elevation or windage moves the strike one minute of angle. This is plenty of precision for field shooting, but an Across-The- Course shooter will need more.

The windage knob on NMC Garands give half minute clicks, however, elevation remains a full minute. To yield a half minute adjustment, the hooded rear aperture is offset and can rotate 180 degrees. A notch indicates if the peep is up or down. Furthermore, the front sight is shaved down. Typically, issue M1s (and M14/M1As) will have a 200 yard zero eight to twelve minutes up from bottomed out.

A 600 yard setting would be around 28 clicks up from bottom, forcing the shooter to bring his face up slightly to get an eye behind the sight. By shaving the front sight down the rear sight stays lower for the same elevation zero. Another reason the M1 is so beloved is because it has one of the best trigger actions on an issue semi-auto. However, improvements can be had. A National Match rifle must have a trigger capable of lifting at least 4.5 pounds.

A good gunsmith will polish and set the parts so most of that weight is taken up in the first stage, leaving a consistent, crisp second stage. As the first practical issue self loading military rifle, the M1 left its mark on the battlefi eld and training ranges. Its influence is still felt on High Power ranges and, as a testament to its design, can still be competitive there. For those who don’t want the expense of full match conditioning, new life has been breathed into the old warhorse via the CMP Games.

However you shoot it, the Garand is a true rifleman’s rifle. AG