anyone remember a thread?

[rwg3]

Some time ago IIRC there was a thread about a rifle which fired two or three times when the trigger was pulled. I cant find it now that I need it and I'm hoping that someone who has a more advanced google-fu belt then I do can point me in the right direction. The one I did find was not what I remembered, but then again, I am not the same svelte 21 year old I remember either, so I could be wandering in the woods on this one.

As a bit of background, I was at the range last week with my son and my neighbor just plincking for fun. My neighbor brought his M-1 which he has owned for years but never fired. He recently had it tuned up at the LGS and when he pulled the trigger it fired both rounds like it was an automatic rifle. He tried a second time with three rounds in the magazine and all three went through on the first pull. The look on his face was priceless, however he knows that it must be fixed. I thought of the thread here and offered to try to send him the collective wisdom of our members on this topic. Thanks in advance for your help.

[jmra]

Sounds to me like its already fixed.

[The Annoyed Man]

There is a well known case of a man whose AR15 slam-fired while shooting handloads in the presence of a BATFE agent who was having himself a range day. The man was arrested, tried, found guilty, and sent to prison for having an unregistered (or whatever you want to call it) fully automatic weapon. As I recall, BATFE was unable to duplicate the slam fire, using commercial ammo loads, but was also unble to do so with really hot handloads.

I myself experienced a couple of 2 round slam-fires, one right after the other, in one of my ARs while shooting a friend's handload. I took the ammo out, and I have never experienced another one.

We can make jokes about "sounds like it is fixed," but the fact is that the feds WILL put you in prison for that stuff, even if they can't duplicate the problem. Personally, I'm not willing to go to prison for the amusement of others.

What was your friend shooting in that M1? Was it handloads, or even modern hunting ammo? Was it an M1-Carbine, or an M1-Garand? You should never ever shoot ammo in the Garand other than what it was originally designed for: M2 Caliber .30 Ball Cartridge which loaded a 150 grain flat-based bullet with a velocity of 2,700 fps. Heavier, faster, or heavier and faster bullets risk very much bending your operating rod.

You can probably get away with loading ammo duplicating those ballistics but using OTM, ballistic tip, soft point or other hunting type bullets, but the bullet weight should be no more than 150 grains and no less than 147 grains, and it should not be exceeding 2,700 fps.

[rwg3]

TAM, thanks for replying, I hoped you would. I know he was using hand loads, not sure of the particulars. I will pass along your comments to get more specific info. He is a very experienced pistol shooter and hand loader, but not so much with long guns and not at all with this weapon. He is currently thinking it may be a problem with the sear but your comments may help him consider other options.

Will update as I hear more from him.

[jimlongley]

Not easy to load a Garand with just two or three rounds (although it can be done if you have nimble fingers and know your way around the Garand) so I have to wonder if it is a M1 Carbine? If it's a Carbine, instead of an ammo problem, it might be a sear engagement or disconnector issue. If it was me, I would have the LGS fixing it real quick.

I will echo TAM's cautions, although I have fired my own Garands with ammo that was other than he describes, it was always within comparable ballistic parameters.

[mikeloc]

Not easy to load a Garand with just two or three rounds (although it can be done if you have nimble fingers and know your way around the Garand) so I have to wonder if it is a M1 Carbine? If it's a Carbine, instead of an ammo problem, it might be a sear engagement or disconnector issue. If it was me, I would have the LGS fixing it real quick.

I will echo TAM's cautions, although I have fired my own Garands with ammo that was other than he describes, it was always within comparable ballistic parameters.

Back in the Old Corp it was will known that if you filed the sear on the Garand it would fire fully auto. To fix the problem replace the sear.

Mike

[jimlongley]

Not easy to load a Garand with just two or three rounds (although it can be done if you have nimble fingers and know your way around the Garand) so I have to wonder if it is a M1 Carbine? If it's a Carbine, instead of an ammo problem, it might be a sear engagement or disconnector issue. If it was me, I would have the LGS fixing it real quick.

I will echo TAM's cautions, although I have fired my own Garands with ammo that was other than he describes, it was always within comparable ballistic parameters.

Back in the Old Corp it was will known that if you filed the sear on the Garand it would fire fully auto. To fix the problem replace the sear.

Mike

Yeah, but it wouldn't stop firing when you released the trigger, and it was not particularly controllable, primarily just an ammo waster.

[rwg3]

Talked with my buddy some more and passed along the comments. Here is his info on the weapon.

30 cal. M1 carbine
Firing 100 gr SJ Hornady bullets
12 gr. 2400 powder
COL 1.680

In our discussion he said in looking over the weapon, he thought the sear was not catching the trigger and that he thinks the original owner may have attempted his own trigger job. Not sure what the LGS did in their tune-up but it obviously did not catch this issue. My buddy is looking at CMP and some other sites to find replacement parts. I don't know if the ammunition spec above are part of the problem given the early feedback, but I think he is on the right track. I appreciate the input from all. Thanks

[Jim88]

This happened on an AR to, ummm, a friend - yeah, a friend. Turned out to be a broken disconnector spring. I think I remember reading that it could happen if the spring were in backwards. Simple fix.

https://www.google.com/#q=ar+15+firing+2+shot+burst" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[txGreg]

This is marginally off-topic, but I know from personal experience that a Glock will fire twice per trigger-pull (once on pull and once on release) if that tiny firing pin safety spring gets turned sideways in the hole when you re-assemble your slide. If you aren't expecting it, it will almost certainly freak you out at the range. That was a Glock 23 in my case - no (intentional) mods other than tritium sights.