I have an m1 garand that is doubling on me. Could the firing pin cause it on chambering.?

Question

The second case has an impression of the firing pin hole on the primer. That leads me to believe that the pin is hitting the primer hard enough to set off the second round . But why now and after about 100 rounds. The third cartridge has a fairly deep dent, but it doesn't fire.

Answer 1

Two very good answers above me here but I will add one more item. Is this happening when you are shooting either from the prone position or on a shooting bench? Garands are KNOWN for double and triple tapping from those positions. I shoot in the thousand yard matches at Camp Perry with my Garand and I have had it happen to me in my earlier years plus I see it all the time with newer shooters. If that is the case, or you are in doubt, the best thought I have for you is to loosen the trigger finger. I know it sounds funny, but you will feel the difference when you do. That solved the problem for me. And yes,,,,you can also get trigger jobs or replacements that will do the same. I hope this helps you.

Answer 2

The problem you have encountered is called "slam-firing" and can be quite dangerous. It seems to happen with the M1 and M14 rifles with the floating firing pin. NEVER load a round into the chamber by hand, and let the bolt slam closed on it. Always let the rifle load from the clip or magazine.

The following links have some good information on them about it.

Answer 3

As a Gunsmith and many years shooting an M1 Garand, I can tell you that your problem is most likely caused by two possibilities..#1 Your Firing Pin maybe broken, and as a result the firing pin might be protruding too far out of the Bolt face. #2 The firing Pin assembly might be bound up with Cosmoline or grease that causes it to bind up when hot....

Either on of these are easy to check. Take it to your local Gunsmith and have him check the Bolt and Firing Pin with a Protrusion gauge to see if it exceeds military specs or is broken. A new firing pin will only cost you $10 or you can get one made of Titanium for about $18 (That will NEVER wear out or break). You can get a replacement Firing Pin from Numrich Gun Parts Corporation in West Hurley, New York..
e-gunparts.com or 866-NUMRICH (Phone Orders)

NOTE* If it was the Sear, it would happen a lot more often and would create issues every few shots instead of after a few dozen rounds...

Answer 4

It sounds like the sear disconnector or trigger assembly needs to be checked. Have you recently had a trigger job done or any work done on the rifle? It sounds like your bolt is cycling three times hard enough fire and cycle twice and make an impression in three cartridges... a dangerous condition, and it might get you into trouble at a public range. You should just take it to a reputable gunsmith who should know immediately what to trouble-shoot when you tell him the symptoms. Good luck. Another possibility though unlikely depending on your firing position is that you are holding the gun in such a way that you are "bump firing" it. This is when you let the recoil of the first round bump the trigger against your stationary trigger finger causing more than one round to fire very fast, but not a malfunction (still one shot per trigger pull).