I have a Garand manufactured in 1943 at Springfield Armory.  I like the weapon, but I have been getting poor accuracy out of it.  This is a 50 yard group, off of a sandbag, with Korean milsurp ammo.

Now obviously, Korean milsurp is not match ammo - not by a long shot.  But I had expected better accuracy than this from everything I read about the M1.  I know that match ammo wll close the group up some, and if I continue to practice that will help a little more, but even so, I expected better than the 4-5 MOA or so that that picture shows.

Can anyone offer any suggestions?  I want the weapon to be as original as possible, so I am not sure where to go from here.  Thanks.

First, make sure the stock is tight. When you close the triggr group, you should start to feel pressure as the trigger guard gets close to the trigger. It should clamp tightly. Once the trigger group is clamped down, check to see if the rifle moves in the stock. There should be no side to side or up and down movement. Next, check the gas cylinder. It should be tight on the barrel with no movement once the lock is tightened. Then check your sights. No movement in the front sight, none in the rear sight. Check the barrel crown and muzzle wear, The crown should be smooth with no dings obstructing the rifling. Take a .30 cal cartridge and stick it in the muzzle. It shouldn't go all the way in to the casing. Now, look at the rifling. Is there pitting or uneven wear in the bore? Make sure the rifle is properly lubed. Rifle grease on all high speed metal to metal contact points.

If all these things check out, the problem is most likely the ammo or you, or both. Good luck.

I agree with what Sukebe has said and would add a few more things to check.  1) fit of the stock ferrule to the barrel band.  There should be downward pressure on the barrel which you can feel by a squeeze check.  2) op rod interference with front handguard liner or stock ferrule. 3) handguard fit:  clearance between the reciever and the back of the front handguard, and clearance between the front of the front handguard and the rear of the gas cylinder ring, and the sides of the gas cylinder tenon.  Lots of other things to check, Sukebe's and this should keep you busy for a while.

Check the wear on your barrel.  You might have a shot out one.  I have a new VAR barrel and refit by Deans.  I get 1 MOA if I do my part with the Aussie ammo.

4moa with that ammo with a service grade garand is within specs.  It can  do better, but it is not broken.

As mentioned, make sure the gas cyl is a light driven fit on the barrel, it must fit tight before the gas lock tightens down.  Also,the gas cyl screw must be tight.  If it loosens while firing (a common occurance) you will introduce another 2moa error to your rifle.

Here is a trick for the rear apeture, take a small rubberband and wrap it around the left sight wing and the apeture.  Not dead tight, just enough to spring load the apeture to one side like on the AR sights.

As mentioned above, any time you field strip the rifle, expect to fire several clips before the rifle settles back into the stock.  On your target above, that flyer is definatelly a result of barrel shift during settling.

Order some ammo from CMP,and weigh the cartridges.  Sort by weight, and load clips with ammo as close to the same weight as each other.  Then shoot for groups, and see what happens.

Let us know.

M1 Standard MATCH #1 service from here: www.smithenterprise.com/0600_M1_Garand_Parts_Services_Page.htm

Ron knows Garands!

Mike

Quoted: 4moa with that ammo with a service grade garand is within specs.  It can  do better, but it is not broken.

The group pictured, shot from 50 yards off a rest is not 4 MOA.

Can't make out the scale on the target.  Group looks like  somewhat over 2" with some flyers. Rulers or coins help to eliminate guesswork with object sizes.

Avenge did not mention his rifle experience, nubie or seasoned camp perry, or somewhere inbetween.

I am guessing (I know, ass-U and Me) somewhat new to 30-06.

If I shoot 30-06 or 308, then switch to ar15, my groups look like that for a while, and my ar will shoot 2 moa all day long no problem.  

He has some flyers, did he call them?  Was a spotter tracking his rounds to see if he was stringing, or just random grouping?

My M1 shoots a group about 4" at 100 meters, and my 7.62 mauser shoots about 2". I believe some of this is due to there being absolutely no loose parts on the mauser, and there being some rattling parts (messing up the harmonics) on the garand. Follow thru is important when shooting, and bolt guns aren't as distracting as gas guns, so more practice is required for the garand than for the mauser (in my case, anyway).

There are nat'l match style mods that can be made to sights, stock, handguard, oprod, and trigger assy, but it is always best to establish a baseline for accuracy in issued condition.

And the shooter did state " I expected better than the 4-5 MOA or so that that picture shows.", that is where I got the idea it was about 4moa.

Let us know what you find on the rifle.

quality ammo, and a good shooter goes along way for any service rifle. I would do as the others say check the barrel wear. Also check to see if your sights are loose, if they are that can effect accuracy. I have a pretty worn out barrel on my M1 and it still shoots good. Thanks Arvin