Used a 1943 Springfield barrelled receiver from FAC
and a parts kit bought out of a local buy&sell paper to
build this rifle. Didn't know if it would shoot or not till I
went to the range yesterday. The only problem I had
was it would not strip the second round from the clip
and feed it; after shooting the first round, the bolt cycled
and closed without stripping off the second round. I just
pulled the charging handle back and chambered the second
round and it shot the rest of the clip without a hitch. It did
this for the first three or four clips then started cycling correctly.

It's a parts gun, but, hey... it works!

Panzer Out

Damn near every M1 in service ended up as a "parts gun", eventually.  You gave new life and a happy home to a lonely pile of parts. Be proud and enjoy it.


BTW, I hope you know M1's like grease on all high speed metal to metal contacts. Treat it right and it will love you forever.

Congrats on the build!! How was the barreled receiver? I was under the impression they were "barely servicable." Don't remember where I heard that, though.

Gotta' love the M1!

Quoted: Congrats on the build!! How was the barreled receiver? I was under the impression they were "barely servicable." Don't remember where I heard that, though. Gotta' love the M1!

The barrelled receiver I received from FAC was a little crusty looking and had a light coat of cosmoline. It cleaned up real nice into the worn finish you typically see on rack-grade CMP M1s. Don't know what the TE is, but the bullet-in-the-barrel test left a good eighth of an inch of the bullet showing.

FAC does not guarantee a serviceable barrel, and say as much in their ad. The receiver alone is well worth the $164; a barrel that is not shot out is a bonus. I have not shot any measurable groups yet, but I had no problem blasting one gallon jugs of water from 100 yards!

Panzer Out

I had this exact problem with my 1942 Springfield M1 Rifle I received from CMP several years ago.  Your problem is the gas system.  Can be mechanical or cartridge.  Magazine and op rod spring are the same item and the pressure and therefore friction on the bottom of the bolt is at the maximum when the first round in a clip is ejected.  Rifle just needs some more gas to kick the bolt back a little bit harder.

Measure the button on the tip of the op rod.  It needs to be at least .525" diameter.

The gas port on the bottom of the barrel should be .0805".  A standard 5/64" twist drill is .078125 and can be used as a cleanout tool.

Finally these rifles need M2 Ball ammunition to function properly.  Commercial loaded ammo may not work.  In addition some CMP LC-68 and LC-69 was loaded for ARVN (Army Republic of Viet Nam) who used a slightly modified M1 Rifle using a slightly lower power cartridge.  This ammo should function properly on rifles with a clean, in spec gas system, but may not in a marginal system.

New button on the op rod cured everything.

If everything above is in spec your gas cylinder may be worn out, but there's no convenient way of measuring it.  You'll have to try to find a new one.

-- Chuck

Thanks Panzer.

...a little crusty looking and had a light coat of cosmoline.
FAC does not guarantee a serviceable barrel, and say as much in their ad.

I guess that sums up what I had heard pretty well. So that coupled with not too many kits anymore lead me to pass on the offering.


The receiver alone is well worth the $164; a barrel that is not shot out is a bonus.

Yep. You got that right though. Glad you got the old soldier up and running again. Enjoy it!

Quoted: I had this exact problem with my 1942 Springfield M1 Rifle I received from CMP several years ago.  Your problem is the gas system.  Can be mechanical or cartridge.  Magazine and op rod spring are the same item and the pressure and therefore friction on the bottom of the bolt is at the maximum when the first round in a clip is ejected.  Rifle just needs some more gas to kick the bolt back a little bit harder. Measure the button on the tip of the op rod.  It needs to be at least .525" diameter. The gas port on the bottom of the barrel should be .0805".  A standard 5/64" twist drill is .078125 and can be used as a cleanout tool. Finally these rifles need M2 Ball ammunition to function properly.  Commercial loaded ammo may not work.  In addition some CMP LC-68 and LC-69 was loaded for ARVN (Army Republic of Viet Nam) who used a slightly modified M1 Rifle using a slightly lower power cartridge.  This ammo should function properly on rifles with a clean, in spec gas system, but may not in a marginal system. New button on the op rod cured everything. If everything above is in spec your gas cylinder may be worn out, but there's no convenient way of measuring it.  You'll have to try to find a new one. -- Chuck

Thanks for the info, Chuck. I shot 100 rounds of Korean surplus first trip to the range with this rifle. I am going to check the button on the op-rod and see if there is a way to check for excessive clearance in the gas cylinder.

One thing I did note when putting this gun together is the op-rod spring seemed exceptionally difficult to compress; just seems stiffer than other M1 op-rod springs I have dealt with. I am going to change out the spring with the one in my IHC and see what happens.

Thanks again!

Quoted: Thanks Panzer. ...a little crusty looking and had a light coat of cosmoline. FAC does not guarantee a serviceable barrel, and say as much in their ad. I guess that sums up what I had heard pretty well. So that coupled with not too many kits anymore lead me to pass on the offering. The receiver alone is well worth the $164; a barrel that is not shot out is a bonus. Yep. You got that right though. Glad you got the old soldier up and running again. Enjoy it!

BumbleBee_Bob, I wasn't really looking for a kit when I found this one; I was just perusing the local buy & sell paper one day and saw the ad. Once I had the kit I started looking for a receiver. I wanted to go with a USGI forged receiver so Century Arms International's cast receiver was out of the question. Most places I looked wanted anywhere from $250 to $400 for a USGI receiver.

I think I was fortunate in gettng a good receiver from FAC. I plan on changing the barrel at some point in the future and getting the metal reparked. I also plan on refinishing the stock using Swampy's dishwasher method.

Panzer Out