GuidebookForMarines Ch15 M1-Rifle

8/10/2019 GuidebookForMarines Ch15 M1-Rifle

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Chapter 15

HE basic weapon of any infantry organi-

zation is the rifle. The basic weapon of

Marine infantry units is the Ml Rifle (U. S.

Rifle, Caliber .30, M l ) . If you are assigned

to an infantry organization, you will prob-

ably be armed with an Ml . About half of the

members of all rifle companies are. Become

thoroughly acquainted with your rifle and

treat it well. Your life and the lives of your

buddies may depend on the way you use it.The Ml rifle is a gas-operated, clip-fed, air-

cooled, semi-automatic shoulder weapon. Its

principal characteristic is its rapid mechani-

cal operation which enables the individual

rifleman or a group of riflemen to deliver a

large volume of accurate fire upon any desig-

nated poin t or area within range. The effec-

tive range of the Ml rifle is considered to

be about 500 yards. Some of its other char-

acteristics are:

WE IG HT 9.5 pounds

LENGTH WITHOUT BAYONET 43.6 inches

LENGTH OF BARREL 24 inches

AVERAGE RATE OF AIMED

FIRE PER MINUTE 30 rounds

CHAMBER PRESSUREPER SQUARE INCH 50,000 pounds

MUZZLE VELOCITY

PER SECOND 2600-2800 feet

CLIP CAPACITY 8 rounds

MA XI MU M RANGE (M2

CARTRIDGE) 3500 yards appr ox.

Nomenclature and Stripping

Before taking the rifle apart, you should

know the nomenclature (that is, the names)

of all visible part s. On your own rifle, find

and learn the names of the parts shown in

Figure 1 5 .1 . Then, as you come to them,

learn the names of the inner parts with the

help of pages 173 through 176.

The Ml rifle has three main groups as you

can see in Fig. 1 5 .2 : the trigger housing

group; the barrel and receiver group; the

stock group.A. Trigger Housing Group. Pictures

1 through 8 on page 173 show the inner parts

of the trigger housing group. Following is a

discussion of how to remove the group from

the rifle and how to disassemble it.

1. Grasp the rifle with your left hand so

that the base of the trigger housing is in-

cluded in the gr ip of your fingers.

2. Place the butt of the rifle agains t your

left thigh, sights to left.

3. Grasp the rear portion of the trigger

guard with the thumb and forefinger of your

right hand.

4. Exert enough pressure toward the butt

to unlatch the trigger guard from the trigger

housing.

5. Swing the trigger gua rd away from thetrigger housing to its extreme opened posi-

tion. See Fig. 1 5 . 3 ( 1 ) .

6. Pul l out the trigger housing group. See

Fig. 1 5 . 3 ( 2 ) .

7. Close and latch the trigger guard.

8. Release hammer to fired position.

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THE Ml RIFLE

15.1 Basic nomenclature of the MI Rifle.

9. To relieve the tension on the trigger

pin, hold the trigger group in your right hand

with the right thumb on the sear, pull on the

trigger with your right forefinger, brace the

base of the trigger housing against a firm sup-

port, and press on the sear with the thumb of

15.2 The three main groups.

your right hand.

10. Holding a bullet or combination tool

in your left hand, start the trigger pin from

its seat.

11 . Remove the trigger pin.

12. Let the hammer spring extend to its

full length by gradually releasing the pressure

of your right thumb and forefinger, mean-

while steadying the hammer spring housing

with the fingers of your left hand.

13 . Remove the trigger assembly. Do not

remove the sear pin or sear.

14 . Remove the hammer spring housing,

hammer spring, and hammer spring plunger.

Separate these parts.

15. Push out the hammer pin from theleft side, and remove the hammer.

16. To remove the safety, push the stud

out from its seat in the left side of the

trigger housing, then lift the safety out from

its slot.

17. To remove the trigger gu ar d: (a)

Hold the trigger housing in your left hand,

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THE Ml RIFLE

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THE Ml RIFLE

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THE Ml RIFLE

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THE Ml RIFLE

with the base of the housing down and away

from your body. (b) Swing the trigger gua rd

to the open position with your right hand.(c) Slide the trigger guard toward your body

until the hammer pin holes are over the cen

ter of the safety slot. (d) Rotate the trigger

guard counter-clockwise with your right hand

until the wings of the trigger guard clear the

edge of the trigger hous ing. (e) Remove the

trigger guard.

18. To remove the clip ejector: (a ) Place

the trigger housing on a solid surface with the

left side up. (b) Insert the point of a bullet

or combination tool in the dismounting hole

in the left side of the trigger housing. (c)

Push out, and remove clip ejector.

19. To re-assemble the trigger housinggroup, follow these steps in reverse order.

B. Barrel and Receiver Group. 1.

Separate the barrel and receiver group from

the stock group by grasping the rifle over the

rear end of the receiver with your left hand,

muzzle to the left, then strike and grasp the

small of the stock with your right hand. (See

Fig. 1 5 . 4 ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) . Pictu res 1 throu gh

16 on pages 174 and 175 show the inner

parts of the barrel and receiver group.)

2. Place the barre l and receiver group on

a smooth surface with the sights down. Be

sure that the aperture is set at minimum

elevation.

3. Grasp the follower rod with your left

thumb and forefinger. (See Fig . 1 5 . 5 ( 1 ) . )

disengage it from the follower arm by pres

sure toward the muzzle. (See Fig. 1 5 . 5 ( 2 ) . )

4. Withdraw the follower rod and oper

ating rod spring toward the butt. (See Fig.

1 5 . 5 ( 3 ) . ) If the follower rod and operatingrod spring are attached, do not separate them.

5. With the point of a bullet or a combina

tion tool held in your right hand and applied

on the side of the receiver farthest from your

body, you now push the follower arm pin

from its seat.

6. Use your left hand to pull the pin out

from the side nearest you.

7. Grasp the bullet guide, follower arm,

and operat ing rod catch assembly. Pull to

the left until these parts are disengaged.8. Lift out these three parts and separate

them. Do not try to remove the accelerator

from the operating rod catch assembly, since

the accelerator pin is riveted in its seat.

9. Lift out the follower with the follower

slide attached. Do not separate the follower

from the follower slide.

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THE Ml RIFLE

15.3(1) Swing trigger guard away from

trigger housing.

15.3(2) Pull out the trigger housing group.

15.4(1) Grasp rifle over rear end of the

receiver.

15.4(2) Strike and grasp the small of the

stock.

15.5(1) Grasp the follower rod with thumb

and forefinger.

15.5(2) Disengage follower rod from arm by

pressure toward muzzle.

15.5(3) Wi thdraw follower rod and operat ing rod spring toward butt of rifle.

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THE Ml RIFLE

15.6(1) Pull back and up on the operating

rod handle until it engages in the

dismounting notch.

15.6(2) Then with an upward and outwar

movement disengage operating rod handl

from bolt operating lug and receiver.

15.7 Lift the bolt up and out to the right

front.

15.8 Hold little finger over firing pin. Hol

thumb firmly over extractor.

15.9 Pry the extractor out until ejector snaps out against your thumb.

10 . To remove the operating rod, grasp

the barrel and receiver group with your left

hand and the opera ting rod hand le with your

righ t hand. You will notice that the operat ing

rod is bent. Do not attempt to straighten it,

for it is purposely bent to provide clearanc

at the enlarged portion of the bar rel . Mov

the operating rod slowly to the rear, pullin

upward and away from the receiver. Whe

the lug on the operating rod slides into th

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THE Ml RIFLE

dis mounting notch of the operat ing rod guide

groove in the receiver, the operating rod will

disengage from the bolt. When the operating

rod is disengaged, remove it with a downward

and rearward movement. (See Fig. 15 . 6 ( 1 )

and ( 2 ). )

11. To remove the bolt, grasp the operat-ing lug. While sliding the bolt from the rear

to the front, lift it up and out to the right

front with a slight counterclockwise rotary

motion. (See Fig . 15.7 .)

12. Before you attempt to disassemble the

bolt, learn the correct names of its parts as

shown on page 175.

13. Gra sp the bolt in your left hand. Hold

the firing pin in place with your little finger,

extractor to the right, front end up, with your

th um b on the front end of the bolt. Hold

your thumb in this manner to prevent the

ejector from flying out and injuring some-

one or being lost (See Fig. 15.8.)

14 . Insert the point of a bullet or the

blade of a combination tool between the lower

edge of the extractor and the cartridge seat

flange on the bolt. ( See Fig. 15.9. ) Pry theextractor out until ejector snaps out against

your thumb. Remove ejector and spring.

15. Remove the extractor, extractor

spring, and the plunger.

16 . Remove firing pin from rear of bolt.

17. You can reassemble the barrel and

receiver group by following the above steps

in reverse order.

C. Stock Group. Pictu res 1 through 9

on page 176 show in detail all of the parts of

the slock group.

Functioning of the Ml Rifle

When you fire the Ml. there is an instan-

taneous series of actions which operates to

eject the empty cartridge case, cock the rifle,

and put a new cartridge in the chamber of

the ride. This series of actions is called the

"functioning." You must understand it thor-

15.10 The hammer strikes firing pin and ignites primer at base of cartridge.

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THE Ml RIFLE

15.11 Gas strikes piston and drives operating rod to the rear.

oughly, so that you will know immediately

what to do if at any time your rifle fails to

operate correctly.The functioning of the Ml consists basi-

cally of two steps; the rearward movement,

which ejects the empty cartridge case and

cocks the rifle, and the forward movement,

which puts a new cartridge into the chamber,

ready to be fired.

A. Rearward Movement. There are ten

steps in the rea rward movement: igniti on,

action of the gas, movement of the operating

rod, unlocking of the bolt, withdrawal of the

firing pin, extraction of the empty cartridge,ejection of the empty cartridge, cocking of the

hammer, action of the follower, and termina-

tion of the rearward movement of the oper-

ating rod. These movements occur as follows:

1. Ignition. When the rifle is loaded and

the bolt closed, the hammer spring is com-

pressed and the trigger lugs are engaged in

the hammer hooks, holding the hammer in the

cocked posi tion . If pressure is then applied

to the trigger, the trigger lugs are disengaged

from the hammer hooks, and the hammer is

released and actuated by a strong hammer

spring. The hamm er rotates about the ham-

mer pin, striking the firing pin, which then

protrudes from the face of bolt and strikes

and ignites the primer in the base of the car-

tridge. (See Fig. 15 .10 . ) The bolt must be

in a fully locked position before this can take

place, as the tang of the firing pin must be

properly aligned with the slot in the bridgeof the receiver. If bolt is unlocked, rota tion

of bolt to a fully locked position is also done

by action of the bolt camming lug striking

the cam surface in the rear face of the bolt.

The shape of this cam surface is such that the

bolt will be fully closed by positive camming

action when the ham mer is released. Of

course, the safety must also be in its foremost

position, so it will not block the hammer and

trigger.

2. Action of the ga s. When the bullet

passes the gas port, some of the gases escape

into the gas cylinder. Here the gas strikes

the piston with sufficient force to drive the

operating rod to the rear, compressing the

operat ing rod spring. (See Fig. 1 5 . 1 1 . )

3. Move ment of the oper atin g rod.

The initial movement of the operating rod to

the rear imparts no motion to the bolt for

about the first 5/ 16 of an inch. The operat ing

lug on the bolt merely slides in the straight

section of the recess in the operating rod.

This delay in the initial movement of the

operating rod permits the bullet to leave the

muzzle, thus decreasing the enormous cham-

ber pressure in the barrel and chamber before

the bolt is opened.

4. Unl ock ing the holt. After the initia l

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THE Ml RIFLE

15.12 The ejector throws the empty cartridge out to the right.

movement, the cam surface of the recess in the

operating rod contacts the operating lug, cam-

ming it up, rotating the bolt counterclockwise,and disengaging the locking lugs from their

corresponding locking recesses in the receiver.

5. With draw al of the firing pi n. Rota-

tion of the bolt also cams the hammer back

from the fi ring pin and wi thdraws the firing

pin into the bolt.

6. Extraction of the empty cartridge.

The operating rod continues to travel to the

rear, carrying with it the bolt, which slides

along the receiver. The empty car tri dge is

carried from the chamber by the extractor.

(See Fig. 15 .12 . )

7. Eje cti on of the emp ty cartridge .

The base of the empty cartridge case contin-

ually presses against the ejector. When the

cartridge case clears the mouth of the breech,

the ejector throws the empty round to the

right, through the action of the compressed

ejector spr ing. (See Fig . 1 5 . 1 2 , right.)

8. Cocking of the hammer. The rear

end of the bolt rides over the hammer, forcing

it back, compressing the hammer spring, and

comes to rest near the end of the receiver.

(See Fig. 15 .13 . )

9. Action of the follower. With the

bolt in its extreme rearward position the top

car tri dge is uncovered. The follower, actu-

ated by the follower arm, and the follower

rod which transmits this pressure from the

operating rod spring, forces the cartridges

upward in the clip so that the top cartridge

lies in the pat h of the bolt. (See Fig. 15.14.)

10. Ter min ati on of rearward move -

ment . The rea rward movement ends when

the square shoulder of the operating rod con-

tacts the front of the receiver.

B. Forward Movement. In the forward

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15.13 Bolt rides over hammer, fo rc in g

hammer back and thus cocking it.

15.14 Follower, ac tuate d by fol lower arm

and rod, forces cartridge up in clip.

15.15 Trigge r and safety fun cti oni ng.

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movement of the bolt there are four steps:

action of the operating rod spring, feeding,

locking, termination of forward movement of

the operat ing rod. These steps take place as

follows:

1. Action of the operating rod spring.

As the bolt starts forward, actuated by the

compressed operating rod spring, the lower

front face of the bolt contacts the base of the

top cartridge of the clip, sliding it forward

into the chamber. The hamm er, actuated by

the hammer spring, rides on the bottom of the

bolt and tends to follow it, but is caught and

held by the trigger lugs, which engage the

hammer hooks if the pressure on the trigger

has been released. If the trigger is still held

back after firing, the sear will engage the rear

hamm er hooks. Subsequent release of thetrigger disengages the sear from the hammer,

which then slides into engagement with the

trigger lugs. (See Fig. 15.15.)

2. Feeding. When the bolt approaches

its forward position, the rim of the cartridge

is engaged by the extractor and the base of

the live round forces the ejector into the bolt,

thus compressing the ejector spring.

3. Locking. The operati ng lug on the

bolt is cammed downward by the rear cam

ming surface of the operat ing rod. This

rotates the bolt clockwise, engaging the lock

ing lugs in their locking recess. This locks

the bolt.

4. Termination of forward movement.

The operating rod continues to move for

ward for about 5/16 of an inch until the

rear end of the straight section of the recess

in the operating rod contacts operating lug onbolt. Thus the rifle is ready to fire again.

Immediate Action and Stoppages

There may be times when your rifle does

not operate properly or does not operate at

all. This is called a "st opp age ." If a stoppage

occurs at a moment when you need your rifle

badly, there are steps you can take to put the

rifle back into use. These steps are called

"immediate action," and you must learn toperform them quickly and automatically.

A. Immediate Action. Your rifle may

fail to fire, the bolt may not lock, the bolt may

lock but the rifle again fail to fire, or the rifle

may not feed. In these cases, immediat e ac

tion can be applied to the Ml rifle in the fol

lowing ways:

1. Rifl e Fails to Fire. Use the little fin

ger of your right hand, held palm up, to pull

the operat ing rod fully to the rear . Release

it quickly. If the operat ing rod goes fully

home, re-aim and fire. The little finger is

used instead of the forefinger in pulling the

operating rod to the rear, so that no portion

of the palm or wrist might be struck in case

a hangfire exists and the operating rod is

driven back rapidly.

2. Bolt Does Not Lock. If you have

performed the above operation and the bolt

cannot go fully to locked position, pull the

opera ting rod to the rear again. Then check

your rifle for a battered round, dirt, or ob

struction on the face of the bolt, in the cham

ber, or in the locking recesses of locking lugs.Remove any obstruction, reload your rifle,

aim, and fire.

3. Bol t Loc ked , but Rifle Fail s to

Fire. You may perform the first step for im

mediate action and the bolt goes to locked

position, but your rifle still fails to fire. In

this case you pull the operating handle to the

rea r again. If no ca rt ridge is ejected, ex

amine for a rou nd in the chamber . If there

is a rou nd, remove it. If the re is no round ,

you can reduce a possible obstruction in the

clip by rotating the upper cartridge. Then

you reload, aim, and fire.

4. Rifle Fails to Fee d. By opera ting the

bolt manually, you do your utmost to keep the

rifle in action.

B. Stoppages. Stoppages resul t from

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THE Ml RIFLE

three causes : failure to fire, failure to feed,

and failure to extract. The methods for

remedying these failures are as follows:

1. Fai lur e to Fire . When your rifle fails

to fire, the usual causes are defective ammu-

nition, a defective firing pin, or a bolt not

fully in place.(a) When defective ammuni tion is to

blame for failure to fire, the primer will be

deeply dented. This dented primer means

that the round is defective. Discard the round.

(b) If the primer is just slightly dented or

is not dented at all. the firing pin is short,

broken, or unserviceable. The firing pin must

be replaced to remedy this failure. If your

rifle fails to fire and in addition the operating

handle cannot be moved to the rear by a

sharp blow with the heel of the hand, the fir-ing pin may be broke n. It would be wedged

in the mechanism between the rear of the

bolt and the top of the receiver . Remove the

trigger housing to get it out. If the trigger

housing cannot be removed easily, do not

force it out. Just open the trigger guar d as

far as it will go. Turn the rifle barr el down

and shake the piece. The broken firing pin

usually falls out when this is done.

(c) If the bolt of your rifle fails to go

home, you check for dirt or obstruction whichprevents the bolt from locking. Remove the

obstruction.

2. Fail ure to Fee d. When your rifle fails

to feed, a number of things might be wrong.

The action of the bolt can indicate to you

what is probably wrong. Fail ure to feed

always results when the bolt fails to go full)

home; it may result when the bolt does go

fully home.

(a) If the bolt does not go fully home, dir t

or an obstruction may be to blame. Check

the rifle for a battered round, dirt in locking

recesses, an obstruction on the face of the

bolt, a dirty chamber, or a ruptured cartridge

case which has not been completely removed.

Remove this dirt or obstruction if it is pres-

ent. A rup ture d cartridge is removed with

the ruptured cartridge extractor. The stop-

page also may be caused by a loose clip which

has lost its tension. This puts the car tri dge

out of alignment, with the nose of one bullet

over another at the entrance of the chamber.

In case this happens, discard the clip that is

defective and has lost its tension.(b) When your rifle fails to feed but the

bolt goes fully home, this is usually what has

happened: the empty case was not ejected

but was fed back into the chamber . Lack of

proper lubrication, excessive friction, or in-

sufficient gas usually cause the stoppage when

your rifle fails to feed despite the bolt going

fully to its home position.

3. Fai lure to Extr act. When your rifle

fails to extract a cartridge case, any one of

five things can be wrong. The causes for fail-ure to extract are: the chamber of your rifle

is extremely dirty, the ammunition is extreme-

ly dirty, the rifle is improperly assembled

with the extractor plunger spring and plunger

left out, the cartridge was chambered in a

hot barrel, or the extractor is broken. The

steps to be taken when your rifle fails to ex-

tract are as follows:

(a) Push the operating rod handle fully

forward. Then retract it smart ly to the rea r.

(b) If the above act does not remove thecase, use the combination tool or cleaning

rod.

(c) Sometimes t he extr actor will r ip

through the case, leaving the empty case in

the chamber. When this occurs, the bolt

generally will attempt to feed another car-

tridge into the chamber. It there fore will be

necessary to remove this round before the

spent cartridge case can be removed.

(d) In case your rifle's chamber is dirty

it should be cleaned thoroughly in the man-ner described below. If the ammuni tion gets

wet or dirty, wipe it off at once. If light cor-

rosion forms on cartridges, it should be

wiped off. However car tri dges should neither

be polished nor oiled to make them look

brighter.

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THE Ml RIFLE

Care and Cleaning

General information concerning the care

and cleaning of small arms may be found

in Chap ter 11. The following information

applies to the Ml Rifle:

A. Cleaning The Chamber. The cham-ber may be cleaned by using the chamber

cleaning brush on the combination tool.

Place the brush on top of a patch in the

palm of the left hand. Close the left hand

over the patch and brush and give the brush

about three turns to the right. This causes

the patch to wrap neatly around and cover

the brush. A slight pressure with the fore-

finger of the left hand while turning the

brush, will twist the end of the patch like

the finished end of a hand rolled cigarette.

This insures cleaning the full length of the

cha mber. Clean by twist ing the patch cov-

ered brush in the chamber. After cleaning

the chamber, inspect it by inser ting the little

finger and twisting it. If no discoloration

shows on the finger, oil the chamber lightly.

B. Before Firing.

1. Before firing your rifle, clean it as

explained in Chapter 11. Then apply a thi

uniform coating of rifle grease (lubriplate

to the following pa rt s: Bolt lugs (locking an

operating), bolt guideways, cocking cam o

bolt, firing pin, operating guideway on rceiver, and operating rod contact surface

2. Make certain that clips are kept fr

of sand, grit, snow, mud, oil and oth

foreign matter.

C. After Firing.

1. Clean your rifle as explained in Cha

ter 11, making sure that all carbon is r

moved from the piston and operating ro

2. Do not remove the gas cylinder f

cleaning. Remove the gas cylinder scre

and clean the gas cylinder as you would tbore.

3. If rifle bore cleaner is not availab

an instrument with a sharp blade should

used to remove the carbon from the pisto

on the operat ing rod. Care must be tak

to see that the edges of the piston are n

rounded. The use of any type abrasive

prohibited.

Safety Precautions Firing Positions

A detailed explanation of safety rules to be

followed in handling small arms will be found

in Chapter 11.

Correct positions for firing your Ml rif

are shown on the following pages. Stu

these pictures carefully.

THE PRONE POSITION

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THE SITTING POSITION

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THE KNEELING POSITION

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THE STANDING POSITION

Sight Setting

The rear sight is adjusted for range by

turning the elevating knob. This knob has

numbered graduations for 200, 400, 600, 800,

1000, and 1200 yards of range and index

lines between these graduations for 100, 300,

500, 700, 900 and 1100 yards. Adjustment

for windage is made by turning the windage

knob. Each windage gradu ation on the re-

ceiver represents an angular adjustment of 4

minutes. Elevating and windage knobs are

graduated in "clicks" which represent 1 min-

ute of angle or approximately 1 inch on

the target for each 100 yards of range.

Arrows on the knobs indicate the direction

in which to turn them to obtain correspond-

ing changes in the point of impact.
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