M1 Thumb Ha Ha Ha

All.
M1's are one of the things that keep me from buying some of the S&W's that I need. I was a M-14 Marine and only fired the M1 for the American Legion rifle team way back when. I have bought a few of them from CMP and a few at gunshows. I have shot a couple other of them in the last ten years. I have never had M1 thumb, but the odds are not in my favor. If I was to hurt my thumb, what would I do in my spare time?
The one missing the sling, is a match conditioned rifle that had some work done on it and the Turner sling was not put back on when I took the photo. It is put together now.
M1Garand032010004.jpg

Bill@Yuma
 
Trained on the M-14 at Ft. Dix in 1967, when I bought my first M-1 in 1969 an older sergeant warned me about M-1 Thumb, showed me the correct procedure.
Interesting about the heated paper clip-I always thought cold was the proper way to deal with bruises. One time at a picnic a girl bruised her hand very badly, I pulled a freeze bottle out of my cooler and pressed it against her hand till she almost got frostbite, but she later thanked me, saw she felt almost no pain.
 
Interesting about the heated paper clip-I always thought cold was the proper way to deal with bruises
Click to expand...

The reason you want a hot paper clip is so you can burn a hole through the nail to relieve the collection of blood (hematoma) under the nail that is causing the pain. Once the blood is released, so is the pressure and quite a bit of the pain.

bob
 
I think you guys are making that hot paper clip, hot needle stuff up, tryin' to make us innocents do crazy stuff for your amusement! :D

Ouch!

Say, Bill, do you like M1s (or are you just greedy)? :)
 
I did it once but it was user error and I didn't lock the bolt fully so it hung up on the follower. The second my thumb touched it....Whammo.
 
Onomea said:
I think you guys are making that hot paper clip, hot needle stuff up, tryin' to make us innocents do crazy stuff for your amusement! :D
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They aren't, and it works like magic. I happen to use a screw-machine length twist drill and just be careful. You can put the drill in a pin vise and turn it by hand, slowly, until you feel you have just broken through the nail. Usually, you tell this by all the blood spurting out! :D

Anyway, once you try this, you will become a believer - unless you just happen to like suffering for no good reason.

Was never properly trained on an M-1 but have heard about the dreaded M-1 Thumb. My M-1 "Instructor" was a Marine Vietnam vet who actually carried one there until it was taken away from him. His advice to me was pretty simple, "You DON'T want to do that!"
 
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Nice looking Winchester...

... but them nails need work! :o


Never had M1 thumb, but I did extract a nail from the root end with a Browning Gold 10 Auto once. I got home from goose hunting, was tired and didn't want to pull the barrel to clean it right. I locked the bolt back and pushed a patch from the muzzle end, but it came off in the chamber. I stuck a finger in to push the patch back on the jag and that evil wicked vindictive beast of a gun closed on my right ring finger. The extractor somehow got below the cuticle and when I yanked my finger out (it kinda hurt), the nail root was laying on top of the skin. The tip half was still attached. :eek:


My wife insisted on taking me to the hospital. I just wanted her to trim the root end (it was jabbing my finger), but she wouldn't touch it. Waited 6 hours, doc trimmed the nail, gave me a tetanus shot and the co-pay was $400. He wanted to know how I managed to do that! :rolleyes:
　
 
I think M1 thumb is a rite of passage. I finally did it this past year. It just sort of snuck up on me. :eek:
 
Remember basic training? Place the butt of the rifle on your right thigh. With the right hand facing up, little finger next to the rifle draw back the operating handle. With the thumb of the left hand depress the follower. Slowly allow the operating rod to move forward while removing the left thumb. Never operate the operating rod with the edge of the right hand.
To load the rifle proceed as above using the left hand to put the clip in place,then press down on the clip with your left thumb. As long as you keep downward pressure on the clip the bolt will not close. Raise your left thumb off of the clip and push the operating rod shut with the palm of your right hand. Been doing it this way since uncle Sam gave me my first M1 in 1964. Yes I am a garand-a-holic. I shoot several thousand rounds a year. Don't know what to say about this year as the CMP has raised thier prices again on Greek 06 returns. It's going to cost about 50 cents every time you pull the trigger at these new prices.
 
Sir, I guess I've been lucky--been shooting M1s casually for 20+ years and competitively for 10, and no M1 thumb yet, either for me or for any of the new shooters I've coached. (Knocking on wood here ....)

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.
 
Never an M1 thumb but there was the time I stuck my finger where it didn't belong trying to pull out a cleaning patch. Looked real stupid standing in the back yard with an M1 hanging off of my finger! Took a long time for that one to heal.
 
bloo said:
Remember basic training? Place the butt of the rifle on your right thigh. With the right hand facing up, little finger next to the rifle draw back the operating handle. With the thumb of the left hand depress the follower. Slowly allow the operating rod to move forward while removing the left thumb. Never operate the operating rod with the edge of the right hand.
To load the rifle proceed as above using the left hand to put the clip in place,then press down on the clip with your left thumb. As long as you keep downward pressure on the clip the bolt will not close. Raise your left thumb off of the clip and push the operating rod shut with the palm of your right hand. Been doing it this way since uncle Sam gave me my first M1 in 1964. Yes I am a garand-a-holic. I shoot several thousand rounds a year. Don't know what to say about this year as the CMP has raised thier prices again on Greek 06 returns. It's going to cost about 50 cents every time you pull the trigger at these new prices.
Click to expand...

Sir.
Your way will work, but your procedure sounds all well and good for parade deck manual of arms. I don't think your two arms, two hands idea will work while laying in the mud. While not an M1 trained combat Marine, I have know a few of them in the last 41 years I have been a Marine or civil servant working for the Marines. Everyone I know uses the edge of right hand to pull back the op rod and uses the same hand to load the enbloc clip. It may be a Marine thing.

Bill@Yuma
 
Been there, done that, Ft. Carson Colo. Jan 1960. I still remember how much it hurt.
 
Bloo, that's for sissies. REAL MEN do it the way I do, and in one swift motion. I've closed a Garand a few thousand times in my life and I think this is the first goof. Maybe I'm getting old.

I don't know why a right handed person would use his left thumb to load a clip. I'm left handed and I use my left hand as you described, then I give the op rod a bump with my left palm. My right arm is wrapped up in a sling half the time. You can't hurt your thumb because the top round in the clip will keep it out of the way. If you can close a bolt on top of a clip of eight you need a new rifle.

It actually stopped hurting by the time I got all the pictures posted. Now it only hurts if I bump it. I considered the paper clip thing but figured I would probably turn that into a disaster too.
 
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