Heavy Bullets In The Garand? Get Out Your Socket Wrench

A dandy device has surfaced that makes shooting heavy-bullet-that is, more than 150-gr.-hunting and other loads in the M1 Garand rifle without bending its operating rod a simple and low-cost proposition. From garandgear.com, the Ported Gas Plug is a screw-in replacement plug with a tuned port that delays the operating rod for several microseconds, lowering peak pressure in the gas cylinder pressure by a claimed 30 or more percent. The plug is not vented and does not feature an adjustment capability, so it simply replaces the original with no permanent modification to the gun. It is installed using a standard ¼” square socket driver. According to its maker, “the secret is the hollowed out area in the base of the plug which increases the initial volume of the gas cylinder. By increasing the volume, the peak pressures are reduced without the need to vent the gas.”

Whether it’s used as a means to safely shoot heavier match bullets or to use the Garand for hunting with heavy game loads, the Garand Gear Ported Gas Plug is certainly inexpensive insurance for one of the Garand’s most vulnerable and expensive components. Other, adjustable, units exist, and we will look at those in future Gun DIY installments.

So, what’s your experience using this or other gas-spike-taming devices in the Garand?