Disassembly--and more important reassembly--of the M1 Garand is easy if you follow these simple steps

Once you know the tricks, there isn’t much to it. Make sure the rifle is unloaded, close the bolt and put the safety on. Grab the rear of the triggerguard and pull it down. If the rifle is a tightly-fitted glass-bedded one, you can put a section of cleaning rod sideways through the rear to give you more leverage.

To disassemble the Garand, first make sure it is unloaded, and close the bolt. Then hinge the trigger guard down.

Once clear, pull the trigger assembly out.

Once the triggerguard is pivoted down, pull the whole trigger assembly straight down out of the rifle. Now, pivot the rear of the receiver up and out of the stock. The stock has a lip at the front, and it is hooked under the front handguard bolster. Once you have the receiver and stock apart, you’ve done the easy stuff.

Then pivot the receiver assembly out of the stock.

Study the recoil spring and guide rod. Take a digital picture if you have to. Now grasp the recoil spring rod head and push it toward the muzzle. The hooks on the end will come off the lifter.

Pull the spring rod forward to clear the lifter, and then pull the spring out.

Pull the spring out and set it aside. (Have a place for it, it is always greasy and dirty.) Push the front receiver pin out. Now pry the cartridge guard out of the receiver, and the lifter and latch will fall out.

The front pin holds the rest of the lifter parts in. Push the small side. Then pull the pin out. The rest of the parts will usually fall out.

The last part is the bolt and operating rod. Look at the rail the rod runs in. Just forward of the rear sight you’ll see a notch. Run the rod back until it gets to that notch, and lift the rod up (toward the sight) and out of the rail. You may have to fiddle with it a bit.

Just forward of the rear sight you’ll see a notch. Run the rod back until it gets to that notch.