Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Criterion M1 Garand barrel , question.

I have a question I could use some help with from the experienced folks . With a new Criterion barrel for M1 Garand . Are they supposed to be spin on , torque, and headspace with a pull-through reamer or does the shoulder need to be set back some for the barrel to time right ?

Thanks for any info you may provide .

I have never had to set back shoulder on any of them

Thank you for your reply . I thought that was the case with these barrels . I have done many bolt action replacements but this is my first Garand . I leaned into bigtime and did not even come close to getting it timed . My wrench does not give me 100 percent confidence , but I had a cheater on that seemed to crank it down as far as it would go . Maybe a better wrench will do, but I seriously doubt it .

I've done one Garand Criterion barrel and it was very straightforward. The biggest concern was the pull-through reamer to set headspace, I had never used one before. The gun shot well but got swapped for something else. Luckily my current Garand, a CMP Special Grade, came with a new Criterion on it. I only wanted a shooter and this one fills the bill admirably.

We built a "Special" at the CMP Maintenance Course.

The barrel went on easy to the last 1/4 turn, then it was a crank to get the witness marks aligned.

So, what you have above is all we did - though it was a hard last 1/4 turn.

We had 20 people in the class, and I don't recall any barrels needing a should turned, but I do recall that we all commented on the leverage needed to seat the barrel.

You can always back it off and then retighten, make sure you are using the proper barrel vise and receiver wrench.

Thanks folks , looks like I need a new receiver wrench . No problem with the barrel vise . I have a wheeler action wrench and part of a M1 Garand wrench I tried adapting . Looks like I need the real deal . I don't have enough purchase on the receiver to torque it as I need .Now that I know the shoulder does not need to be set back confirms my suspicion .