An M1 Garand SLED is a simple modified en-bloc clip that makes single-loading an M1 Garand easier, safer and more consistent during CMP slow-fire stages.
SLED stands for Single Loading Enhancement Device, although shooters also search for it as a Single Load Enhancement Device, M1 Garand single-shot clip or M1 Garand single-loading clip.
Whatever name ends up in the search box, it is a useful little piece of equipment.
I have used an M1 Garand SLED in competition for years. Its greatest advantage is not that it transforms the rifle or produces miraculous scores. It simply allows me to place one cartridge into the Garand’s internal magazine and let the rifle feed that cartridge normally.
That is much easier than placing a loose cartridge directly into the chamber—especially while prone, wearing a shooting coat and trying to preserve a good position before the clock starts eating points.<figure class="wp-block-image"> <a href="https://garandthumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130606-195136.jpg"> <img src="https://garandthumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130606-195136.jpg" alt="M1 Garand SLED Single Loading Enhancement Device clip"> </a> <figcaption>An M1 Garand SLED is a modified en-bloc clip designed for loading one cartridge at a time.</figcaption> </figure>
What Is an M1 Garand SLED?
The M1 Garand normally uses an eight-round en-bloc clip. The loaded clip is pressed into the rifle’s fixed internal magazine, where it remains until the last round is chambered. The empty clip is then ejected with the famous M1 Garand “ping.”
A SLED uses the basic shape of an en-bloc clip but is modified to remain inside the rifle while individual cartridges are loaded.
Unlike a normal eight-round Garand clip, the SLED does not eject after each shot. It creates a loading platform that holds a single cartridge in the correct position so the bolt can strip it from the magazine and feed it into the chamber.
The SLED remains locked in the receiver until the shooter manually removes it.
It is not a detachable magazine, an ammunition conversion or a permanent modification to the rifle. It is a small competition accessory that can be installed or removed without altering the Garand.
Why Single-Load an M1 Garand?
CMP and other traditional rifle matches include slow-fire stages during which cartridges are loaded and fired individually.
A standard eight-round clip is designed for semiautomatic fire, not deliberate single loading. Shooters can place a cartridge directly into the chamber, but doing so is awkward from position and allows the bolt to close on a cartridge that is already seated in the chamber.
The M1 Garand SLED provides a better procedure.
With the device installed, the shooter places a round into the internal magazine, presses it into position and slightly retracts the operating-rod handle. Releasing the handle allows the bolt to strip the cartridge from the SLED and chamber it in the normal direction.
The primary advantages are:
- Easier single loading during CMP slow fire
- More consistent cartridge alignment
- Less movement while shooting prone
- No need to place a cartridge directly into the chamber
- Normal controlled feeding from the internal magazine
- The ability to maintain a more consistent shoulder position
- A visible reminder that the rifle is configured for single loading
The SLED does not make the shooter hold harder, call shots correctly or read the wind. Unfortunately, those parts still require work.
How to Install an M1 Garand SLED
Before installing a SLED, keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, engage the safety when appropriate and confirm that the chamber and magazine are empty.
Lock the bolt fully to the rear.
Insert the SLED into the receiver in the same general location occupied by a normal M1 Garand en-bloc clip. Press it completely into position until its retaining tab engages the receiver.
Do not depress the follower unnecessarily while installing it. A properly fitted SLED should lock into place and remain in the rifle until deliberately removed.
Different manufacturers may bend or shape their SLED clips slightly differently. Follow the maker’s instructions and test the device with an unloaded rifle before taking it to a match.
Do not wait until the preparation period to discover that a new SLED requires fitting. Match day already provides enough opportunities to learn expensive lessons.<figure class="wp-block-image"> <a href="https://garandthumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130606-200536.jpg"> <img src="https://garandthumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130606-200536.jpg" alt="Orange M1 Garand SLED installed for CMP slow-fire competition"> </a> <figcaption>I painted my M1 Garand SLED orange so it would be difficult to overlook before a rapid-fire stage.</figcaption> </figure>
How to Load a Garand With a SLED
Once the M1 Garand single-loading device is installed:
- Keep the rifle pointed safely downrange with the bolt locked open.
- Place one cartridge on the right side of the follower and SLED.
- Press the cartridge down until it settles into the loading position.
- Keep your hand clear of the bolt’s path.
- Pull the operating-rod handle slightly rearward to release the bolt.
- Let the operating spring drive the bolt forward and feed the cartridge.
Do not ride the operating-rod handle slowly forward. The M1 Garand was designed to chamber ammunition under spring pressure.
At the same time, do not press backward on the operating-rod handle while your thumb is still inside the receiver. That is an excellent way to discover the literal meaning behind the Garand Thumb name.
The bolt does not care whether you are a new shooter, an NRA High Master or somebody recording a Garand Thumb video. If your thumb remains in the wrong place when the bolt is released, the rifle will provide immediate instruction.
Does a SLED Prevent an M1 Garand Slam-Fire?
A SLED should not be advertised as magical protection against every possible slam-fire.
What it does is avoid the practice of placing a loose cartridge directly into the chamber and releasing the bolt from its fully retracted position. Instead, the cartridge is stripped from the internal magazine and fed under the extractor as the rifle was designed to operate.
That is a more controlled single-loading method.
The M1 Garand uses a free-floating firing pin. Its receiver bridge and bolt geometry are intended to prevent full firing-pin movement until the bolt is rotating into its locked position. However, no piece of bent sheet metal can make defective ammunition safe.
High primers, improperly seated primers, unusually sensitive primers, dirty components and out-of-spec ammunition can create dangerous conditions in any self-loading rifle.
A SLED does not excuse careless reloading or questionable ammunition.
Use ammunition appropriate for the M1 Garand. Handloaders should inspect primer seating carefully and follow established load data. If the firing pin does not move freely or the bolt is contaminated with hardened grease, brass shavings or debris, correct the mechanical problem before firing the rifle.
The SLED is one part of a sound loading procedure, not a substitute for ammunition inspection and rifle maintenance.
Why I Painted My Garand SLED Orange
My M1 Garand SLED is painted orange.
That has nothing to do with ballistics. It makes the device obvious when I look into the open receiver.
A dark parkerized SLED can disappear visually inside a dark parkerized rifle. That becomes important when the next stage requires a normal two-round or eight-round clip.
The SLED must be removed before a rapid-fire stage. If it remains locked inside the rifle, the normal rapid-fire clip cannot be inserted.
Bright orange paint gives me a visual reminder before I settle into position and hear a command that makes the forgotten SLED everybody’s problem.
Fluorescent orange, yellow or another conspicuous color works. Keep paint away from bearing surfaces and any area where excess thickness could interfere with installation, feeding or removal.
How to Remove an M1 Garand SLED
Unload the rifle, lock the bolt open and verify that the chamber is empty.
Press the clip latch on the left side of the receiver. A properly fitted SLED may lift far enough to be grasped and removed. Some devices fit tightly and need gentle assistance from a flat-blade screwdriver or similar tool.
Do not pry recklessly against the receiver or gouge the stock. The objective is to remove a ten-dollar piece of metal, not add character to a collectible Garand.
I keep a small flat-head screwdriver in the front pocket of my shooting stool. That is partly preparation and partly an admission that I have forgotten to remove the SLED before rapid prone more than once.<figure class="wp-block-image"> <a href="https://garandthumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130606-201110.jpg"> <img src="https://garandthumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130606-201110.jpg" alt="How to remove an M1 Garand SLED clip before rapid fire"> </a> <figcaption>A small flat-blade screwdriver can help remove a tight SLED, but use it carefully to avoid marking the receiver.</figcaption> </figure>
M1 Garand SLED YouTube Video
The M1 Garand SLED video below demonstrates how the Single Loading Enhancement Device is installed, loaded and removed.
This is useful for a new CMP shooter because the SLED makes considerably more sense after seeing it move inside the rifle than it does after reading another thousand words about a bent clip.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mv-hLS5d3Wo" title="M1 Garand SLED Usage YouTube video" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Watch the M1 Garand SLED usage video on YouTube
Additional M1 Garand, CMP and competitive-shooting videos are available through the Garand Thumb Blog YouTube page.
M1 Garand SLED vs. Two-Round Clip
An M1 Garand SLED and an M1 Garand two-round clip solve different problems.
The SLED is designed for slow-fire stages where the shooter loads one cartridge at a time. It remains in the rifle between shots and must be removed manually.
A two-round Garand clip holds two cartridges and is normally used as part of a rapid-fire loading sequence. It functions more like a conventional en-bloc clip and is not a replacement for a dedicated single-loading device.
A shooter preparing for CMP Garand competition may therefore keep all three:
- A SLED for single-loading slow-fire cartridges
- A two-round clip for the first portion of a rapid-fire string
- A standard eight-round clip for normal loading
Marking each clip clearly and keeping them in separate pockets eliminates confusion. Discovering that you grabbed the wrong clip after the command to load is a poor time to begin a sorting project.
Can You Make an M1 Garand SLED?
A SLED is fundamentally a modified Garand clip, and mechanically capable shooters have made their own.
The old Ray-Vin M1 SLED instructions explain one method. Building one requires cutting, reshaping and bending a clip so it locks into the rifle, supports one cartridge and remains installed after firing.
A homemade SLED should be tested carefully with an unloaded rifle before live ammunition is introduced.
The device must:
- Lock securely into the receiver
- Hold the cartridge at the correct feeding angle
- Allow the bolt to strip the round cleanly
- Remain installed after the shot
- Release without damaging the rifle
- Avoid interfering with the bolt or operating rod
Commercial SLED clips are inexpensive. Unless modifying old clips is part of the entertainment, purchasing a correctly manufactured device is usually the easier answer.
Current commercial examples include the Aggressive Engineering M1 Garand SLED, which is made specifically for single loading.
Is an M1 Garand SLED Worth Buying?
For a collector who only fires eight-round clips from a bench, a SLED is optional.
For a shooter entering CMP Games, John C. Garand matches or another course containing slow-fire single loading, it is one of the cheapest genuinely useful accessories available.
It makes loading easier from prone. It allows the rifle to feed a cartridge from the internal magazine. It helps the shooter disturb his position less between shots. Painting it a bright color also provides an obvious reminder to remove it before rapid fire.
New competitors interested in the rifle itself should also read how to buy an M1 Garand from the CMP and the Garand Thumb Blog list of places to shoot Service Rifle matches.
The M1 Garand SLED will not improve a poor position or rescue a bad wind call.
It will make one repetitive part of firing the Garand considerably easier—and during a match, removing one unnecessary problem is often worth more than buying another impressive-looking piece of equipment.
GarandThumb.com was established on May 4, 2012, to document my experiences trying to become a better marksman.