All - As I was cleaning one of my M1s I noticed something odd. When I began to remove the Op Rod, and raised it to lift and rotate over the receiver "legs" (not sure if that is the correct term) so I could slide it out, it seemed very, very easy to do so: much easier to do so than any of my other M1s. This is a rifle I have not had out in 10 years or more, so if I noticed it before or if there was a problem in operation (such as the I had forgotten by now. I don't remember if there was any problem when I shot it last with function and/or with the Op Rod dismounting from the rails / bolt.
Questions:
(1) Is this "normal" or is it indicative of a possible problem?
(2) If indicative of a possible problem, what would that be? Worn tab? slight bent Op Rod? Gas Cylinder out of spec? Other?
Thanks for your help.
JGW