If you hear a "pfft" sound while taking a shot...you could have a primer only detonation, that causes a squib load, where the bullet gets lodged in the bore of the barrel. Always check the bore for obstruction after a primer only detonation, before sending a live round into the pipe. It could be a cause that the gunpowder is soiled with water or oil, or no gunpowder in the shell casing before detonation.

Here is a group of pure M1 Garand owners, shooters, experts and the experts there will not allow you to be lead astray by the shall we say, "less experienced", guaranteed. The forum is closely watched for accuracy. Most of the people there are FAR more knowledgeable than I, at least on that specific weapon and ammunition.

https://mewe.com/group/5a9f0373887f32793f1d4943

For the OP, you are getting some really good info. Many authors who write about guns or hunting in a novel setting aren't necessarily subject matter experts but they tend to lean heavily on people who are to get the technical aspects correct since a novel that includes those aspects is likely to attract attention of people who are into guns and/or hunting. If the details don't pass muster, they usually put the novel back on the shelf without buying it. Like any other business, those final decisions are yours. And like any other business, the results are yours also. Good luck.

As a reminder: Do not use regular factory 30-06 ammo in a M1 Garand (Gar-and)...only use ammo designated for the Garand, because of the possibility of bending the OP rod, while using regular hi-power ammo.

I like mine {HRA Garand) in 30-06, that I bought for a grand, about 5 years ago.

Books: Ernest Hemingway's (non-fiction) - "The Green Hills of Africa" & "Hemingway on Hunting"

Thanks, Jack. I'll have a rummage around there too.

Incidentally, I have an appointment towards the end of the month with an estate owner just outside my city. Hoping to glean some insight there, thanks.

The train may have left the station already on this topic -- I have not read all the posts in this thread -- but another scenario in which the primer may be lightly dented but not ignite is if the weather is cold and the firing pin mechanism is somewhat gunked up with dirt and oil. So, the gunky dirt and oil would be sluggish and would resist the movement of the firing pin.

I keep my rifles clean, but I don't always take my bolt apart to clean the firing pin mechanism (usually a spring and a pin that is free to slide inside the bolt frame). When I have done this, I found the firing pin was pretty darned clean, which did not provide me with much incentive to take it apart and clean it every time I clean my rifle. Some people never clean their rifles. Some people use a lot of oil -- excess oil -- when they clean their rifles. The gunk and/or the excess oil can cause problems. The oil, for example, is not stable over time and -- like gasoline in a lawn mower or outboard motor -- can change to a varnish-like state.

You get the picture. I think someone I know actually had this experience once -- pulled the trigger, heard a faint "dink," but no cartridge fire occurred. He jacked the bolt and chambered another round, but I think the shot was gone -- the game had moved on. I don't know if he ever figured out what caused the misfire.

When I clean my rifle, I put a few drops of gun oil on a small piece of cotton cloth. I then rub this cloth over the metal surfaces I am cleaning. This lifts dirt, grit, and powder residue off of the surfaces. I use these terms "dirt, grit, powder residue" abstractly, because I can't really see WHAT is coming off the metal onto my oiled cloth, I just see this black-ish residue on the oiled cloth. My cleaning removes that stuff as well as leaving a light coat of oil on the metal surfaces that helps prevent rust. To some extent this is theoretical. My rifles are kept in a dry place. Maybe it is not the coating of oil that prevents rust but the keeping in a dry place? I use solvents to clean my rifle barrel, as this needs to remove "copper fouling" from the barrel -- metal residue from the bullet jacket -- as well as burnt powder residue. After cleaning the barrel with solvent, I dry it by running two dry patches through the barrel in succession. Then I run a patch that has been lightly oiled through the barrel . . . coating the interior metal surface of the barrel to prevent rusting.

It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. I take this to mean, sometimes things really happen that are frankly implausible. In fiction, you are sort of bound to make all key plot events plausible. It seems to me you have enough information to provide a plausible plot event based on a misfire. You could plausibly make the misfire a random "**** happens" kind of plot event or make it a "neglect" or "ignorance" caused kind of plot event. For the neglect or ignorance angle you could blame the misfire on neglectful maintenance of the rifle (failure to clean regularly) or on ignorance (didn't know it was needful to clean).