M1 Garand Operating Rod not moving back
Hey, so I received an M1 Garand from the CMP recently and after a little bit of fiddling, discovered that the safety is stuck in the "OFF" position and when I try to move the Operating rod back, it slides back maybe an inch before it refuses to go any further. From what i looked up, it seems that the operating rod is off the track. When i press down on the operating rod very slightly it wiggles with an audible clicking sound. I tried a bit to manipulate it to get it back on track, but no joy on that.
I read that it was recommended to disassemble the gun enough to put the operating rod back on the track that way. Would you guys recommend that? And if so, is it safe to do so with the gun in this state, since I can't move the safety back into the ON position? Thanks for listening to a noob