M1a and Garand barrels....enlighten me

MJS

MJS

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Ok,so like many others,I picked up a beretta garand reciever....and have been searching for parts to match that reciever ever since....with honestly,very little luck.

I've also been gathering parts for a M1a build using all "quality" parts(no norc stuff...I have a M305 in a blackfeather and love it,but I'm going in a diffrent direction with this build),so far all I've really aquried for this is a Criterion barrel.

Long story short,I was messing around today and picked up my barrel and reciever and for the hell of it,I threaded them together....which led me to this....can I use an m14 barrel on a garand?if so what would be required to do so?

I'm new to the m14 and garand platform,so please go easy on me
 
The U.S. .30 Caliber Gas Operated Service Rifles: A Shop Manual, Volumes I & II Paperback - 1995
by Jerry Kuhnhausen...

...A must buy (IMO) for any new M14(M305) or Garand Owner.
 
Yes you can use a M14 barrel on a M1 receiver and you can use a M1 (7.62 cal) barrel on a M14 receiver, both will require considerable reengineering and some parts modification. What the point of doing all this work is beyond me except as a engineering exercise.
 
I've never seen any of the other garand parts that would be needed to complete the build,so I don't have anything to compare it to,I know the op rod is diffreng,but other then that,I was completely in the dark.

Looks like I'll keep shopping for a garand barrel.
 
The gas systems are very different.
I am currently gathering parts for a M-1/M305 hybrid.
The M305 is an excellent fit on the M-1 receiver. Headspace requires no adjustment.
Receiver ring back will be M-1. Forward will be M305. The operating rod will be a M-1 rod modified to engage the M305 gas cylinder assembly. Looking for a grade 2 op rod, back end serviceable, front end unimportant. Don't want to cut up a good M-1 op rod.
Stock will be M-1, inletted to accept the M305 op rod guide. A barrel collar to accept the M-1 stock will be fabricated.
 
Why don't you just buy a barrel from Zdragunov? He will install and finish ream a .308 Criterion barrel on your receiver for $400. He's a good man and it's a great deal.
 
tiriaq said:
The gas systems are very different.
I am currently gathering parts for a M-1/M305 hybrid.
The M305 is an excellent fit on the M-1 receiver. Headspace requires no adjustment.
Receiver ring back will be M-1. Forward will be M305. The operating rod will be a M-1 rod modified to engage the M305 gas cylinder assembly. Looking for a grade 2 op rod, back end serviceable, front end unimportant. Don't want to cut up a good M-1 op rod.
Stock will be M-1, inletted to accept the M305 op rod guide. A barrel collar to accept the M-1 stock will be fabricated.
Click to expand...

That would be one serious Frankengarand, but would be a challenging project for sure.

The Italians did a lot of evolutionary work to morph the Garand into the BM59. One of their earlier 7.62 iterations, and one that works very well, is their Tipo 2 coversion. It uses all standard Garand parts, except the following which are .5 inch shorter; stock, op rod, rear handgd and barrel. The barrels for these are either standard US GI Garand barrels shortened at the breech end and then re-chambered to 7.62 or purpose made 7.62 barrels. Op rods are standard US GI with the tube portion shortened. They also used a metal spacer block to prevent loading an en bloc of .30-06 ammo.

The other option is to use a commercial .308 barrel for the Garand. All other parts are standard when these are used.
 
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Grizzly Adams said:
Good guy,pleasure to deal with .

Grizz
Click to expand...

+1000

a rifle he built for me :)
3slK5vT.jpg
 
45ACPKING said:
while I have totally resisted the garand bug that has been floating around CGN for a year now LOL , that rifle makes me wanna do a rifle build
any idea on the finished weight of that rifle?
Click to expand...

dont know id have to weigh it. the tiny little SEI muzzle brake on the end adds a bit :p and it weighs enough that every time i pick up that mix of italian/american steel and american walnut i get a stiffie. dont even ask when it goes ping when i shoot it ...
d0027fb0f636498f1d0028d441b7c7ef7f2f9486265b94a441650379e7983686.jpg
 
mcpherson284 said:
While the barrel and receiver have the same threading, there is no way to use Garand operating parts with an M14, or M14 operating parts with a Garand.
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Actually me and an other fellow from Calgary are working on M1/m14 hybrid. Looks like the hardest part is the stock... you have to add a front part of the m14/305 stock to a m1 garand stock. also you need to modify a garand oprod, cut it shorter and reinstall the piston, also build a bushing for the oprod guide because the m1 oprod is quite a bit thinner. It is very doable.
 
Exactly.:) Pls post pics when its done and I will do the same.
tiriaq said:
The gas systems are very different.
I am currently gathering parts for a M-1/M305 hybrid.
The M305 is an excellent fit on the M-1 receiver. Headspace requires no adjustment.
Receiver ring back will be M-1. Forward will be M305. The operating rod will be a M-1 rod modified to engage the M305 gas cylinder assembly. Looking for a grade 2 op rod, back end serviceable, front end unimportant. Don't want to cut up a good M-1 op rod.
Stock will be M-1, inletted to accept the M305 op rod guide. A barrel collar to accept the M-1 stock will be fabricated.
Click to expand...
 
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