308 Garand question.

scallywags

scallywags

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Friend of mine has what he calls a "navy garand" in 308 cal. He was showing it to me the other day and was telling me about a plastic insert piece that is supposed to go in the mag well so you don't mistakingly put 30 06 in it. This leads me to my question which is, what exactly do you call the plastic piece?
He has lost the piece and wants me to find him one but not exactly sure how word an add on the EE. Thanks.
 
The insert is to perform two functions.

1) Prevent 30-06 to be loaded in the rifle, which is not a problem as it will not chamber but it could put the rifle into an inoperable state until cleared.

2) The space keep the 7.62x51 rounds to the back of the enbloc clip when the rifle is in operation. Without the spacer, the rounds can creep and cause loading problems.

There are few issues with the 308 converted Garands.

Bullet weight is still a problem ie the 180 gr and the op rod (and I know there are guys who shoot 180’s all the time and it’s not a problem, but then again there lucky they have a good op rod)

The 308 barrels tend to be a bit short and the gas port is too far back causing the action not to cycle or cycle well or all the time. There was one a the EE forum not to long ago.

The space can be bought from Brownells


Numrich

Model: U.S. MILITARY M1 GARAND Item No. 931350 Retail Price: $27.55

931350.jpg
 
I'v got one

scallywags said:
Friend of mine has what he calls a "navy garand" in 308 cal. He was showing it to me the other day and was telling me about a plastic insert piece that is supposed to go in the mag well so you don't mistakingly put 30 06 in it. This leads me to my question which is, what exactly do you call the plastic piece?
He has lost the piece and wants me to find him one but not exactly sure how word an add on the EE. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi

I'v got one that I want to get rid of but it is made of aluminum.

If you are interested I will check tonight to find it

Larry"Corporal"Marcotte
 
The chamber inserts were problematic, and could unpredictably extract with a fired case. Excess headspace of close to 1/2" was the immediate result.
A genuine US Navy conversion would be a rare bird indeed.
I have a M-1 rebarrelled to .308. It is trouble free in its functionning, and is a fine shooter.
 
The rifle he has is supposed to be one of the last 500 ever made for the navy. It has some kind of US markings on it I believe, I'll have to go back and have another look. Are the true navy rifles suseptable to the chamber insert backing out?
 
"...Is that a common occurrence?..." It's why the USN quit doing it. The inserts tend to come out upon extraction.
A hunk of nylon, suitably shaped and glued into the mag well, will work for the spacer.
 
I believe that there are some Navy rifles with new 7.62mm barrels, not converted .30-06 ones. An insert converted Navy rifle would be a very rare collector's item, but hardly something for everyday use. The insert conversion program was not successful. An issue rifle with a new 7.62mm barrel would also be rare and valuable. I would suggest too valuable to use as a shooter.
 
To quote US military collectible firearms expert Bruce Canfield, buy the rifle not the story. If there is documentary proof that this rifle is what he suggests, then it suddenly changes from being one of nearly 6-million Garands, which could have been converted by anyone, to a papered verifiable fraction of the total. It stops being a $600 or $800 rifle to one that is three or four times that in market value.
 
Insert and non-insert .308 US Navy Garand barrels.
The terms Mod "0" and Mod "1" come to mind. The last one came with a .308 barrel from the get-go, and was noted to be 'a bit' more accurate than the 30-06 Garands shot at Camp Perry interservice matches, IIRC.
The other services were noticing the Navy edge, but the US Army refused to commit to a .308 Match Garand for the US Army Markmanship-Training Unit, with the newest M-14 just about to be issued, I think.
 
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Original!

scallywags said:
The rifle he has is supposed to be one of the last 500 ever made for the navy. It has some kind of US markings on it I believe,
Click to expand...

If it is an original rebarelled M1 It should have a large 7.62 stamped on the receiver!

Be careful original 7.62 navy M1 a known to have long headspace for .308 commercial ammo as stated at the bottom of this page

Page-livre-Garand-01.jpg


If you still want my spacer it is your for 20$ shipped.

Larry"Corporal"Marcotte
 
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Garand 308 Spacer - Garand barrels

Does anyone know where I can locate a spacer for my 308 Garand in Canada - Brownells no longer carry them and most other places in the States will not send anything to Canada ( Fulton Armoury for example)! If you know one business in the States that does, please let me know but byuing from Canada would be easier!

Also are there any business in Canada where I can procure new barrels for same?
Thanks in advance
 
Brutus said:
By the way, if you are careful not to accidently load 30-06 into your 308 Garand, they work/funtion 100% without the spacer.
Click to expand...

Indeed...

My 308 Garand has seen many en-blocks and I have NEVER had rounds come loose in the clip....they seem to hold the cartridges more than tightly enough
 
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