7.62 Garand
- Thread starter canuck
- Start date
I have one 
Built from a BMB danish receiver, .308 barrel, mix match of SA,PB,BMB parts and set in a Boyds walnut stock.
I had a little trouble with it at first with FTE but since I opened the gas port and changed the op rod spring it's been working like a charm!
I took it to the range two weeks ago and had two people ask me if I wanted to sell it :lol: :lol: NEVER!
My original 1941 SA is still and always will be my favorite milsurp but the .308 Garand is a great shooter, very accurate and cheap ammo is everywhere.
They use the same en bloc clips as the 30-06 with no problems. There is a spacer/insert available that won't allow an enbloc loaded with 30-06 rounds to be inserted in the .308 Garand but it's not nesessary if your careful not to mix them up.
And..... if you ever get too much throat erosion from putting thousands upon thousands of rounds down range, you can rechamber it to 30-06 and like new again!
Built from a BMB danish receiver, .308 barrel, mix match of SA,PB,BMB parts and set in a Boyds walnut stock.
I had a little trouble with it at first with FTE but since I opened the gas port and changed the op rod spring it's been working like a charm!
I took it to the range two weeks ago and had two people ask me if I wanted to sell it :lol: :lol: NEVER!
My original 1941 SA is still and always will be my favorite milsurp but the .308 Garand is a great shooter, very accurate and cheap ammo is everywhere.
They use the same en bloc clips as the 30-06 with no problems. There is a spacer/insert available that won't allow an enbloc loaded with 30-06 rounds to be inserted in the .308 Garand but it's not nesessary if your careful not to mix them up.
And..... if you ever get too much throat erosion from putting thousands upon thousands of rounds down range, you can rechamber it to 30-06 and
like new again!
- Location
- Central Pacific
KDG said:And..... if you ever get too much throat erosion from putting thousands upon thousands of rounds down range, you can rechamber it to 30-06 and
Never thought about that, cool.
GG&FB
Rebarreld garand
I rebarreled mine , and have put about 300rds through it . It functions fine , and the ammunition is easy to get. Of all the rounds i have put through it i have had 2 stoppages where the round didnt pick up properly, I have not used the 7.62 spacer and am just using the regular enbloc clip. I have a Berretta its a keeper!!
I rebarreled mine , and have put about 300rds through it . It functions fine , and the ammunition is easy to get. Of all the rounds i have put through it i have had 2 stoppages where the round didnt pick up properly, I have not used the 7.62 spacer and am just using the regular enbloc clip. I have a Berretta its a keeper!!
Fellow CGN member Brutus has one and I was shooting it today, his has a Leupold scout scope mounted on it and I had no problem hitting the 300 yard gong at our range once I figured out what the holdover was. Not bad for a Garand in the "light" caliber. :wink:
If you decide to either buy a 30-06 Garand that's been re-barreled for .308, or get one of your own done by a gunsmith, be careful!
Make sure the .308 barrel gets installed properly by professionals with previous experience on Garands, who also have the proper equipment to do it.
I bought a .308 Garand on here from another CGN member who said it had been re-barreled by a professional gunsmith. I had all kinds of problems shooting it. The seller said he had no trouble at all and blamed my problems on ammunition. Finally, I took it to a local professional gunsmith with deep experience in milsurps, including having installed hundreds of Garand barrels over the last 20 years.
He discovered quite a mess. I cost me almost $400 for them to re-do the barrel job it, plus other poor "smith" handicraft and get it working properly. :roll:
It was "short chambered", incorrectly head spaced (squeezing rounds into chamber) and the barrel was improperly installed using lock-tite, where only approximately 70% of the barrel/breech face contact surfaces were in contact. After they finished, it shoots all kinds of .308 ammunition like a dream and I really like it. He said that there was no way that this rifle was ever going to work properly in the condition it was in, plus even provided me with a written report to use for the seller and his professional gunsmith.
I never bothered following up with either. "Caveat Emptor".........
Regards,
Badger
Make sure the .308 barrel gets installed properly by professionals with previous experience on Garands, who also have the proper equipment to do it.
I bought a .308 Garand on here from another CGN member who said it had been re-barreled by a professional gunsmith. I had all kinds of problems shooting it. The seller said he had no trouble at all and blamed my problems on ammunition. Finally, I took it to a local professional gunsmith with deep experience in milsurps, including having installed hundreds of Garand barrels over the last 20 years.
He discovered quite a mess. I cost me almost $400 for them to re-do the barrel job it, plus other poor "smith" handicraft and get it working properly. :roll:
It was "short chambered", incorrectly head spaced (squeezing rounds into chamber) and the barrel was improperly installed using lock-tite, where only approximately 70% of the barrel/breech face contact surfaces were in contact. After they finished, it shoots all kinds of .308 ammunition like a dream and I really like it. He said that there was no way that this rifle was ever going to work properly in the condition it was in, plus even provided me with a written report to use for the seller and his professional gunsmith.
I never bothered following up with either. "Caveat Emptor".........
Regards,
Badger
OneBarfly
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The Garand is very easy to work on and although I understand the difficulties that you expirenced, not all "home converstions" should be lumped together. Many of us feel quite comfortable working/rebarreling Garands and while not considering myself a "professional", I would agree that having access to the correct tools is a must. (i.e. wrench, barrel blocks, reamers and headspace gauges).
BadgerDog said:If you decide to either buy a 30-06 Garand that's been re-barreled for .308, or get one of your own done by a gunsmith, be careful!
Make sure the .308 barrel gets installed properly by professionals with previous experience on Garands, who also have the proper equipment to do it.
I bought a .308 Garand on here from another CGN member who said it had been re-barreled by a professional gunsmith. I had all kinds of problems shooting it. The seller said he had no trouble at all and blamed my problems on ammunition. Finally, I took it to a local professional gunsmith with deep experience in milsurps, including having installed hundreds of Garand barrels over the last 20 years.
He discovered quite a mess. I cost me almost $400 for them to re-do the barrel job it, plus other poor "smith" handicraft and get it working properly. :roll:
It was "short chambered", incorrectly head spaced (squeezing rounds into chamber) and the barrel was improperly installed using lock-tite, where only approximately 70% of the barrel/breech face contact surfaces were in contact. After they finished, it shoots all kinds of .308 ammunition like a dream and I really like it. He said that there was no way that this rifle was ever going to work properly in the condition it was in, plus even provided me with a written report to use for the seller and his professional gunsmith.
I never bothered following up with either. "Caveat Emptor".........
Regards,
Badger
OneBarfly said:
+1 :lol:
I have OneBarfly to thank for rebarreling mine and doing the final chambering.
Like he said, when you take your time and have the right tools and KNOW what your doing, it is easy. Just a matter of indexing the barrel and cutting the chamber. The final chambering gives me a .001 - .002 thou headspace.
Like I said the FTFeed problem I had was a combination of gas port size and a weak op rod spring. I have over 300rnds through it now without a hitch.
MasterGunner
Member
- Location
- Machesney Park, IL USA
The Mk 2 Mod 1 U.S. Navy Garand modification was done in the mid-1960's to convert M1 rifles held in stock to 7.62 NATO as the supply of caliber .30 ammuniton was drying up.
At first, the Mk 2 Mod 0 rifles used caliber .30 barrels that were reamed to maximum and had a chamber insert installed. There were three different attempts to get the chamber insert to remain in these convereted barrels. None would work 100 percent of the time, and so the rifles with these barrels were recalled, the barrels removed and scrapped, and the rifle was rebuilt with purpose-built 7.62 NATO barrels manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, MA -- now closed as an active arsenal.
The issue Mk 2 Mod 1 rifle had a Springfield Armory-manufactured 7.62 NATO barrel. This barrel had a chrome-line chamber, bore, and band around the gas port. The bullet guide had a spacer block (steel or plastic) attached to it. The spacer block was designed to prevent the insertion of caliber .30 (7.62x63mm) ammunition, either a single round or a loaded clip of eight. The spacer also served as a feed ramp for the shorter 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge.
Springfield Armory's barrels are the best 7.62 NATO barrels for converting the Garand because they do not require finish reaming of the chambers after installation on the receiver to get correct headspace. ALL commercial 7.62/.308 barrels are made with short chambers and require finish reaming of the chamber by a comptent gunsmith to achieve proper headspace.
The SA-built barrels for the Navy Garand conversion program are now relatively rare and command premium prices, if you can find one. There are many makers of commercial 7.62/.308 barrels for the Garand and they come in various grades, contours, and weights. Another thing: gas ports on caliber .30 barrels and 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester barrels are NOT the same. The 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester barrel gas port is LARGER than the caliber .30 to assure correct functioning with this ammunition.
When I converted my Vietnam War pick-up M1 Garand with its shot-out barrel to 7.62 NATO, I had Springfield Armory, Geneseo, IL do the conversion. They used a premium Douglas standard barrel and the finished rifle had a steel spacer block fitted when it came back. This rifle has since been accurized th U.S. Army Marksmanship Training Unit standards by a competent armorer and I have shot it in many matches. It is extremely accurate. If you are considering the 7.62/.308 conversion, I would recommend accurizing your Garand at the the same time. The techniques are easily done in most cases by the shooter -- with the adjustment of the trigger and sear -- that's best left to an armorer that understands the criticality of this adjustment. Under NO circumstances should the trigger pull of any Garand be reduced to below 4-1/2 pounds. There are several reasons why this is unsafe that I will not detail for now, but below 4-1/2 pounds' trigger pull is UNSAFE.
Master Gunner
At first, the Mk 2 Mod 0 rifles used caliber .30 barrels that were reamed to maximum and had a chamber insert installed. There were three different attempts to get the chamber insert to remain in these convereted barrels. None would work 100 percent of the time, and so the rifles with these barrels were recalled, the barrels removed and scrapped, and the rifle was rebuilt with purpose-built 7.62 NATO barrels manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, MA -- now closed as an active arsenal.
The issue Mk 2 Mod 1 rifle had a Springfield Armory-manufactured 7.62 NATO barrel. This barrel had a chrome-line chamber, bore, and band around the gas port. The bullet guide had a spacer block (steel or plastic) attached to it. The spacer block was designed to prevent the insertion of caliber .30 (7.62x63mm) ammunition, either a single round or a loaded clip of eight. The spacer also served as a feed ramp for the shorter 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge.
Springfield Armory's barrels are the best 7.62 NATO barrels for converting the Garand because they do not require finish reaming of the chambers after installation on the receiver to get correct headspace. ALL commercial 7.62/.308 barrels are made with short chambers and require finish reaming of the chamber by a comptent gunsmith to achieve proper headspace.
The SA-built barrels for the Navy Garand conversion program are now relatively rare and command premium prices, if you can find one. There are many makers of commercial 7.62/.308 barrels for the Garand and they come in various grades, contours, and weights. Another thing: gas ports on caliber .30 barrels and 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester barrels are NOT the same. The 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester barrel gas port is LARGER than the caliber .30 to assure correct functioning with this ammunition.
When I converted my Vietnam War pick-up M1 Garand with its shot-out barrel to 7.62 NATO, I had Springfield Armory, Geneseo, IL do the conversion. They used a premium Douglas standard barrel and the finished rifle had a steel spacer block fitted when it came back. This rifle has since been accurized th U.S. Army Marksmanship Training Unit standards by a competent armorer and I have shot it in many matches. It is extremely accurate. If you are considering the 7.62/.308 conversion, I would recommend accurizing your Garand at the the same time. The techniques are easily done in most cases by the shooter -- with the adjustment of the trigger and sear -- that's best left to an armorer that understands the criticality of this adjustment. Under NO circumstances should the trigger pull of any Garand be reduced to below 4-1/2 pounds. There are several reasons why this is unsafe that I will not detail for now, but below 4-1/2 pounds' trigger pull is UNSAFE.
Master Gunner
