M1 Garand conversion
- Thread starter IMAT
- Start date
You would first need to locate a 7.62 barrel,say $300.Then locate someone with tooling to do the job and pay his shop time and a slice of his tooling investment.If the barrel indexes correctly as it is,it is then just a matter of finish reaming the chamber with a pull through reamer in order to set up the headspace.Things get a bit more complicated (and expensive) if the barrel does'nt index properly as it is.Correction would involve facing off the barrel shoulder on a lathe in the case of under-indexing or peening or roll swaging the barrel in the case of over-indexing. I like Garands in both .30-06 and 7.62,and prefer them to the Norinco M14 clones.If you want bargain priced 7.62 shooting in a military semi-auto,you might better pursue this option.The so-called "tanker" garands are a marketting myth which was never adopted by the military.
Conversion to .308 will require a new barrel. There do not seem to be any low cost barrels around. You could check with Obtunded on CGN for a Kreiger. Installation is straightforeward enough - torque the barrel to index, finish ream the chamber with a pull reamer.
If you want a Garand carbine (the few prototypes were intended for airborne, nothing to do with tanks) just order a 18 1/2"+ barrel.
If you want a Garand carbine (the few prototypes were intended for airborne, nothing to do with tanks) just order a 18 1/2"+ barrel.
Is it even worth it, $$-wise, as oppose to buying one new in 7.62mm?
Of course, whatever floats your boat...That said, this I understand doing a conversion for:
http://www.gokart.net/shop-utopia/mccann/rifles/garand/garand.html
Don't even think about the US Navy 7.62 chamber insert idea as this was unreliable and disposed of as a failure(reason was the insert just would'nt stay inserted and tended to extract with a fired empty case).The Navy then went to an all-up 7.62 conversion with a new 7.62 chambered barrel and a nylon spacer to preclude loading a clip of .30-06 ctgs. One of the slickest military conversions is the Italian Tipo 2 Garand. Shortened a standard barrel about .5 inch at the breech end and re-chambered for 7.62,swapped out a proportionally shorter op rod,stock,and rear handguard,added a steel mag spacer and everything else is the same.Presto!!! They work like a charm and shhot very well.
why not sell your m1 garand. and look for a beretta m1. if you want a 7.62 m1, because your looking at over 2 g's +, for a new springfield m1 in 7.62. you might consider getting a barrel from them. but when all is said and done it will coast less to find a berreta m1. why do you want to tamper with perfection? the m1 was designed for 30.06. for just history alone keep it 30.06. if you want a 7.62 buy a norinco m1a/m14 or as stated a beretta.
