My first Garand. Where to get M1 Garand Barrels?

sly mantis

sly mantis

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I recently picked up my first M1 Garand. Its a Winchester manufacture and based on the serial number was built in February 1943. Looking the rilfe over it looks like its in good condition (although im no garand expert). The one thing i did see is that the rifiling on the barrel looks like its mostly gone.

So Im wondering where I can get a new barrel for this rifle in 30-06? Also is there anyone in ontario (preferrably close to the GTA) that can install a garand barrel and what's the typical cost to have this done?

Also if there's any garand experts in the GTA that wouldnt mind looking this thing over i wouldnt be oppose to that. :)
 
You might contact Pocketfisherman on this site. He lives in your general area and both sells and installs Garand barrels. He may agree to check your rifle and install a new barrel if yours is worn beyond limits.
 
What is the date on your current barrel? I know it may not be good for shooting, but to a collector, or at least me, a barrel date that matches the receiver's date is more valuable and harder to find, than one that was replaced after the war. Most M1s that we come across today have been rebuilt at some point in their life and finding a matching receiver-barrel combination is getting more difficult.
 
Well - Dont be rash about the barrel. In many cases, a low mileage barrel will show less rifling, than a pitted one. Try shooting it, or let some cognoscenti have a look at it before you act.
 
Mine's a Winchester, as well. they have a bad reputation for barrels. It's original though, so I never worried about it. Start messing with these things and you become Bubba real quick.:)

Grizz
 
It's sometimes tough to judge the extent of barrel wear/erosion by eyeball alone, altho it's a lot easier with a pitted bore. Muzzle and throat erosion gauges are used for this purpose, altho muzzle wear can be estimated by reversing a 150gr round in the muzzle. If it seats down to the case mouth then the muzzle is badly worn. Even then it is often possible to restore a worn muzzle by re-crowning or even counterboring to some extent. This is a bit trickier with a Garand as excessive metal removal can affect the gas port pressure and hence cycling of the action on firing.

I have a M1903 barrel where the rifling still appeared quite intact, altho the muzzle gauged .303 and the throat gauged .307 on the GI gauge, the reject limit being .308. In spite of this degree of wear the barrel would still produce 3.5" groups with handloads.:eek: I replaced it with a nice new GI barrel due to excessive wear.
 
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