Questions about my garands UPDATED!!!

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Danielbear22

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Hi folks.

I recently purchased 2 garands and I wanna make sure everything checks out.

The 2 are a breda and a Beretta. 1 is in .308 since on the receiver on the side says .308 but on the charging handle it days 7.62. Nothing is on the barrel where you usually see info. This rifle was made by Beretta and in nice shape. I also noticed it has the blocker inside the magazine so you don't put a 30-06 in it. This one I'm certain is chambered for .308 or 7.62.

The breda model I have is in nice shape and appears to have been refurbished in the 70's and appears to be in 7.62 nato by what the charging handle says but this is the only info I have on whether it's chambered for 7.62 nato. The barrel has some numbers on it but no info on caliber. This rifle doesn't have the blocker so you don't put a 30-06 in it.

Basically, I wanna know whether these Italian/Danish rifles are in fact in 7.62 (especially the breda model) so when I decide to shoot them nothing bad happens. Any info is appreciated. I unfortunately don't know how to post pictures through my phone so pictures would have to be through text or email.

Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance.



Took the rifle to Vulcan gun refurbishing and he got the rifle from marstar all fixed up no problem! Rifle works flawlessly and safely like it should have. Such a great experience dealing with nick and would recommend anyone to go and pay him a visit for any of your gun needs. He said the rifle had a handful of problems and managed to fix it all for $300.
 
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Good question. The .308 vs 7.62 markings are confusing to me too.

How long have you had these rifles? The Italian military did convert their rifles to fire the NATO round, and renamed them Typo 1 or 2. The difference between a 30-06 and a 7.62 is the entire rifle forward of the bolt face is 1/2 inch shorter. You'll need to measure the barrel for its actual length and compare against the specified M1 Garand length.

Please report the markings on the side of the barrel. The letters and numbers are going to explain a lot.

From my point of view, shooting 7.62 NATO in an Italian Garand will not be a problem.
 
with the mix and match of parts and they have been rebuilt somany times

the only way to be sure is try
1) 3006 or 308 headspace gages
2) try a 3006 or 308 cartridge in the barrel with the bolt removed .. or in a safe way
3) try a 270 in the barrel with the bolt removed .. or in a safe way

if the 270 or the 3006 or the 06 headspace gauge sticks out of the chamber (by 1/2 a inch) the chances are it is 308

Note
at one time a insert was used to convert 06 to 308 ..the inserts are known to come out

the recoil spring should be replaced if it does not meet min length
Proper length is 19 3/4 to 20 1/4" when new.................................... I have not seen/ handled one of the converted 308 barrels,
the spring might need tweaking
the full length 308 barrels 24 inch long should work with a new unmodified spring

1005-614-7568 SPRING, HELICAL, COMPRESSION: . S, 0.0562 max stk dia, 0.384 max free od, 20-1/4 free o/a lg, 200 total coils , operating rod (6147568).

the the block for the 308 can be hard to find ... and not cheep
 
I have seen from a video that the inserts may not be on all rifles and will still chamber a .308 no problem. I do not have a gage I ca use to help figure out the differences between the 2 unfortunately.

The beretra rifle has the following letters on the left side of the receiver " Hauk .308 win ITDE" along with a "CIP" above a "N" with a shield with 3 crowns in it with the letters BG Next to it.

The breda rifle does not have the famous T2 on the receiver but has the following on the barrel under the charging handle "SIAU 1668 M P".


The only thing indicating that the breda rifle is in 7.62 nato is the charging handle and the throat of the chamber looking different than the Beretta. Pictures would say alot more.
 
Keep in mind these recievers are not built on what appears to be old American ones. Each of these were built for Denmark with the proper crown and letters to go along with it
 
With a cleared rifle, close the bolt. Take a cleaning rod and insert it until it stops. Mark the rod at the crown of the muzzle, measure the rod. Get a 30-06 snap cap insert it into the chamber, if it goes in, it's '06, if it isn't even close it's 308.

DO NOT USE A 308 Snap cap. DO NOT discharge the firearm until you are 100% positive what calibre it's chambered for.
 
Okay ill try that.

Also, the Beretta has a small space between the hand gaurds where the barrel and stock meet. Is this normal? I've seen some with small gaps or no gap at all.
 
Danielbear22 said:
Okay ill try that.

Also, the Beretta has a small space between the hand gaurds where the barrel and stock meet. Is this normal? I've seen some with small gaps or no gap at all.
Click to expand...

Yes, some clearance is necessary to avoid the handguard cracking from recoil/barrel expansion when hot. This also improves accuracy. Same story with a bit of clearance between the front handgd and the rear of the gas cylinder.
 
purple said:
Yes, some clearance is necessary to avoid the handguard cracking from recoil/barrel expansion when hot. This also improves accuracy. Same story with a bit of clearance between the front handguard and the rear of the gas cylinder.
Click to expand...

But, don't squeeze that front handguard to pick it up. The wood forms a C-shape with just a sheet metal liner, and they break! Always put your hand further up the stock and grasp behind the stock ferrule.
 
Interesting video. The gentleman I bought it off of never shot it since he already had one. He won it in a ticket raffle from SFRC apparently so I'm on my own here if it works. I shot the breda version last weekend with no issue. The trigger sucks unfortunately.
 
Okay so I read through the forum quite a bit and the overall attitude is that these firearms should not be fired. Since this was a private sale, what are my options here? Everything about the rifle looks amazing but bolt seems to have the issue where it was ground off judging by the discoloration.
 
the t2 made by breda and a Beretta ( should be good to go )

Any new purchase of a 50-70 year old rifle should be checked out by someone who knows something about them

old springs in a semi can get you into trouble fast
using the wrong spec ammo in a garand can break/ bend parts

the new copies of the t2 .... are in question

if I had a old t2 after checking it out, would I shoot it with in spec ammo.... Yes
 
the t2 made by breda and a Beretta ( should be good to go )
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Any new purchase of a 50-70 year old rifle should be checked out by someone who knows something about them

old springs in a semi can get you into trouble fast
using the wrong spec ammo in a garand can break/ bend parts

the new copies of the t2 .... are in question

if I had a old t2 after checking it out, would I shoot it with in spec ammo.... Yes
 
The breda doesn't say type 2 on the receiver like those in the picture. I have shot it with no issue but have not shot the one that appears to he from marstar.

Have their been any situations if these things exploding or bringing harm to anyone since sold ?
 
Marstar accepted returns (eventually) so I think a majority of them went back. Like I said I would never fire any of those rifles, unless a new barrel and bolt were installed. Is the risk worth it? How much are your eyes or digits worth to you? The rifle I had was beautiful but the suspect bolt and barrel made me nervous. Have a gunsmith inspect the rifle at the very least.
 
I will definitely get someone to look at it. The thing is, would most gun smith's know what to look for in order to call the gun "safe"? I only ask because it's either Ellwood Epps or precision arms I would take to.

The barrel seems amazing on the rifles as well.
 
I never had a chance to examine one of the Marstar offerings, but there was an extensive discussion of them on the MILSURP forum some time ago. It sounded like a real horror story and a safety hazard as well. I'd like to go over one of them in detail as an educational exercise.
 
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