Tanker Garand

can14

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Anyone try and build one with a 18 1/2 or 19 inch barrel?
The American Tanker op rod should work because , in theory you are adding 1/4 To
3/4 of an inch to the muzzle.
They make a Tanker op rod spring to go with the op rod
 
Well, if it is a parts gun/bitser, that is a bit different. And, in the case of the short M-1, the barrel is commercial aftermarket, and the only original part altered is the operating rod.
 
I think that barrels will be difficult because they don't have a lot of the 24 inch one's in 3006 or 308
Must be something going on in America.
Maybe a Canadian Barrel maker could cut down some new barrels and re dress them
 
The awkward part with cutting down a 24" is machining the grooves for the gas cylinder splines. The rest of the machining is straightforward lathe work.
I see Criterion is offering 18" barrels. No idea if they would entertain making ones to meet our minimum length.
I note that they are offering M-1 barrels in 6.5x55 and .270. A Garand in 6.5x55 would be a really interesting rifle.
Of course there is always the issue of the M-1 being hostile to optical sights.
 
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I contacted two m1 Garand barrel maker's, who make 18 1/4 inch barrels.
Adding 1/4 To 3/4 of an inch to their Tanker Barrels just isn't do able at this time
 
A manufacturer probably wouldn't be interested unless there were a minimum order that would justify the set-up costs.
I suppose a barrel could be jury rigged up on a mill, and the existing flutes extended back 5.5". To do a one-off, the existing flutes could be used to do the indexing.
 
Go big or go home. .458 Win Magnum Garand. 8 quick shots from the shoulder followed by a satisfying `pling`.;).458 Win garand.jpg.458 Win Garand 2.jpg
 

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Add 30% for currency, 12% for pst/gst and import fees to the garand guy price . Then it is restricted
I can do that , you just need the 18.25 inch barrel and op rod. There are a a few guy's here that assembly Garand rifles as good as anyone in America.
I was trying to get 18.50 or 19 inch barrels to be safe from restricted issue.
Just use the above cost to buy barrels with a base price of about $185.00/$200.00 and standard op rods in the same price range
I am no authority on barrels, but no barrel maker wants to cut a 19 inch barrel for a Tanker project.
The other issue in doing restoration on rifles of any kind is the cost of decent original parts and the time it takes to assembly them .
No one sees that part when pricing comes into it
 
I like 458 rifles, have a couple , plus the 375 H&H.
458 m1 would certainly stop any big game coming at one.
 
You would think there are some used m1 barrels out there, as lots have been replaced. there was a large batch of rifles that came here from Viet Nam around 1992.
they were all rough. Ideal for a tanker project.
 
I have a few used US and VAR barrels that are rough , but they wouldn't do , great for a Canada barrel maker to experiment on to cut to 19"
Not good enough to make complete guns
I have new VAR barrels in 3006, but I think Tankers may be better in 308
 
Recoil isn't much different and the italians made flash hiders
The italians made "Tanker" Garand rifles , then they made the BM59 with a 16.5 inch barrel
They cut US barrels and op rods to do it then they made everything after it all worked
The barrel length 18.25 inch is the US restriction, Canada is 18.50 inch
 
You can get a Lothar Walther Garand barrel in 9.3x62, but its pricey. Criterion also makes them in 6.5 Swede and .270 Win. They also produce an 18 inch 7.62 barrel. I've also heard of custom barrels in .25-06, 35 Whelan and .243 Win, and no doubt there are others. Anything within the .30-06 case length and case head diameter would probably be do-able. Gas supply for various cartridges and propellants could be regulated with one of the adjustable gas plugs.

The standard .30-06 and 7.62/.308 always seem good to me, but there's always room for experimentation. I like the Italian Tipo 2 7.62 variation. All they need is the .5 inch shorter barrel, stock and op rod. All other parts are standard, altho you need to shorten both the op rod spring and the rear handguard.
 
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