7.62x54r Garand?

[twkremer]

I was considering the price and availability of ammo, and then It hit me. Would it be possible to convert an M1 Garand from 30-06 to The cheapest full power round in existence, 7.62x54r? Anybody have any thoughts on this? Is there anything that would make this impossible? I want to know!!!

 

[mm1ut1]

A lot simpler to shoot an SVT or Dragonav type rifles. You can do anything with enough money. Surplus 30-06 is still reletively cheap from the CMP. Taking apart a Garand to clean out the corrosive salts after every time shooting would not be fun. Hakims and FN-49s can use cheap 8mm ammo.

 

[twkremer]

Ha. True. If I had a million dollars and a million years, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[easy]

But if you had a million dollars, you could afford 30.06.

 

[WardenWolf]

Get an SVT-40. The "Commie Garand" is a very nice weapon in its own right.

 

[jpwilly]

Bolt face would be way off and enbloc clips would be very difficult to change to x54R

 

[Ignition Override]

Many of those guns are 'too purdy' to scratch up, if they were to be taken apart each time to clean corrosive primer residue.

If you reload, the CMP's 30-06 ammo has Boxer primers. My quite-experienced 'Gun Guru' says that people should be able to use each case four times or so. He has four Garands, and my son and I had our first chance to shoot a Garand today.

It was my 21 year-old son's fourth time to ever shoot rifles (any guns), and after about eight shots (his first) at a 50 yard paper target, he stood with it and got one shot to touch the small bull'seye.

 

[Opoche]

+1 on the Hakim/FN49 idea
Hakims can be had in good shape for much less than a decent garand . Last I checked 8mm romanian was going 80-90 for a 340 round spam can. Dirty as sin, but great for plinking though it will not take advantage of the Hakim's accuracy. Yugo 8mm can be found for a bit more and is a bit better.
For a few dollars more Romak PSLs can be had in 7.62x54, again good accuracy (until that paper thin barrel heats up).
Never shot and SVT 40, but I hear they are nice as well.
I have shot the PSL, nice rifle.
I have a Hakim and will never give that thing up. Adjustable direct gas impingement and tilting bolt

 

[zhyla]

Why not convert to .308 instead of .30-06? It's just a barrel swap from what I understand. .308 isn't as cheap as 7.62x54 but it's cheaper than .30-06.

 

[CZguy]

Just a thought, but if you reload 30-06 it's more affordable.

The money you just saved on barrel conversions would buy a a lot of reloading components.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

You'd have to open the bolt face, modify the extractor, replace the barrel, and you still couldn't use it, since the 7.62 X 54R head is too wide for the Garand en bloc clip.

 

[MachIVshooter]

It'd be much more economical to just buy a PSL. You can get 'em for about $600 without the optic.

 

[1KPerDay]

I doubt the rim would work in the clip.

 

[GarandOwner]

I'd go the SVT route, the SVT is from the same era and a good gun in its own respects. A PSL which is really an over sized AK-47, and Dragunovs are so over priced now it is rediculus. Beware of those selling PSL's as "Romanian versions of the Dragunov SVD", and of people trying to sell the Tigr sporting rifle as "a carbine version of the SVD". The PSL has nothing in common with the Dragunov except the round, you can even tell by comparing the two in the pictures below. The Tigr is the closest you will get to a Dragunov without shelling out the big bucks for a real SVD. They both have the same receiver, but the Tigr has a shorter barrel with no flash hider, and does not have an adjustable gas system like the SVD does. Since neither the Tigr nor the SVD can be imported anymore, even the prices of Tigr's has skyrocketed to the same price a real SVD was a few years ago. It could be that the seller doesn't know what they have, or that they are truly being dishonest to try and make an extra buck. If it were me, I'd get an SVT......well really if it was me I'd keep shooting the garand in all its glory in .30-06!

Dragunov:

PSL:


Tigr (top one is one with a flash hider added and military stock, bottom is stock rifle)

 

[MAUSER88]

Mmmn Dragunov!!!