Nightcrawler
Member
I know many consdier it blasphemy to modify a military surplus gun in any way, but it's been going on for awhile.
My favorite rifle that I've never used is the M1 Garand. I see a lot of potential for the old warhorse yet, and with a few tweaks it can be "modernized" just a bit.
My first (heh) Garand will probably be a stock GI type, albeit in .308, becuase I have a bunch of .308 and M1s don't like most commerical .30-06 anyway (besides, the difference between 7.62x51 M80 ball and .30 caliber M2 ball is, I believe, three grains of weight and less than a hundred feet per second in velocity).
The Garand may not be, to everyone's mind, the best choice for a "serious" rifle, but in some places, it's the only choice. Chicago, for instance, bans all autoloading rifles with detachable magazines. The M1 is 50-state legal and can be owned in just about any place where one can own a rifle at all. (I'm not sure about, say, NYC or DC, though.)
To quote one of John Farnam's postings:
As a matter of fact, Mr. Farnam is working with some custom house to produce the Farnam Defensive Rifle. It is, essentially, tanker Garand in .308 with a forward-mounted optics base.
I'm very interested in this type of rifle. It's retro-modern and eclectic enough to appeal to my weird tastes. And while the M1 might not fit in too well on a modern battlefield, I think it'd work well enough for most emergency scenarios. In most such situations, contrary to endless debates on the gun boards, protracted firefights with hoards of Kalashnikov-weilding gang members are actually quite rare (unless you live in West Africa or someplace, I guess). It's not that I'd prefer it over my FAL, but if I had to make do, I think I could do a lot worse.
Anyway, there are other types of customized Garands out there. The "tanker" carbines are the most obvious, but I've also seen ones converted to detachable box magazine feed.
Picture courtesy of Warbirds Custom
More interestingly, one place is converting Garands to .338 Winchester Magnum. They also make them in .458 caliber, apparently!
So what, if any, experience do you have with modified Garands? What gunsmiths can be recommended for such work? And, of course, post any pictures of any M1 rifle, modified or stock, that you care to. I'm especially hoping to see M1s with various BM-59 type stocks.
For starters, I submit Oleg and his Garand, Eight-Ball.
My favorite rifle that I've never used is the M1 Garand. I see a lot of potential for the old warhorse yet, and with a few tweaks it can be "modernized" just a bit.
My first (heh) Garand will probably be a stock GI type, albeit in .308, becuase I have a bunch of .308 and M1s don't like most commerical .30-06 anyway (besides, the difference between 7.62x51 M80 ball and .30 caliber M2 ball is, I believe, three grains of weight and less than a hundred feet per second in velocity).
The Garand may not be, to everyone's mind, the best choice for a "serious" rifle, but in some places, it's the only choice. Chicago, for instance, bans all autoloading rifles with detachable magazines. The M1 is 50-state legal and can be owned in just about any place where one can own a rifle at all. (I'm not sure about, say, NYC or DC, though.)
To quote one of John Farnam's postings:
15Aug06 At an Urban Rifle/Shotgun course in MI last weekend, a student brought a Garand and shot the entire Course with it. His build and height are above average, but even he admitted that, after carrying it (and forty rounds of ammunition) for two, long days, he can surely see the advantage of short, light, compact rifles, with large, detachable magazines. He lives in Chicago, where one may not a legally own any species of handgun, but may have a Garand and a pump shotgun. No other autoloading, military rifle is allowed (not even M1 Carbines), and autoloading shotguns are limited to four rounds. Even then, all firearms are registered with the City, so the mayor can, at any time, and on any flimsy pretext, kick in the doors of gunowners' homes and snatch them out of their hands, leaving them defenseless in the face of (private sector) criminals (the "Nagen Method"). If I lived in Chicago, I'm sure I'd own several Garands! This student is making due, as best he can, given his circumstances. That is what I admire. Instead of spending all his time cursing liberal, anti-gun politicians, he has found a way to arm himself formidably, working around restrictive rules. After an arduous and exhausting, two-day workout, few, with any kind of rifle, would be a match for him! /John
As a matter of fact, Mr. Farnam is working with some custom house to produce the Farnam Defensive Rifle. It is, essentially, tanker Garand in .308 with a forward-mounted optics base.
I'm very interested in this type of rifle. It's retro-modern and eclectic enough to appeal to my weird tastes. And while the M1 might not fit in too well on a modern battlefield, I think it'd work well enough for most emergency scenarios. In most such situations, contrary to endless debates on the gun boards, protracted firefights with hoards of Kalashnikov-weilding gang members are actually quite rare (unless you live in West Africa or someplace, I guess). It's not that I'd prefer it over my FAL, but if I had to make do, I think I could do a lot worse.
Anyway, there are other types of customized Garands out there. The "tanker" carbines are the most obvious, but I've also seen ones converted to detachable box magazine feed.
Picture courtesy of Warbirds Custom
More interestingly, one place is converting Garands to .338 Winchester Magnum. They also make them in .458 caliber, apparently!
So what, if any, experience do you have with modified Garands? What gunsmiths can be recommended for such work? And, of course, post any pictures of any M1 rifle, modified or stock, that you care to. I'm especially hoping to see M1s with various BM-59 type stocks.
For starters, I submit Oleg and his Garand, Eight-Ball.
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