Garand .308 Conversion

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Babarsac

Babarsac

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I have a mixmaster Garand I picked up off of Gunbroker for about $400 which I'm thinking about converting to fire .308. Surplus 30-06 has gone up in price yet I'm still seeing surplus .308 for less then 50 cents a round. My question is what do I need minimum parts wise for the conversion? After some Googling I've come up with:

1. 308 Barrel (http://dgrguns.com/0-main-page-barrels.htm)
2. Magazine Spacer (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=934596)
3. Adjustable Gas Plug (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=412046)
4. Op-rod?
 
I did have an International Harvester mixmaster coverted to 308. I later added an adjustable gas plug. That's all you really need. My rifle shoots fine without a magazine spacer.

Will
 
Great price for barrel, and that's what you need. They are short chambered, so you'll need to ream to set correct headspace. Are you doing that yourself, or having them do it?
 
I was thinking of sending it off to Orion. I just got off the phone with them and their prices seem pretty reasonable.
 
The first M1 conversions I saw were at GITMO Naval Base Cuba in 1968. Sailors assigned as part of the defense battalion were issued M1-7.62mm NATO. As part of my duties I was assigned to familiarize sailors with the rifle and instruct them in basic marksmanship.

Clint Fowler built me an M1-7.62mm NATO. The receiver was triple lugged and the barrel a Krieger with a contour specified by Fowler.

The spacer is not necessary. The standard operating rod unless worn works. A vented gas plug is a looks good feels good solution to a non problem if the barrel and gas cylinder are properly configured.
 
The first M1 conversions I saw were at GITMO Naval Base Cuba in 1968. Sailors assigned as part of the defense battalion were issued M1-7.62mm NATO. As part of my duties I was assigned to familiarize sailors with the rifle and instruct them in basic marksmanship.
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From what I've read, when the Navy first tried it, all they did was use a chamber adapter. Unsurprisingly, these had the bad habit of occasionally extracting with the spent shell. They then went with properly chambered barrels and had better luck.

I would assume they only used M80 ball with these.
 
try shuffsparkerizing.com i was going to go with him but i bought a m1a instead. he also has some videos to watch as well as a verry nice tanker mini g converson as well.
 
From what I've read, when the Navy first tried it, all they did was use a chamber adapter. Unsurprisingly, these had the bad habit of occasionally extracting with the spent shell.
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Background:

In 1968 the Marine Corps was stretched out pretty thin. 3rd battalion 8th Marines was assigned perimeter responsibility at GITMO. The Navy supplemented the base defense with personnel.

We spent a week instructing the sailors’ in the care and usage of the M1 (class room and range sessions). The M1 rifles converted to 7.62mm-NATO overall condition appeared to be excellent. If the rifles were equipped with chamber inserts or barrels chambered for the 7.62mm-NATO I can’t tell you. The rifles operated with out incident to the best of my recollection. We’re talking forty plus years ago.
 
The M1 rifles converted to 7.62mm-NATO overall condition appeared to be excellent. If the rifles were equipped with chamber inserts or barrels chambered for the 7.62mm-NATO I can’t tell you. The rifles operated with out incident to the best of my recollection. We’re talking forty plus years ago.
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Info is a little sketchy on the Navy Garands unfortunately. They are worth big bucks these days too. It's interesting that you guys had sailors with M1s doing perimeter duty.

My dad always talks about shooting the M1 when he was a gunners mate on a destroyer in the 60s (Pacific Fleet). He liked the M1. Still does. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember whether they were chambered on 7.62 or '06. He did say they will do a real number on a shark though. :)
 
It's interesting that you guys had sailors with M1s doing perimeter duty.
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I believe if recollection serves me correctly the sailors were to be utilized defending positions in the base interior (fixed positions that required no field movement).

We were just a trip wire on the perimeter. Guard posts were 3 men with 2 up and 1 down 24 hours on 24 hours off. We were issued 15 rounds. The Cubans weren’t hesitant to shoot fence jumpers blue/green tracers. One night we had three fence jumpers 2 Cuban soldiers and a brother of 1 of the soldiers. At dawn we noticed a man and 2 young boys adjacent to our post. Apparently the wife/mother didn’t make it.
 
The Cubans weren’t hesitant to shoot fence jumpers blue/green tracers. One night we had three fence jumpers 2 Cuban soldiers and a brother of 1 of the soldiers. At dawn we noticed a man and 2 young boys adjacent to our post. Apparently the wife/mother didn’t make it.
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Man, that's gotta be hard to watch without being able to do anything about it. :(
 
The only thing you need is the barrel. The magazine spacer just prevents someone from trying to load 30-06. You don't need the adj gas plug as the vent can be modified to work with NATO ammo. If you intend to use higher pressure ammo then then gas plug is needed.

I was thinking of sending it off to Orion. I just got off the phone with them and their prices seem pretty reasonable.

DGR's work seems to be well received on the CMP forum. I'm not aware of his backlog but worth checking.
 
Well the barrel and gas plug are on the way :)

Has anyone ever tried to use Wolf or Brown Bear .308 ammo in their Garands? I know the stuff is grimy and I use it in my AK-74 all the time. However, there is a local guy selling the stuff very very cheap.
 
DGR's work seems to be well received on the CMP forum.
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DGR's work is excellent and Dean is a real nice guy to deal with. My rifle was a worn out CMP gun when I sent it to him for a rebuild and it came back looking and working perfect in every way, like a brand new rifle.
 
Hmmm, a worn out cmp rifle would be a fun donor. I may just need to try this.
 
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