el44vaquero
Member
Anyone have a .308 conversion Garand? Thoughts and opinions? Also, what would a guy need in order to find a shot out '06 and have it converted?
Garand
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oneshooter
Member
My M1 used to keyhole at 50 yds! I sent it to Springfield Armoury, back when they were doing outside work, and had it rebarreled with a Krieger med. weight barrel, restocked, bedded, NM front and rear sights, match trigger, accurised gas system. AND in .308!!! Will hold 1" with my handloads at 200yds!! Your best bet would get a woodless Garand from the CMP, and get it rebarreled. You can do most of the other work yourself if you are handy at sush things.
Oneshooter
Livin in Texas
Oneshooter
Livin in Texas
Eat Beef
Member
I'm considering doing the same thing myself. The 'smith I plan to use said that the woodless Danes he's gotten lately have been hit and miss, with some of them requiring multiple parts to be replaced. I have no idea whether this is propoganda or not.
Dr. Dickie
Member
I bought an H&R reciever from CMP for about $200 bucks, and got a complete parts kit (minus reciever and barrel) from Numric Arms for another $250. Then got a barrel from Numric (in .308).
I have a friend at work that is a gunsmith, so he and I put it together (well, he put the barrel on and I assembled the rest).
Shoots great (I had to do Kuhnhausen trick of filing the bottom of the rear sight down to get in to come in at 100 yards--at least I will find out next week when I shoot it again.) All in all, I spend about as much as buying a service grand Garand (got two of those as well).
Not really a heck of a lot of difference between the .308 and the .30-'06 (even cost of ammo as CMP has .30-'06 LC for $230 delievered for 960 rounds--so for right now .308 ammo is actually MORE expensive--but that will change soon).
If you are only going to have one Garand, I would say keep it traditional, then save for an M1A in .308. However, if you are going to have a couple of Garands (and you should), then one in .308 does give ya a variety.
I have a friend at work that is a gunsmith, so he and I put it together (well, he put the barrel on and I assembled the rest).
Shoots great (I had to do Kuhnhausen trick of filing the bottom of the rear sight down to get in to come in at 100 yards--at least I will find out next week when I shoot it again.) All in all, I spend about as much as buying a service grand Garand (got two of those as well).
Not really a heck of a lot of difference between the .308 and the .30-'06 (even cost of ammo as CMP has .30-'06 LC for $230 delievered for 960 rounds--so for right now .308 ammo is actually MORE expensive--but that will change soon).
If you are only going to have one Garand, I would say keep it traditional, then save for an M1A in .308. However, if you are going to have a couple of Garands (and you should), then one in .308 does give ya a variety.
Swampy
Member
el44,
.308 M1 rifles work great.
Both of my Match Grade M1's are in .308. These are rifles that I shoot Across the Course (200-300-600 yards) in NRA Highpower and CMP-EIC (Leg Match) events.
All that's necessary to convert an M1 to .308 is a barrel swap. Nada else.
One thing that SHOULD be done as a MAJOR safety mod is the inclusion of a magazine well block. This prevents insertion of a full clip of 30-06 ammo into the rifle.
If a clip of 30-06 IS inserted into a .308 rifle and the bolt slams home on the top round a major catastrophic event can occur (read: Ka-Boom.... Out of battery fire) when the bolt stops 1/2" before locking up and the unrestrained firing pin then has full inertia against the primer.
A mag well block prevents this from ever happening...... Very cheap insurance. Both my .308 M1's have them.....
Best regards,
Swampy
Garands forever
.308 M1 rifles work great.
Both of my Match Grade M1's are in .308. These are rifles that I shoot Across the Course (200-300-600 yards) in NRA Highpower and CMP-EIC (Leg Match) events.
All that's necessary to convert an M1 to .308 is a barrel swap. Nada else.
One thing that SHOULD be done as a MAJOR safety mod is the inclusion of a magazine well block. This prevents insertion of a full clip of 30-06 ammo into the rifle.
If a clip of 30-06 IS inserted into a .308 rifle and the bolt slams home on the top round a major catastrophic event can occur (read: Ka-Boom.... Out of battery fire) when the bolt stops 1/2" before locking up and the unrestrained firing pin then has full inertia against the primer.
A mag well block prevents this from ever happening...... Very cheap insurance. Both my .308 M1's have them.....
Best regards,
Swampy
Garands forever
Dr. Dickie
Member
Yep, good point Swampy. I forgot to mention that. I got a block in mine. Once it is in the reciever it stays there (even during cleaning), so it really becomes transparent, but as Swampy says, loading .30-'06 into a .308 will ruin a really great day at the range
mainmech48
Member
IIWY, I'd look around at the shows for a commercially converted M1. Several firms produced them, and they're relatively common. Usually around half the cost of a new Springfield Armory M1 in 7.62 NATO, and sometimes considerably less than that.
Mine was purchased at a show about eight years ago. It was converted by Arlington Ordnance and I paid $479 + taxes for it. The conversion included a new commercial barrel, excellent condition GI gas cylinder, rebuilt, fitted op rod and magazine spacer block. The stocks were VG-grade GI and it had been re-Parkerized.
I have made two minor mods to it since: a Reinhart-Fajen laminated stock set (purchased from Midway for $98.95 complete [no metal] when RF was going under) and an adjustable gas plug for tuning with non-standard (other than 147 gr. projectile @ c. 2700 nom. fps) loads.
It has proven to be absolutely reliable functionally, and is capable of shooting better groups than I can with my bifocal-clad eyes and caffine intake. I have witnessed (but haven't been able to duplicate myself, dangit!) a succession of five-shot groups from a solid bench at 100 yds measuring between 1 7/8 and 2 1/8" shot with it using LC-'72 Match ammo. Even with my poorer skills I can keep good surplus ball inside of 3" at the same range.
I don't believe that I could've bought a beater M1 and had the same extent of work done for any appreciably lesser amount than the approximately $660 that I have in it.
Mine was purchased at a show about eight years ago. It was converted by Arlington Ordnance and I paid $479 + taxes for it. The conversion included a new commercial barrel, excellent condition GI gas cylinder, rebuilt, fitted op rod and magazine spacer block. The stocks were VG-grade GI and it had been re-Parkerized.
I have made two minor mods to it since: a Reinhart-Fajen laminated stock set (purchased from Midway for $98.95 complete [no metal] when RF was going under) and an adjustable gas plug for tuning with non-standard (other than 147 gr. projectile @ c. 2700 nom. fps) loads.
It has proven to be absolutely reliable functionally, and is capable of shooting better groups than I can with my bifocal-clad eyes and caffine intake. I have witnessed (but haven't been able to duplicate myself, dangit!) a succession of five-shot groups from a solid bench at 100 yds measuring between 1 7/8 and 2 1/8" shot with it using LC-'72 Match ammo. Even with my poorer skills I can keep good surplus ball inside of 3" at the same range.
I don't believe that I could've bought a beater M1 and had the same extent of work done for any appreciably lesser amount than the approximately $660 that I have in it.
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