M1 Garand .308 or 30.06???

[Slamfire]

A 308 M1 is kinda rare. It's NOT easier to find or cheaper. I've seen to few examples used to say it has an advantage over an '06. In theory, it should have, but

An original is extremely rare. My State Association had three unaltered Air Force National Match M1's in 308. These were sent to Scott Duffy for sale on his auction sight. One was in exceptional condition with a 6 million receiver. None of the rifles ever made to to the auction page. Duffy had buds who wanted these so bad, that he was able to sell them them without listing them. The average sale price for the three was $3,000 each.

The State Association was able to sell two of the rebarreled Air Force NM M1's to Association members for about half of the Duffy price. These were rebarreled with Douglas barrels once the original GI barrel was shot out. Back then, no one knew about these things. They were just rifles to shoot, and keep shooting, for State Association members.

 

[GRIZ22]

You may use any ammo you want in a Garand, as long as you replace the stock gas plug with an adjustable gas plug.

True. But you can also modify (enlarge I believe) the gas port for a 308 Garand to function with NATO spec ammo.

so those of you who are shooting .308 in your garand....what FPS is you ammo? if you can shoot .308 that is 2800 FPS would it be ok to shoot 30.06 that is 2800 FPS?

I have a commercial conversion, a 308 Tanker with a 18" barrel that runs fine on NATO spec ammo which is listed at 2750 fps. This ammo chronos at 2550-2600 fps from the 18" barrel (and gives a significant muzzle blast).

I have chronoed M2 ball from various sources (US, Greek,Danish, etc) and found it to be 2650-2900 fps. It's not about velocity its about pressure. All the different ammo is loaded for the pressure curve the M1 needs.

 

[Jeremy2171]

jeremy...it's a cool gun no doubt. but just don't believe that it is "SAFE in every state" like you said. that flash suppressor will land you in trouble if you cross the wrong state line. thanks for sharing.

Which state line would that be?

 

[artee]

USSR/Don
For 308, guys assume if it's ok for an M1A/M14, it'll be OK for my 308 Garand.

Nope! The M1 Garand whether it is chambered in .30-06 or .308, uses the same gas system and op rod, and so, has the same port pressure constraint. The M14/M1A uses a different gas system which is much more forgiving.

Don
Don that's true. Kinda. While the "parts" are the same, the spec for the gas port in the barrel of a "308" or 7.62x51 Garand is different than for an '06 model
see: "The M1 Garand-M14 Shop Manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen
that's done as the pressure delivered at the port by the "308" ISN"T the same as '06.

 

[skipbo32]

Jeremy....the state line of California. but my guess is, a fine innovative gun toter like your self is far from such a gun-hating state. all the M1As sent to CA have the muzzle break (instead of the flash hider) fitted to them. but it's just a heads up for ya, incase you are traveling through there.

it's a sweet gun you got there. it's basically a lighter weight M1. i like it!

 

[Jeremy2171]

That law doesn't apply to my rifle.....it does NOT have a detachable magazine. Therefore the hider is legal.

Glad you like it!

 

[rscalzo]

Had the parts, 7.62 was cheap and didn't have anything better to do at the time!

I had to re-barrel it so I had it done in 308. I have several other 30-06 Garands so I thought what the hell. If I had only one, it would be in the original caliber.

 

[jpwilly]

Get whatever caliber you prefer. My only M1 Garand was rebarreled to .308 Win with a match bbl and it's a super sweet shooter. I love it! Should I ever get an M1A they can eat from the same ammo can!

 

[USSR]

USSR/Don
For 308, guys assume if it's ok for an M1A/M14, it'll be OK for my 308 Garand.

Nope! The M1 Garand whether it is chambered in .30-06 or .308, uses the same gas system and op rod, and so, has the same port pressure constraint. The M14/M1A uses a different gas system which is much more forgiving.

Don

Don that's true. Kinda. While the "parts" are the same, the spec for the gas port in the barrel of a "308" or 7.62x51 Garand is different than for an '06 model see: "The M1 Garand-M14 Shop Manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen
that's done as the pressure delivered at the port by the "308" ISN"T the same as '06.

artee,

The only spec for the gas port in the Garand (which is nothing more than a hole in the bottom of the barrel) is it's size and location. Both a .30-06 and .308 chambered Garand use the same gas cylinder and op rod (assuming a full size .308 barrel). The Garand's gas cylinder and op rod are designed to work at 8,000psi +/- 2,000psi. So, using .308 ammo that exceeds the design spec's of the rifle, you risk damage to the rifle, just the same as if you exceed the design spec's with .30-06 ammo.

Don

 

[artee]

Don, what part of "same parts" doesn't agree with what you said originally or in expanded form? But, you continue to miss the point. The "308" or 7.62 Garand uses the same parts, but the speced port size (yeah, it's "just a hole") is DIFFERENT. If you use the same size as on an '06, you will not have a reliable Garand. Springfield Armory, Fulton Armory, Clint Fowler all put a different size "hole" in for the port. And, the Navy, once they got away from trying the chamber inserts, also used a different size port.

 

[USSR]

artee,

I KNOW that .308 conversions of Garands use a different size hole, not arguing that at all. What I am saying is that, just like the hole size used in a .30-06 Garand is set up to function the gas system at a specific port pressure level, the .308 hole size is also set to function the gas system at the very same level (8,000psi +/-2,000psi). Pressure is pressure. Exceed that port pressure level and it don't matter what the cartridge headstamp says.

Don