NATO 7.62 ammo. Where can we buy it?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I

Ignition Override

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
9,369
Location
The Mid-South.
Brand-new on this website. :) Sure, this is a dumb question, but my ego is not so brittle.

Also, I've only owned a .22 for many years and have only fired a few times since 1985, due to lack of public land near here. I have a growing interest in buying either an M-1 Garand or a .308 bolt-action rifle (possibly a Lee-Enfield or a civilian type) and would like to be a much better shot. I have a buddy at work who is on the Navy Marksmanship Team and he has an M-1 Garand and HK (or Glock) pistol etc. I just read that an M-1 Garand might over-stress civilian brass .308 shells. This was on somebody's military rifle website (Wikipedia?).

Even a civilian .30 caliber rifle would be fun to own if quite reliable, whether as a new hobby or to become better prepared for any civil "unrest", due to an earthquake (long over-due here), major electrical blackout or whatever (just a much milder, "mini-Katrina" situation...).
Here is my Basic Problem: will look at outdoor ranges which offer more than just a piece of paper to practice with. An old acquaintance with private land near here wants no noise to scare off the deer walking around...:rolleyes: he would only find pieces of watermelons and oranges against in a creek or small pond, like in '85 at the Wolf River. Anything but a piece of paper on a clip in a building! Anybody near here with land would be rewarded with a free full case of 'something' for a liquid de-briefing, but probably unwilling.

Also, how reliable is a clean M-1 Garand in good condition after many rounds are fired, compared to 'standard' bolt-action .308 rifles, whether civilian or military (Lee-Enf. or Mauser etc?)? How about the time needed to reload an average (civ. r military) standard clip on the bottom compared to an M-1's clip from above?

Thanks very much for any general comparisons and advice etc.
 
The standard M-1 Garand is .30 - '06, not 7.62 NATO/.308.

Now, a gunsmith can convert a Garand to .308, but there's no real point to that right now. Mil surp 7.62 NATO ammo has pretty much dried up. The prices are much, much higher then they were a couple years ago, when you can even find it in the first place. All my regular sources are out.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program has Greek suprlus .30 - '06 on sale cheaper then any mil-surp 7.62 right now.

My advice is to get a Garand from the CMP and also buy as much of the CMP .30-'06 as you can while it is still available and still cheap.
 
IO,

Trebor gives good advice. The CMP is "THE" place to get an M1 rifle. Best prices, quality, and service.

Now.... You have been comparing "civvy" bolt guns with the M1. Apples and oranges here, Bud.

The question you have to ask yourself is WHAT do I want to do with this rifle???

Plinking down on the farm.... Casual or even serious competitions..... Something that can be used for home defense..... Hunting....... etc....

The M1 is a battle rifle.... with all the characteristics that apply. It's meant for "serious social situations", but is also used in NRA and CMP competitions. It can be used "as is".... i.e. issue grade in CMP's John C. Garand Matches or it can be upgraded to Match configuration and used in NRA and CMP Service Rifle events. It can also be used as a defense weapon.... after all, that's what it was designed to do. It shoots a seriously potent round, holds 8 at a time, is as accurate as any battle rifle needs to be, VERY reliable over the long haul, and with just a little familiarity it reloads REALLY fast.... as fast or faster than any other battle rifle ever made.

"Civvy" bolt rifles, such as the Remmy 700 and Winny 70 are mainly hunting type weapons. While they can be used to shoot at targets all day long, in order for them to be used in any form of real competitions, they usually require quite a bit of gunsmithing and add on equipment to be competitive. While they can double as a home defense weapon they are not really designed for that. Bolt guns (Unless fitted with a stripper clip notch, which is not usable if a scope is mounted) also will load only 5 rounds, and loads much slower than the M1 (even with a stripper clip)..... one round at at a time through the top of the mag well. Note: the trap door on some bolt gun mag wells is mainly there for quick UN-loading of the rifle. It's not meant to be used to LOAD the rifle.... and it certainly would not be very fast in any case.

That's the basics..... ask away if you have more questions.

BTW... I shoot the M1 rifle almost exclusively. There is no other weapon like it. It talks to me.... ;)

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
 
BTW... I shoot the M1 rifle almost exclusively. There is no other weapon like it. It talks to me....
Click to expand...
Yea, but you're obsessed Swampy. :D


I have a growing interest in buying either an M-1 Garand or a .308 bolt-action rifle (possibly a Lee-Enfield or a civilian type) and would like to be a much better shot.
Click to expand...
I second (third?), the recomendation for a CMP Garand and their Greek HXP ammo. Stock up a few cases. A good companion to this rifle is a Springfield 1903A3 bolt action. CMP's out of them, but check the trader in this forum and poke around at your local gun stores and pawn shops. They turn up every once in a while.
 
Thanks very much for all of your advice.

The outdoor range near here will cost about $300 for the first year, is an interesting place and and is a very good operation. They even have pop-up targets available on certain days.

An M-1 carbine (I read that at 200 yards, it only has the muzzle power of a .38 pistol) might also be fun, but if that extremely rare situation of civil 'unrest" ever happened, the M-1 Garand would be much better.

However, in order to be a bit less open-minded, if price becomes a factor (membership+rifle+ many standard jacketed rounds), wouldn't some M-1 carbine hollow-point bullets also be quite deadly? And for targets or whichever (i.e. 'mini-Katrina' chaos, even out here in the county), a larger clip could carry several more rounds than the eight rounds in a Garand.
 
An M1 carbine would make a fine self defense weapon. Many Germans and Japanese met their maker with assistance from USGI .30 carbines.

Benefits of the carbine include light weight, good sights, low recoil, quick follow up shots, compact in size. You can buy repro M1A1 folding stocks that work very well, making it even more compact.

I don't think there are any HPs in .30 Carbine, but softpoints are supposed to be very effective at typical self defense ranges. I wouldn't rely on incapacitating hits past 150-200 yards though.

I'm not sure about the .30 Carbine/.38 Special comparison and I'm too lazy to look it up this morning, but even if a carbine does have the same power at 200 yards that a .38 does at the muzzle, keep in mind that even a .38 Snubnose is very deadly at close range.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top