Of the Garand GI barrels which manufacturer is considered the higher quality?

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If I were looking today I would likely start with a Kreiger match barrel in a full rather than GI contour. Criterion makes a good GI contour barrel, less expensive than the Kreiger flavors. Twenty plus years ago there were more barrel manufacturers making barrels for the M1 Garand than today.

When I mention Full Contour verse GI Contour here is what I am getting at:

Barrel%20Full%20Contour.png

When going with the full contour you need to hog out some wood from the rear handguard:

Handguard%20Rear%20Opened.png

Finally when it comes down to the actual work choose someone with a good reputation. I have seen countless M1 Garand rebarrel jobs screwed up by people who lacked the correct tools for the job.

Ron
 
What level of accuracy are you seeking?

Reloader Rons advice is correct, (and .308) if you are building an all-out XTC match rifle.However, if just building a .30/06 JCG match gun, go with the Criterion barrel.
I've got a CMP "Special" rebuild with Criterion barrel. Recently, in a match, my first 5"sighters", were 3 X's, and two 10's; using hand loads of Fed. brass, CCI#34 primers, Hornady 150gr FMJ @ 3.250"oal. Alas, I'd previously adjusted my front sight, and sight shot loose, causing a low score.
From bench rest, Rifle has given groups under 1" (5 shots) with match grade ammo.
It actually shoots as well as a match grade gun I inherited.
I'm pleased.
 
Sorry guys...I may not have made myself clear. I meant the various military contractors including the LMR..VAR...SA...H&R etc. Not the current commercial barrels. Thanks
 
Bexar said:
Sorry guys...I may not have made myself clear. I meant the various military contractors including the LMR..VAR...SA...H&R etc. Not the current commercial barrels. Thanks
Click to expand...
OH, OK. Actually I never really noticed one barrel maker under contract to really be any better than the next barrel to barrel. The LMR barrels did seem to draw more attention but I never saw much difference between one to the next. As far as I know all World War II barrels were manufactured by Springfield Armory and Winchester with the Winchester barrels having their markings on the top. The Post World War II rifles were made by Springfield Armory, Harrington & Richardson Arms and International Harvester Corporation with IHC using the LMR (Line Material Company of Birmingham, AL.). That excludes any of the Beretta made M1 Garand parts normally marked BMB or PB. I do have a RSC 1955 barrel sitting here with PB (Beretta) markings on the top of it.

Anyway, of the US made M1 Garand barrels I never really saw one as better than another as to manufacturer. Others may have a favorite or barrel they prefer so this is just my opinion.

Ron
 
Aren't the barrels destined for National Match M1 rifles marked with "NM" or something similar?

I'm afraid I've slept some since I may have seen this.

If so, they would probably be the most accurate of of the OEM barrels made in the 1950s or so assuming the barrel is in good shape and not shot out.

But yes, the LMR barrels have a special mystic about them.
 
I believe LMR barrels on IHC and HRA rifles are generally regarded most highly. The VAR barrels on the Danish rifles are also very highly regarded. Note that the proof punch mark on LMR barrels should be in front of the date info on IHC rifles and after the date info on HRA rifles. You may very well see IHC or HRA receivers with non-original LMR barrels sold as "original" by the less scrupulous or less well-informed.

Harry
 
Now that Chuck mentioned it I know the operating rods were stamped NM on the NM rifles but I can't recall if the barrels were NM stamped like the M14 rifles were. All NM government barrels were SA since all GI NM Garands were SA so 2Zulu1 does your barrel on your 55 NM rifle have a NM stamped on the barrel?

Ron
 
"The VAR barrels on the Danish rifles are also very highly regarded. "

Roger that.

And Bexar, you asked " which manufacturer is considered the higher quality?" Shame on you. This is the internet where everything is absolute. The question has to phrased: "What is the BEST Garand barrel , etc, etc"

Please get with the program. :)
 
Reloadron said:
Now that Chuck mentioned it I know the operating rods were stamped NM on the NM rifles but I can't recall if the barrels were NM stamped like the M14 rifles were. All NM government barrels were SA since all GI NM Garands were SA so 2Zulu1 does your barrel on your 55 NM rifle have a NM stamped on the barrel?

Ron
Click to expand...

After a quick search on the internet, I learned that barrels were tested for at least straightness and air gauged and maybe some other things. Those that made the grade were deemed NM barrels.

These may or may not have an NM stamp in the chamber area. After a barrel was installed on a NM rifle and the rifle met certain criteria, NM was etched near the muzzle and gas cylinder.

Here is a link to the NRA Museum with pictures of a NM Garand.

http://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-g...rand-national-match-semi-automatic-rifle.aspx
 
My match Garand has a Criterion barrel, and it shoots well, but I shoot with guys using GI barrels that produce impressive results too.
 
I have a Springfield receiver with a VAR barrel and most other parts are Beretta. This was a field grade I picked up at the CMP in Ohio. The barrel measured 2 at each end. It will shoot under 2 inches at 100 yards will Greek HXP ammo. I'm sure it would do better with a bit of load development.

I own several Garands from different manufacturers and the VAR is best military barrel.
 
Springfield Armory's (the one in MA) Garand barrels were all broach rifled. When a new broach was used, it made the four grooves about .3084" for diameter. Barrels that were more uniformly homogonous in steel had the most uniform groove diameters. Air gauging them sorted out the really good ones from the rest that had near .001" or more spread in both bore and groove diameters; these didn't shoot all that accurate.

As the rifling broach wore own, the groove diameters they made were smaller. When they got down to about .3075, they were scrapped and a new broach from their tool and die shop was put in the rifling machine. Some of these "tight" barrels also had very uniform groove dimensions. And they shot match bullets the most accurate.

With the arsenal's 172-gr. match bullet at about .3086" diameter, good lots of them shot very well in all Garand barrels regardless of their groove diameters. Sierra's match and hunting bullets were .3082" and they never shot all that accurate in the Garand NM barrels with groove diameters larger than them. Lapua's D46 185-gr FMJRB match bullet at .3092" diameter was probably the most accurate bullet in those NM barrels with larger groove diameters. Western Cartridge Company's .3088" diameter 180-gr. FMJBT match bullets in their .30-06 match ammo was probably the most accurate mass produced rounds in well built Garands. Along with handloads in new cases with Sierra's 180-gr. FMJBT bullet in tight barrels, the best accuracy in Garands at 600 yards was about 8 inches. Compared to the 12" accuracy arsenal match ammo had at best, they were preferred when possible to shoot them.

In the middle 1960's, Springfield Armory made 7.62 NATO chambered Garand barrels for the USN to use rebuilding their .30-06 Garands. They were rifled with the same broaches used in M14 barrels. Air gauging them sorted out the uniform tight ones that were set aside for Navy team match rifles; .3079" or smaller. A few of those match rifles were sent to the USAF teams. While never marked in any "NM" standard, the last two digits of the air gauge reading was etched on them; "77" meant its groove diameter was uniform to .0001" and at .3077" mean diameter. These barrels shot good lots of commercial .308 Win match ammo into about 4 inches at 600 yards; something the best 30 caliber M1" never came close to. Decent lots of M118 and M852 match ammo shot about 8 to 9 inches at 600 in them. All larger groove ID barrels were used in regular service rifles used in recruit training and some shore facilities. None were used on ships as far as I know.
 
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The OP mentioned VAR in post #5.

VAR was "government issue", in Denmark.
 
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I have difficulty distinguishing barrel accuracy from operator error amongst my M1 Garands, including the one I built in the CMP AMC with a Criterion barrel, tight chamber ('cause I reamed it that way) and tight-fitted stock/trigger group ('cause I fitted it that way).

:D

Harry, frequent operator
 
Bart B. said:
Springfield Armory's (the one in MA) Garand barrels were all broach rifled. When a new broach was used, it made the four grooves about .3084" for diameter. Barrels that were more uniformly homogonous in steel had the most uniform groove diameters. Air gauging them sorted out the really good ones from the rest that had near .001" or more spread in both bore and groove diameters; these didn't shoot all that accurate.

As the rifling broach wore own, the groove diameters they made were smaller. When they got down to about .3075, they were scrapped and a new broach from their tool and die shop was put in the rifling machine. Some of these "tight" barrels also had very uniform groove dimensions. And they shot match bullets the most accurate.

With the arsenal's 172-gr. match bullet at about .3086" diameter, good lots of them shot very well in all Garand barrels regardless of their groove diameters. Sierra's match and hunting bullets were .3082" and they never shot all that accurate in the Garand NM barrels with groove diameters larger than them. Lapua's D46 185-gr FMJRB match bullet at .3092" diameter was probably the most accurate bullet in those NM barrels with larger groove diameters. Western Cartridge Company's .3088" diameter 180-gr. FMJBT match bullets in their .30-06 match ammo was probably the most accurate mass produced rounds in well built Garands. Along with handloads in new cases with Sierra's 180-gr. FMJBT bullet in tight barrels, the best accuracy in Garands at 600 yards was about 8 inches. Compared to the 12" accuracy arsenal match ammo had at best, they were preferred when possible to shoot them.

In the middle 1960's, Springfield Armory made 7.62 NATO chambered Garand barrels for the USN to use rebuilding their .30-06 Garands. They were rifled with the same broaches used in M14 barrels. Air gauging them sorted out the uniform tight ones that were set aside for Navy team match rifles; .3079" or smaller. A few of those match rifles were sent to the USAF teams. While never marked in any "NM" standard, the last two digits of the air gauge reading was etched on them; "77" meant its groove diameter was uniform to .0001" and at .3077" mean diameter. These barrels shot good lots of commercial .308 Win match ammo into about 4 inches at 600 yards; something the best 30 caliber M1" never came close to. Decent lots of M118 and M852 match ammo shot about 8 to 9 inches at 600 in them. All larger groove ID barrels were used in regular service rifles used in recruit training and some shore facilities. None were used on ships as far as I know.
Click to expand...
Thanks everyone.

Bart...excellent info...thanks. My Daughter's Danish Springfield 44' year production has 305 behind the Danish crown. Could that possibly indicate anything about bore ID?

It gauges 1 on muzzle wear.

Thanks.
 
Like Ron says, production stuff is production stuff. Wasn't made better than others by anybody.
"...The VAR barrels on the Danish rifles are also very highly regarded..." That's because they're near match grade barrels. Criterion's are not. Criterions are a great deal easier to come by though.
 
Bexar, regarding " 305 behind the Danish crown"

I've no idea what that means. The USN barrels so marked had any dimensional mark on them. The 'smiths at the USN unit gauged then marked them in San Diego.

I've had muzzle gauges on Garands read over 2 and they still shot well under 1 MOA at worst 600 yards downrange. Your's at "1" is still in very good shape. It means the bore diameter at the muzzle is .301" or .001" larger than the original .300" spec. It may well have been a thousandth smaller or larger when new if it's been used then cleaned from the muzzle with a solid steel rod (best thing to use).
 
Like Ron says, production stuff is production stuff. Wasn't made better than others by anybody.
"...The VAR barrels on the Danish rifles are also very highly regarded..." That's because they're near match grade barrels. Criterion's are not. Criterions are a great deal easier to come by though.
Click to expand...

Why do you feel as though our barrels are not match grade? Earlier this summer a shooter set a national record with his Criterion M1 Carbine barrel, and a few years back the Vintage Sniper Match was won with a 1941 USMC build incorporating a Criterion Barrel. One of our prototype Lee Enfield No.4 barrels placed first in the New Zealand National matches earlier this year as well. Each M1 Garand barrel produced in-house is hand lapped and held to the same tolerance standards as our other vintage reproduction designs.

Just because our production model is more efficient than some other brands (allowing us to offer lower prices due to the ability to produce in larger volume batches) doesn't mean that we aren't able to produce barrels that meet the same performance criteria as the more expensive alternatives. The quality control measures and design requirements put in place are the qualifiers for whether or not a barrel can be labelled "match grade".
 
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