Garand Conversions

[XxWINxX94]

Hey all,
Just got a general kind of question about the M1 Garand.

The caliber is .30M1 (30-06), but I have seen ones that have been converted to .308WIN. Since .308 is a little more cheaper (at least where I'm at) is it at all possible to convert one.

I would not be doing anything by myself, so it would have to be a professional/gunsmith job.

Anyone know anything about converting a Garand to .308?

P.S. To make the thread more interesting I will put up some pictures of my fine weapon.

 

[ol' scratch]

The US Navy did the same thing. You need to remember to get an adjustable gas plug.

 

[scythefwd]

Get a Kreiger .308 Win barrel for it and you should be good to go (as long as you reload). If you don't reload, get a schuster adjustable gas nut mentioned above so you don't bend your oprod.

 

[Averageman]

A Guy named Roland Beaver out of Ark, Does a great job with them.

 

[Jeremy2171]

All you need is to change the barrel...then tweak the ejector spring so the rounds aren't launched to 5 o'clock into the stratosphere..

 

[Maj Dad]

If you want to rebarrel to 308, there are several good smiths who will do it. I have dealt with Fulton Armory and Orion 7 for gunsmithing services, and I can recommend both based on my experience. Tony Pucci of Orion 7 will install and final ream headspace your new bbl on your receiver with your bolt for $90. He did one for me (30-06) and the work is flawless. He will also furnish & install a Krieger Criterion bbl for $300. Check out his website http://www.m1garandrifle.com/Shopservices.htm

Your rifle receiver is an old soldier - made in January 1941. It is obviously refinished (possibly more than once), but the bbl chamber is bright & looks like it was not - what is the bbl date (when the op rod is locked back, you can see it on the side of the bbl)? If you do decide to re-barrel, you can always sell the GI bbl for a fair price, especially if in good shape. I sold a counterbored & pitted Winchester bbl for over a hundred bucks a few years back, but it was a Winnie. A good, clean GI bbl should sell for about that, I would think.

Finally, consider keeping it original - the '06 is a superb round (and the Garand was built around it, not the 308), and with an adjustable gas plug you can fire most of the off the shelf ammo. Or better yet, start reloading & you'll discover the cost to load and shoot either round is about the same, and much less than factory ammo. But that's another thread...
Cheers!

 

[41magsnub]

Also, don't forget to look at the Greet HXP ammo at the CMP before writing off .30-06 as more expensive. It is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be even a few years ago (what is?), but it is still not too terrible.

 

[AK103K]

I have a .308 converted Garand that I picked up for use as a match gun, and it shoots great.

I remember reading an article on them in either Handloader or Rifle magazine back in the early 90's that said the Navy did a study on the M1 and M14 looking for the best rifle for their rifle team. Supposedly, they came up with the M1 being 10% more accurate than the M14, and the .308 being 10% more accurate than the 30-06, and settled on the rebarreling M1's.

All that was done to mine was replace the barrel, bed the action, and put a block in the clip/mag well so it wont take a 30-06 loaded clip.

Mine doesnt have the adjustable gas plug, and I havent had any problems with the op rod (or anything else) using factory .308, USGI 7.62x51, or my reloads, the latter two being what its mostly fed.

The only downside I see to them is, if you have more than one, and the others are in 30-06. The clipped .308's are hard to distinguish from the 30-06's, unless they are side by side, and even then its easy to miss if your not paying attention. While they do offer the block for the .308 guns, I think its more of an issue if the .308's got stuffed into a 30-06 gun.

 

[msrtex]

If you can afford it you won't regret it. I have a retired navy Garand and it is my favorite rifle to shoot not to mention very accurate. The 308 is a major plus for me as I have several other rifles that are also 308.

 

[XxWINxX94]

Alright thanks everybody,
I don't think I'm capable of doing anything myself, as the gun was inherited and I just know a little how it works and how to shoot it. If anyone here knows of a gunsmith in Illinois, Wisconsin, or Western Indiana, that will do a conversion that would help me out a lot. All I saw on the barrel was SA-4-52 with the arsenal 'P'. I know it's refinished but somebody did a really nice job on it so I'm pretty satisfied with it, (also the very low S/N!).

My other alternative:
Is there a such thing as cheap 30-06? Milsurp or something maybe corrosive I can get for cheap.

41magsnub,
I will check that CMP stuff out right away.

 

[Slamfire]

I have rebarreled Garands with aftermarket barrels, and the cost of buying all the equipment does not make the conversion cost effective.

The most cost effective route I know is to send a Garand to Champion's Choice and have them install a Douglas match barrel for $349.00. Right now Homer is only showing 30-06 Garand barrels, http://www.champchoice.com/detail.aspx?ID=736, so I guess the barrel maker, Barnett, is behind or between lots.

If you want to do it yourself, you will have to find a short chambered 308 barrel. You will have to buy a barrel vise and an action wrench and a pull through reamer. You will need to buy headspace gages to verify that the cut chamber is correct. I also use a Badger Ordnance leveling gage that tells you when the rear sight and front dove tail are in the same plane.

Personally, I would not bust rocks or shoot cheap surplus ammo through one of Barnett’s superb match barrels.