M1 Garand

A

alexbird692001

New member
Picked up a Springfield M1 Garnad from an estate sale the other day, well I took it home and broke it down to clean it and check to see the internal parts. Well I discovered that it had converted to .308. Now the question I have was this done by the military or by an aftermarket company. Its a very good job functions perfect. The only markings on the barrel is .308 and the word MIKE'S. I did some checking on the computer and could not find any information. So I hope someone has some knowledge about this Garand. Thanks Joe serial number is in the low 2 million.
 
Very probably it's a commercial rebarrel. The Navy had some converted to .308 for marksmanship competitions, I think, but I don't think that there were too many of them.

Now, I wouldn't take this as gospel, but I believe that if you're interested in converting back to .30-06, changing the barrel should do the trick.
 
Well, 7.62 NATO is still more available than .30-'06 and cheaper, so I would keep the caliber as it is. Replacing the barrel won't "restore" the gun or make it more collectible, since the barrel still won't be original, so I would go with what makes sense economically.

Jim
 
I will keep the current .308 shoots great and its tack driver as well. I was wondering about the current value as it sits. As far as I can tell its all Springfield except for the barrel. Joe
 
Help Please, I'm a little short of hitting the nail when it comes to forums and computers. How do I make a post????

Ervinj
 
Commercial barreled 308 Garands arent in as big a demand as original 30.06 Garands. If rifle in very good condition and a mixmaster or parts and not a collector stock, probably worth around $600.00 if you found someone who really wanted one
 
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Second thoughts on some things said:

"Original barrel" M1 rifles...on the one hand, the barrels aren't serialized to receivers, even on M1 rifles that were brand new. All you'd need is a "correct year" SA barrel, and believe it or not they are available. No worth the effort IMO, but available. On the other hand, Uncle Sam re-barreled M1 rifles regularly. People tend to think of old firearms as old cars, and that they need 'original parts', and that's perfectly acceptable and very valid. But military firearms are something that went through arsenal rebuild as a fact of life in the overwhelming majority of cases. Old rev parts were replaced with new rev parts, that's part of the history. On the third hand ;) , concerning Militaria, people get very caught up in 'matching numbers', to the detriment of the hobby, in my opinion, in he regard that they sometimes forget that if a piece of gear didn't match or wasn't 'available according to the book", then it still would have been issued if it were on the shelf. I'm not saying that barrel would have been available, by the way, just making a general comment

Most M1s in military service became mixmasters, to my way of thinking. No-one ever said "That H&R has an SA bolt, you maggot!"

How did Ervinj7 post a reply without knowing how to post a reply?

If it were converted back to the original round, bear in mind that the original round was not '30-06'; it was for a certain branch in the 30-06 family tree. Steel doesn't get stronger with age and loads have changed since 1937 :)
 
Have to agree with Mr. Keenan. I purchased my own Garand in large part because it had been completely refurbished and converted to 7.62x51 NATO. At the time surplus 7.62 ammo was not only much more readily available than M2 .30-06, it also cost less than 1/3 as much per rd.

While I appreciate the M1's historical significance, its practical value to me was, and remains, more predicated upon being able to shoot it extensively and become proficient with it economically than as an "artifact".

I would also second the suggestion to install a Schuster adjustable gas plug, especially if you want the option to use something other than milspec ammo in it without as much risk of damaging your op rod and bolt.

FWIW, I paid around $450 for mine at a gun show some ten or twelve years ago. Used base model M1A's with the synthetic stock and in lesser condition were going for about $400 more, which was one thing that helped seal the deal for me.
 
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ervinj7 -

If you're trying to create a new thread, that's different than posting a reply in that it is done at the forum level rather than the thread level.

Back out of this thread, and you'll be in the Curios & Relics Forum. The blue button now says "New Thread" instead of "Post Reply". After you create the thread, its title will be visible with all the other threads.

I'm not sure what "make a post" means, but it sounds more like creating a new thread than making a reply.

Half the battle is the terminology, and the other half is trying to remember where you put your car keys. I think... :)
 
I have heard great things about the .308 converted M1's. From my reading, they are more than likely converted while in civilian hands. Not much as far as collector value but a heck of a rifle nonetheless.
 
Claddagh:

As .308 cases are shorter than 30-06, do owners of the Navy Garands need the gas plug, or do those .308/7.62 cases produce similar peaks in pressure?

Mine is 30-06 which a friend bought at the CMP in July.
 
While I'm not Garand savvy enough to say for sure, I believe from past and present experience that the pressure curves of the two milspec loads must be at least compatable.

The original "Navy conversion" M1 Garands used a chamber insert which became known as the "Navy sleeve". These were, IIRC, were installed as either a simple 'press' fit or with a Loctite-type bonding sealant. The gas port, cylinder and op rod remained the same. There was usually a spacer in the magazine well to prevent the inadvertant insertion of a clip containing .30-06 M2 rds. I believe that some later weapons were equipped with properly chambered new barrels when they underwent depot-level servicing before being placed into 'issue-ready' inventory.


My own converted M1 had a new commercial 7.62x51 barrel installed as part of its refurb. From visual comparison, the gas port on it and two as-issued GI models appeared to be pretty much identical. Mine ran just fine with all of the several makes of surplus 7.62 NATO ammo I've used.

I installed the Schuster adjustable plug in order to allow me to experiment with "National Match-type" loads using 168 gr. bullets and different powders and/or use commercial 'hunting' .308 Win. ammo if that became necessary for some reason. The latter is generally formulated primarily for use in BA sporting rifles and may use propellants whose burning characteristics are very different from those the gas system was designed to operate with. The adjustable plug allows me a great deal more leeway for experimentation with minimal risk of damaging my op rod or my bolt's locking lugs in the process.

It also gives me the ability to "tune" the gas system for optimal functioning with a particular make or lot of ammo. This has the bonus of also yielding more consistent accuracy levels and, sometimes, tighter average groups as well.
 
last i checked, cpm had milsurp replacement barrels for $150. i thought about getting one as a 'spare', but $$ was short at the time.
when i got my m1 the arsenal refurbs (cpm) were in the $800 range. mine is all springfield except the barrel.
there are some all original national match guns out there, but they're $2000+
 
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