.30-06 to .308 --- Garand
If one wished to convert a CMP 30-06 Garand to 308, would they simply have to throw a 308 spacer into the weapon? Would the enbloc clips feed reliably and eject normally with that classic PING? Would converting to 308 have any adverse effects?
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long..."
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long..."
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youll need to address chamber length....which means a bbl swap. cant stick a 308 in a long 30-06 chamber. youll have engagement problems and ...well....booom!
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.0 -
The US military attempted to use a chamber insert to convert some M1's to .308, but that did not work well; the inserts would come out at the most inconvenient times.
The US Navy converted several thousand by replacing the barrel with one chambered for .308; this conversion worked well. Standard clips can be used with a plastic insert in the mag well to compensate for the shorter cartridge (& to prevent insertion of .30-06 rounds).
Commercial .308 barrels are readily available; most gunsmiths should be able to perform the conversion at a reasonable cost.
Neal0 -
When the M14 was adopted as our new service rifle, replacing the M1 Garand, in 1957 there were not enough M14s to go around to all of the services for some time (years). The Navy contracted with White Laboritories to developed a chamber sleeve insert to allow their ample supply of Navy M1s to fire the new Nato 7.62mm round, there by avoiding the M14 shortage and saving the funds to paint another aircraft carrier or two. The WL designed chamber sleeve was a very simple design and with it installed and the gas port reamed out to allow more gas into the action the rifles would function reliably...for a while! Eventually the inserts would come loose and eject themselves causing all sorts of grief. The shorter length of the 7.62mm round feeding through the M1s magazine was never much of an issue in and of itself, but a plastic spacer was installed in the magazine to prevent the insertion of a clip of longer .30-06 rounds which of course could not chamber into the modified rifles. Eventually the Navy abandoned the chamber sleeve and simply rebarreled their M1s to 7.62mm and that modification proved to be an effective solution.
Mark T. Christian0 -
I bought one of the chamber inserts to convert one of my Garands from 06 to 7.62 about 10 years ago. It went in fine, but then after firing I could not get it out of the chamber. I think it got somewhat fireformed to the chamber. I had to take the rifle to a gunsmith who had to ream it out. Fortunately they did not damage the gun in the process.
My solution was to buy an M1A. That solved the problem. My suggestion is dont use the inserts. In my experience it was nothing but headaches.
"Never let school interfere with your education"0 -
[:I] I'm going to tell this story just this one last time, and then I think my penance will be completed. Back in around 1986 I went to a formal 100 yd. range with nice, heavy concrete benches as was my habit every Tuesday. On this particular trip I took along (this is for you, Neal) a Federal Ordnance M14SA and a Federal Ordnance M1 Garand rifle. Both have investment cast receivers. I put the ammo for both on the bench, and proceded to fire away with the M14SA. Then I loaded up some clips and fired 8 through the M1. The recoil was extremely heavy, about like a .458 Mag., [:0] and by the 8th shot I was thinking, "something is wrong here", but I just couldn't put my finger on what it was. On the next check and change your target break I went forward, and a considerable distance in front of my bench I ran across a pile of .45-70 brass, which I picked up and pocketed. I went on downrange and changed my target (the group was about 4 inches) and on the way back stopped and looked for my brass. I found some .308s, but no .30-06. Back at the bench I was putting the retrieved brass in boxes when I noticed that the .45-70 was rimless. Hmmmm. It also had just the slightest, perhaps 1/8", taper at the mouth. Hmmmm. Suddenly I realized why my shoulder was aching--I had loaded the M1 clips with .308! [B)] I still have all 8 of the fireformed pieces of brass in a clear plastic jar in my shop to remind me to never have two different, similar cartridges on the bench at the same time. There. I feel better now.[:)]
An offer for you fellows who responded to this post. In 1987, at the NRA Convention, I picked up a one page printed history of the .308 chamber insert used by the Navy from the Army Marksmanship Unit which had a booth there. I still occassionally see these for sale in the Shotgun News by the company that bought them all. I'd be happy to send you a xerox copy of the flyer if you want to e-mail me your USPO addresses.0 -
Why would anyone want to screw up the greatest US Battle Rifle in history is beyond any thinking!
I've got two Garands, both bought from the CMP. (Thanks Mark, for telling me about the CMP) One is a Springfield made in 1944 and the other one is a H&R made in 1954.
Ain't no damn way I'm changing either one of them from .30-06 to .308.
"If they won't give us good terms, come back and we'll fight it out."
-- Gen. James Longstreet0 -
"...would they simply have to throw a 308 spacer into the weapon?..." No. Those chamber inserts don't work worth beans. They come out too easily when you shoot. A complete change of barrel,etc. is how to do it. An adjustment to the gas system and not much else that isn't done by the smithy that does it. It's not a big deal, but it needs to be done by a smithy. The 'ping' is the clip coming out. After having it converted, you still get the 'ping'.
Dean has a good reputation. http://www.dgrguns.com/
And doing it doesn't make you evil. But if you can afford an M1A, it makes a nice partner for your Garand. Nice, but it ain't the same thing. Yes, you want both. Deal with the M-1 first.0
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