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M1 Garand: 30-06 vs. 7.62 NATO
by:
Jamie Mangrum
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Recently I was given the opportunity to shoot
an oddity at the range. A friend of mine loaned me an
M1 Garand that had
been modified to shoot 7.62x51 NATO. It was not one of
the newly manufactured aftermarket models (Springfield Armory) that you may have
read about, but a U.S. Military modified M1 Garand. I have read that when the M14 was adopted by
the rest of the U.S. Military that the Navy decided that since
small arms were a secondary concern that they would stay with
the M1 Garand and just convert it to shoot the newly adopted
7.62 NATO cartridge. They contracted with H.P. White
Laboratories in Maryland to have a special chamber insert built
to allow the Garand to use the NATO cartridge. |
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7.62x51 NATO loaded enbloc magazines
sitting to the left of 30-06 cartridges in enbloc magazines. |
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Barrel Marked "7.62 NATO
Mod 2 |
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Plastic insert that
blocks the ability to load 30-06 cartridges. |
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7.62x51 NATO gas port
hole (enlarged port). |
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30-06 gas port hole
(standard port). |
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The end result was a very simple modification
that involved the installation of a sleeve of sorts, that when
installed in the existing rifle chamber allowed the insertion of
the 7.62 NATO cartridge. The gas port was then enlarged (as
shown in figures 4 and 5) and a plastic bushing or stop was installed in the magazine well
to block off the shooter's ability to insert 30-06 cartridges (as
shown in figure 3). It was
later discovered that the sleeve could become dislodged
and actually be ejected with a spent shell casing. If gone unnoticed this
could be a potentially dangerous situation at the very least. An
attempt was made to correct this by placing grooves in the
rifles chamber prior to installing the insert. This allowed the
insert to be better anchored when installed. This only
marginally corrected the problem. A larger number of Garands
were modified in a similar fashion for the Navy, but without the
chamber insert and instead having a 7.62 NATO barrel installed.
The rifle I shot for this
article still has the original insert. When I placed a light into the
bore you can see it, but I could not take a successful photo for
the article. |
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7.62x51 NATO modified M1
Garand |
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The insert seemed to be very much intact and
serviceable on inspection. I loaded up my range kit with a 100
rounds of Portuguese surplus 7.62 NATO and 100 rounds of Danish
surplus 30-06 and headed off to the range. |
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My beautifully 100% restored 30-06 M1
Garand. The one that started everything! |
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I wanted to shoot a standard M1 Garand
chambered in 30-06 caliber side-by-side with the modified rifle.
This would give me the opportunity to compare things like:
recoil, accuracy, and general handling. I decided that since I
had not taken my favorite rifle to the range in a while, she
would be my choice. She, as I refer to her is a rifle I picked
up in a local store about 25 years ago for around $100. I did
not know anything about Garands at the time (or the necessity
of rifling in a barrel for that matter). I took her to the
range and started shooting her. When I examined my first target
I was surprised to find that the bullets were actually keyholing
the target. This is when bullets tumble and do not fly a
straight and true path to the target and literally impact the
target sideways. So as a result my target was peppered with
little silhouettes of bullets. After close inspection of the
bore by a gunsmith we found that the rifling was very worn to
the point of being unserviceable. Being a somewhat intelligent
lad (I can tie my own shoes) I recognized that she was
beautiful, but unsafe to shoot in her current condition. Not
knowing of anyone that could remedy the problem, I stored her in
the back of my closet that houses my gun safe. Several years
later I pulled her out of the closet and dusted off the cobwebs.
I did this because I had seen a website for a company that could
breath new life into her and restore her to her original
grandeur. I sent her off to be repaired. She came back with a
brand new barrel, completely reparkerized, and with a brand new
walnut stock.
Orion 7
is the company that did the work (Sadly - please note that
Orion 7 no longer does shop work on M1 Garands but still sell
parts and supplies). I know each
of us has that very first mil-surp rifle that made us
realize that their was more to firearm collecting than the
sterile, commercially made firearms we purchase at local
sporting goods stores. She was mine. From this point forward I
only wanted firearms with history. I only wanted a firearm that
had seen life and history other than being stored in someone's
closet.
From this point on - I was hooked forever
on mil-surp firearms! |
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7.62x51 NATO @ 50 yards
(24 shots) |
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30-06 @ 50 yards (24
shots) |
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7.62x51 NATO @ 100 yards
(24 shots) |
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30-06 @ 100 yards (24
shots) |
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Both rifles handled very well and were
accurate. Although I did not think it was a fair test because
one of the rifles had a new barrel. Figures 8 and 10
above show the targets I shot with the modified Garand, while
figures 9 and 11 show the targets shot with my 30-06 Garand.
I really apologize as I have a new camera and did not have the
settings set correctly when photographing a couple of the
targets. As a result some of the photos were washed out in
appearance and I had to really work to get the images shown
above.
Enough of the groveling. What the photos
do show is:
- 30-06 Garand out-shot the modified
Garand (this was expected);
- 7.62 NATO Garand shot better at 100
yards than 50 yards.
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The 7.62 NATO Garand was much more kind to my
shoulder and cheek. The recoil was considerably less. I have to
say that I am always surprised as to how much recoil the Garand
produces (and so is my shoulder). You would think that an
11 pound, semi-automatic firearm would produce less recoil - but
it is just not the case. Don't get me wrong - it is not
punishing, but very noticeable. |
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The 8 round, enbloc clips worked exactly the
same and flawlessly in the modified Garand as they did in my
30-06 Garand. |
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I think I would like to own a 7.62 NATO
Garand if not for the savings and availability of ammo. There is
so much high quality surplus 7.62 NATO on the market and it is
cheap! I can purchase 7.62 NATO ammo for not much more
than I pay for 7.62x39 ammo for my SKS carbines. Imagine that!
Shooting a Garand for the cost of shooting an SKS. But, I would
choose to have a 7.62 NATO barrel installed on a receiver
instead and not opt for a rifle with the insert.
There are several companies online that
offer either the conversion or a newly assembled rifle for sale. |
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Here are a few: |
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http://www.dgrguns.com/ |
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http://www.fulton-armory.com/ |
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http://www.smithenterprise.com/ |
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http://www.garandguy.com/ |
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jlm;) |
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Sources: |
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