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LTUME1978 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 29, 2018 7:18 amThank you for the reply and information. I doubt I would run hunting ammo through it. I have some old 30-06 brass around and Starline tells me that they will start making 30-06 brass soon. 308 ammo is less expensive and more common. Where did you get the information about boring out the gas block?

Believe it or not, there are a few companies that make gas plugs set up for this kind of thing, because the M1 is common in service rifle matches.

Off the top of my head, Schuster makes an adjustable gas plug that allows you to tune it to a particular load for accuracy and reliability, they make a plug that is simply vented to bleed off gas, and they make a plug that is hollowed out to reduce pressure spikes in the gas cylinder. Different means to the same end.

I actually have the adjustable gas plug on my M14, and it's pretty cool. VERY soft shooter when the plug is tuned for whatever you're shooting.

I have the hollowed-out plug on my M1, and it does the job. Slows the speed of the operating rod, and therefore reduces battering of the moving parts (it also reduces felt recoil). The M1 has big, heavy components that are slamming into each other during the firing cycle, so reducing the velocity at which those parts are moving is paramount to preserving the life of the rifle.

7.62/.308 ammo is cheaper and easier to obtain than 30-06, no doubt. And I'm pretty sure that en bloc clips accept 7.62 ammo just fine. Now since you're set up for reloading, the cost differential basically goes out the window. You can reload each cartridge for basically the same price because they take the same slug (147 gr FMJ).

Ultimately, I think the only variable in play at this point is personal preference. That said, you can always get the rifle rebarreled if you pick up one and eventually decide to switch to the other chambering. Where are you located? If you want to meet up at a range somewhere, I have plenty of 30-06 we can run through my M1 so you can get the full experience and have a bit more information with which to work.

LTUME1978 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:10 pmHow do you like having the Garand set up in .308? I will be traveling to the CMP in a couple of weeks to shoot in the IDPA National Championship. Will be my first time there and probably my last. I need an M1 like I need a hole in my head but have been thinking about getting one for some time. Have been trying to decide between the 30-06 and the 308.

While I've never owned or fired an M1 chambered in 7.62 NATO (mine is in 30-06), I would imagine that ammo cost would be an advantage over the 30-06. When buying ammo for my LRB M14, the 7.62 NATO ammo is consistently cheaper than the 30-06 I'm buying for the M1.

What is good about 30-06 is that when the rifle is set up with the appropriate gas plug (either vented or bored out), you can safely run some pretty hot 30-06 hunting ammo through it without putting the operating rod at risk, if that's something that would eventually interest you. I do have a bored gas plug on my M1, and it definitely eases the wear and tear on the rifle, even when using ammo that is equivalent to M2 ball circa WW2. Other than that, I would venture that it's kind of a "six or half a dozen" situation, as the cartridges are so ballistically similar to one another.

That said, 30-06 is the more historically accurate cartridge to use, although technically the navy did have M1's chambered in 7.62 NATO back in the day. Nothing like seeing that big 30-06 brass fly out of the rifle. People at the range stop and pay attention when you touch that thing off the first time. It is truly one of the baddest machines you'll ever lay hands on.

Scott B. wrote: ↑Tue Aug 28, 2018 7:31 pmBoth are great, but I really love the red tint to that finish. Looks terrific.

Thanks Scott. That Fiebing's leather dye is great on walnut, and the pure tung oil brings out the grain like nothing else. In the sun, it looks like it's on fire.

Hate to bring up an older thread, but I was lurking and saw the OP's M1, so here's mine.

Built it myself on a CMP barreled receiver (Springfield, November 1942, in 30-06) using correct, new old stock WW2 parts. The stock was a brand new raw Boyd's stock that I hit with red Fiebing's leather dye, and then wet sanded with pure tung oil. Sling is a Ron Brown. Bayonet is a Utica Cutlery (circa 1918) that was cut down for issue in WW2.



And here is the M1's little brother, the LRB M14 that I built last year. It is now currently sitting in a Sage EBR stock.
-LRB receiver and bolt
-Fulton Armory (Criterion) 16" barrel, 7.62 NATO, 1 in 10" twist
-Smith Enterprise gas system and muzzle brake
-Sadlak NM op rod spring
-Chrome silicon recoil spring
-USGI operating rod (TRW)
-USGI rear sight assembly
-USGI trigger group (H&R)
-USGI bolt guts (new old stock)
-USGI bolt stop