Navy 7.62mm NATO Conversion M1 Garand - Mk2 Mod1

When the M14 rifle was developed to replace the M1 Garand, is was met with some uncertainty by the US Navy. The Navy had a lot of things to spend money on, and not a lot of need for a replacement for the M1 Garand (note that the Marine Corps did adopt the M14 despite being a component of the Navy). So instead of buying new rifles, the Navy opted to see if it could just convert its existing M1 rifles to the new 7.62x51mm cartridge.
Because of the similarity between the two cartridges, this seemed to be a fairly simple conversion. A chamber insert was designed which would fill the front of the chamber and allow the use of 7.62x51mm, with the resulting rifle designated the Mark 2 Mod 0. However, the chamber inserts tended to come loose with firing, so a modification was made. grooves were added to the front of the chamber to improve the adherence between insert and chamber. These also tended to come loose, and so the Navy was forced to resort to installing brand new barrels to make their conversions. This was more expensive than they would have liked, but was still much cheaper than buying new M14s, so they went ahead and bought 30,000 new barrels from Springfield Armory in 1965 and 1966. These were installed by H&R and American Machine & Foundry and became designated the Mk2 Mod1 rifles.
The only other modification necessary for the conversion was the addition of a white plastic spacer block in the magazine well. This simply blocked a shooter from inserting a clip of .30-06 cartridges. A .30-06 would not be able to chamber or fire in the new barrels, but the spacer block provided a handy reminder of the rifle's new chambering. Because these conversions are quite simple, they are fairly easy guns to fake. This particular example includes sales paperwork from the CMP confirming its originality.
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[@TheMrarthas]

Watched this with my M1. We both enjoyed this video.

[@nosraltinmad5767]

Did it watch it with its barrel?

[@gravelydon7072]

Mine is downstairs with the stock off. Getting a good coating of raw Linseed Oil on it. Mine is a Mk2 Mod 0.

[@mortenrasmussen965]

:-)

[@gravelydon7072]

@@nosraltinmad5767 It had it's sights on it. ;-)

[@datboi9316]

Its like watching Netflix but gun lol

[@GunsNGames1]

In Brazil, we have Gewehr 98's converted to 7.62x51mm. They have a FN FAL barrel and muzzle break, allowing to fire rifle grenades. They are used for training in military bases located in small towns.

[@astridvallati4762]

Not Gew98, but DWM M1908 Brasilian Mausers...called Mosquete M968. Also, barrel is not an FN FAL barrel, but a 7mm M1908 Mauser Barrel re-bored and chambered to 7,62 NATO. I have 2 of them. Very good shooters. Work done by IMBEL, ITAJUBA. DocAV.

[@SideWays8Productions]

My father has several M1 Garands, including one of these that he acquired from the CMP. When he got it, the plastic spacer was missing, and let me tell you...if you're missing the spacer (which apparently is common among these rifles), don't set this down next to a .30-06 Garand with the exact same wood furniture like I did, unless you enjoy spending a solid 5 minutes prying .30-06 out of the chamber with a knife round by round. Those spacers are there for a very good reason lol

[@davidbell1619]

I dont allow any one to touch my .308 Garand. If shooting someone else's rifle I ask what cartridge first.

[@yellowchartreuse]

Only one will go in the chamber at a time. There is no "round by round." It's only one round.

[@SideWays8Productions]

@@yellowchartreuse I'm aware of that. .30-06 is longer than .308 and will prevent the clip release from functioning due to the longer cartridge length. The tension from the follower also makes it very difficult to remove the rounds from the clip in the receiver. The easiest (and it's not easy) way to remove 8 rounds of .30-06 jammed in a .308 gun is to cycle each round and pry it out of the chamber, one at a time (which is what I mean't by "round by round")

[@Weaponsandstuff93]

Probably less trouble than all the problems the M14 had.

[@colbeausabre8842]

When I was an Army ROTC Cadet (70-74), our freshman and sophomores were issued M14's, the Juniors carried M16's and the Seniors either M14's or M16's depending on which class they were in charge of. The Navy/Marine guys had Mark 2 Mod 1's and the Air Force wouldn't let its cadets touch a weapon (very wise of them). As far as "why did the Navy" go to this length, it realized that it was last in line for new rifles and 30-06 would be increasing hard to find in a combat zone compared to 7.62mm. One use not mentioned was mine disposal. Mine sweepers would cut the cables of contact mines (the USN encountered Russian contact mines made in 1906 in Korea) and they would float to the surface - still dangerous. So some sweepers followed the first line of sweepers and used their weaponry to detonate (or sink - some refused to explode) the mines. Small arms were preferred as they avoided have large caliber shells ricocheting of the sea and going &diety knows where. The USN also converted a bunch of M1919A6's to 7.62 for the "Brown Water Navy" in Vietnam and called them Mark 21 Mod 0. The Israelis did the same thing as did the South Africans and the Canadians as I discovered when my outfit sponsored a Canadian one at FT Lewis in 76 www.canadiansoldiers.com/weapons/lightweapons/machineguns/c5machinegun.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_South_African_Army#Machine_guns

[@caylumhenderson9396]

Very cool info and I like the links thanks for that

[@GearKnowHow]

I would think sub-machine guns and handguns would be more beneficial to the Navy. I had a buddies Dad who served in Japan in the 60's said they still patrolled the deck at night with Thompson's and occasionally they would let them dump a mag into the ocean at the end of their shifts. haha different times.

[@victorwaddell6530]

We had M14s , but M1911a1 pistols and M870 shotguns were used more .

[@xmm-cf5eg]

Guy I know had said that trench guns were issued and stored intermittently on his boat, I would think a shotgun would be more useful if the ship was boarded.

[@victorwaddell6530]

7.62 x39mm A bit about my service to establish where I'm speaking from . I was in the US Navy from 1985 to 1995 . My rating was Operations Specialist (radar) . I was on a Destroyer for four years , a Military Policeman in Yokosuka Japan for two years , then on a Cruiser for four years . The shotguns we were armed with were M870s , the military designation for the Remington 870 pump 12ga . They had cylinder bores . Loads wers 2&3/4 inch 00 Buck , 6 in the mag + 1 in the chamber , a belt pouch of loose rounds for reload . Barrel length was @ 20 inch . Wood stock , no bayonette , bead front sight, no heat guard . Not a trench gun , more like a police cruiser shotgun . This was mid 80s to mid 90s , on ships and Military Police . This weapon and 1911A1 pistols were our main weapons for ship and shore security . M14s were sometimes issued . When I was an MP the Marine Barracks had the M9 Beretta and the M16 rifle , among other weapons . About this time some military units had the M590 Mossberg shotgun , which may have had the heat guard , bayonette , and other features of a trench gun . The Marine Barracks may have had them , but I never saw them armed with one . Interestingly , my home state , South Carolina, has a State Guard . Separate from the National Guard , they are official Militia of South Carolina. Unpaid volunteers not subject to Federal call , but serving at the call of The Governor . They must purchase their personal gear at their own cost . The state equips them with weapons , ammunition, communications , and transport as needed . Their weapon , when issued , is the M590 Mossberg shotgun , and they may carry their personally bought sidearm if they have a valid state handgun license . They mostly get called up for hurricanes and floods and such . But wait , there's more ! South Carolina has an official South Carolina Navy ! I still haven't figured out what that is . It seems to me to be a yacht club of sorts , maybe a State Coast Guard ? What I've seen so far is that they do historical exploration and cartography mostly .

[@Purple_Wayne]

You would be right, but we can't let go of the long arms. I got out a couple years ago, but we still use M14's to this day to fire shot line from ship to ship during underway replenishment. It's pretty cool to see.

[@xmm-cf5eg]

@Victor Waddell I was talking about a gentleman who served 70 years ago, in fact, I think he "appropriated" one of those shotguns and supposedly it rests on his mantle. I know of the Remington 870 pump-action, thanks for the clarification on your side though, interesting story. I'm a weapons discusser but I'm not an avid shotgun guy. A break action suits me fine and my personal favorite self-loader is the Saiga, was never terribly fond of pump-action firearms of any kind.

[@abedekok322]

I think my pop owns one of these, it's a 1943 receiver with a supposed 1963 refit. When we received it, it confused everyone but with some simple figuring we found it to be cambered in 7.62 NATO, now I know what it is, Thanks Ian

[@ToddT7819]

I actually own one of these rifles, and used it for NRA matches for years, it is a great shooter and with a set of match sights and match op rod and some glass bedding it has served me well.

[@thewiezman]

The block to not allow 30.06 is a good idea in hindsight having it serve in Vietnam along side arvn units Using standard garands

[@eltenda]

We had m1 's in 308 in Italy

[@montimuros2837]

eltenda fabrizio You mean BM-59?

[@Matthew-Graves]

champimuros no they had m1 garands that both converted and built in .308, bloke on the range has great videos about his.

[@CJoksch]

I believe that the Italians also made standard M1's in 7.62 NATO, before moving on to the BM-59.

[@eltenda]

Craig Joksch yup I believe so..mostly of our unit ones were us made

[@marzioscipioni9508]

No chamoimuros, italian army converted the garand for 7,62 nato.(garand t1 t is for Terni Arsenal). BM59 It s an another a.r. based on garand mechanics, as m14. I shot with both during my military duty.

[@RockIslandAuctionCompany]

Converting previously made rifles. The U.S. military just can't help themselves.

[@ExUSSailor]

And why not? The Navy doesn't need the newest, or, best shoulder arms, and, the Garand is one of the finest rifles ever produced, a Hell of a lot better than the M14, anyway.

[@sgt.eclair]

Anon Nymous Debatable.

[@RockIslandAuctionCompany]

Matt Johnson Nope, just regular kind. The U.S. Govt has a long, documented history of trying to utilize/convert old parts, cling to old designs, and reutilize previously designed ammunition.

[@demonprinces17]

Everyone did this, flintlock to cap, cap to breech-loading.

[@1ohtaf1]

What? The M14 might have been outdated when it entered service - but its everything the Garand was - just better.

[@histman44]

Just a FYI; Mod. in Navy parlance does not stand for model, it stands for modification.

[@KA-dx2kz]

Made 30 thousand plugs to find out they didn't work

[@johnjuiceshipper4963]

John La Duke I’m 100% sure one guy was saying that from the beginning but was outranked by someone else.

[@SilentRazor1uk]

..I am amazed considering the era, that some 'bright spark' didn't think or at least suggest using 'explosives' to join the insert to the chamber/barrel - remembers the video clip of that washed up whale carcass being detonated with TNT - sometime in the 1960s; after which it was suddenly infinitely more preferable to leave the carcass, to bury it or to tow it out, offshore. But then the Navy is reputedly smarter than the Army, and so, also likelier smarter than the civic & public persons.

[@joevidya]

Sounds about right for our military

[@kenibnanak5554]

Wonder why they simply didn't pin the plugs in place.

[@MrCalman65]

Friction welding would've worked. Spin the plug inside the chamber at high speed then give it a light machine if necessary.

[@Dutch1951x]

Trained with the M16 in the Army. After I got out of the Army I enlisted in the Coast Guard and qualified with the Garand in boot camp and we had them at the Air Station I was stationed at until the later part of 1972 when we switched over to the M16. We also had a couple of M3 grease guns and a couple of Thompson's and had to get rid of those as well. I think every body wanted to keep the Garands and shit can the 16's.

[@tenacious645]

This channel is consistently excellent. Very well done Ian, keep up the good work man :)

[@mcqueenfanman]

The Navy never heard of red lock-tite?

[@afhostie]

Wouldn't the heat of shooting cause the red-tite to release?

[@adamhauskins6407]

Keeping me awake at work. Thanks for the great program ian

[@dallascroce2535]

I have an AMF converted on I bought working at a gun shop for years. Always loved my old military weapons and I learned 2 new things about it that I didn’t already know. Good job RIA

[@NC_Fisher_Guy]

my dad has one, however not one of these. he bought on through the CMP that was made in 1942, but was in not great condition, so when the sellers repaired it they replaced the barrel with a .308 barrel. my dad decided to buy it because at the time .308 was cheaper than .30-06, it was standardized by NATO so it was easy to find, and it had lower recoil. great rifle.

[@PRACERZ]

Always great vids Ian, THANKS !!

[@foureye7058]

Fantastic! Always love a good battle rifle.

[@jimdoane1362]

I don’t think I have ever not enjoy your videos, thanks for what you do

[@JerryEricsson]

Greetings and Salutations from Topock Arizona, where my old motor home is parked facing the big ball of fire in the East this morning! Way back before I became disabled, I used to work during my off duty hours from the PD with a couple of Gunsmiths, one was into general gun work, the other built his own barrel making outfit, and produced the K&P Rifle Barrels. Well at night, myself and the general smith used to build guns using the machine tools at the K&P plant, with Ken’s permission, of course. I got into buying up old actions from Numrich Arms and building them up into working rifles. My most odd-ball was an old Styer Manlicher straight pull 8mmR that I rebarreled into .444 Marlin. Had it working great to but because I only had one clip, I had to modify it so it remained in the rifle after the last shot, not a hard modification. Well once I ordered a P14 Engfield action, and it never came, so I called Numrich and they sent another. About a month later, I received 2 of them, so I built one into a magnum rifle, he other that was just laying there, I decided to stick a .444 Marlin barrel on, it worked GREAT, put it in a Bell and Caralson Stock with a nice Weaver Scope on top, and she was a great woods gun for deer hunting. I took one deer with the Styer, the following year, I took 2 with the P-14 conversion. My favorite over all caliber though was the 25-o6, and after seeing that the M1 Garand was indeed converted to .308 (I think I knew that once) converting one to 25-06 or perhaps 270 sounds like it would make a great hunting rifle as well. Who knows, might start a fad….

[@roninoneil546]

Thank you Ian nice video my friend

[@hal3674really]

"- except for the barrel and one special part in the magazine well" This is gonna be a roller coaster of a video.

[@JohnLeePedimore]

I've got a 1912-61 Chilean Mauser in 7.62 Nato made by Steyr and it has a chamber plug. It started life as a 7mm and it was converted in the sixties. They made thousands of them and I've never heard of a plug coming out so I guess it is possible for it to work. It may be that the slower,more controlled extraction of a bolt action doesn't pull as hard on the insert.

[@nokiot9]

Navy conversions. Gotta love em.

[@DrSkagit]

Thank you for your insights and knowledge

[@Montragon29]

Ian's videos are so well prepared I automatically give him the thumbs up click...

[@thebeatleshelp5834]

All garands look really nice

[@kennebecsmitty]

Nice rifle!I've only seen & held one of them in my life,never fired one,always wanted one.Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[@XSpamDragonX]

This is really cool.

[@johntrottier1162]

Trained on and fired one of these weapons in January 1970 at NTC San Diego. Was the best day we had other than graduation.

[@oldgoat1890]

I remember the inserts. They would occasionally eject with a spent case. We tried lock-tite, but it did not help. To much heat and shock, I guess.

[@Fred-rv2tu]

I was a marine on a navy ship in 2012 and watched them use Garands to shoot lines between ships for underway resupply.

[@on2wheels378]

A gunsmith in Pennsylvania named Shufflin could convert you Garand (M1 .30-06 Ca) into a .308 (7.62 NATO). Great upload.

[@Danogil]

These were still being issues to sailors in 1982-83 at NTCSD for training only we didn't get to fire them at that time.

[@mando5715]

I too just acquired a 1945 Navy M1 MK 7.62x51 cmp national match rifle. 1965 SA conversion. Should be in my hands tomorrow.

[@CJoksch]

That's the first rifle I ever qualified on in 1969.

[@alexanderklatt9217]

My in JROTC in California had an entire Armory full of non-functional 762 NATO for drill. Could never figure out where the hell they came from. Ours were marked on the original spot 7.62 right behind the sights. Did one of the companies do that over there later versions that were produced? Great show!

[@jayflournoy2977]

Can’t wait to get my first m1

[@hhds4716]

Neat stuff

[@davidvik1451]

I fired a 7.62 NATO M-1 at Camp Elliot in 1970 during boot camp in Dan Diego. These guns did not have the mag well spacer so we were thus cautioned to be sure the clip was fully to the rear while inserting it. To my surprise the M-1s care onboard my ship were chambered for 30-06.

[@charlesinglin]

We were just talking about the M1 and whether they'd been barreled for 7.62 Nato a few weeks ago. Thanks.

[@SuperFrank6666]

Had one at OCS in 1977 in New Port, RI. I often wondered about it.

[@minuteman4199]

After reading the comments I now understand that they used the same clips. I would be curious to know how the logistics of this worked. Did the arsenal keep making new clips and do runs of ammo to package into them just for navy use, or did they salvage now surplus ammo, take the .30-06 out and put 7.62 in instead? Either way it seems like a bit of a hassle.

[@russellalderman6920]

Good lord, I never thought I'd see one of these. NEGDEF (Naval Emergency Ground Defense Force) had them at NAS Cubi Point in 1970.

[@michaelw.6957]

I wonder if they had the same problems with the plugged chamber Garands as with the converted 1895 7mm Spanish Mausers? I believe a number of them were converted to 7.62 NATO(?) years ago and an inherent problem with these conversions is that the gap between the chamber and the insert is subject to 'flame-cutting', such as with the top strap on a revolver, because the cartridge neck does not extend past the joint to protect it.

[@FormerMPSGT]

1983 I bought an M-1 Garand in 7.62/308. Excellent Rifle, only $550.00, M1A was $750.00 at the time! My SPACER was Metal! Took it apart according to the MANUAL, down and back three times until I figured what to do with the ‘EXTRA PIECE’ not listed in the Manual!

[@Sir_Matticus]

I really want on of these

[@Junior-fd8ux]

One of these just popped up for sale recently and i realllyy wish i could ask you about it lol. Time to hit the books

[@troy9477]

Nice. I've heard a little about these over the years. Nice to hear the full story. I didn't know they were still in inventory that late. I know the Navy went to M14's, probably in the 70's, and i think they are still used for line launching, mine detonation, etc. I think they use the M4 as their standard shoulder arm now. Strange fact: my buddy's younger son is in the Navy, currently in nuclear propulsion school. When he went through basic (graduated in March) no rifle instruction at all, only on the M9. He shot tops in his class. ☺ My buddy and i are big gun guys, and of course he was very pleased. Great video as always

[@victorwaddell6530]

Troy Ortega I was in the US Navy from '85_'95 . We had the M14 in the armories of both my ships and my Military Police unit . I loved shooting them . Sorry to see them replaced by the M4 . I heard that most of them became Squad Designated Marksman Rifles for the ground pounders , but some were kept for the SEALs . EOD , as line launchers , etc ....

[@Navyrifleshooter]

We had a command show up around 2005 Pacific Fleet with M1's they still had in their armoury. Theyre still a huge number of them stored at Naval Weapons Station Crane

[@MrBioniclefan1]

Wait the M1 in 2005?

[@Navyrifleshooter]

Yeah it was a surprise to us as well. NSWC Crane ordered them to be sent back. The Navy still uses them for trophies, given to winners from Fleet Matches and above. I was able to win one iirc in 2006 or so

[@gravelydon7072]

@@Navyrifleshooter Want the hear a better one, I received a Mk2 Mod 0 today that still had the 1965 inspection date tag on it. 1965 was when the Navy called all of the Mk2 Mod 0s back to either change the barrels or reseat/inspect the chamber adapters. Mine also came with a 1964 sling and complete maintenance set in the butt stock of the rifle. Too bad I couldn't have just grabbed it on either of my two trips to Crane that I made in 1988. It still has its original Oct 1942 barrel on a Nov 1942 receiver. If it wasn't in 7.62, it would still be just like it left SA in 1942. The barrel only has ~.003 wear so it did not have a lot of rounds ever fired thru it. I also have #3 of the M1903A3s that the Navy converted to wall hangers. Along with it is the plaque on it from Crane. It can never fire again but it sure is shiny with its Chrome plating.

[@savioryeo9492]

Were used as trophy weapons for upper level competition, east/west coast, All Navy , Interservice, and National Championships. Went to Navy shooters.. won two of them 88-92.

[@josecanisales3491]

Mr. Don McCoy of Santee, California worked for the U.S. Navy & built rebarrelled many Garands to shoot 7.62 NATO. I have one of those Garands with a Gene Barnett Heavy barrel. Don McCoy told me that the conversions that H&R did were great and the sleeve never fell out. But the one's that AMC converted had problems with them.

[@savioryeo9492]

Don built me one circa 1988. Fine shooting rifle!

[@jamesgalatioto7227]

Local shop by me Orion 7 had a few of these on the shelf when I went in to grab .30-06 for my m1. Wanted to grab one then but never did

[@jamesgalatioto7227]

toomanyaccounts I doubt that Orion 7 specializes in garands and they've never lied to me. Also they never said authentic navy just said .308 m1's

[@doughesson]

In 1988,my cousin's FFG USS Doyle had M1 Garands in 7.62x51mm. My ship & his were both down in Cuba for Fleet Refresher Training after overhaul. He said that the Marines who conducted their weapons qualification training were amazed that they had M1s & even asked"How come we don't have these?See,Gunny? They don't even have to worry about losing the magazine because it's built in to the rifle!"

[@ghostshadow9046]

Saw some with drilled and pins to hold the plug in place.

[@deadahead8701]

Wow I want one.

[@TheBorg6412]

Ian, I have read and been told in the past that the Mod 0 had a "sleeve" inserted into the barrel and that they were prone to coming out. I believe they were referring to the bushing? Secondly, I have been told when I sold a MK2 Mod O that many police departments used them in the follow on years after the Navy got rid of them. Is there any validity to that?

[@Jesses001]

I have too agree. It made a lot more sense for them to do this conversion than to get the new rifle. You are not exactly going head to head with enemy forces with your rifle in the navy with the rare exception of a landing party.

[@mannywilliams6409]

Years ago, when the South Korean guns were imported, I bought one with a shot out barrel and had a gun smith barrel it to 308 I did not have him shorten the follower, but I did have him stamp the caliber above the chamber.

[@howarddavis7423]

Hi, I have a grand 7.62 Navy, that doesn't have the receiver block. Its a 1943 with a a AMF barrel. I have paperwork that shows it was in Navy inventory up to 1966.

[@budmiller3823]

Ian, maybe you can expand upon the of accurizing in a future video.

[@dave_riots]

It would be a real honor to get to shoot and own an M1 Garand.

[@trapperkcmo3460]

these extra barrels floating around - they do or do not have H&R or AMF stamped on them?

[@doejohn8674]

I got a Garand last week, made by Beretta for the Danish Army, in .30-06. I am looking for any info I can get on this production, how many were made? When? I only found a total production number of around 20k but for both calibers, 7.62Nato and .30-06. And yes, you can fire a .308 in a .30-06 Garand, don't ask how I know...

[@panzerkampfwagenvi1252]

Cool

[@supergliderrider7131]

it is nice to hear some one say John Garands name correctly.

[@STB-jh7od]

In 2003-04, CMP had these on their website for "upcoming sale" but later the site just dropped all reference to these. A few years later a friend who had recently returned from Iraq told me a bunch of these had shown up for designated marksmen/snipers and were being used. I know that's anecdotal, so not claiming that's what happened to CMP rifles, and for all I know they may have been navy leftovers.

[@kenlusher9829]

Enjoyed learning more about my M1. The markings on my M1 barrel look like the location, size and style of your demo rifle, i.e. SGW-6535448-10-84-308-1X12. Am I correct to assume this translates to Springfield Gun Works, manufactured in Oct. 1984, with a 1 in 12" twist? Also, do you know a reputable contact for reloading data for .308 in an M1? Thanks....Ken

[@shoup2882]

Hornady tenth edition handloading handbook has a special section for the 30 Caliber Service Rifle, M1 conversions and M14's.

[@SgtKOnyx]

Sheesh, by the time they got them they might as well have just waited for M16's

[@garrettholland664]

SgtKOnyx the navy expects to be firing at longer ranges with their rifles. they need the extra power of the 308

[@sdivine13]

@@garrettholland664 no we dont, we use rifles at the ecp and for patrolling the weather deck in port

[@roboticrebel4092]

@@sdivine13 then an m1 is plenty good enough Again the main reason the navy went with this rifle was cost.

[@sdivine13]

@@roboticrebel4092 the m1 was fine, and so was the m14, my point was were not only firing long range.

[@l92375]

A friend of mine has a 7.62 Nato Garand by accident.I dont know if its a rebuild or an original Navy rifle.He bought it at a gun show as the vendor was packing up and didnt learn it was this way until he went to put a clip in it when we were doing some shooting a little later.That spacer block saved him because he had some 3006 rounds loaded in clips.

[@Privat2840]

I believe the civilian marksmanship program is still making the conversion and selling M1s in 7.62 NATO

[@oisin666666]

I used to serve in the german army during cold war in the late eighties. When it came to ammo we hat a little prob with the H&K G3. We used 7.62 x 51, the Warsaw Pact did use 7.62 x 53 that does not fit to the G3. If I look at this Garand and its mag.... It would be a nice way to clear this prob uninstall the spacer in the mag to use both kind of ammo. This youst in case you had to use ammo from the enemy.

[@MAC702firearms]

7.62x53R ammo is a fat, rimmed cartridge the Finnish used, very similar to the Russian 7.62x54R. And then there is the 7.65x53 Mauser cartridge used by Argentina and Belgium. Are you referring to one of these? None would be simply convertible into a 7.62x51 NATO chamber.

[@MrDoctorCrow]

My grandfather was in the navy in the late 60s, he always complained about how heavy the damn things are.

[@arthurbasque7015]

I have a m1 garand converted to 7.62NATO, but the barrel is from 1963 and it doesnt even say 7.62mm on it, nor does it have the manufacturer print on, it does have a military proof mark though, and the receiver is in the early 800 thousands which is cool, wondering if this is a navy conversion or just made to look like one? got it for cheap any ways.

[@khyberpasscustoms9663]

We rechambered m1 grand to 7.62x54 and 7.62x51 and also in 8mm Mauser

[@ticklemewesker7019]

Your so smart brotha! You should write a book lol

[@Privat2840]

I believe the Civilian Marksmanship Program is still making this conversion.

[@509Gman]

Yes, but the barrel is marked “.308 WIN”, usually from Criterion Barrels. Also the spacer is metal.

[@pivotboy2062]

I want an og m1 garand so bad

[@user-oh2kt8lf6g]

Rather than replacing the barrel, they might have threaded the chamber and the plug and screw the plug in, maybe, with a couple of prick-punches to the rear edge of the plug just in case.

[@daddy_cool762]

Interesting idea. Kind of makes me wonder, were there many actually successful major service rifle conversions? (Be it caliber conversions, semi-auto or otherwise)

[@minuteman4199]

Canada took Browning 1919 MGs and converted them to 7.62 NATO and disintegrating link ammo. I would hardly call it successful though. I understand the US rejected to design. I used them during my service and besides being a beast to lug around compared to the MAG 58 we eventually got they were horribly unreliable. It takes more recoil energy to feed from a disintegrating link than it does from a cloth belt, and the gun had lower recoil energy. The size of the hole in the barrel bearing plug was reduced to boost the energy but it still was not that reliable.l

[@konnerfrost9278]

Do you guys know anything about the M1 Garand rifles the government gave to the VFWs and the American Legions with the gas system welded and the barrel welded to the receiver? Are they safe to shoot and how easy would it be to convert the rifle back to semi automatic. Thanks.

[@chibbacurley62]

I just bought a 308 converted m1 for 500 from a buddy who was selling his dads collection. I have zero knowledge on the functionality of it, marking or anything, just the history and that's why I bought it. But I was so confused as to why there was a little plastic piece in there. Pretty sure that's all I needed to know. They guy even threw in 40 rds of 30-06 thinking the same thing I did haha

[@michaelulch5419]

I have one in my collection with the original plug conversion.

[@DavidHarris-qn7em]

Saw one company doing a conversion with a threaded plug on a hydraulic locked spindle

[@Swervin309]

Gun Jesus blesses us with another reading of the Scripture.

[@sjoormen1]

This rifles used standard clips for M1 in 30.06?

[@1968actionman]

Ian forgot to mention the stock requires 2 small cutouts to accommodate the white spacer block

[@shoup2882]

There is no modification needed to install the spacer block, I have 2 M1's in 7.62x51, one with the plastic spacer (which you can purchase from the CMP), the other with a steel insert from Italy, which made M1's under license in 7.62x51, known as the BM-59. the inserts simply slip in with no mods needed. There are videos on Youtibe that show this process.

[@nokiot9]

Do they make Garand kits that accept standard box mags? I know some similar platforms like the SKS you can (similar in loading). Or is it just like an extended well that you can't actually remove? Because if it wasn't removable, it'd be a killer skirt to the California laws.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Look up the BM-59.

[@erikkaingebretsen5096]

Did San Diego RTC IN 1970 and we did our firearm qualification was with the 7.62 M1 Garand. On the ship I served on we had M1 Carbines not Garands. It is my understanding that the Navy would continue using the Carbine until 1973.

[@douglasfrazier811]

I qualified at the US Naval Academy with the 7.62 version in 1968..

[@Edgy01]

Introducing the NATO version made life a little easier in places like Vietnam where we used the belted 7.62-NATO (308) rounds in the M60.

[@davidcolter]

Were the sights not adjusted at all?

[@johnmills837]

How long before you feature a Italian Tipo 2 M1.

[@TylerHulan]

The price estimation on this one doesn't seem crazy. I'll have to keep an eye on it

[@MrCalman65]

Did they have friction welding back then? Would have worked.

[@munched55]

Hi Ian, Is the same clip used for loading the 7.62 as for the 30-06?

[@TheMrarthas]

Yes, you can use the same clips.

[@HK-qj4im]

I converted a worn out M1 by replacing the barrel. One of my favorite guns to shoot.

[@emanuelebolli6437]

we used this thing in Italy till the late 90's

[@jacobpeacy4003]

I'm hoping Ian will be able to find one of the m1 garands chambered in 458 winchester someday