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UPDATE- Completed! 'Unlimited' M1 Build- Start w/ receiver or CMP Rifle?

Not going to spend that kind of money when I'm happy with it at 500 yards . Love the sound of the 30-06 whacking the falling plates. Just had a new lens put in my shooting eye so things will improve. I have a few good extra barrels but I would first throw one at this rifle for personnel reasons and potential it has shown. [laugh] Enjoy your journey.

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MJ1 said:
Not going to spend that kind of money when I'm happy with it at 500 yards . Love the sound of the 30-06 whacking the falling plates. Just had a new lens put in my shooting eye so things will improve. I have a few good extra barrels but I would first throw one at this rifle for personnel reasons and potential it has shown. [laugh] Enjoy your journey.

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nice, what size plates are you shooting at?
Mountain is basially building a M1 to play in the CMP unlimitted match game. Basically a step above as issued and not quite a full blown "match" rifle.
 
You would be hard pressed to find a kit like that these days for $350. A nice receiver alone will run you $250-300.
 
dw617 said:
You would be hard pressed to find a kit like that these days for $350. A nice receiver alone will run you $250-300.
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the last i seen any kits the 350$ ones where....lets just say somewhere south of rack grade.
I picked up 2 kits from JG sales while back and they had lots of Italian parts... in that grey area of field-service grade. I traded for USGI parts over the years and they are my "spare" parts.
 
MJ1 said:
Not going to spend that kind of money when I'm happy with it at 500 yards . Love the sound of the 30-06 whacking the falling plates. Just had a new lens put in my shooting eye so things will improve. I have a few good extra barrels but I would first throw one at this rifle for personnel reasons and potential it has shown. [laugh] Enjoy your journey.

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New lens? Not that I'm hoping that I need one, but nice to know it can be done in case it's ever necessary. Hope it works well for you!
 
Probably not the answer you want to hear, but this is what I'd do if I wanted either an match-grade M1 OR M14:

Find an old high-power rifle shooter who is selling one.
It's going to be cheaper than building one up. And if you do build one, that money will never be recouped if you ever go to sell it.

Of course, it is fun to do these projects, so if that is part of the motivation, have at it [smile]. Done it.
 
PatMcD said:
Probably not the answer you want to hear, but this is what I'd do if I wanted either an match-grade M1 OR M14:

Find an old high-power rifle shooter who is selling one.
It's going to be cheaper than building one up. And if you do build one, that money will never be recouped if you ever go to sell it.

Of course, it is fun to do these projects, so if that is part of the motivation, have at it [smile]. Done it.
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I like this tactic but it seems the old guys get off the line and vanish. I was hoping to hit up at least 4 old timers at one club. They and the guns just stopped coming ?
The M1a are a little easier to come by vs a full NM M1.
So far only came across one personally and the guy wanted 4k
 
S
PatMcD said:
Probably not the answer you want to hear, but this is what I'd do if I wanted either an match-grade M1 OR M14:

Find an old high-power rifle shooter who is selling one.
It's going to be cheaper than building one up. And if you do build one, that money will never be recouped if you ever go to sell it.

Of course, it is fun to do these projects, so if that is part of the motivation, have at it [smile]. Done it.
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I think the match grade M14's and M1A's are easier to find and I've seen a few for sale. Some will use those for high power matches. M1's not so much.

And yes, a good part of the project is the DIY aspect.
 
I have been down for the count due to flu the last 48 hours but when up I did order the last couple parts I needed to complete my build, assuming I use the USGI stock. If I use the Terni, I'll need new hand guards unless the dings steam out on the ones I have.

Toughest part to find at a decent price was the op rod catch. Lots of vendors are out of stock, or only have specific ones going for a premium. I did end up buying a couple parts on sale from Fulton anyway- their NM2 rear sight base looks much nicer than others, in particular the one from SARCO. Going to fit their .052 hooded NM aperture to the base- price was decent with the sale.

I was a little surprised at how much shopping around was necessary to find what I wanted. A CMP FG would have made it so much easier. Anyway, time to start picking away at cleaning up cosmo from some of the parts and getting on with assembly. Once complete, I'm thinking about sending it to the CMP custom shop for bedding and a trigger job. I'll post pics once I get going.
 
Mountain said:
I have been down for the count due to flu the last 48 hours but when up I did order the last couple parts I needed to complete my build, assuming I use the USGI stock. If I use the Terni, I'll need new hand guards unless the dings steam out on the ones I have.

Toughest part to find at a decent price was the op rod catch. Lots of vendors are out of stock, or only have specific ones going for a premium. I did end up buying a couple parts on sale from Fulton anyway- their NM2 rear sight base looks much nicer than others, in particular the one from SARCO. Going to fit their .052 hooded NM aperture to the base- price was decent with the sale.

I was a little surprised at how much shopping around was necessary to find what I wanted. A CMP FG would have made it so much easier. Anyway, time to start picking away at cleaning up cosmo from some of the parts and getting on with assembly. Once complete, I'm thinking about sending it to the CMP custom shop for bedding and a trigger job. I'll post pics once I get going.
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Cmp custom shop still bedding?
I noticed they dropped the full NM option from the list.
Finding parts can be a PITA and buying complete guns can make that easier but still costly.
When money was easier to spend I bought a few extra rifles for parts.

Just a side note....are the hand guards USGI? If not steam and sand and filler until pretty. The NM hand guard upgrade pretty much ruins any USGI value.

I think I sent you that file with all the NM stuff in it.
It shows how to do the NM upgrade. Also Fulton sells the modified lower band. Again a bit pricey
http://www.fulton-armory.com/lower-band-nm-with-screws.aspx
 
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Yeah, thanks- I have that NM info tucked away and will be using it soon. Still not feeling great today. I've taken 4 sick days in the last 20 years- two of them yesterday and the day before.

I don't think there is anything particularly collectible about the hand guards- nothing special about the stock they came with as far as I can determine. I like that aged color, however.

The Terni has a very close, tight fit- maybe tighter than the new CMP stock on my Special. I have not fully locked it up but it will take some effort to do so. The 'Q' USGI-ish stock while not loose is easy to lock. I did end up finding a decent milled trigger group. I also have an extra lower band for the NM mod. A couple holes and countersinks should be easy enough.
 
I have been fighting a awful cold since the blizard.
Caugh keeps me up most of the night.
Meds have little affect now...sucks
 
Finished my 308 Garand 'Unlimited' build this weekend, at least for now. My goal was to assemble what I have, shoot it, then come back to the match conditioning.

All in all I'm happy with the result thus far. It's my first Garand 'build', starting from a barreled 1.14M SA receiver and matched bolt. Barrel is a Criterion. Project took ~6 months of parts collecting and periodic efforts to assemble. Interesting parts include a NOS SA gas cylinder, NM op rod, repro NM sight base and aperture, original NM windage and original elevation pinion, repro NM front sight, and an Italian surplus stock.

First shot was only an inch left of center at 25 yards and roughly the correct height. Very nice to have 1/2 MOA NM sights. Went straight to 100 yards after the second shot and easily kept it in the black. No hiccups on PPU and Creedmoor ammo.

Indoor pics really don't do the stock justice- the figure in the wood is really nice.

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The Terni surplus stocks were originally made shorter for Garands that had been cut to re-chamber to .308 from .30-06. You can see the added tip, which was glued and pinned. It seems quite solid, and if not I'm only out $50 for it [smile].

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Another day with dark lighting at the 100 yard position. That usually doesn't do my shooting any favors, nor does shooting from the bench without a sling:

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So really not that bad, in fact decent 100 yard accuracy. Nothing earth shattering, but certainly a good start. I like the way the trigger breaks, it just takes a good hard pull to get it to go. Trigger job #1 on my list. I'll take it apart and see what's rubbing inside and make the appropriate corrections.

Oh... Appropriate for me to be shooting a Garand today. Far away from Mass, an American Legion honor guard will have fired a 21 rifle salute with Garands in front of where my Father and Grandfather are laid to rest. I still have some cases I saved from their graveside ceremonies. Maybe I can make the next ceremony.
 
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majspud said:
no pics?

[hmmm]

t
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Weird that it's happening again. I can see the pics after closing and coming back in from my laptop, plus I can see the pics from my iPhone as well. Maybe they will magically appear like the last time this happened.
 
I've read where on the trigger group lockup you should have to forcefully push down on the trigger guard. This tight lockup helps with accuracy I guess. Upon looking at what makes it tighter, it seems the lower wood shelf above the magazine plate (if that's what it's called) has to be sufficiently thick to tighten up the locking lugs that engage the reciever and trigger group. So in short, the stock and how it's carved out in the reciever pocket has a lot to do with accuracy?
 
71montess said:
I've read where on the trigger group lockup you should have to forcefully push down on the trigger guard. This tight lockup helps with accuracy I guess. Upon looking at what makes it tighter, it seems the lower wood shelf above the magazine plate (if that's what it's called) has to be sufficiently thick to tighten up the locking lugs that engage the reciever and trigger group. So in short, the stock and how it's carved out in the reciever pocket has a lot to do with accuracy?
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I'm just learning and there are quite a few on the forum who know more (and have helped me), but that lock-up is just the start for a Garand. Good accuracy not possible without good lock-up, but there are several other factors. Seems like it's a matter of systematically eliminating the causes of inaccuracy rather than doing a few key things to 'add' accuracy.

Dynamics between the barrel and stock, op rod and stock / ferrules, and between the different stock components are all factors. So is the trigger.

That said, this trigger and stock were very difficult to lock. Full body weight (and I"m not small) was no go, but one good rap with a rubber mallet got 'er done.

I think there are one or two areas making contact inside the stock. I think it looks nice, but it's not particularly collectible and as mentioned the stock only cost me $50. Therefore I'd have no problem getting to work on clearing the areas that need to be cleared. Time is a factor for me this summer, so I may have a pro do it.

Accuracy is already OK, but not particularly close to its full potential.
 
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I'm just learning myself. What often happens with M1 is the elimination of potential accuracy traits that don't really "add" accuracy but take away the potential of the best possible accuracy.
Accuracy is a term that must be decided on for what your expectations of accuracy are.
You can go out and buy a built up M1 from one of the better known M1 gurus and spend $2000 and get 2.5moa guaranty? Which is darn good for a M1.

What I learned is you can't rush things.
Little things can make big gains or send you off scratching your head.
 
I can see the pics, very nice. The CMP stock on my special was so tight I had to give it a few good hard whacks on carpeted floor to get it out, and had to use a wrapped screwdriver to unhook the guard, yanking almost as hard as I could.
Rehooking the trigger guard took nearly all my weight too, but not as bad as I feared. Now that it has functional sights, excited to get out there Thursday.

Was the color fill on the receiver and sights there when you got it, or did you do it yourself? Anyone know if Garands came from the assembly line like that, or if it's purely a collector's/owner's thing? I assume the latter...
 
Color fill? Me with a china marker. Not to easy to clean off excess with a freshly parked receiver. Also the NM windage knob was a little rough in spots which made it hard to clean out excess. Thought this gun would be a good one to take a crack at filling the letters. Not sure I'll bother to do it again, at least not on anything particularly collectible.
 
That's a nice build. Something to be mindful of, when storing the rifle it's a good idea to unlatch the trigger guard to prevent collapsing the wood fibers supporting the receiver and trigger group over time resulting in lower lockup forces. I do this on my M1s and M14s.
 

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