Why would you convert a Garand to mag fed?

[calsdad]

I have spent some time over the last few days reading up on converting a Garand to mag feed.

It appears that there are a number of people out there who do these conversions - they typically use M14 mags and the Garand gets a new barrel to shoot .308.

I guess I just don't get it. Why bother? Why not just buy an M1A or an M14 of some form or another?

Am I missing something here?

The only reasons I can possibly come up with to do the conversion are:

- Just because
- building a mag fed .308 out of a Garand might be cheaper than getting an M1A/M14
- if the conversion is done without machining the receiver you could potentially go back and forth between mag fed
and en-bloc clip fed.


Now - if the Garand was converted to mag fed 30.06 - that is a different story IMHO. Now you have a mag fed battle rifle that you can take advantage of all that cheap HXP Greek ammo the CMP has been selling - and you have a high power cartridge with all sorts of different loads available - including AP - which is unavailable (legally) in .308 to civilians. A mag fed 30.06 Garand would make a nice SHTF rifle if you ask me.

I have not seen anybody doing mag fed 30.06 conversions though.

 

[drgrant]

Some of it is because more Garands are available on the cheap. I agree it doesn't make any sense unless it was .30-06 though.

-Mike

 

[vellnueve]

Maybe you want a BM-59 clone without paying for a BM-59?

 

[calsdad]

Maybe you want a BM-59 clone without paying for a BM-59?

I suppose that could be a reason: to create a replica BM59 - but once you use M14 mags instead of the BM59 mags (which go for something like $75.00 apiece) - what you have really created is just another bastard child half BM59/ half M14.

 

[PatMcD]

It's like anything else in the world of firearms: "It can be done, I've got the $, and I want one".

I don't want one, or see the need for it, but then again I don't see the need for a semi-auto Tommy gun, verticle foregrips on AR's, or any form of bull-pup rifle.

 

[flintoid]

I suppose that could be a reason: to create a replica BM59 - but once you use M14 mags instead of the BM59 mags (which go for something like $75.00 apiece) - what you have really created is just another bastard child half BM59/ half M14.

I think that's the only reason why you'd do it - to avoid the expensive magazines.

 

[Karl]

I remember hearing about the Navy experimenting with converting Garands to magazine fed 308s in the 1960's.... I think it was done to experiment with keeping the M1 in service. It never actually took off though.

 

[calsdad]

The Navy did convert Garands to shoot .308 (actually 7.62x51) around the time the 7.62x51 became a NATO standard caliber.

Their initial experiment used a spacer in the chamber to adapt the rifle. This did not work very well because the spacer kept coming out. I have never heard anything about the Navy converting Garands to mag fed.

It is pretty common nowadays to find Garands converted to shoot .308 - just have to change the barrel. I have a Fulton Armory Garand chambered in .308...