Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
I built a Garand M1 in 9.3x62. Here's a YouTube video of me shooting it.
I will post more pictures and information later
I will post more pictures and information later
Garand M1 in 9.3x62 mm
- Thread starter Shootinshyster
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Cootmeurer
Well-Known Member
Interesting.
I’ve just left my Garand in its original state.
Have you seen the guy that did the 458 win mag Garand conversion?
I’ve just left my Garand in its original state.
Have you seen the guy that did the 458 win mag Garand conversion?
Good build, I was waiting for the “CHOOINGgg” when the charger clip shoots out!
Cootmeurer
Well-Known Member
OOOD: McCann Industries .458 Win Mag Garand
Back in early 2000’s, McCann Industries (known for their M1 Garand Gas Trap Adjuster) manufactured an M1 Garand in .458 Winchester Magnum.Not made anymore after the passing of McCann’s primary gunsmith, the rifles are a fine example of ingenuity and practicality applied to big-game hunting.At...
www.thefirearmblog.com
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Let me tell everyone a little bit about the 9.3x62 Garand. I heard about the .458 Garand, but such a rifle would entail a lot of custom parts. The bolt face would have to be opened up, the ejector and extractor would need work and let's not forget about the magazine follower.
9.3x62 is the largest practical calibre for the M1. Now please don't think that I'm a know-it-all. I have built dozens of M1s and I understand the rifle a little.
First of all there are internal ribs on the left side of the M1's receiver. These ribs will interfere with bullet noses once the calibre reaches 8mm. John Garand originally designed the M1 to feed the .276 Pedersen which was a 7mm round. The entire receiver internals were perfectly designed for 7mm and no further work was needed to convert the M1 to .30 calibre because Garand had left a little extra room.
But if you want a 9.3x62 Garand, those internal receiver ribs will get in the way if you hope to fit more than 4 rounds into the rifle.
So I had those internal ribs machined flat using tungsten carbide tooling. This was necessary because the M1 receiver is very hard and I did not want to mess with the heat treatment.
The 9.3x62 also required a Schuster gas plug. This device allows one to adjust gas volume in the gas cylinder and this is necessary to avoid stressing the operating rod. The operating rod was not designed to handle 300 grain bullets and the Schuster gas plug calmed everything down
I will stop for now and add pictures and more information later
9.3x62 is the largest practical calibre for the M1. Now please don't think that I'm a know-it-all. I have built dozens of M1s and I understand the rifle a little.
First of all there are internal ribs on the left side of the M1's receiver. These ribs will interfere with bullet noses once the calibre reaches 8mm. John Garand originally designed the M1 to feed the .276 Pedersen which was a 7mm round. The entire receiver internals were perfectly designed for 7mm and no further work was needed to convert the M1 to .30 calibre because Garand had left a little extra room.
But if you want a 9.3x62 Garand, those internal receiver ribs will get in the way if you hope to fit more than 4 rounds into the rifle.
So I had those internal ribs machined flat using tungsten carbide tooling. This was necessary because the M1 receiver is very hard and I did not want to mess with the heat treatment.
The 9.3x62 also required a Schuster gas plug. This device allows one to adjust gas volume in the gas cylinder and this is necessary to avoid stressing the operating rod. The operating rod was not designed to handle 300 grain bullets and the Schuster gas plug calmed everything down
I will stop for now and add pictures and more information later
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Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Now check this out. Here is a Garand receiver that I had lying around. It is an Italian Breda-made M1 receiver. In the second picture you can see the internal receiver ribs.
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
I built a .308 Garand a couple of months ago and I took this picture before I completed the final assembly. I had enough parts to build a rifle, so I put one together and test fired it. ( It worked properly)
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Here is the 9.3x62 Garand. I will post more pictures and information later.
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Here are the barrel markings. "9LA" stands for the Nine Lives Arsenal. 2019 is the year and 9.3 is the calibre.
"EGW" stands for "Embassy Gate Weapon" because the gun was designed to shoot through engine blocks and to stop hostile vehicles at the embassy gates
"EGW" stands for "Embassy Gate Weapon" because the gun was designed to shoot through engine blocks and to stop hostile vehicles at the embassy gates
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Here is the business end of the 9.3 Garand. You can also see the Schuster adjustable gas plug. At the centre of the gas plug is an adjustment screw that allows adjustment of the gas volume inside the gas cylinder
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
More pictures. The gun has a custom 1907 sling that features nickel plated hardware and Herman Oak leather
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Now check this out. The .308 Garand that appeared earlier in this thread is shown in the picture together with the 9.3 Garand.
I fired 8 rounds of US military ball through the .308 Garand and it cycles perfectly. I must apologize for the chipped stock. It got damaged in transit and it is the only stock that I had left.
I will have to zero it soon. I'm fairly certain about windage and I will explain why in a little while. I will post more details on the 9.3 Garand later
I fired 8 rounds of US military ball through the .308 Garand and it cycles perfectly. I must apologize for the chipped stock. It got damaged in transit and it is the only stock that I had left.
I will have to zero it soon. I'm fairly certain about windage and I will explain why in a little while. I will post more details on the 9.3 Garand later
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
.308 on the left. 9.3 on the right
FKF Forsvarets Krigsmateriel Forvaltning.
It's one of our old Danish rifles, made in Italy.
When I was a conscription soldier in the 80s, we still had many boxes of them that had never been opened standing at the mobilization depots. They had come directly from the factory to these depots.
Later When I became a contract soldier in the early 90s, a large number of these fine, never-used Garand rifles were sent for destruction.
Really good project you're doing.
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
When I first test fired the 9.3 Garand it was easy to adjust the Schuster gas plug in order to achieve proper function. But right away there were two puzzling problems.
First of all, the clip would eject prematurely after only firing four rounds. Furthermore, I could not fit a full clip of 8 rounds into the gun. It would only fit 7.
As I pointed out earlier, John Garand originally designed the M1 for the .276 Pedersen. The .276 Pedersen was a 7mm cartridge with a case head diameter of 0.446". The original Garand held ten rounds of .276 Pedersen.
The .30-06 has a case head dimension of 0.473" and this slight increase in size is why you can only fit 8 rounds of .30-06. When Garand designed the M1, he left enough extra space to fit the .30-06, but when you try to stack eight 0.366" bullets into the magazine, there just is not quite enough room. It will only load seven rounds. There just is not enough room.
When Garand designed the M1, he designed the whole thing in his mind. No computer aided design, it all came from the mind of a genius. The gun has a unique group of components that must work together. This leads to something called, "timing". Sometimes weird problems take place and the operating rod can release too early.
The gun was not designed to fire 300 grain bullets and after firing four rounds of 9.3x62, the gun behaves as if eight rounds of .30-06 have been fired.
So to cure the premature clip ejection problem, I cut the leg off the operating rod catch. Now the operating rod catch is no longer connected to the clip latch mechanism.
Now, I simply stuff a clip of 7 rounds into the gun. The clip snaps into place and after I pull back on the operating rod, the bolt slams forward. Then it will reliably fire 7 rounds.
After the 7th round, by pressing the clip latch button, the clip is ejected and the gun can be reloaded.
First of all, the clip would eject prematurely after only firing four rounds. Furthermore, I could not fit a full clip of 8 rounds into the gun. It would only fit 7.
As I pointed out earlier, John Garand originally designed the M1 for the .276 Pedersen. The .276 Pedersen was a 7mm cartridge with a case head diameter of 0.446". The original Garand held ten rounds of .276 Pedersen.
The .30-06 has a case head dimension of 0.473" and this slight increase in size is why you can only fit 8 rounds of .30-06. When Garand designed the M1, he left enough extra space to fit the .30-06, but when you try to stack eight 0.366" bullets into the magazine, there just is not quite enough room. It will only load seven rounds. There just is not enough room.
When Garand designed the M1, he designed the whole thing in his mind. No computer aided design, it all came from the mind of a genius. The gun has a unique group of components that must work together. This leads to something called, "timing". Sometimes weird problems take place and the operating rod can release too early.
The gun was not designed to fire 300 grain bullets and after firing four rounds of 9.3x62, the gun behaves as if eight rounds of .30-06 have been fired.
So to cure the premature clip ejection problem, I cut the leg off the operating rod catch. Now the operating rod catch is no longer connected to the clip latch mechanism.
Now, I simply stuff a clip of 7 rounds into the gun. The clip snaps into place and after I pull back on the operating rod, the bolt slams forward. Then it will reliably fire 7 rounds.
After the 7th round, by pressing the clip latch button, the clip is ejected and the gun can be reloaded.
Shootinshyster
Well-Known Member
Now let me get back to the .308 Garand. I only fired 8 rounds to test function of the .308 Garand. I fired at the 200 meter gong and although I did not hit the gong, I can tell that the problem is elevation. I was hitting low.
When the barrel is installed on the M1, the gas port must sit exactly at 6 o'clock. When installing the barrel I use a digital angle finder to ensure that the front sight base is exactly level with the rear receiver flat
Once everything is level, the rifle will be very close with respect to windage. It should only take a few clicks to get windage zeroed.
By the way here's a tip. If your .308 Garand malfunctions consistently, measure your gas port. The correct gas port diameter of a .30-06 Garand is 0.0785". A 308 Garand should have a larger gas port and sometimes barrel manufacturers drill .30-06 gas ports in .308 barrels
A .308 Garand should have a gas port of about 0.093" or 0.095". You can measure your gas port using a set of numbered drill bits
The .30-06 Garand gas port is a number 47 drill bit. A .308 Garand gas port is either a number 42 or number 41 drill bit.
If you have a too small gas port on your .308 Garand, just enlarge the gas port using a cordless drill and a number 42 bit
When the barrel is installed on the M1, the gas port must sit exactly at 6 o'clock. When installing the barrel I use a digital angle finder to ensure that the front sight base is exactly level with the rear receiver flat
Once everything is level, the rifle will be very close with respect to windage. It should only take a few clicks to get windage zeroed.
By the way here's a tip. If your .308 Garand malfunctions consistently, measure your gas port. The correct gas port diameter of a .30-06 Garand is 0.0785". A 308 Garand should have a larger gas port and sometimes barrel manufacturers drill .30-06 gas ports in .308 barrels
A .308 Garand should have a gas port of about 0.093" or 0.095". You can measure your gas port using a set of numbered drill bits
The .30-06 Garand gas port is a number 47 drill bit. A .308 Garand gas port is either a number 42 or number 41 drill bit.
If you have a too small gas port on your .308 Garand, just enlarge the gas port using a cordless drill and a number 42 bit
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