M1 Garand in .308 -- Less Recoil than .30-06 ???

[pastprime]

I know this subject has been discussed but I could not find any posts by searching...probably me.

I have a "shooter" Garand project in the works and am considering re-barreling to .308. The -06 recoil is not punishing but at my age, less is better. So does the .308 round fired from a Garand produce a lot less recoil, a little less, or no less...and since I reload, I know that I can have some influence on this...

I would appreciate you sharing your experience with a Garand in .308.

Thanks,
Hank

Information

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[TRICKSTER]

Don't have one in 308, but I do have a Mini-G (30-06 M1 with a 16" barrel) When I got it I was worried about the recoil, but it came with an adjustable gas plug and actually has less recoil than a standard M1. With the adjustable plug, you can tune it to the ammo you are using and reduce recoil.

[browningautorifle]

I have had them both and never saw a difference in recoil. The whole idea with the 308 at the time was it had more power and was over all better than 30.06. Not less recoil. I don't think the recoil of the M1 is anywhere as punishing as a bolt gun.

[JustPassingThrough]

Recoil is a product of bullet weight and its velocity/acceleration vs. the weight of the rifle.

[USSR]

Recoil is a product of bullet weight and its velocity/acceleration vs. the weight of the rifle.

The weight of the powder charge is also part of the weight factor in the computation of recoil. So, theoretically a .308 M1 firing the same weight bullet and using 5 to 6 grains less powder to achieve the same velocity, will recoil less. However, I doubt that the amount of recoil reduction will be noticeable to the average shooter.

Don

[pastprime]

Thanks for the replies. If there is no appreciable difference, I will stay with the 30-06. At least there is only one 30-06 and I wont have to deal with the .308/7.62x51 issue.

Hank

[ma96782]

FOR ME (it's not about the recoil).............STORY TIME:

Awhile ago.............I couldn't find 30-06 ammo. Surplus 7.62mm was easy to find. So, I purchased a barrel in .308W. But, I never got around to installing it.

Now............M2 HXP can easily be found at CMP. So, there is no reason to rebarrel. But, who knows when that ammo will dry up? Advice: Stack it deep while you can.

Anyway, I still have the .308W barrel waiting.

Course............if you want to...........go ahead.

Aloha, Mark

[Griff Murphey]

I have shot M-1s in NM shoots to 600 yards and occasionally a few times at 1,000. With the same 173 gr. bullet the elevation adjustments for the .30'06 M-1 and the 7.62mm M-1 firing match ammo will be the same. There is no appreciable difference in the ballistic performance of the two cartridges, therefore, the recoil is the same as stated by USSR, even though less powder is required in the 7.62 NATO.

[pendennis]

Garands - 3 in 7.62mm NATO, and 2 in .30-06. I could be blindfolded and couldn't tell the difference in recoil. I've loaded the same 150gr SMK in both rifles, using appropriate loads, and I can't tell a difference.

[NavyEngineer]

I own one of each, and haven't been able to notice any difference in recoil between them. As I understand it, the reason Garands were rebarreled to .308 was to allow them to accept NATO standard ammunition. When the other US armed services transitioned to the M14 in the 1950's, the Navy converted their M1s to 7.62 NATO instead of purchasing new rifles. A few years later, the other services transitioned to M16s, and passed their M14s over to the Navy. Interestingly, my last ship returned most of our M14s to the Army in late 2006 in exchange for M16A2s. I attached a picture of my former Navy Garand (the previous owner won it as a trophy at one of the annual Fleet Matches in the early 1990s).