Another 7.62 NATO thread, but I really DID search/read!

Hello,

Long time admirer, first time owner, of a Garand. Mine is a 7.62NATO Garand.

My Dad found it for me and I swooped in to get it while the getting was good, supposedly.

Now I am trying to verify if my suspicions are correct or not.

It is a Springfield Armory Garand, with a serial number that puts its' manufacturing in April of 1943.

It has a barrel that has marking I 'think' I understand, but I would like verification/correction of my thoughts.

The side of the barrel is marked "7.62NATO M 1 1 s a 2 51"

I am thinking it is a barrel that had an insert added, as the CMP calls it: a MK2 MOD O variety. I am assuming that the end of the barrel inscription refers to the receiver being rebarreled in Feb of 1951, and that the navy program for conversions added the insert to make it work with 7.62x51mm ammo.

So, how far off track am I?

Or am I spot on?

I look down the barrel and can't tell what I am looking at as far as seeing an insert goes. I see a different color of metal where the shoulder of the case sits, and the edge looks beat up in one spot. However, it is only beat in one spot, there is no obvious line of separation of anything I can see, and I can't look far enough down the barrel to see the lede area [spelling?].

I'll get some .308 ammo to verify the throat issue later.



IF I am right, and it DOES have an insert, am I also right that all I need to do to use the .308 round in this gun is have it rebarreled in a new .308/7.62x51 chambered barrel?

Thanks all.

Find a copy of the Fall 2012 GCA Journal, it will answer all your 7.62 conversion questions.

...But...you are basicly right. It is in 7.62 and is ready to shoot as is. I can't see re-barrelling it unless you have some un-surmountable problem. Shoot it and see.

7.62 and 308 are not exactly the same

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bob seijas

Find a copy of the Fall 2012 GCA Journal, it will answer all your 7.62 conversion questions.

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I'm trying. All Garand info is still new to me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

...But...you are basicly right. It is in 7.62 and is ready to shoot as is. I can't see re-barrelling it unless you have some un-surmountable problem. Shoot it and see.

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So, it does have an insert. Hmmm. Ok. Any reason to rebarrel it? My goal is to shoot it, not collect. And my accuracy is hindered by my eyesight and shaky hands. IOW, rebarreling only to tighten group sizes by 1" or less [at 100 meters] is not worth the effort for me. My problems add more inaccuracy than that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark in Rochester

7.62 and 308 are not exactly the same

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That is one I'm aware of. I have to be careful to use 7.62x51 Nato Ball equivalent due to the operation rod and gas system. I understand that .308 could be obtained that has the wrong pressure curve, which could damage the gas system, or worse.

HOWEVER, the case exterior dimensions are the same, as far as I know. [yes, Mil-brass is thicker in 7.62Nato] That is why I wrote it the way I did.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bczrx

So, it does have an insert.

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Now...I don't have it in my hands. But from what you say, it does have an insert. Unless it won't group a barn door, there are many fine tweeks that can be applied. There are many threads here on that very thing and as Bob has suggested, the Garand Collectors Assn Journal has entire chapters dedicated to that sort of thing. Much reading would be in order. Don't get the pipe wrench out just yet...

.308 ---------------------------------- 7.62
GO 1.630
1.631
1.632
1.633
NO GO 1.634
1.635 --------------------------------1.635 GO
1.636 --------------------------------1.636
1.637 --------------------------------1.637
FIELD 1.638-------------------------1.638
---------------------------------------1.639
---------------------------------------1.640
---------------------------------------1.641
---------------------------------------1.642
---------------------------------------1.643
-------------------------------------- 1.645 FIELD REJECT


http://www.thegunzone.com/30cal.html

Let's address the oft-posed question "Are the .308 Winchester and 7.62x51 NATO one and the same?" The simple answer is no. There are differences in chamber specs and maximum pressures. The SAMMI/CIP maximum pressure for the .308 Win cartridge is 62,000 psi, while the 7.62x51 max is 50,000 psi. Also, the headspace is slightly different. The .308 Win "Go Gauge" is 1.630" vs. 1.635" for the 7.62x51. The .308's "No-Go" dimension is 1.634" vs. 1.6405" for a 7.62x51 "No Go" gauge. That said, it is normally fine to shoot quality 7.62x51 NATO ammo in a gun chambered for the .308 Winchester (though not all NATO ammo is identical). Clint McKee of Fulton Armory notes: "[N]obody makes 7.62mm (NATO) ammo that isn't to the .308 'headspace' dimension spec. So 7.62mm ammo fits nicely into .308 chambers, as a rule." You CAN encounter problems going the other way, however. A commercial .308 Win round can exceed the max rated pressure for the 7.62x51. So, you should avoid putting full-power .308 Win rounds into military surplus rifles that have been designed for 50,000

Pakistani conversion? Likely, but not certain. It is a sleeved Garand and the Paki's did it right.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark in Rochester

Are the .308 Winchester and 7.62x51 NATO one and the same

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Please no...not again...

Pakistan conversion? First I've heard...what's your clues here Steve? Where did you hear about these?

Is there an advantage one over the other??