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Message started by madsenshooter on Mar 5th, 2019 at 7:50pm

Title: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 5th, 2019 at 7:50pm
Here's a few pics of a project I been working on, scoping my Garand.  I plan to shoot it in the unlimited class at Camp Perry this year.  I can barely hold it up, and not for long!  Scope is a 4X Tasco Pro-Class pistol scope, made in Japan.  Fine tapered crosshair with dot reticle, 1/4 minute target adjustments.  It is very heavily built.  Can't wait to give it a try, supposed to be warmer later in the week, I'll get my annual range permit from ODNR  today.  The scope just barely works for me and one set of glasses I got from the VA.  I've another set of rings coming that will get the scope about 1/8-3/16" further forward that'll help get the eye relief right for me.   Cheap 3-7 variables with less eye relief work better, but the limit on a variable is 4.5x!  I found a gas lock nut on ebay that allows one to use AR15 30 caliber muzzle devices and I happened to have one to try.  Looks a bit tidier than my repro pronged flash hider.
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Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Kerz on Mar 5th, 2019 at 8:27pm
Damn excellent!!
Vic

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Zgun on Mar 6th, 2019 at 12:16pm
madsenshooter, how does the rail attach to the rifle ? Do you have to modify the rifle in any way ?

Zgun

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Capt. Frank on Mar 6th, 2019 at 2:43pm
Schuster MFG 1508 W Laskey Toledo, Ohio, phone no. 419-476-5800, makes an adjustable M-1 Garand gas system. I have one my match grade M-1, which allows you to tune the gun to the ammunition you are using, it works well.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 6th, 2019 at 4:31pm
[noparse][/noparse]
Zgun wrote on Mar 6th, 2019 at 12:16pm:
madsenshooter, how does the rail attach to the rifle ? Do you have to modify the rifle in any way ?

Zgun


No mods needed.  10 screws hold a steel saddle clamp on the barrel underside, forward of the chamber area.  The clamp must be tapered because the screwholes are drilled in such a way it will only line up if put in a certain way.  There are 4 allen head set screws on top of the mount that push on a little bar of softer aluminum that is inlet into the handguard above the barrel.  That bears against the barrel, above where the steel clamp is.   The handguard bears against the stock ferrule, which of course is pinned.  One could make a solid pin, but I don't think the mount likely to go anywhere, as is.  The handguard, once tensioned, also bears on a couple flats above the chamber area on a standard Garand barrel. Several companies make similar mounts.  I've had this one for years.  Rule changes make this the first year scopes will be allowed in CMP Unlimited Garand.  I got a lot of Xs out of this rifle & load when I could still see irons.  It should be interesting and fun!

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 6th, 2019 at 4:44pm
Capt Frank, that's a McCann gasplug I have on it.  It has 5 jets you can change.  The middle jet will just run the Garand with a caseful of RL19 behind a 150gr bullet.  I can't recall how many grains that was!  I mostly use the smallest jet and try to keep powders more in line with those normally used in the Garand.  Oh, you made me remember, I have some cast loads I want to try!  Some 193gr bullets, NOE copy of the Eagan MX2-30-H.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 6th, 2019 at 6:21pm
That's a 56" Turner sling, just the front piece.  I use the same sling on each rifle at Camp Perry, dispensing with the rear portion, which I still have should I need to rig to carry.  Glad the Roosevelt match was on the shorter range last year, cause I had to jog back to my car to get it!  Nothing like getting your heart going early in the morning!

I no longer see the mount being sold by CMP, I'm pretty sure this was the maker, there's some pics of the mounting too!    (You need to Login

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Zgun on Mar 7th, 2019 at 1:47pm
madsenshooter, thank you for the details on the mounting of the rail. That is a nice rig you have put together.  Good luck shooting!

Zgun

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Capt. Frank on Mar 7th, 2019 at 3:16pm
Madsenshooter, the Shuster device has no presets, it is fully adjustable. You remove the locking Allen screw, turn the adjusting Allen screw fully closed, and open it until the gun fully functions. Then fine tune for the best group for the ammo you are using, then replace the locking screw. My M-1's best group at 100 yards, with Federal Gold Metal Match 168 grain bullets, was 5/8"x1/2", after adjusting the Schuster. It consistently shoots 3/4" or better.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 9th, 2019 at 2:30am
Interesting that playing with the pressure before bullet release effects accuracy.  I noticed my Krags seem to group better with loads using faster powders that give less pressure at bullet exit.  I have no idea about this thing I put on the end of my Garand, haven't shot it yet.  It grouped good with the repro pronged flash hider, but I never got down to comparing it vs shooting with the stock muzzle other than to say I thought it shot better.  I like having something out there, when I get tired in prone I can rest the barrel on the ground without damaging the crown or getting dirt in the barrel!  The way the butt comes up with the weight of the scope and mount out there, it just might bounce off the ground a few times!  Scope and mount total 1lb 7oz, without rings. 10.7oz of that the mount.  The laminated handguard 1.75oz.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Capt. Frank on Mar 10th, 2019 at 3:09pm
I forgot to mention, the screw cap at the end of the gas tube, under the muzzle, is replaced by the adjustable device.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 12th, 2019 at 4:27pm
New rings are on, eye relief is better and they sit a little lower than the previous rings.  The ocular bell clears the rail by about 1/16".  Should be about 2" over bore center.  Scope mount and rings total 1.75lbs added.  I have some left over from Camp Perry Nosler 168s loaded with 49.5gr IMR4007.  Time to go to aunties and get a zero!

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Baltimoreed on Mar 12th, 2019 at 9:35pm
Nice looking build. I also put a laminate stock on my M1, except mines the winter laminate, grey and black. I like the scout scope mount look and did that to my Krag carbine. Unfortunately our Garands would have a very hard time making scout rifle weight. I used the Smith vortex M1 flash hider on mine.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 13th, 2019 at 5:06pm
Too bad the eye relief of the Tasco is too far out for use on my Krags.  Sighting in went pretty good with the Nosler bullets.  My uncle liked seeing bricks blown up at 100yds once I got sighted at 50, so I didn't get to do any groups except for one target I'd go back to between bricks.  Those 4 fell into about 1.25", 3 within 1/2", again @50yds.  At the end I decided to shoot some 193gr cast loads I had loaded with 45.1 of DP85, an old Accurate surplus powder, about like Win 760.  First three went into an inch, a slightly different POI compared to the 168s.  The last five, quickly shot, went into a nice group slightly less than 1" square.  After I got home, I noticed my gas cylinder was a bit loose, I'll have to tighten that up.  45.1gr should have got the 193s up around 2250fps!  They were cast of a hard alloy, same alloy I used for Paul's spritzers.  No lead blowback on the casenecks, no lead in the barrel, but it looks like there may have been some blow by that occurred during the trip through the compensator.  Guess that didn't effect accuracy much, but I'll likely take the compensator off for future lead bullet shooting!  With the smallest jet of the McCann venting some gas, the loads had no problem cycling the Garand, even though it needs some grease.  Lee's load data, which is really extrapolated from jacketed loads, shows about 40,000psi.  With a cast bullet it would be less.  The bullet is an enlarged  base pour version of Don Eagan's nose pour MX2-30H, made by NOE.  I sized it down in steps to .310.  The nose really fills the Garand's throat well!  The dot on the Tasco at 50yds just fits in the square formed by the heavy lines on the target.
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Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Capt. Frank on Mar 14th, 2019 at 3:02pm
The loose gas screw may have caused better groups, this happened to me, which prompted me to use the adjustable gas device.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 14th, 2019 at 6:18pm
I've been running a repro pronged flash hider for so long, the regular gas cylinder nut has gotten away from me.  Just looked through my tool box, no go!  I have way too many small boxes that I don't know the contents of!  Easier to buy another than it is to hunt for it!  I'm definitely going back to the regular muzzle, cause I want to shoot some more of these cast loads!  My gas cylinder has been worked on, the rear ring is enlarged doesn't touch the barrel, when everything is properly tightened to my  done long ago peening.  The inside of this adaptor nut is a cone from the rifle's muzzle to the end, when I look down it it doesn't look well centered in relation to the bore.

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 16th, 2019 at 10:36pm
Here's a couple of the cast bullets I was shooting the other day.  The ogive is .305" tapering to .307" just ahead of the top driving band.  Seated  down till about half that top band is in the neck, you can see why it filled the throat!  I have this mold in 3 sizes, the original Eagan, and both a .314 and .316 NOE base pour version.  The .316 version is for a well worn Mosin that I got cheap.  I have a 6mm version of this bullet too, and was able to get very good, bug hole accuracy, from a 1/8 5r Obermeyer barreled 6x45 with the bullet going 2100fps.  I sorta figured I could get the alloy going faster in a 1/10 and maintain  accuracy.  Now to get that gas system tightened up!
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Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Baltimoreed on Mar 22nd, 2019 at 9:41pm
I like your camo stripped Garand but then I’m prejudiced. I put a Smith Vortex fh on mine. While I’m posting pix, I kinda like the other b/w one too.
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Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 24th, 2019 at 1:36pm
I like your stock too.  I've come close to buying a few Ruger rifles that were stocked like yours.  The other photo makes me think of a departed friend of mine and some of the stories he told me of the Battle of the Bulge.  He had my Garand for awhile, I'd used it as collateral for a little loan he gave me.  Miss the old coot, he was easier to deal with than banks or pawn shops!

When I took the gas system apart, I noted that I had the gas port nearly shut off, the gas cylinder was too far back!  It's a wonder it ran at all, but it did so very reliably, somehow.
 

Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by Baltimoreed on Mar 26th, 2019 at 12:13pm
Here’s another Garand photo that I found somewhere and had in my screenshots—and a good looking Jeep-driver?
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Title: Re: My gaudy Garand
Post by madsenshooter on Mar 26th, 2019 at 3:37pm
I wasn't satisfied with the fit of the front handguard.  I could feel a little wiggle in it and traced it back to the pinned lower band. I have the front handguard solidly attached to the band with screws and epoxy.   I loosened the four set screws in the top of the scope mount, leaving the saddle screws tight and using a punch on the saddle I tapped the handguard/mount forward into more solid contact with the lower band.  Got it all back together now, barrel nicely centered, and got rid of the wiggle.  There's now about 1/16" gap between the front of the receiver ring and the rear of the mount.  Should have tapped that mount forward last time I assembled things!

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