M1 Garand Questions

Chris-86GT

I have been doing some bullistics research and it appears that for a very versatile caliber, the 30-06 takes the cake. My research lead me to the M1 Garand. I have always wanted a vintage WW2 gun (actually, the thompson submachine gun) but the People's Rebublik of Kalfornia wont let me buy a tommy gun. What I am wondering is, would an M1 Garand be a good deer rifle? And could I temporarily mount a scope to it for that purpose without altering the look of the rifle? Is it accurate enough at the great distances that deer tends to stay? Any help is appreciated.

Chris-86GT

[:p]Just bought my first M1 Garand. I did a quick field strip on it and found the following, What does it all Mean ??

SA Serial 2711857
Receiver: D28291-32 with B 2 8 Diamond below it
Receiver Also has SA 4-65 electro penciled on it..
Bolt: D28287-12SA
Barrel: 1-S-A-12-44
Op Rod: D65382 SA (Could be D55382 SA, It's hard to read)
Trigger: D28290-12-SA
Looks all SA except for parts that are not marked. How would you know the maker on them? The Stock is dark walnut with SA/GAW and Xcannon on side and Circle P and small Xcannon on bottom.

Any info on it would be appreciated.. TE=3 and 1/8th inch shows on the M2 ball test..

Thanks,,

Chris-86GT

I just inherited an M1 and it came to me in pieces, I am putting it back together and noticed that the trigger assy. has the numbers C46025 W.R.A. (Winchester?) And the reciever has U.S. Rifle cal 30 M1 Springfield Armory 2944203 and the top of the trap door has the numbers D28287-12SA below that RE6B Do I have a mongrel here with all different part numbers??
Thanks in advance!
Marc

jeenyes

Yes and Yes. I load hunting ammo to military ballistics (IMR 4895) and take it everywhere. Yours store bought hunting ammo will bend the op-rod over time. So enjoy.

nmyers@home.com

The M1 is accurate if the bore is in good condition (throat & muzzle wear must be gauged), and, of course, .30-06 is a powerful, versatile, cartridge. I'm sure that many deer are taken with the M1 every year.But, it's not the ideal deer rifle. It's heavy (over 11 lbs) and long enough to be awkward in the woods. It can only be fired with filled enbloc clips; standard are 8 round clips, but 1 and 2 round clips can be bought---some states limit # of rounds. Clearing it is difficult, because you have to extract the chambered round AND eject the clip & contents. Some hunting loads will not work the action reliably. Finally, there's no easy or temporary way to mount a scope unless you want to spend $2,000 on an M1D sniper rifle.It looks to me like you need 2 rifles; 1 a modern bolt action or auto with a good quality scope, and the other a genuine USGI M1 rifle available for $520 from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (www.odcmp.com), or for market price here on Gunbroker.

Chris-86GT

My current deer rifle is a Remington 870 with the deer slug barrel. You talk about weight.... this thing is a cannon. How much metter would the garand be over that??? THe bullistics on the slug is great for things within 100 yards, but beyond that, it gets a bit shaky because it is such a heavy bullet.