"Garand Thumb" did a video on this sight about 5 years ago: https://youtu.be/er__eN-Xm_M
Hopco USA manufactures the one that I know: https://www.hopcousa.com/
"Garand Thumb" did a video on this sight about 5 years ago: https://youtu.be/er__eN-Xm_M
Hopco USA manufactures the one that I know: https://www.hopcousa.com/
Just finished up doing the stock of the 30.06 rifle:
Attachment 67966
Although it doesn't show up real well under the LED lights while taken with my camera phone the stock came out really well, allowing the grain to really pop. I used fine & extra fine Scotch Brite pads to smooth out the wood and remove the excess stain. A half dozen thin layers, half of which were applied with a small piece of the extra fine Scotch Brite pad, of boiled linseed oil later and this is the result! The .308 M1 is next, after I finish up my M1a which is coming out really nice!!
Last edited by JimLob65; 02-23-2021 at 06:07 AM.
Last post I promise.
I finished up the stock on the .308 just today. Although I think I did the best job on this stock, the stock on the 30.06 is just a nicer piece of wood. Still, it looks very nice and I am very happy with the end result:
Here is a picture of both HRA M1 Garands, the 30.06 on top & the .308 in the foreground:
While the .308 is a really nice shooter it is still finicky with ammo. Unfortunately I have many boxes of Aguila 7.62x51 and .308 but it doesn't shoot it reliably, often short-stroking despite several attempts at tweaking it. The 30.06 has only had one bobble and has a much nicer trigger. However it takes a few shots to have the receiver settle into the stock after I have had it apart, the rounds not impacting where the sights were pointing to. I expect that putting more rounds downrange will help those issues.
In the meantime I also finished up the stock on my M1a. It came out beautifully:
Thanks for checking out my thread. I know it was long and drawn out, but I think it proved to be interesting.
Keep the thread going as it is awesome. Nice to see both the .308 and .30-'06 Garand. I do have to ask how the M1A shoots. Some people swear by the M1A and others swear at it. I lack experience with the M1A, hence the question....
I bought the M1a, actually justified the purchase, because I wanted to continue to shoot an M1 type rifle going forward, realizing that the Garands are getting pretty darn old. I have owned M1s for years, but took a long hiatus in shooting them until recently. In the meantime the eyes began to go south. My ability to not embarrass myself at the 200 yard range in a Garand match is pretty much gone, although to be honest I couldn’t hit the wall of a house from the inside while standing ever. Back to being on point, my first Garand is one of the first 6000 manufactured, although nowhere near original, making it about 83 years old!! When my local Sportsman’s Warehouse had one on the rack with a really nice stock, and during Springfield Armory’s yearly promotional campaign, I put the money down. When I had checked out M1as in the past they always struck me as being a bit rougher, maybe slightly grittier than the Garand. Of course the M1s I had owned for years are well worn in. I found when I lubed up the M1a much of that roughness was gone.Originally Posted by farscott
As part of the promotion I received an extra magazine IIRC, and the scope mount. Trying to shoot through the open sights at 100 yards is what led me to realize they eyes just weren’t there anymore. I found a good sale on the Leupold scope and mounted it up. Unfortunately the height of the scope mount takes my cheek off the stock, so I bought a leather cheek piece and laced it up. It helps, but wasn’t quite high enough so I will try adding more padding. It also sucked much of the oil out of the stock under the cheek piece, which I only discovered after taking off the cheek piece to refinish the stock!!
Shooting the M1a is very similar to shooting the M1 Garand, not surprising. My M1a is the loaded model with the match trigger, so it is pretty nice, although noticeably heavier than the Garands due to the steel scope mount and scope. I was surprised to discover that there wasn’t much of a difference in the amount of recoil between the M1a and the M1 I was shooting then, a 30.06. Neither are heavy kickers, both being actually amongst the nicest shooting 30.06/308 rifles you could probably shoot (I have never shot a SCAR or AR10, so I can’t compare to them). Actually, I shot my new AR15 today for the first time, a Ruger AR556 MPR, and was surprised at how much concussive force you get from the muzzle brake on it, much more than I remember getting off of either the M1 or M1a. It actually was a bit unpleasant. There is a bit of a different feel to shooting the M1a than the Garand though, just a difference you feel while the action is operating. Must be because of the different gas system as well as the 1/2 inch shorter bolt throw. Kind of hard to explain. Maybe not quite as refined feeling, but a bit more precise and mechanical...Does that make sense??
I am not the worlds best shooter, but I found that after scoping up the M1a I was able to shoot what would probably be the equivalent of 1.5” to 2” three to five shot groups at 100 yards on a good day. Unfortunately since scoping it I have only had the chance to shoot it indoors at a 50 yard range because of the weather (I live in Michigan). That is probably as good as I am able to shoot, if I can even do that well. I do know some shooters have been unhappy with the accuracy of their M1a rifles, especially the shorter barrel models, but I find mine is a sweet shooter, and very accurate at least for this shooter. I do really like the M1a though, although it isn’t quite the piece of history as the M1 Garand is, and lacks a bit of the mystique, especially without the ‘ping’ of the empty clip being ejected.
Farscott: I hope I haven’t been too long winded, and that I kind of answered your question. If you ever find yourself in S.E. Michigan, maybe you’ll get a chance to shoot an M1a.
I think people expect to much accuracy from M1As. They take a lot of work to get under a MOA. Then take a lot of work to stay there.
If you're happy with 2-3moa then the M1A will be just fine. Same with M1s imo.
Thanks for sharing your experience and the offer. When COVID is not messing with travel, I usually fly into DTW at least four times per year. Everywhere from Auburn Hills to Warren to Dearborn to Novi. Perhaps I can buy you dinner after a range session.Farscott: I hope I haven’t been too long winded, and that I kind of answered your question. If you ever find yourself in S.E. Michigan, maybe you’ll get a chance to shoot an M1a
That sounds like a plan! We’ll have to see if we can’t make that happen sometime in the future.
Since purchasing the .308 HRA M1 Garand I have been struggling with ftf's in this rifle, caused by short-stroking. After repeated efforts to fix what may be a gas problem or an op rod spring problem, or some other unknown mechanical problem, and a couple trips back to the seller, a great guy who is pretty knowledgeable about these rifles and who even offered to buy it back, what I determined the problem to be is that the op rod was rubbing against the stock at the op rod channel.
There are many threads on the CMP forum about this problem, with several different solutions. Figuring out what the problem was made more difficult because it seemingly worked with different ammo to a greater or lesser extent. It seemed to choke regularly in Aguila ammo, of which I have many boxes though, so if I could get it to run on that ammo I would be home free. It seemed that it didn't run with what seemed to be less powerful ammo, so maybe it was undergassed and therefore the gas port needed to be enlarged? The gas cylinder and gas piston were well in spec, but the smaller. 308 case has less reserve energy than the 30.06 and are a bit more finicky in these rifles. Enlarging the port was a one way proposition though, and a last ditch solution. As it was though, the seller did open the port just a bit in an effort to fix it, but it still didn't run.
Although I had removed a bit of wood in the op rod channel because it wouldn't pass the 'tilt test', there appeared to be plenty of clearance there. Eventually I put erasable marker on the wood in the area and took it to the range. Bingo!! There was plenty of evidence that the op rod was rubbing pretty significantly in a couple of places. The next trip to the range showed immediate results. Although it didn't run the Aguila ammo 100%, it was significantly better, with plenty of evidence of increased op rod velocity. I wasl on the right track.
After the range session there was still a couple of spots where it was rubbing. I am in the middle of removing some more wood and restainiing/refinishing the area. Obviously there was way more interference than I suspected, and was obvious. Main lesson here? The op rod flexes and 'bends' in ways that aren't obvious when either cycling by hand or doing a 'tilt test' when actually doing its job. I will end up with a very accurate, soft-shooting rifle, and with the satisfaction of fixing a perplexing problem.
Well, it's been 3 years since starting this thread, and several guns have come and gone. No, I didn't sell either of the Specials this thread is about.
Late last month on the same classified section on the same forum the same seller listed several Garands for sale, including another CMP Special, a WWII Springfield Armory manufactured in January 1943, this one in .308 as well. Seller bought it, installed a national match rear sight, cleaned up the trigger and reamed out the rear of the gas cylinder ring in preparation of making it his match rifle, and never shot it! Has a very nice stock that is screaming for several applications of boiled linseed oil, which I will do once I shoot it for the first time.
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