Mini30/Garand build

[Baltimoreed]

Here’s a build that was started 2-3 years ago. I had built a mini30 into a M1a lookalike [camo rifle photo] after my retirement so I researched rebuilding the Ruger mini into a T20 Garand. The T20 was an experimental 20 rd box magazine fed, select fire version of the M1 garand. They never could get the .30-06 version to work but the Italians did it with the .308 BM-59. Anyway I found a guy who had done it on the FalFiles forum but he wasn’t very much help. Did that deter me, nah. My donor rifle was an older mini14 .223 with the garand style rear sight. I had Accuracy Systems install a 300blkout, 24 inch bbl machined to the garand bbl’s outside dimensions. I then inlet that much into a garand stock. The garand action is 9 in long while the mini is only 6 in so there was a lot of jbweld and walnut inserts to get it to fit. I also installed the Ruger steel reenforcement. The next thing was figuring out the op rods as the rear half was the ruger op rod while the front would be a garand rod to fit into the gas cylinder. And of course the upper handguard. After a couple of false starts looking for someone to install the gc I finally found a semi local smith/machinists who could do the work.
The gas cylinder fit on my bbl fine, so my smith cut the spline slots and threaded the bbl. He also cut the two op rods, fitted them to the action and cylinder and welded them together. He tinkered with the op rod spring and spring guide but couldn’t get it to cycle factory loads. At this point I got it from him and I started playing with it. I eventually opened the gas port up enough and modded the op rod guide and spring until it will run. This is the condensed version of this story.

[Baltimoreed]

More photos.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Well, I'm almost at a loss for words. My hat is off to you, sir. There is some real ingenuity and a lot of work in this project.

I, myself, am a fan of the M1 and M14 rifles, but recently decided that advancing age made something a bit lighter more desirable. I also settled on the Mini-30. In today's gun market it proved a bit hard to find one, but I did acquire a stainless model. It's going to have 20 round mags, a peep sight, and a flash suppressor, but otherwise will remain stock. I'm not going to mess with the gas system, which works well enough "as-issued." After looking and pages and pages of slings I decided that the best was the M1 vintage web sling.

Your rifles are very nice.

DG

[Baltimoreed]

Thanks DG, whenever I get a decent load put together that’s 100% with both 130 and 150 gr bullets then I’ll do a WW2 camo paint job on it. With the unusual gas system and 300blkout case size limitations it’s been a struggle to get it to cycle 100%. Still have some stock work to do too.

[EMC45]

Reminds me a little of a BM 59

[Hdskip]

I wonder if cycling problems would improve if it was chambered in 30/223?

[TheGrimReaper]

Very neat and interesting

[Baltimoreed]

I wonder if cycling problems would improve if it was chambered in 30/223?

I don’t think that I’d ever heard of a .30-223 before. Tell me about it. Is it any more work than making blkout brass? Will it fit in a mini14 mag loaded with 150 gr?

Did some looking and found a 7.62x40. A proprietary Wilson cartridge. Never heard of that one either. If I can’t get her to run by messing with various powders I might go ahead and rechamber it to a bigger 5.56/233 case next year. LilGun is looking very promising with it working with 150s and some 130s.

[Baltimoreed]

Might have had a break through as I had about 20 of my reloads correctly work the rifle today with bullet weights from 125 to 150 gr. LilGun seems to be the powder that works. I discovered that there is enough difference between the internal volume of my brass that it was affecting how the gun worked from round to round. I can’t publish my loads as I’m over the max in an AR but not in my crazy mini 300 rifle with its 24 in bbl and garand gas system. I’ll crank out some more tomorrow.

Got some to work using military brass and a touch more LilGun. Might be getting close.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Very cool! Now to get Ruger to offer them! Some might find them sacrilegious, though...

[RU shooter]

Both of those rifles look great ! Good work . Can the factor low capacity mag sit flush in the Garand model the mag sticking out just plays tricks with my eves in a Garand

[Baltimoreed]

The five rounder sits flush but remember this is supposed to be a copy? of a T20, an experimental 20rd magazine fed Garand that eventually evolved into a M14. With the lightening of the op rod spring in order to get it to initially work it may only be a 15 shooter as the loaded mag spring is more powerful than the op rod spring but that would be fine with me.

12-26. Put 15 more through it, the first 10 were 5x 110 gr rn and 5x 130 gr spitzers mixed in the mag in groups of 3s and 2s. The top 3 spitzers fed but failed to pick up the next rn which has me puzzled. Manually cycled it and it fed those 3 rn, the next 2 spitzers and the last 2 rn. On the next 5 I loaded 4x 110 rn and a 150 gr spitzer in the middle of the stack. Fed all 5. Ejection has been 100% with LilGun. Might clip another half a coil from the mag spring and tinker with my gas cylinder lock screw modification to move the op rod forward a little more. Even though the op rod spring has been lightened it still goes into battery fine. More tinkering required.