Garand loads ? ...

[Digger]

For the Knowledgeable gentlemen , Just a thought here .. been working on loads for my "tanker" garand in .308 , (was anyway.)
Work has caught up with me so little time lately.
Compared to a normal length barrel , would the shorter action affect my loads as to amount of powder , burn rate , boolit weight , etc. ?
been contemplating this lately ....
thanks
digger

[AlaskaMike]

Well, since there's no replies and it's been over a week, I'll go ahead and give you my $0.02.

I have no experience with the tanker Garands, but I would think the shorter barrel would definitely change the port pressure compared to a standard length Garand. Will it be enough to make a noticeable difference? I have no clue.

You'll probably just have to test it out and see.

[madsenshooter]

It's for sure going to effect pressure on the op rod. Someone with quickload could give you some estimates based on barrel length to the port.

[fatelvis]

How long is a tanker length barrel?

[Digger]

Thanks for the input gents .... I will have to get it out and measure this week end .
It is an Arlington Ordinance tanker , was starting to develop some loads but have been distracted.
Did notice that some of the lower gr loads were functioning "normal" with how it was tossing the brass.

[madsenshooter]

Normal gas port pressure with the standard 30-06 load is around 10600psi. I have no real idea how much more an op rod can take before bending starts. If I had one of the sawed off things to play with, an adjustable gas plug would be in the end of it. For cast loads, it probably wouldn't be needed or wanted, unless you plan on running a caseful of 860 or something like that, even then pressure probably wouldn't get high enough to worry about. Here's some quickload on port pressure using various powders in a full length Garand with both jacketed and cast. http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?12608-cast-bullets-in-a-M1-Garand

[bigted]

please do post pictures of the short rifle. a Garand in 308 is new to me as well ... thought that all the 308's were M-14's. im not the authority on semi auto military tho. I would ... for one ... like to see a photo of this "tanker" model.

[madsenshooter]

bigted, there are lots of Garands in .308. The Navy first tried putting chamber inserts in their Garands in order to use 7.62x51. That didn't work out as the insert sometimes got ejected along with the empty round. To become NATO compliant without changing to the M14, they got .308 barrels. .308 barrels for the Garand are available from the CMP.

The Tankers only have an 18.25" barrel vs the standard 24" barrel, so that's going to greatly increase op rod pressure. Here's a pic for you, Fulton Armory's version.

[StratsMan]

I'm not an engineer, but it seems that if the barrel is ~6 inches shorter, then the op rod on the tanker version is also going to be ~6 inches shorter. Wouldn't the shorter op rod be less inclined to bend than the full length version???

To the OP: for what it's worth, my Garands run fine at the lowest end of the load spectrum even with brand new mainsprings... Even when I've loaded a little lighter than the manuals starting point, they will still run... Yes, I have run the pressure too low and failed to load the next round... I guess the key to my point is that if you use the powders that are in the same class as H4895 (BLC-2, Varget, etc) and load at the low end of the load data with ~150 bullet, your port pressure will be acceptable.

[Digger]

All the input here is great , thanks .... few months back , Mr. Gibson gave me loading advice now and then , a great help and insight to get started.
back when I was getting familiar with the rifle , did some research and learned about the "tilt test" for smooth functioning ,with that I discovered I had a "bent" op rod ....:-(
Apparently the individual that had it before said he used off the shelf loads from the stores ...
Now that I look back on it , these and the fact it is shorter stroke most likely contributed to the bend.
I repaired it myself by using a two foot section of 3/4 gal pipe clamped down to my bench and inserted the rod incrementally with off set pressure at premarked sections .
it worked ,since then , it has been working very nicely using my beginner loads ...
every one here has confirmed my suspicions about the shorter stroke .. thank you.
here is the one pic that I took of it next to one of the other distractions that came about lately.

What a pair , both .308
104354

[bigted]

Sweet!!! those are way cool looking rifles ... er carbines I would guess. I finally got rid of most of my auto's and have 1 left and I will go to my grave with it but that short Garand is a spiffy looking rifle for sure.

almost rid myself of 1400 dollars about a year ago when I ran across a Springfield M-14 scout rifle that looks surprisingly like those Garand's from the photo's. the biggest difference I see is the stock on the Springfield had a black comp stock.

[Digger]

yeah , when I use the tanker , some one always comes over and checks it out ....
People tend to notice.

[fatelvis]

According to Quickload, using a Lee 312185 boolit over 40.0grns H4831, the Tanker's 18.25" bbl will generate 1486fps. In comparison, the same load in a 24" bbl will generate 1640fps.

[Digger]

Thanks for that info there Fatelvis .... helps a lot .