Garand Stuff

Just a quick update on the Garands around here. I have the new barrels about 1/5th of the way broken in. I've added optics to 2 out of 3 I plan on putting some form of glass on. I acquired new springs and pins for them all, as well as butt stock cleaning kits, plus a few accessories here and there.

In case anyone that reads here missed it, I had one of my Garands worked on by Tim Shufflin of Shuff's Parkerizing. He offers a modification he calls the Mini-G, which shortens the Garand's barrel to 16". his turn around time is measured in weeks and I his customer service is superb. I heartily recommend him for any of the services he offers.


Here's my Mini-G is as currently configured:

That's an Aimpoint Micro T-1 with a 4moa dot with an LRP conversion kit (basically it turns the Aimpoint mount into a QD affair) sitting on top of an Ultimak M12 rail. On the back is an Olongapo stock pouch. The front sight is a Smith Enterprise Tritium post. An M1 web sling and an M1 bayonet round out the package.

When I took it to the range I was pressed for time and didn't get around to everything I wanted to that day. The Mini-G and another Garand both have new Krieger barrels and I was hoping to get them both properly broken in, but I fell woefully short of that goal. I did manage to get everything sighted in with irons (or reconfirm the sighting in some cases). That was before I got the optics. With the Aimpoint it's not that big an issue, as the iron sights are usable through the glass, so I just adjusted the dot to sit on top of the front post as I sighted through the rear aperture. It'll have to be verified at range of course, but that should get me minute of windbreaker on anything within self defense range.

After initial sigtht in I did manage to get off a few shots at 100 yards to get an idea of how the Mini-G will work:

Considering the HXP ammo and my old eyes, I'm thinking that 16" barrel is gonna work out fine, just fine.

Recoil was a bit more pronounced and the report was louder than a full length Garand, but nothing too harsh for me. I did acquire a rubber boot meant to soften the recoil from launching grenades on old '03 Springfields. It slips on a Garand buttstock with some effort and off again. I'm unsure how much a difference it'll make (as I don't find the recoil that bad to begin with) but I'll try it next time I hit the range. I still had to consciously refrain from yelling "PULL!" every time I threw that thing to my shoulder. This may become my go-to pheasant gun... (I kid, but not by much)

Another Garand got new glass:

This one is set up almost identical to the Mini-G - Smith Enterprise Tritium front sight, Olongapo stock pouch, M1 sling and M1 bayonet. It also sports a GarandGear Ported Gas Cylinder Lock Screw (which they call a Gas Plug) as well as a Burris 2x7x32 handgun scope in Warne Maxima QD medium rings.(Note: I tried the low rings but didn't quite get enough clearance aft, so went with the medium.)  I haven't had a chance to sight in this scope yet, but it seems like a promising set up, judging from how things looked as I got the eye relief adjusted when I mounted it on the rifle.

The others are coming along but nothing too exciting to report. I'm still trying to decide on a scope for the Griffin and Howe mount, and the remaining Garand I'll leave as is (except I did add a GarandGear Ported Gas Cylinder Lock Screw). I'm also contemplating having Rock Creek Barrels whip me up some G.I. contour tubes but with a 1:11 twist, as well as a few other odds and ends. The main thing left now on almost all of them is to refinish the metal and wood and do some adjustments to the triggers to smooth things up a bit. I'm also look real intently at this DMR adjustable trigger. It's pricey but it's very interesting, as is their drop-in competition hammer and their selection of reduced and rectangular apertures (for Garands, M1A's and a few other types of rifles) Oh and of course I still need to remedy the lack of grenade launchers round here.

I'm hoping things slow down enough in the next few weeks that I can hit the range again and get all these fundamental operations out of the way so I can start putting these hole punchers through their paces (and start load development for those new barrels). Knowing my luck, weeks could turn into months. So when I can I'll keep y'all updated on how these projects are coming along.