Ultimak introduces a "Picatinny rail" optics mount for the M1 Garand. It's perfectly positioned for an intermediate-eye-relief "scout scope" or a red dot sight, and only weighs six point something ounces.
I only have the one Garand, and I don't shoot it all that much, but if I had one I used as any kind of a working rifle rather than just a piece of shootable WWII memorabilia, I'd slap one of those rails on it under an Aimpoint Micro so fast your head would spin.
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That mount has nicer lines on the receiver side than the one I got from Fulton.
Oooh, me likey. Probably not for the one I use (very occasionally) for competition, but if I get second one...
Still would rather go the M1C or M1D route, myself.
My Garand was de-mil'd, has Williams non-mil-spec irons & a rather nasty birch stock, all GI markings were removed, but it still shoots, so I have no compunctions about putting one of these on there...
I must add that folks that have shot my scout scope Garand, and are not me, love the optics up there. I'm looking at YOU Breda and MBtGE. It's really kinda cool to see the hole in the 10-ring on your first shot at 100 yards with a Garand.
Only one garand? I'm a little disillusioned now. Hold me!
Sweet!! That's better than a Ruger Scout Rifle right there.
Anyone have any "heat" concerns?
Not hurting the rifle mind you, but the optics.
Still, I passed it around.
As a Garand owner/shooter I will say the best updated example of such was the Berretta BM-59 in 7.62X51. When these first started to show up in the US during the mid to late 1970’s the “Survivalist” craze was in full vogue. Mel Tappen and others waxed poetically over upgraded Garand conversions to semi auto BM-59 configurations. Of course this was a bit pricey as Garand’s were hard to find at the time and a lot of re-weld variants were cropping up.
One very innovative option wasn’t a BM-59 clone; instead it was a Garand, converted to 7.62X51 and configured to use an M-14 magazine while retaining the rifles original forend.If I recall correctly it was called an M-1 ½, I don’t remember who was doing this conversion but it was fantastic. Now of course one can purchase “Tanker” Garand’s in 7.62X51, which when located handle and shoot remarkably well on a tactical rifle course, even though they retain the en-bloc clips.
One of the items on my short list of gun’s to buy before I retire will be one of Springfield Armories TG’s if for no other reason the satisfaction and fun of ownership and usage. I disapprove of converting or modifying original military rifle’s or handgun’s into something that destroys or alters the historical original. In this others have opinions of their own as well.
I have an Ultimak mount with an Aimpoint on a M-1 Carbine and it's a very sweet setup. The little gun is still very light and handy and the red dot makes it noticeably faster on target.
For the Garand, personally, I think I'd go with a scout scope instead of a red dot to take advantage of the longer reach of the '06 over the .30 Carbine.
I'm going to count my shekels and see if I can afford one of these. The scope will have to come later though.
Any recommendations on a good scout scope?
Rob (Trebor)
Luepold, then Burriss, Trebor.
And I've never had heat issues on the Garand sinking up through the mount to the optics. Sure it gets hot but not too. I also don't fire more than 80 rounds in a session, and I don't fire them off that quickly
Agree with NJT... Have a Burris and it workfs fine, but the Leupold would have been first choice.
Al T.
Neato, clearly neato!
Got on my Carbine, too, with a Millett red dot, and it's wonderful.
Down the road, when can talk myself out of a couple of hundred for the mount and more for a suitable scope, I'd like to put on on my Garand; I like shooting it with irons, but on some days the eyes aren't so good at it anymore.
"Not hurting the rifle mind you, but the optics."
Aimpoints will take the heat, no problem. EoTechs tend to overheat and fade out, mainly due to the battery location.
A quality standard style scope should have no heat problems.
Now of course one can purchase “Tanker” Garand’s in 7.62X51, which when located handle and shoot remarkably well on a tactical rifle course, even though they retain the en-bloc clips.
Actually what I was thinking of for a second Garand. And give Ohio law about loaded magazines = Loaded rifle, feeding it with clips becomes a feature in a truck gun scenario.
That I can reload with Garand Clips about as fast as performing a magazine change.
Harumph!
Heresy!!!
It ain't natural!
Shhot iron sights or put that weapon up and buy one of those little black poodle-shooting AR's.
In real life, they don't give extra points for using iron sights. ;)
Bah! Facts have no place in this argument. Let people mess up a Garand, and next thing you know, they'll be "improving" the 1911.
You can get a Springfield Garand receiver from the CMP for $195.00 + $9.95 S&H per receiver. Put a barrel on it and get some wood, you're not hurting History or anything.
I like my Carbine with the Ultimak.
I confess to feeling a (silly) fleeting moment of actual nausea when I read this: "A picatinny rail on a GARAND??? It was bad enough when rails starting appearing on the 1911 and M-14, but what's next? A laser sight for the Peacemaker? A Speedfeed stock for a Winchester trench gun? A six-position black plastic stock for a Thompson? If God had intended that Garands have rails, John C. would have designed one on it!" [curls into fetal position muttering, "The horror... the horror... the horror..."]
...and money changed hands at the speed of white light.
Thanks!
docjim505,
It all depends on whether the gun in question is viewed as a collectible objet d'art or is currently in use as a tool for shooting bad guys in the face, no? ;)
If God had meant the AR to have rails on it, Stoner would have built it that way from the start. If God had meant Man to fly, we'd have been born with wings, and stuff...
Relax, Doc, it's not as if you're taking a milling machine to your Garand and then sticking it back together with JB Weld. You're just swapping out the handguard. You can put it right back before you donate the rifle to a museum.
They put optics on the M1 back in the 1940s. It's just that optics and mounts have come along since then.
Sporterizing, or personalizing, military rifles is an American tradition dating back to before the Revolution. Doing it well is what matters. -- Lyle
Indeed. The mount I put on my Carbine hasn't left a mark I can find, and that red dot would make dealing with a problem in low light a much easier- and more precise- proposition.
Damn, if the tax man leaves me with anything I am going to have to get one for the Garand.
Though I just looked at the price of the Aimpoint Micro. Yeesh. It'll have to be something a bit less spendy for the optic.
I'll throw in, a couple of years back a guy sent me some pictures of his modified Garand; he'd put a heavy match barrel on it, and drilled & tapped where the rear handguard used to be for a base. Very nice rig, but you had to have the large-profile barrel for it to work.
Firehand,
"Though I just looked at the price of the Aimpoint Micro. Yeesh. It'll have to be something a bit less spendy for the optic."
Pat Rogers likes to demonstrate the durability of the T-1 by dropping his carbine at classes. On the optic. It still holds zero after all that rough handling. :o
Lyle - Relax, Doc, it's not as if you're taking a milling machine to your Garand and then sticking it back together with JB Weld.
I know, I know. It's just sort of jarring to the eye, creating a sense that something just ain't right, like seeing John Wayne carrying a PPK or Steve McQueen driving a Gremlin. Nothing wrong with those things per se, but they just... ain't right.
Tam - It all depends on whether the gun in question is viewed as a collectible objet d'art or is currently in use as a tool for shooting bad guys in the face, no?
I consider some firearms (typically classics like the Garand, the Springfield, the Krag, the 1911, and the Peacemaker), like a Japanese sword, as fitting both categories: objets d'art that also are good for vermin control!
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