30-06 shortage and the Garand
Ammunition: corpsman @ Friday 05 March 2010 - 17:35:02
In recent months there has an increasing shortage of 30-06 milsurp ammo.
Most of what was in the market is Greek HXP. Much of this came from the
Civilian Marksmanship Program. CMP ran out of stock late last year. Asking
bid starts on Gunbroker and Auction Arms run better than 80 cents a round,
up to $1.20, nearing and surpassing some commercial ammo costs.
Fortunately, CMP took delivery on enough Greek HXP to "meet the needs
of our customers for several years". This was concurrent with delivery of more
than 100,000 M1 Garands from the Greek Air Force. Being a Garand owner
I am concerned about the long run implications.
7.62X51 NATO is readily available, often at 50 cents a round. There is an
ongoing world wide military demand for this cartridge. Manufacturers have
incentive to make enough for non-military consumption, and older stocks
from numerous national defense forces are being steadily surplussed.
Converting a Garand to 7.62x51 NATO is a fairly simple process in the
hands of a competent gunsmith. A barrel change, enlarging the gas port
and installation of a plastic stop in the action to prevent accidental
loading of 30-06 rounds. Insure the barrel is marked 7.62X51 for the safety
of other shooters. My experience with a U.S. Navy conversion Garand showed
a slight degradation in accuracy and a marked reduction in perceived recoil.
The 30-06 clips work fine with the 7.62X51.
Note that some of the early military conversions used a steel insert in the
30-06 barrel to accommodate 7.62X51 rounds. There were problems with
extraction of the insert and dangerous chamber conditions. Be sure any
used conversion has a replacement 7.62x51 barrel.
Most of what was in the market is Greek HXP. Much of this came from the
Civilian Marksmanship Program. CMP ran out of stock late last year. Asking
bid starts on Gunbroker and Auction Arms run better than 80 cents a round,
up to $1.20, nearing and surpassing some commercial ammo costs.
Fortunately, CMP took delivery on enough Greek HXP to "meet the needs
of our customers for several years". This was concurrent with delivery of more
than 100,000 M1 Garands from the Greek Air Force. Being a Garand owner
I am concerned about the long run implications.
7.62X51 NATO is readily available, often at 50 cents a round. There is an
ongoing world wide military demand for this cartridge. Manufacturers have
incentive to make enough for non-military consumption, and older stocks
from numerous national defense forces are being steadily surplussed.
Converting a Garand to 7.62x51 NATO is a fairly simple process in the
hands of a competent gunsmith. A barrel change, enlarging the gas port
and installation of a plastic stop in the action to prevent accidental
loading of 30-06 rounds. Insure the barrel is marked 7.62X51 for the safety
of other shooters. My experience with a U.S. Navy conversion Garand showed
a slight degradation in accuracy and a marked reduction in perceived recoil.
The 30-06 clips work fine with the 7.62X51.
Note that some of the early military conversions used a steel insert in the
30-06 barrel to accommodate 7.62X51 rounds. There were problems with
extraction of the insert and dangerous chamber conditions. Be sure any
used conversion has a replacement 7.62x51 barrel.
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