[geardoc]

I have a rifle and pistol range on my farm. Milk jugs set up full of ballistics gel, all built into a hill with a concrete wall(I scrounged the blocks off Facebook classifieds) and then sand bags behind that. You can walk across my creek bridge and shoot up to 250 yds.

I heard gun fire this morning, and it sounded a little too close to the house. I figured I'd better go check. I got on my Satoh and road down the hill and and heard a rifle report and I yelled cease fire. My guts are still hurting from the 20 cm, .835kg gallbladder removed a week ago, and I probably seemed more pissed than I was on account of that. The shooter ceased fire.

A man in his 40's was shooting at targets from my 100yd marker, he'd put the targets on my dedicated target hanger Toyota MR2 hood, and was nicely not destroying my ballistics gel.

I have no trespassing signs all around the farm to cover my butt, in case someone gets hurt poaching or planting cannabis.

He seemed awfully in a hurry to get off the property- he'd driven an older K5 Blazer .58 miles off the paved road, past a gate and fence, numerous signs, and past a tree line that hides the make-shift range.

I noticed the rifle he was shooting was an M-14, but when I got closer I realized it was a BM-59. I told him it was a nice rifle and he thanked me, told me it was built off a Fed Ord M14 receiver, that he couldn't stand ruining a Garand, I tried to tell him to stick around, but I keep a commercial paratrooper .30 carbine in a lined sheath on the side of the tractor hood, and I don't know if he thought I'd call the cops on him or shoot him.

But... He split, and I was left with the unanswered question:

How can a BM-59 be built with an M-14 receiver ? The part of me that owns the lathes, surface grinders, horizontal and vertical mills- says much machining.

But can anyone fill me in on what machining was necessary to use a commercial M14 receiver with a BM59 parts to create a BM59 hybrid.

 

[Tommo]

With a .308 barrel, some machining and a few custom parts an M1 Garand can be converted to use M14 magazines. So I suspect an M14 receiver can be converted with some machining and modified parts to a BM59 configuration.

 

[32639]

Too bad you didn't get a picture. The Italians made early versions of the semi auto Garand called BM 59 E and D models (I'm not sure but I think .308) They were made by carving up Garands. So its entirely possible. There are conversions being made in the USA right now. Later the Italians made the BM 59 Mk1 select fire which was a new receiver .308 based on the Garand type action. A civilian version BM62 semi auto was imported for a while. I don't see how you can put BM59 Mk1 parts, bolt (it's Garand length) bolt latch, op spring, magazine catches, op rod without cutting welding and machining a Fed Ord or other M14 receiver.

 

[garandguy10]

Federal Ordnance also built rifles using used and/or rewelded M1 Garand receivers.

 

[RDS]

I have just the opposite a BM 59 receiver with a M14 barrel and gas system. But it takes BM59 mags as trigger group is BM59. Op rod is a M14 front half welded to M1 Garand handle. This allowed the use of a BM59 bolt. Recoil spring is M1 Garand Tanker HS spring. Recoil spring guide and front mag. catch is BM59. The stock is a modified M1 Garand stock with a piece epoxied to the front to lengthen it.
That being said I believe the reverse is possible. You would need to weld a M14 op rod handle to the BM 59 op rod tube. This will allow the use of the M14 bolt The M14 recoil spring guide would need to be modified to work with a BM 59 recoil spring. Using a M14 trigger group should allow the use of the M14 magazine.
The hardest part would be modifying the stock

 

[Guest]

Federal Ordnance also built rifles using used and/or rewelded M1 Garand receivers.

^^^^ This. Doubt it was fishy, I've seen SAI receivers on BM59/62 kits...

 

[RDS]

Too bad you didn't get a picture. The Italians made early versions of the semi auto Garand called BM 59 E and D models (I'm not sure but I think .308) They were made by carving up Garands. So its entirely possible. There are conversions being made in the USA right now. Later the Italians made the BM 59 Mk1 select fire which was a new receiver .308 based on the Garand type action. A civilian version BM62 semi auto was imported for a while. I don't see how you can put BM59 Mk1 parts, bolt (it's Garand length) bolt latch, op spring, magazine catches, op rod without cutting welding and machining a Fed Ord or other M14 receiver.

Beretta under contract would modify an M1 Garand to BM 59 by milling the receivers, installing a 7.62 Nato barrel, installing new gas system, op rod and modifying the stock. The American Rifleman December 1965 pages 38 thru 42 details the process. Cost was $40.00 per rifle and as of that date had done 50,000 units with capacity to do several thousand a month.

 

[sac troop]

I don't see getting a M1A1 receiver to fit a BM-59 magazine.
I guess when I do see one I'll change my mind.

 

[RDS]

I don't see getting a M1A1 receiver to fit a BM-59 magazine.
I guess when I do see one I'll change my mind.

Chances are it uses M 14 mags. That would be the easiest way to go.

 

[32639]

Beretta under contract would modify an M1 Garand to BM 59 by milling the receivers, installing a 7.62 Nato barrel, installing new gas system, op rod and modifying the stock. The American Rifleman December 1965 pages 38 thru 42 details the process. Cost was $40.00 per rifle and as of that date had done 50,000 units with capacity to do several thousand a month.

Really good information, Is there a link to the article?

 

[RDS]

If I had the ability to scan and post I would. I do not know if it was ever posted to the two BM59 forums either. Both BM59 forums are a wealth of info.

 

[mrmark99]

Fed Ord actually made BM59 Receivers (rewelds from garands). I have seen two of them. Marked "Federal Ordnance BM59" on the heel. Its been 4 or 5 years since I seem the last one.

 

[32639]

I wish more of you guys could shoot one. The Bm59 with the Garand system is a very medium push in recoil, not anything like a sharp jab or hit. I'm sure the m14 designers had some design achievements in their new gas system but shoot-ability at least in my experience wasn't made better.

 

[geardoc]

I found him...

It was a bad, bad hack job to an early Fed Ord M14SA receiver- I thought that was a shame. I love Fed Ord's- no one else does. The Fed Ord receiver I bought off here has a 16" barrel and is fitted into a modified broken wooden stock that I fixed a 1 of 1CETME collapsable wood butt stock and a hand routed wood pistol grip.

This one was FED ORD M14 fitted into a Butler Creek Collapsible- didn't fit right. Not much fit right. He kept telling me the barrel was a tanker(DI4) garand barrel. The headspacing was visibly off to me, it jammed every few rounds SA. He's going to prison if LE ever carefully examines it- he'd clearly tried to add a certain selector lug- with gasless wirefeed type welder GI3. That lug and the "correct look" parts- in other words if it fired correctly he probably had select fire

At 100yds he could not hit the biggest gopher on those 3 metal gopher targets with scope or iron. His excuse was "Not broke in yet."

From what I could tell- he dremeled, hand ground, and circular grindered his way in snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.

I worked on dual gate system this afternoon, and hopefully that will allow the guy who cuts our hay access, and when I add the barb wire fence up the hill to the grave yard above that part of our property- the fence and barb wire will stop sneaking into the range. I have game cameras everywhere and even though the range is hidden and well off any right of way, the cameras caught two local power company workers prowling and one looks identical to the game camera shots of Blowup Motherf####### 59

About a week ago I gave birth to an 18oz 20cm gallbladder that was going gangrenous and ruptured the second they got out it out and I'm not supposed to do anything. I've even failed at not doing anything.

I gotta lift my lathe up put it on skids and sleigh it into the other end of the shop for repair.

 

[POLACK]

try shuffs parkerizing
jra is making them,too

 

[geardoc]

My theory is this: Someone stole an early Fed Ord M14 and then removed all the USGI parts, sold the parts at the flea market at Hayesville(I have seen Garand and M14 parts there) or he sold them on GB or otherwise online. Left with a receiver- he sells it to his buddy who works just over the GA line at power company in Young Harris.

Guy who mows right of ways sees what it costs to build the avg M-14, and craps a brick. Orders a kit from S------ you know who, and then out comes the dremel, die grinder, and the bench grinder. Voila.