Acceptable Garand Ammo

[Smitsauce]

Has anyone ever tried to use either the:

Remington .30-06 UMC 150gr. FMJ 2910ft/sec. or
Remington .30-06 Managed Recoil 125gr. soft point core lokt @ 2660 ft/sec

in their Garand?

Until I get into reloading or I can get my hands on an adjustable gas plug(can't seem to import these into Canada from Brownell's anymore as of May 21, 2009.)

I will get my new Garand next week and I was really hoping to be able to shoot it as soon as possible.

 

[375rum]

UMC 150 gr FMJ will work fine

 

[JohnC]

150 gr fmj. you can try the other sruff but it may not cycle properly

 

[X-man]

The Remington .30-06 UMC 150gr. FMJ 2910ft/sec. or basically any 150-168 gr load will work fine in the Garand. I generally load both 150gr & 155gr FMJ or BTSP/Palma for my Springfield with great results. My rifle isn't that fussy over the heavier bullets and it is generally recommended that you keep your bullet weights under 168gr so that you don't batter your action too badly. A few 180 grainers now and then won't hurt, but a steady diet will start to cause unnecessary wear and tear.

If you don't already, you really should get set up to reload, because .30-06 ammo is expensive and it won't be getting cheaper!

 

[sunray]

"...keep your bullet weights under 168gr..." The rifle was designed to use .30 M1 ammo with its 174.5 grain bullet.
Like JohnC says, the 150's will be fine, but the Managed Recoil ammo might not cycle the action. Remington's site has that warning. The M1's felt recoil is neglible anyway.
The ballistics of the 125 grain Managed Recoil bullet isn't great either. MV is low(2660 fps vs 3140 fps for a 125 grain Express load) and so is the energy(1964 ft-lbs vs 2736 ft-lbs at the muzzle. Drops like a brick past 200 yards too).
Federal makes M1 specific 150 grain ammo under their American Eagle brand. And a Sierra 168 grain match load under their Gold Medal brand name(won't be cheap). Don't know if or where it's available up here. Hornady loads an M1 match load too.