Garand Pricing
- Thread starter FALover
- Start date
There is a better bullet to use than the Hornady FMJ if you can find them. The Speer 165gr HCSP. It is a flat base bullet that you can load to the proper OAL and is very accurate, inexpensive too. However, like all bullets these days, finding a reliable supply is the big issue.
thanks for the info. they are selling 150gr BT FMJ at 23.75/100 which is a good price. I ordered 200 to start off with
, and i will still get the frontier bullets because 170$ for a 1000 is a steal.At a certain point it's worth paying a bit more for a better bullet for reloads given the cost of powder and brass which is the same no matter which bullet is used. The pulldown military 147gr FMJ bullets are not great for accuracy, but they will fly downrange and put a hole in the target. Higginson currently lists the Hornady 150gr FMJBT for $23.75/100 on their website. It is a good bullet which has given me MOA results in both .30-06 and .308 rifles. It isn't a match bullet, but is acceptably accurate. I find that it works well in Garands with 48gr of IMR4064, IMR4895 or H4895 with the bullet seated to an OAL of 3.280.
I note the 165gr Speer SP bullet that was mentioned is now selling for $34.99/100 which is approaching the cost of the 168gr Speer match bullet @ $39.99/100. If a person wants to assemble accurate handloads for .30-06 and .308/7.62 MILSURPs the best choices are always the 155 or 168gr match bullets from Sierra, Nosler and Hornady. The plastic tipped 150/165gr hunting bullets from Nosler and Hornady are accurate as well, but quite pricey. Considering the time and costs which go into handloading and shooting these days a better bullet is a more satisfying way to go. It's pretty amazing how the prices on bullets have skyrocketed over the last 10-15 yrs. It pays to buy them in big numbers and keep a big stash on hand.
OAL is for .308 or 30-06?
I will try that load for those powders. I might start at a lower powder charge though, i am thinking around 40-42gr. I have H4895, IMR4064 and varget.
I will try that load for those powders. I might start at a lower powder charge though, i am thinking around 40-42gr. I have H4895, IMR4064 and varget.
OAL 3.280 applies to .30-06 with the 150gr Hornady FMJBT. Check a reloading manual for minimum/starting loads with these powders. Personally, I`ve always chosen to stay within the min/max load parameters stipulated in a reloading manual. 40-42gr would be too light with these powders. Varget is a good powder for the .30-06/.308, but is not recommended for Garands due to it's slower burning rate. I've always gotten excellent results with all of H4895, IMR4895 and IMR4064 which have the correct burning rate to generate the correct pressure pulse at the gas port. After thousands of reloads in many Garands I`d give a slight edge to IMR4064 for accuracy.
i have the hornady book so i will check the garand section for the starting loads and go from there. Thanks for the advice!. i am using CCI magnum rifle primers and PPU brass. i already trimmed the brass to 2.005 ( as per hornady book). the CCI magnum rifle primers were the only ones the LGS had in stock.
A few caveats when reloading for a Garand.
-keep cases trimmed below max OAL
-always FL resize
-seat primers below flush with the case head
-stick to IMR4895, H4895 and IMR4064
-use bullets in the 150-168gr range. 147gr would be OK.
-don't try to get more than 5 firings out of a piece of brass
I see from your trim length of 2.005 that you are reloading for a .308/7.62, rather than a .30-06 Garand. The reloading details which I mentioned in post #65 are for a .30-06 Garand. When reloading for a .308/7.62 I seat the bullet to an OAL of 2.800. Your manual will give you the load data for a .308 Garand along with the recommended propellants. IMR 3031 is also worth trying for a .308/7.62 Garand. It was used for 7.62 match loads at one point and will produce a suitable gas port pressure pulse for the rifle. It has proven to be a very good performer in my 7.62 Garands as well as in an M14. The Glen Zediker download is an excellent reference for reloading a 7.62/.308 Garand.
-keep cases trimmed below max OAL
-always FL resize
-seat primers below flush with the case head
-stick to IMR4895, H4895 and IMR4064
-use bullets in the 150-168gr range. 147gr would be OK.
-don't try to get more than 5 firings out of a piece of brass
I see from your trim length of 2.005 that you are reloading for a .308/7.62, rather than a .30-06 Garand. The reloading details which I mentioned in post #65 are for a .30-06 Garand. When reloading for a .308/7.62 I seat the bullet to an OAL of 2.800. Your manual will give you the load data for a .308 Garand along with the recommended propellants. IMR 3031 is also worth trying for a .308/7.62 Garand. It was used for 7.62 match loads at one point and will produce a suitable gas port pressure pulse for the rifle. It has proven to be a very good performer in my 7.62 Garands as well as in an M14. The Glen Zediker download is an excellent reference for reloading a 7.62/.308 Garand.
i didnt know 3031 was good for a garand. where can i get those references you are talking about?
Google "Glen Zediker". He has a downloadable file on reloading for the M14/Garand which is very helpful. IMR3031 is at the faster end of the burn rate scale and is well worth a try in a .308/7.62 Garand. It won't hurt the rifle a bit. I've shot a lot of 7.62 reloads with it and 150-168gr bullets. I've always found 40gr IMR3031 to work well with a 150 gr bullet. Don't use anything slower burning than IMR4064 in a Garand. Some folks do use slower burning propellants and/or commercial ammo after installing an adjustable gas plug.
and i take it H4895 should be good for a 308 garand as well?. another question i have is that i have the hornady 308 2 die set. will the seating die also crimp the bullet or should i get a lee factory crimp die?
H4895 is a good one to use in a .308 Garand. Just stick with the reloading manual for charge weights. What bullet are you using? Does it have a cannelure/crimping groove? It isn't recommended to crimp a bullet that does not have a cannelure. To crimp or not crimp is always a point of discussion. Some do, some don't. Personally I do not crimp my Garand reloads. The Lee Factory Crimp die is a good one as it is more forgiving of slight variations in case length. I use it when crimping reloads in lever guns with a tubular magazine, especially when I used to load for a heavy kicking .348 Win. The instructions with your die set will tell you whether or not the seater die can be adjusted to apply a crimp.
ill be using the hornady 150gr FMJBT , it has a cannelure, the frontier 155gr Spire point flat base bullets also have a cannelure. ill check the hornady die instructions to see if it crimps as well.
My 7.62 handloads with the 150gr Hornady FMJBT are 2.800 OAL. This places the cannelure of the seated bullet clear of the case mouth so crimping wouldn't be possible at this OAL. You could try seating the bullets deeper so that the cannelure is located to permit crimping. It might be interesting to do an accuracy comparison with reloads having the bullet seated deeper and crimped with some with the bullet seated at 2.800 with no crimp.
i was told to use the lee factory cimp die if im going to be shooting these rounds in semi autos. i take it you havent had problems shooting your reloads without a crimp in the garand?
I've never experienced a problem with shooting uncrimped handloads in my Garands or M14. Recoil is quite mild so there is no bullet setback in the en bloc clip. I'd suggest trying both crimped and uncrimped loads for the sake of comparison.
i think my hornady die doesnt do crimping. If noncrimped bullets with my garand then i don't see the point of getting a lee crimp die.
oh and sorry OP for the thread hijack
there should be a separate sticky on reloading for the m1a/m1 garand platform in this subforum...
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