M1 Garand ammo ??'s

T

Timberlord

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SW. Ont.
With a recent purchase of an M1 Garand , I'm really itching to heat'er up.
What / where can I find 30/06 ammo for my Garand ?
I gather hunting ammo isn't good for my rifle ? (I have about 60 rds of some old Imperial fodder.)

no...I don't roll my own , so I'm hoping that there is some over-the-counter stuff that I can get the local gunshop to order in.
thx.
 
150gr power points is what I use in mine when hunting. Also learning how to re-load FMJ's in 150gr. I'd like to know where to acquire surplus for this type of rifle also.(not tryna hijack your thread)

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
Your M1 can shoot up to 168's just fine, as long as they are loaded with a medium burn rate powder like IMR 4895 (this is actually the powder the milspec ammo was loaded with) and are not hot loaded. The hiccup you run into is that you can't be totally sure what powder factory ammo uses. You will be safe with factory 150's, and will most likely be safe with factory 165's, as long as they are not "light magnum". I'd stay away from anything higher than 168's. The problem is pressures in the gas system; as a rule, the heavier the bullets, the more the pressure - this can be mitigated by faster burning powders, or just plain less powder, but the general rule still applies.

The other thing you can do, which I think is ideal, is buy a regulated gas nut for your rifle, and tune it to your loads. This will make your garand safe with any load, and will usually improve accuracy. You have to follow the tuning procedures correctly however, and just allow enough gas into the gas system to cycle the rifle, barely. Follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully and you'll be very happy.

I have seen an M1 destroyed by using the wrong ammo - op-rod snapped right in two, and the bolt driven back so powerfully that it almost snapped the rear of the reciever in two, and it did leave the reciever with a gaping crack about 80% of the way across. That's what happens if you load a heavy "light magnum" into an unregulated M1.
 
Remington-UMC makes some 150gr "metal cased" .30-06; its basically FMJ. Personally, I've had no problems with Federal or Winchester cheap stuff. I did see somewhere out there someone had been selling 165gr FMJ .30-06 - it may have been Hornady- and I think they designated it for use in M1 Garands.
 
150 Grs.

Hi

Garand as been WELL tested in battle with the M2 ball 150 Grs bullet with perfect result.

As stated elsewhere anything over 150/155 grs will end-up with trouble.

Is the main reason why the original M1 180 Grs ball as been replaced with M2 ball 150 Grs it will cause severe damage to the gun.

Wikipedia said:
According to U.S. Army Technical Manual 43-0001-27, M2 Ball specifications required 835 m/s (2,740 feet per second) velocity, measured 24 m (78 ft) from the muzzle
Click to expand...

So look for any commercial ammo 150Grs that give about that velocity & you should be in business. Winchester USA or Remington UMC should be perfect but never forget 150GRS max.

If the 180 grs bullet was a problem and cause the whole US army to switch to 150Grs, why pushing your luck with heavy load?

I recommend you reloading, you will be able to reduce your load to a minimum and preserve your gun for a long time.

By the way dont forget to grease the refle

Larry"Corporal"Marcotte
 
Hornady recently started making ammo for the M1 Garand, I'm not sure if it is available in Canada yet but here is the info on it. I have been shooting my Garand for 20 years and you really should consider reloading for it.

30-06 168 GR A-MAX M1 GARAND Item No.81170
Click to expand...
 
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Years ago, when I bought my Garand, I too was faced with the, "what commercial stuff can I use?"....(Yes, I reload now)....On Garand forums the claim is, "never use commercial stuff!".....Not quite true....I took the time to call Federal, Remington and Winchester, and spoke to their technical support people..I also e-mailed them to get other responses and compare....

CAUTION: These replies are based ONLY on the ammo mentioned, and no others.....Also, no one at Tech support knew what the exact pressure levels are...

Federal: American Eagle-150gr-FMJ
"American Eagle is not loaded to milspec pressures, but many people use it in their Garands, and they have never had a complaint from the public"

Winchester: White Box-150gr-FMJ
"This ammo is loaded to military specs and I, (the tech), and other Winchester staff have used it for years without any problems"....

Remington: UMC ( yellow box or green/white box)-150gr-FMJ
"Our ammo is downloaded 4%, (like their .223 green/white box), from military spec pressure...It`s been used extensively by Remington staff without any problems, or complaints from the public"....

I have fired all three 30-06 ammo in my Garand, (quite a lot), and never had an issue..(it was cheap when I bought it)....I now use the brass to reload..
So take it for what it`s worth.....

Also, Northman999 is right...If you`re worried about the pressure levels, Brownells has pressure adjust nuts for about 40 bucks, and they ship to Canada...
 
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"...the main reason why the original M1 180 Grs ball has been replaced with M2 ball 150 Grs it will cause severe damage to the gun..." Nope. The original .30 M1 ammo with its 174.5 grain bullet at 2647fps and 48,000psi, that the rifle was designed to use, was found to have too much range for most U.S. National Guard ranges. .30 M2 ammo with its 152 grain bullet at 2700fps and 48,000psi was developed for use on these ranges and subsequently adopted in 1938. .30 M2's MV was later raised to 2800fps with 50,000psi to match the ballistics of the .30 AP ammo's 168 grain bullet.
"...anything over 150/155 grs will end-up with trouble..." Internet nonsense.
"...I'd like to know where to acquire surplus for this type of rifle also..." There have never been any case lots of surplus .30 M2 ammo available up here. 30 plus years ago, anybody who shot an M1, used commercial ammo with no fuss. There was nothing else. The ammo being sold by the U.S. CMP is mostly Greek milsurp M2 and isn't available here.
Reloading is definitely the way to go. Any 150 to 180 grain bullet(any commercial hunting ammo in these weights, except the 'light magnum', will do nicely. You don't need a 189 grain bullet for anything though.) using IMR4895, IMR4064 or Varget and regular large rifle primers(CCI "milspec' primers are a marketing gimmick for magnum primers) will do nicely.
The best weights are a 165 grain hunting bullet or 168 or 175 grain match bullets. 168's for distances out to 600 yards, the 175's past there. 150's work well for plinking loads and deer, but a 165 is a better all 'round bullet weight. A 165 grain bullet will kill any game you care to hunt and will not bother your rifle.
Hornady is making a 150 grain HPBT, a 168 grain A-Max and a 178 grain A-Max. Sierra Matchkings come in 150, 168 and 175 grains. Plus a 150 grain SP and a 165 grain SP Gameking.
The occasional foray into big heavy bullets won't bother a rifle in good condition either. The 220 grain Silvertips I used, briefly, did nothing to mine.
 
i have a good 5 PAGE article on reloading 30-06 FOR M1 GARAND USE.
ITS AN ARTICLE DATED 1986 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN MAGAZINE.
MENTIONS FOLLOWING .......
LOADS/ POWDER RECCOMENDED /BULLET LIMITS/ PROBLEMS .......
IF REQUESTED WILL EMAIL IT TO ANYONE.
MY EMAIL IS ...........

ALEXDDJ@ROGERS.COM
 
NB.nagantsniper's offer to email this article is worth taking him up on! I got the article from him (thanks again!) and I think everyone who reloads for their M1 would benefit from reading it over.
 
Timberlord said:
With a recent purchase of an M1 Garand , I'm really itching to heat'er up.
What / where can I find 30/06 ammo for my Garand ?
I gather hunting ammo isn't good for my rifle ? (I have about 60 rds of some old Imperial fodder.)

no...I don't roll my own , so I'm hoping that there is some over-the-counter stuff that I can get the local gunshop to order in.
thx.
Click to expand...
Everyone new to the M1 Garand should look in to this site
http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/ You will find there all you are looking for & more...Aint that right Alb
CCIC:D
 
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