M1 garand and 150gr

AlbertanBound

AlbertanBound

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Hey guys
So I'm currently paying off a beautiful m1 grand and I figure id start collecting ammo along the way. As I picked up a box of Remington core lok ammo at I believe was 170gr, (not 100% sure since I put the box down right away), a guy came up and warned me all I could shoot was 150's due to the gas system only being able to handle that load. I asked around and that seemed to be the general rule of thumb at the shop. That being said I figured i would ask some of you guys and see what you think.
 
I`ve heard that as well from alot of old time shooters. I`ve been using 150 gr in my Garand for years and never had a single problem. I use PPU 150 gr . Shoot the 170gr in a bolt action or trade them. Have fun
 
The adjustable gas systems are pretty good if you're looking to shoot most anything off the shelf, Pocketfisherman here on CGN used to sell Canadian-made ones for a really good price (MidwayUSA doesn't normally ship to Canada). But to really make your M1 sing, get into reloading or be friends with someone who does. Get a load close to the original milspec and you're in business!

If you ever get into it, check the M2 .30 load at this link to start you off:
http://www.frfrogspad.com/miscellq.htm#duplicate
 
The Garand was designed around the 174gr M1 cartridge, and later used the 152gr M2 round.

So, its not correct to say "Only 150 grain"

The issue is more to do with the powder burning rate. Modern loads often use slower burning powder to flatten out the pressure curve, to increase velocity.
The problem is that the pressure is way to high at the muzzle where the gas port is, so the gas system is over-gassed.
You need rounds with faster burning powder. The pressure peaks sooner, then drops faster. You may still over pressure it even with modern 150gr loads.
Hornady makes a Garand round
 
Here are my reloads based on military spec using the proper powder to get the pressure wave right so you don't beat your gun to death.

150 grain backed by 47.0 grains of IMR4895
168 grain backed by 45.0 grains of IMR4895
175 grains backed by 44.0 grains of IMR4895

These are not max loads, but they are very accurate loads. You can also use IMR4064, but to get the same performance you need more powder per round, as I am watching costs, I seem to chose the best performance for the least amount of powder. Loads for semi autos are very important, because you can shoot any load through them but you might be beating the hell out of them, so why put your gun at risk ! So, either shoot retail ammo designed for the Garand, reload proper rounds as per the pressure wave it was designed for, or get the adjustable gas valve and play around. Reloading is far more enjoyable !
 
There's no rifle that is quite like an M1.
The guy and the rest of the shop have been reading too much nonsense on the internet. 170's won't bother your rifle in any way. No need for aftermarket marketing parts either. Like tootall says, the rifle was designed to use .30 M1 ammo with its 174.5 grain BT bullet. There was no such thing as .30 M2 ammo until 1940. It was found that .30 M1 had too much range for National Guard ranges of the day.
As mentioned, reloading is your friend. Bullet weights between 150 and 180 grains with IMR or H 4895, Varget, or IMR4064, et al, with velocities running around 2800 fps will do nicely. There are match grade, FMJ and good hunting(think 165's) bullets in that range. You must FL resize, every time and watch the case lengths and OAL. Otherwise loading for an M1(or any semi-auto) is no different than loading for anything else. However, if you're worried about it, Hornady loads a 150 specifically for the M1 Rifle. Don't know if they're available here or not. Factory ammo is too expensive to shoot regularly anyway.
No exports from Midway USA at all. They got caught shipping without the permit and slapped hard, years ago.
 
If you ever have ammo that you are unsure about, but need to burn, you can always loosen off the cap on the gas system and shoot like a straight pull bolt action :)
 
I think you will find that just about ALL MilSpec ammo for the .30-'06 is loaded with a fairly quick powder and will pose no problems in the M-1.

Wartime load for the M2 Ball cartridge was a 152-grain FMJ bullet ahead of 48 to 50 grains of IMR-4895, depending on the burning rate of the actual lot of powder.

What we now call IMR-4895 powder was designed specifically for the .30-'06 cartridge and is still one of the prescribed powders for military ammunition.

The loads given in the previous post are just a tiny bit light. I have used a couple of loads very similar to those in my own M-1 (1953 Springfield, original new rifle) and can attest that they are superbly accurate.

Trick with the Garand: The front sight is 4 minutes in width, the rear sight is adjustable in minutes, 1 minute per click. Put the rear sight 2 clicks out to the right, get close to the rear sight and aim with the upper-right CORNER of the front sight. You will not believe just how well some of these rifles can shoot: NO need for a scope at all!

BTW, your rear handguard is supposed to be loose; it tightens up when the rifle gets hot.

Try to keep your barrel relatively cool; it will shoot much better and last much longer.

Scoot over to milsurps dot com and download your own copy of "Hatcher's Notebook", then find "Hatcher's Book of the Garand". Julian Hatcher was a personal friend of John Garand and was in on every phase of the design and development of the rifle, from inception to replacement. Hatcher is The Oracle on all things M-1.

Most important of all: do enjoy!

Hope this helps.
 
A couple years ago I called Springfield in the US and asked directly about using only 150 grain bullets and nothing heavier. The response I received at that time was that only 150 grain bullets should be used in a Garand because the gas pressure developed when heavier bullets were used could damage the system.
 
All I shoot in my Breda is 150gr Federal soft points I buy at Canadian Tire. Never had any issues.

I won't shoot the 180gr stuff though.
 
I always find this website to be informative and educational in shooting commercial loads in your M1 Garand.

I still say that although there is quite a difference between some commercial ammo and American Eagle M1 Garand ammo, I don't see much difference between the ordinary 150gr American Eagle factory ammo and their M1 stuff. If you look at the graphs you can see that their total impulse and peak gas cylinder pressures are almost identical.

h ttp://www.garandgear.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106:shooting-commercial-ammunition-in-your-m1-garand&catid=39
 
smellie said:
Scoot over to milsurps dot com and download your own copy of "Hatcher's Notebook", then find "Hatcher's Book of the Garand". Julian Hatcher was a personal friend of John Garand and was in on every phase of the design and development of the rifle, from inception to replacement. Hatcher is The Oracle on all things M-1.

Most important of all: do enjoy!

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Does anyone have a link to a pdf copy of "Hatcher's Book of the Garand" ?
I have Hatchers Notebook but cannot find his Garand book online.
(I did get a 20 page teaser, and found several places that ask for a credit card first. I don't want to play with them...)
 
It may still be in Copyright, as is 3rd Edition of the Notebook.

You might have to pay for a copy..... or have an illegal one.

I bought both, then downloaded the early edition of the Notebook for reference. Authors deserve to be paid.
 
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