M1 Garand Hunting Loads

Potshot21

Potshot21

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Moose Country, Ontario
Getting to be that time of year again, and although I'll be hunting with a few other rifles, I still want to put a moose on the ground with one of my favourite semi-autos, the M1 Garand!

I have a couple of suitable powders, but am thinking H4895 is my preferred. Am also looking to use 165 gr. Barnes TTSX or 165 gr. Nosler Accubonds. Curious if anybody has some good pet loads that don't beat the crap out of the rifle and give good results. If you used an adjustable gas plug, make sure to include that in your comment. I'm hoping to get away with a standard gas plug, but I do have an adjustable I could throw in if need be.

Interested in hearing back any combinations used and your experiences with them as well.

Thanks!
 
I've always liked the saying "the lord hates a coward, but he won't suffer a fool".

In that spirit, I loaded me up a few cartridges to test out on my upcoming days off.

Going to be testing:

Barnes 150 grain TTSX over 48.5 gr, 49.0 gr, and 49.5 gr of H4895.

Also have some Nosler Accubond 150 grain over 47.0 and 47.5 grains of H4895 to try.

Between some manuals, some internet research on Garands, and some critical thinking, I'm hoping this will put me in a sweet spot for M1 rifle where performance is acceptable and the rifle doesn't get beat up.

Will post my results on these loads this week.
 
From what I've read, it's okay to use 165s in Garands, but it becomes much trickier to keep the pressure curve in the sweet spot. I'm planning on testing out some 165 grain loads as time becomes more available. I won't have time before I head out hunting to test them, but I do prefer to shoot 165/168s, so it will become a priority to have figured out for next season.
 
When loading for the M1 Garand you have to be carefull with your Velocity and Powder selection
Only a few powders are in the right speed range to not bend the op-rod

But if you use those powders and decide to hot rod it you will possibly bend the oprod and maybe start to do other things;(

you can use almost any 150-175g bullet but velocity is the key
and check your loads so if you have to extract a live round you do not leave a bullet pulled in the barrel

If you pull a bullet and you put a charge of powder into the action you will be cleaning for hours..... and still find stuff later;(


M2 Ball

This ammunition utilizes a 147 to 152 grain Full Metal Jacket Boat-tailed (FMJBT) bullet at a muzzle velocity of ~2740 fps. Cartridge Overall Length (COL) = 3.185 to 3.240".
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M72 Match

This ammunition utilizes a 172 to 173 grain FMJBT bullet at a muzzle velocity of ~2640 fps. With 168 and 175 gr. match bullets, COL = 3.240 to 3.330"
 
Hornady 6th edition has data specific to the Garand.
150gr/H4895 -43.2gr/2400fps .............46.4gr/2600fps MAX
168gr/H4895-39.8gr/2300fps..........46.4gr/2600fps MAX
178gr/H4895-38.2gr/2200fps..........46.4gr/2550fps MAX
 
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