@flying pig, things to keep in mind with loading for a Garand:
- firstly, you want to make sure you don't exceed maximum pressure. A load that is over max and unsafe in a bolt gun, is also unsafe in a Garand. Having said that, it is a good strong action with a solid 2-lug front lockup, so a max-loaded round is no more likely to blow up a Garand than (say) a Model 70.
- secondly, the gas system of the Garand introduces another consideration. The gas is tapped near the muzzle, and there is a long slender op-rod which cycles the action. If the gas pressure *at the gas port* is overly high, then the action will be cycled too vigourously and your op rod can get bent. This isn't *unsafe* ammo, you're not going to hurt yourself, but you could damage your rifle and obviously you want to avoid that.
- thirdly, even if ammo is safe in the sense that it's not going to blow up your gun, and safe in the sense that it's not going to bend your oprod, you might find that near-max or near-min loads don't cycle to your liking (perhaps the brass isn't thrown reliably clear; perhaps the brass is ejected too violently and the case mouths are badly dented). A well functioning Garand will eject its brass in a reasonably small "fan" in the 1-o'clock to 2-o'clock direction, with the brass landing within 6' or so.
Related to the second point above, you'll often see advice "don't use bullets heavier than ### in your Garand" (where ### is in the 165 to 170 neighbourhood). The issue isn't actually the bullet weight, the issue is the *kinds of powders* (and their charge weights) typically used in heavier bullet .30-06 loads.
A more useful guideline to powder selection would be, "whatever your bullet and powder combination, don't use more than ~50 grains of powder". That will serve to keep your gas port pressures reasonable. (I once worked up a moose hunting load for my Garand in which I used Nosler 220 grain Partition bullets and IMR-4064 powder. This is a relatively unusual powder/bullet-wt combination but you should be able to find some data for it. The idea behind using such a "quick" (for a 220) powder was to ensure modest gas port pressure. Charge weight was in the low 40s if I recall correctly. The rifle cycled reliably but not roughly and I had acceptably accuracy at 300 yards).
W.r.t. your specific components of 165 bullet and H4895 powder, those are excellent choices to use in your Garand. Some might want to warn you against Fed-210s in a Garand (Fed primers have very soft cups, the concern is that the floating pin of the Garand might fire the primer during the chambering of a round. I have used Fed-210s without problem but if you are the least bit concerned, just choose any other Large Rifle primer). Observe all the usual load development procedures and cautions, and to those add that your charge weight should not exceed 50gr and your action should not cycle violently.
