Realoding for an M1 Garand

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Lately I've come to the conclusion that I must have an M1 Garand. However, that hinges on my ability to save enough for one, and whether or not reloading for them is relatively easy.

I already load for my P17, so I would only be interested in an M1 if the brass was recoverable and not destroyed. I have seen some semi's, namely my friends Ag42 that sends the brass into the next township and absolutely wrecks it.

Also, is it possible to develop a good load for these? I've heard that some ammo companies manufacture M1 specific ammo, so I assume not just any load will suffice.

Currently I load 150 grain Remington FMJ's with a load of about 49 grains of 4320.

Thanks
 
there's tons of stuff on the us boards about the Garand- but like the m14, the brass is 1,2,3-gone- and that doesn't include your once fire- if it's virgin brass, 4- I'm not going to give you the recipe b/c every rifle is different=you have to get enough gas to cycle the action, and use MEDIUM burning rate powders-the rest you can research for yourself
 
My Garand throws the brass around 6 feet away and they are not damaged in any way. The Garand system is all based on the pressure wave of the powder ! You can use a couple of powders before you need to buy an adjustable gas valve to experiment with others. The IMR4895 is the number one powder for the Garand, and a great shooting load is the one I use, nice recoil very accurate. 150 grain bullets pushed by 47.2 grains of IMR4895, can't go wrong, great starting point for you ! Have fun with the gun, they are fantastic !!
 
IMR4320 is a good powder in the .30-06, but it is relatively slow burning and does not generate the correct gas port pressure to cycle the Garand w/o the possibility of damaging the op rod which are getting quite scarce and expensive to replace. Here are a few tips based on thousands of reloads for the M1 Garand;
1. The correct propellants to use are IMR4895, IMR4064 or H4895. All of these produce the correct port pressure for the rifle and deliver excellent accuracy.
2. Stick to 150 -168gr bullets. 155 and 168 gr match bullets are great. The most accurate and cheapest non-match FMJ bullet to use is the 150gr Hornady FMJ
3. Always FL resize your brass
4. Keep brass trimmed below max OAL
5. Seat primers slightly below flush with the case head
6. Don't try to get more than 5 firing/reloading cycles out of a piece of brass. The rifle is hard on brass.
7. The CCI No34 primer is MILSPEC and is preferred because of the harder cup material. If not available all of Win, Rem and CCI LR primers will do. Again, seat all primers below flush with the casehead.

Here are some safe, accurate and reliable loads which I have proven in several dozen Garands. Check any major reloading manual before using to verify that they are within safe load parameters.

1. 150gr Hornady FMJ or 155 Nosler or Sierra Match, 47gr IMR4895 or 48gr IMR4064, any of CCI, Win, and Rem Primers, Lake City GI brass, DA55 GI brass, Win or Rem brass, COAL 3.280, no crimp
2. 168gr Hornady, Sierra, or Nosler match, 45.5gr IMR4895 or 46 gr IMR4064, any of the above primers, any of the above brass, COAL 3.330, no crimp
 
Awesome, thanks guys! Seems like reloading is very do able for the Garand. I am going to be actively looking for one this fall I think. Just a shooter, nothing collectible. Makes me wish I had bought one of those $650 shooter grade ones from P&S in 2008, but then again being 18, I didn't have the cash.

Purple and HIGHRPM, that is some excellent load data and loading tips, thanks. I figured 4064 would be a good choice, as it seems to be between 4350 and 4320 in burn rate. 4895 seems to be popular too by the sounds of things. Just wondering, but why no crimp?
 
I have found IMR4064 to be slightly more accurate than IMR4895 in many Garands, M1917s and M1903s, but many rifles do show a preference for IMR4895. That said, IMR4895 was the MILSPEC propellant for the .30-06 and was used to load a gazillion rounds of 152 gr ball and 168gr AP ammo which was put up in Garand clips during WW2 and the Korean era. IMR 4895 was also used to load 172-173gr match ammo for the Garand in the 1950s-60s. The big advantage of IMR4895 vs IMR4064 in terms of industrial production is that it is smaller in grain size and meters better than 4064 which is pretty `loggy`and will hang up in a powder measure. Both of these powders are excellent in a wide variety of ctgs, quite a testament for propellants which were first marketed in the 1930s. Here`s another reason to use IMR4064 or IMR4895 in any .30-06, incl bolt guns; less powder will generate the same velocities with less recoil as a greater weight of slower burning powder like IMR4350 or H4831, an important consideration for both cheapskate and wussy shooters.

I don`t crimp bullets for the Garand for the following reasons;
1. I have not found bullets to slip or seat further in the clip under recoil
2. There is no crimping groove, or cannelure, on a match bullet. Crimping will distort an otherwise very good quality bullet which is extremely accurate as is
3. The 150gr Hornady match bullet has a cannelure, but the COAL that I gave seats the bullet with the cannelure above the mouth of the case, hence crimping is not possible

I used to load for a .348 Win using 200 gr bullets and IMR4895. This is a heavy recoiling round which is loaded in the tubular magazine of the Model 71 Win lever action rifle. If bullets were not crimped the recoil plus the spring tension in the mag tube would seat the bullet further into the case if they weren't crimped. Ditto for any ctg in a rifle with a tubular magazine.
 
HIGHRPM said:
My Garand throws the brass around 6 feet away and they are not damaged in any way. The Garand system is all based on the pressure wave of the powder ! You can use a couple of powders before you need to buy an adjustable gas valve to experiment with others. The IMR4895 is the number one powder for the Garand, and a great shooting load is the one I use, nice recoil very accurate. 150 grain bullets pushed by 47.2 grains of IMR4895, can't go wrong, great starting point for you ! Have fun with the gun, they are fantastic !!
Click to expand...

BTW a properly lubed Grand should throw fired brass in a pattern from 1 to 3 o`clock in relation to the direction of aim.
 
Been shooting nothing but handloads for eons out of mine. There's no great mystery to loading for an M1 or any other semi-auto. You must FL resize, every time, plus watch the case and OAL. You need to seat the primer correctly as well. Flush or slightly below flush as mentioned by purple. Other than that, it's no different than loading for any other action type.
Bullets can can be 150 to 180 grains, but the rifle and cartridge love 165's hunting bullets, if hunting is on your plan. (The Rifle is a heavy SOB to lug around though.) 150's are great for playing, 150(out to 300), 168(out to 600) or 175(past 600) grain match bullets for target shooting. Like purple says, IMR4064 gives better consistency than either of the 4895's. None of those are the only suitable powders though. Varget has a following and there are European powders that are fine too.
"Milspec" is a marketing term just like the word 'tactical'. It means nothing. CCI "Milspec" primers are nothing more than magnum primers. Same cups as any other primer. Any primer will do nicely.
I've never had an issue with loading a case more than 5 times either. Mind you, if you use Federal ammo to gather cases, you likely won't get more than 5. Federal brass is known for being softer than other brands. Anyway, case life is dependent on the load used. Hot loads don't last as long as lighter loads.
You will get cases that are dented on the cases mouth. It's caused by the case whacking the receiver on its way out. No big deal though, just open the case mouth with needle nosed pliers enough for the expander button to fit.
 
I think we ought to peel the onion a bit further on MILSPEC primers versus others. I don't own shares in CCI, but I recommend that folks visit their website and read what the manufacturer actually has to say about this. You will see a description of their No34 and No41 MILSPEC primers and why they are different from other primers on account of the type of metal used in the cup. You will also see that CCI No34 primers are ballistically identical to their magnum primers.

I prefer to use the CCI No34 just to gain a bit of a safety margin, but these are tough to locate. In lieu one can use all of CCI, Win and Rem LR primers in a Garand, but subject to the caveat that they be seated below flush with the casehead. This is facilitated by cleaning primer pockets thoroughly and by using a primer pocket uniforming tool as essential steps in the case preparation process. I avoid Federal primers in a Garand, M14, AR15 or anything else with a floating firing pin because they are known for having cups on the soft side. Other than that they are a good primer in a bolt rifle. I like them for precision reloads in my Rem 700 heavy barrel .308 among others.

BTW, if your Garand brass shows the case mouth being dented by striking the handle portion of the op rod, as they sometimes do, you can re-shape them to round with a tapered punch before resizing them. Don`t use a pair of pliers to do this.
 
i have an article i mention each time this topic comes up, from an old issue of AMERICAN RIFLEMAN MAGAZINE 1986 .............. ITS very good info ON RELOADING FOR THE M1 GARAND .................PM ME with an email address and you can have it sent.
( 4 pages )
from
don
 
A recipe for me that works in my 30-06 M1 rifle that I remember right out of the blue:
-48.0 grains of IMR3031 under a 150 grain bullet, using CCI #34 primers. FL sizing, always.

Edit: The past abundance of Lake City brass is a rare thing these days, but I find Remington-Peters brass is a very acceptable option.
And I have a sneeky suspision that Lapua brand would be very good too, but it's $$$.
 
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47.5gr RL15 with hornady 150gr fmj...the bulk ones. Those bullets shoot as well as any match bullets I've tried....right around 2700 fps in my Breda.
 
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