I'm looking at buying a Garand and I'm doing some research in preparation. I am finding it is generally recommended that modern factory loaded ammo (with the exception of "Garand specific" ammo like the Federal American Eagle stuff) should not be used in the Garand. Are there any commercially available refurbished Garands (like the ones previously offered by James River Armory) that have been updated to handle any off-the-shelf modern factory loads?
Refurb Garand that can safely handle any/all modern factory ammo?
- Thread starter BadRonald
- Start date
No Garand will handle all of the off the shelf hunting ammo you can buy, these rifles are not general purpose rifles. You need to stick with ammo with spire pointed bullets in the 150 to 180gr range loaded with fast to medium burn rate powders specific to what the manuals quote for this rifle only.
No. The issue with ammo for the Garand is the burning rate of the propellant. Modern factory .30-06 ammo features slower burning propellants in order to generate a higher muzzle velocity. The Garand gas system was engineered around faster burning propellants which generate the correct pressure pulse at the gas port in order to cycle the action reliably and without damage to the operating rod. The MILSPEC propellant for Garand ammo is IMR4895. IMR4064 and H4895 also generate the correct gas port pressure for the rifle and can be used in place of IMR4895. The commercially rebuilt Garands all use original components incl the receiver, operating rod, and other critical parts.
Some people use a civilian made adjustable gas cylinder screw which, if correctly adjusted, allows the use of standard commercial ammo. Other than using Garand specific ammo or surplus military ammo, the best ammo solution for a Garand is to reload using bullets in the 150-168gr range and one of IMR4895, IMR4064 or H4895.
Even if you get one of the McCann M1 Garand adjustable gas systems you will still need to adjust it each time when using different ammo which requires switching the adjustable screws for each of the different types of ammo you get off the shelf. Better to just stick with the loads they were designed for or fiddle with it each time you buy a different box of store bought ammo.
NB.nagantsniper
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- northern nb
i have a article on reloading for the m1 garand it covers the topic quite well...................you must use the proper burning powder ...............anyone who message me with an email ill send then the info.
Pretty much the same as what Hitzy says but instead of a adjustable lock nut you have 5 different gas jet screws and select which one is best for the particular ammo you are using through trial and error. Or just settle on one brand and weight of ammo that works and be done with it, same as if you use the standard issue gas system.
