M1 Garand good for hunting?

[xMaverick]

Any game that a M1Garand with target sights would be good for?

[xMaverick]

.30-06 Springfield

[pbratton]

It feels like you answered your own question there.

It's a .30-06, it can be used for game you'd normally consider a .30-06 for...

[xMaverick]

I'm green when it comes to hunting, i dont know if that is too powerful for a deer or not?

[hardworker]

30-06 is a pretty standard deer cartridge. But you should check your local laws since some places have restrictions on how much ammo a semi auto rifle can hold.

[xMaverick]

I live in southern california so it probably is. I'll just stick to my .22 and hunt wabbits. I have my garand but i have no blocs or any rounds. And i was looking to get a Kar98 or a mosin nagant but 7.62 is probably illegal also.

[xMaverick]

Sorry misread your post. Im not sure how many rounds are legal, probably not many, i live in a densly populated area.

[Slamfire]

If you plan to use your Garand for hunting you are best off looking for 30-06 ammunition that can be used in a Garand.

Hornady makes a 168 AMAX that should be just fantastic in a Garand.

http://www.hornady.com/in-the-news/l...n-from-hornady

Your Garand became a service rifle in 1936. Military ammunition pressures were not to exceed 50,000 psia and had to meet a port pressure. The typical 150 grain bullet moved around 2700 fps. In today's "everything a magnum" world this is pretty mild stuff. Highper pressure ammunition will overaccelerate the operating rod leading to a lot of banging and slamming, beating up your rifle and I have seen malfunctions due to commercial ammo.

Like any other iron sighted rifle your daylight time is somewhat less than a scope.

[pesta2]

Depending on local laws, you need to check how much ammunition you can have in the gun. You might have to order and en-block clip that holds fewer rounds than the usual 8 such as a 2 round.

Oh and the deer will know when you are out of ammunition “Ping!”

[xMaverick]

See i am a fresh out of highschool bored individual, i havent the faintest idea of what round to use ex. hollow point. I dont want to annihilate the deer i just want to knock it on its ass and crack his spine.

[zxcvbob]

It will work great if it's legal in your area. (you might need to get some special 5-round or 2-round clips.) And you probably need to reload for it unless you've added an adjustable gas port. Use a faster-burning powder (like AA-2495) that normal for a .30-06 so you don't damage the op-rod, and a 150 to 168 grain hunting bullet, and you should be good to go.

Or get some milsurp .30-06 ammo, pull the bullets, replace them with hunting bullets and use the original powder and primer (look up "Mexican Match" ammo)

[Sport45]

The biggest problem I see using a M1 for hunting is the sights. For my eyes anyway, irons might be okay for hunting over an open field. I wouldn't want to use them on an animal that's as well camoflaged as a deer if there's any brush obstructing a clear view. It's a lot easier to focus on the front sight and hold center of a black dot on a white background than it is to hold in the kill zone of a brown deer in a hay meadow.

I'm not saying it can't (or shouldn't) be done, just that I wouldn't do it.

[MLeake]

As others have noted, it's a .30-06, and will work fine on deer.

Also, as previously noted, you will either need to find ammo loaded to Garand specs, or else trade the gas ports out for ones designed for modern pressures.

You can get lower capacity clips from various sources. I bought some a while back, I think from Brownell's.

However, the Garand is HEAVY. If you are going to ride your ATV to a tree-stand, that's not a big deal. If you are going to hike in, just bear in mind that most hunting rifles are 2-3lbs lighter than a Garand.

If it's the only rifle you have, then I'd just find ammo suitable for Garand use. I don't see the point in having a piece of history, and then modifying the action, but that's just my opinion.

Cheers,

M

(Happy owner of an unmodified Springfield Correct Grade M1 Garand)

[BombthePeasants]

I, for one, will be using one of my M1's for deer hunting this fall. I have loaded 168gr. Hornady A-MAX bullets. I'm pumped! I don't have a long walk to the stand, so the weight won't be a problem. Plus, there's no magazine capacity issues here in TX.

[Poodleshooter]

The sights are a problem. The same small peep that makes the Garand such a great target shooter at the range makes for a very,very dim low light picture when hunting. As mentioned by another poster above, it's also harder to resolve an aiming point on a shadowed or partially obstructed target at a distance. Open plains hunting would probably not suffer under these conditions,but woods hunting and hunting near dusk or dawn will be a problem.
There's a reason most deer rifles have had scopes on them for the past 30+ years.

[Rifleman1776]

I have personal concerns about semi-autos being used for hunting. With another round instantly ready to go, there is always a chance of making adrenaline hyped bad decisions. This is especially true for a novice hunter. The Garand, no doubt, would make an OK hunting rifle within limitations noted.
BTW, I have never heard of limits on number of rounds that can be carried in a hunting rifle. Crummy infringement, IMHO.
I have seen guys with banana clips full of ammo on AR type rifles. That, again, IMHO, is nutty. But legal in Arkansas, at least.
xMaverik, if your budget can handle it, I suggest you shop for another rifle.

[TheGoldenState]

7.62 is probably illegal also.

No it is not.

[TheGoldenState]

I have personal concerns about semi-autos being used for hunting. With another round instantly ready to go, there is always a chance of making adrenaline hyped bad decisions. This is especially true for a novice hunter

What are those concerns? Not disagreeing or being an antagonist, just curious.

[kraigwy]

A ton of deer have been killed with an open sight 30-30 Lever Rifle.

M1's have open sights that are a heck of a lot better then the sights on most Lever Guns.

A ton of deer have been killed with the 30-30 Win Round.

The M1 shoots an '06 round, same 30 cal but with a lot more umph. Don't load hot. 150 -165 grn bullets loaded about 2600-2700 wont hurt the Garand yet is more powerful then any 30-30 I've seen.

Something not normally covered in using iron sighted vintage service rifle while hunting:

The Front sight on a M1 (assuming it hasn't been changed) can be used as a range finder. (lets assume the heart area of the deer is 12 inches in diameter). The front post of the M1 is 6.5 MOA, or covers 6 1/2 inches at 100 yards. Now if we are looking at a deer over the front sight, and the front sight covers the full one foot heart area, then you are about 200 yards away, if it covers twice the heart area, or the front have of the deer's body, they you are between 3-400 yards). If it covers half the area, then you are about 100 yards.

Try it, it works, if you want to use the iron sights of a service rifle (M1A, M1, Mosin, etc). get one of those bow hunting deer targets, Set it up at different ranges and practicing range estimations. With a bit of practice, you can get just as accurate, and be faster then using Mill Dots or Laser Range finders.

When I was running sniper schools using the M1C/Ds, we didn't have Mil Dots and Laser Range Finders. So we did a lot of work using the post of the M-84 scope and the front sight of the M1, you can get pretty good with it.

You sight the M1 in at 200 yards, then you can pretty much hold dead on for any normal deer hunting range, but if you want to get fancy, there isn't much out there faster then adjusting the elevation knobs on a M1/M14 rifle.


Edit for correction: the 13 inches at 200 yards is wrong, I was thinking of the 10-X ring on the 200 yard target. The total black is 19 inches. The front post on a standard M1/M14 is .073 or 7.3 inches at 100 yards.

To simply it, .001 front sight equals 1 MOA. Measure your front sight, multiply that times 100 and it will give you the width at 100 yards.

[longranger]

I, for one, will be using one of my M1's for deer hunting this fall. I have loaded 168gr. Hornady A-MAX bullets

The A-Max bullet is not designed to be a hunting bullet it is a target bullet.Use the same weight in a bullet desinged for hunting.

[44 AMP]

Also note that the GI FMJ ammo (what the Garand is designed to eat) is generally prohibited for game hunting. Use a soft point/expanding type bullet. Target bullets (because they are typically not FMJ) are not prohibited, BUT they do not perform as well after they hit. A hit that puts the deer down with a hunting bullet might not do so with a target bullet, leaving you with a wounded deer to track.

Target bullets will kill. No question. But they are not a good choice for hunting game.

[JIMSPD9]

I hunted with a Remington Mod 700 in 30-06 for years. The 06 will definately bring down a deer. However as ammo became more and more developed, bullets expanded more. More damage was done to the meat. A blood shot shoulder rendered 1/4 and more of the animal usless. I hate waste. I started taking a neck shots if possible since neck meat( minus the damaged tissue) ended up in the sausage pan. The kill is just as quick.

Most states allow no more than 5 shots in a mag (rifle or shotgun) so an 8 count clip in the Garand is fudging a bit. Since I hunt on my own land and havent seen a game warden here in 15 yrs, the answer to your question is. "If I had a Garand I would hunt with it for sure."

Jim S.


Ps: What in the holy bejesus is a banna clip???????? Iv'e never seen one myself. There are stripper clips for old mauser actions and an 8 rnd clip in the Garand. Sounds a little Hollywoody or something a distinguished Congress person would utter on the floor. Everything else is a MAGAZINE.

[1911Mann]

Shifty Powers killed deer with his in Austria (may he rest in peace). If it was good enough for Shifty, then it's good enough for me.

I killed my first buck with an M1A, Win. Silver Tip 168 gr. bullet. I had a 10rd mag (legal in Texas). If you're hunting with a Garand, use a jacketed soft point, or ballistic tip. They fly straighter than hollow points.

Aim just behind the front shoulder about half way between belly and back. If you hit the front shoulder, you won't have to track them as far, but a good heart-lung shot will get you meat.

[xMaverick]

What if i purchase a M84 scope for the M1 garand?

[xMaverick]

what about spine shots? or if its a doe what about a head shot?