Handloads for an M1 Garand?

[HeadShotsOnly]

I recently acquired an M1D Garand, and was told not to use standard "off the rack" ammo in it because standard commercial .30-06 rounds packed too much ass and would damage the operating rod.

The only rounds I've found specifically loaded for the M1 are elderly milsurp stuff that's been on the shelf since my dad was in Underoos, and some Black Hills stuff.

I would prefer to use some match-grade ammo in this, with some decent bullets and the correct powder charge. Can anyone clue me in here, as to what is recommended? I'm kinda new to the whole handloading thing...

[briandg]

The only practical warning I've ever heard that may be related to what you are saying is that a garand needs a fairly rapid burning powder. with 4831, for example, the pressure is still extremely high when the bullet passes the gas ports, and the pressure in the ports is then higher than the rifle was designed for.

So, with that in mind, you should use medium to fast burning rifle powders appropriate to the 30-06 loads, and avoid using the slow burning numbers that one would ordinarily prefer for velocity reasons.

[Slamfire]

Posted this recently:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...55&postcount=5

More pictures here:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...99&postcount=8

I shot in a Garand Match today, one where the ammunition is not issued.

The high scorer, his load is a 168 SMK with 46.0 grains IMR 4064. I think great IMR 4064 is a great powder but is long grained and does not throw well. My bud weighs all charges so that is not an issue to him.

[Unclenick]

This measure throws IMR4064 well. My copy gets within 0.2 grains every time. It's the only measure I know of that will do that.

Hornady now loads their 168 grain A-max match bullet for the Garand:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=527621

[chris in va]

I also just got a Garand, a regular version though. Knowledgeable people on here pointed me to 150gr FMJ with 47gr IMR 4895. I just 'plink' with it right now but they work perfectly in the gun. As pointed out it is a 'stick' powder so I just weigh each charge on my beam scale.

On a side note I was having issues with the bullet being too loose in the case neck and ended up buying the Lee FCD which solved the issue.

[johnw63]

Hornady's latest manual has a section just for M1 Garand Loading that comes after the standard 30-06 section. Hornady, Sierra and Lyman's all discuss loads for the M1 Garand and all three recommend the use of mid-range powders like IMR 4895; H 4895; IMR 4064 and VV N140. They also caution against using bullets heavier than the 173 gr as the M1 was designed to shoot mainly 150 gr to 168 gr bullets. Also, they recommend backing down off of max loads by 1 or 2 grains when using military cartridges because of the difference from commercial cartridges.

[NuJudge]

Hornady Garand Match ammo:
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm...prodID=ho81170
http://www.thecmp.org/forums/showthr...and+Match+ammo

My favorite link with match ammo load suggestions (look at bottom):
http://radomski.us/njhp/

[Unclenick]

Chris in VA,

If you are having trouble with loose bullets, either your case necks need annealing so they size down smaller or you've got some bad bullets. I've seen a number of bad bullets on the surplus market because they are pulled from cartridges that were originally crimped the same way the Lee FCD does, and that leaves them narrow at the waist. M2 Ball pull-down bullets, for example. Those are typically much less accurate, IME, than new bulk purchased Hornady 150 grain FMJ's.

[Slamfire]

M2 Ball pull-down bullets, for example. Those are typically much less accurate, IME, than new bulk purchased Hornady 150 grain FMJ's.

Military bullets are crap.

All groups at 100 yards


1968 WRA Ball 150



Australian Ball



148 gr IMI bullet with IMR 3031

40.0 grains IMR 3031


41.0 grs IMR 3031



150 FMJBT Hornady with IMR 3031 powder



150 FMJBT Hornady with AA2520 powder

[Unclenick]

Yup. That echoes my experience exactly. The only military bullet that ever shot at all for me was the 173 grain .308" diameter match bullet. I always steer people to the Hornady as the least expensive decent shooting 150 grain FMJ bullet. If someone knows of another one that shoots as well for the same price or lower, please speak up.

[medalguy]

Keep in mind the average military load is not MOA loading. The idea was to get the bullet into a man-sized target at 250 yards or so. A hit is a hit. Match ammo is another thing entirely.

[kraigwy]

I load 168 & 175 SMKs pushed by 47 grns of 4895, it equils the M-72 Army Match load velocity and pressure wise, but the SMKs are a bit more accurate.

That same load really shines in my Model 70 Vietnam Era Sniper Rifle build.

Dig out your hornady reloading manuel, it has a Garand Loading Section.

[rude robert]

Yikes I wouldn't think that a the military version of the 30 06 would produce less internal pressure then a regular 30 06. I would think that the military 06 round would be higher in pressure. Why did the military do that?

[dmazur]

I would think that the military 06 round would be higher in pressure. Why did the military do that?

My understanding of this is somewhat limited, as I was born in the 50's...

I believe the military .30-06 round was developed long before modern developments in powder permitted higher velocities with the same cartridge. If I understand things correctly, the .30-06 was used in WWI in bolt-action rifles, then in WWII and the Korean War in Garands. (And BAR's...)

Also, modern .30-06 ammo really isn't higher in pressure. It is just a slower burning powder. The area under the pressure curve is larger, so the bullet gets more energy imparted to it for the same length barrel than it would get from a faster burning powder.

The misunderstanding is due to the Garand's gas port, not its chamber. The gas port can't handle the higher pressure at the tail end of the curve for slower powders. The pressure drops to a safe level at the tail (around 6,000 - 8,000 psi) for faster powders. These mid-burn rate powders are sometimes called "Garand safe powders".

[chris in va]

Keep in mind the average military load is not MOA loading.

Agree, and I'm not looking at punching paper with my Garand. If it hits a man size target at 400 yards (which it does) I'm happy with my surplus pulled bullet purchase.

I've found it will actually hit a basketball size rock at 350 yards, as verified by the range officer.

[kraigwy]

I've seen a lot of cleaned 200 & 300 yard HP targets using military ammo out of Garands. The 10-X right is about 2 MOA.

[bamaranger]

The W-W FMJ bullet in .30 cal has always shot well for me. The Mil spec bullets I'm buying now from Wiedners will not group near as well.

Good enough for casual 100 yd shooting though.

[GeorgeSr]

The acceptence for miltary ball ammo is approx. 3inches at 100 yards,it is not match ammo and was never intended to be.Some lots will shoot better,it depends on the lot.

[mehavey]

I would think that the military 06 round would be higher in pressure. Why did the military do that?

30-06 ammunition is just that -- 1906 vintage.

A little history is in order.....

The United States was still into black powder and the 45-70 until (and in some cases after) the Spanish American War. In the late 1890s we converted over to our first smokeless cartridge/rifle combination, the 30-40 Krag. This was a holdover designation to mirror 45-70 (45 caliber ahead of 70 grains of black powder) whereas the 30-40 was (naturally) 30 caliber over 40 grains of new smokeless powder shoving a slow/heavy/blunt 220gr bullet.

That lasted for about five years (and a lot of angst as we watched what Germany did with the`98 Mauser) until we came out with the stronger `03 Springfield (aka Mauser in drag) and its new 30-45 cartridge. (30-45 then got renamed "30-03" for it's year of issue, and used the same heavy round-nose 220gr bullet from it's predecessor.

The 30-03 then lasted just long enough for us to watch the Germans some more, and how they liked lighter faster bullets coming out of that`98 Mauser. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, in 1906 we shaved a hair off the 30-03's case neck; threw away the 220gr bullet/replaced it with a 150gr pointy one; used a slightly cooler-burning powder, and rebarrelled/rechambered the 1903 Springfield rifle to become.....

The 30-06.

Being 1906, the state-of-the-powder-art shoved that 150gr bullet out of the cartridge at 2,700 fps.... and there it stayed. During WW-1 We produced a gazillion of those cartridges

20 years later, Mr. Garand has the arrogance to suggest that his new autoloading rifle should shoot a .276 caliber cartridge. "Au contraire," says MacArthur. "What part of those gazillion 30-06 cartridges in storage did you fail to understand?"

Hence the Garand's action/operating rod was designed around that 1906 performance spec/burning rate/pressure curve and bullet velocity.

And you are stuck with it.

(Not that it hasn't done (still does) the job it was designed for really, really well.)