Hunting ammo in a Garand?

[Texas Star]

A family member has just bought a M-1 Garand in really nice condition.


He wants to shoot an occasional wild pig with it. Can he use just any commercial hunting ammo he has on hand for his Winchester M-70 .30-06?


I think I read that the Garand needs powders that burn at a certain rate to work well and avoid damage. ??


Does the M-1 normally feed softpoint hunting ammo well?


I like Federal's Premium ammo with Nosler bullets. Is that a good choice for use in an M-1?

 

[reddog81]

Ammo with too high port pressure can damage the op-rod. I've heard of people not having problems for hundreds of rounds of commercial ammo but I wouldn't chance it. A new correct op-rod isn't that easy to find and they cost $150- $200.

 

[Wyo]

I would not use factory 30-06 hunting ammo in a Garand because of the risk of excess port pressure and a possible resulting bent or broken op rod. The Garand needs medium rate powder in the IMR 4895 range in order to function properly and I have handloaded many, many rounds of hunting ammunition with 4895, 4064 and similar powders. Bullets are best in the 150-165 grain range, but you can go up to 180 gr. if need be. I've never had a problem getting standard softpoints to feed in the Garand, but you could use any bullet with one of the harder plastic tips if you were concerned about it. I've shot lots of the Nosler Ballistic Tips with nary a single malfunction. I've never hunted pigs with a Garand but have taken quite a few deer with them. They're a hoot to hunt with and should make a great pig gun. Enjoy!

 

[dswancutt]

First thing I would do, with ANY Garand is go to Orion 7 and order a complete spring package for it.
Here is an exhaustive study of commercial ammo compared to US & Greek M1 ball ammo.
M1 Garand Ammunition and the Ported Gas Plug

 

[k22fan]

Answering your questions in order:

1. Good for him. Even if it's barely deserved most of us feel patriotic while handling a Garand.

2. & 3. No. As you've probably read, too slow a powder results in too high pressure at the gas port and will bend the operating rod. In order to be able to advertise higher velocity some modern .30-06 commercial loads use powder that is too slow for a Garand.

4. Mine & my friends' have fed jacketed soft and hollow points. Also I have not experienced or seen any feeding problems with round nose home cast lead. Do not believe the myth that lead bullets will clog the gas system. To get normal gas port pressure with slow moving cast bullets you use powder that would be too slow for jacketed bullets.

5. I would not fire anything advertised as "premium" without knowing more. You could call or e-mail the manufacturer and ask. Remington's yellow and green box Core Locked stuff has worked well in Garands for at least 50 years. Since I reload I have not bought commercial .30-06 in decades but I'd bet a nickel it still goes on sale every fall. It also makes deer hit the ground. Buying expensive premium cartridges for a round that has more than enough power with common cartridges always looked silly to me but I've never hunted wild pig.

I hope this is helpful without boring you with reloading stuff.

 

[Frank46]

The port pressure where the gas goes from the port in the barrel to the gas cylinder then pushes against the piston head on the op rod is about 6000 to 8000 psi. Too much port pressure can and will damage an op rod. Commercial ammo is loaded to a higher pressure than military ammo. Powders like IMR 4895, Hogdon 4895 and and IMR 4064 plus a couple ball powders that fall in the same basic burn rate. These are the powders that are most frequently mentioned as being acceptable for the garand. When you go to the slower powders like IMR 4320, 4350 and 4831 they burn slower so their port pressures can be considerably higher. Bullet weights like 150 grain, 168 grain and the military's M72 match ammos 172 grain are those normally used in the garand. Some shooters get the schuster adjustable gas cylinder valve. That one you can let more gas out while not damaging the op rod. The three bullet weights I mention are the only three I will shoot out of a garand. They ain't making new op rods and mint ones or reconditioned ones can be pricey. Frank

 

[Texas Star]

So, basically, it's a handloader's rifle, or MAY be able to use Remington Core-Lokt?


Remington makes autoloading hunting rifles. Surely, they must intend for ther ammo to be safe in them? But is what's okay in a Remington Model 4, 742, etc. safe in an M-1?


One reason why I prefer bolt actions is that I can use the newer high velocity ammo without concerns.

 

[k22fan]

I would be surprised to learn that either Federal or Winchester do not sell suitable .30-06 cartridges. Remember, .30-06 cartridges were traditionally sold with the expectation that some of them would wind up being fired in low number Springfield 1903s, rear locking Winchester Model 1895s and Garands. However, I'm not familiar with current product lines.

 

[bgrafsr]

You want to keep velocity around 2700 fps. IF you want to shoot higher velocity ammo in the Garand, get an adjustable gas plug. Like this one:
Schuster DCM Adjustable Gas Plug Wrench M1 Garand Steel Parkerized

Or this one:

Ported Gas Plug

 

[vonn]

I think even military ball will put a real hurt on a pig with decent shot placement. I try to punch through both lungs with hand guns and they don't go far. A 30-06 hits a lot harder even without expansion.

 

[DWalt]

I would suggest that factory loads using 150-165 grain bullets would be perfectly OK to use in an M1. Heavier bullet loadings (say 200-220 grains) use slower powders, and there is a possibility of oprod damage.

 

[Mack]

I agree with vonn, ball ammo at pig hunting range should work fine with a solid hit.

 

[LVSteve]

The problem is that commercial ammo has a slower powder than GI M2 so the port pressure remains high for too long. Consequently the op-rod is trying to open the action while there is still enough pressure in the case for it to firmly grip the sides of the chamber. An adjustable plug (Shuster?) or a plug that increases the volume at the gas port is required to guarantee safe operation with commercial ammo. One type bleeds off gas and the other effectively delays the shove on the op-rod.

The Remington semi-auto guns were designed for the commercial ammo of the time, so it is largely a non-issue for those guns.

 

[peyton]

I shot my first deer at 20 with an M-1 Garand while stationed at FT Hood, it was DRT and I was one very happy private!!

 

[Drm50]

My buddies Dad hunted deer with a M1, he was WW2 infantry.
He did have a fancy stock from the old Herter company and
a scope, GI issue. He shot Remington ammo in it, don't know
what it was, this was back in 60s. He never had any trouble
but he shot less than a box a year. I always thought he was a
glutton for punishment dragging a M1 around the woods. To him
the M1 was the best rifle in the world.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

First thing I would do, with ANY Garand is go to Orion 7 and order a complete spring package for it.
Here is an exhaustive study of commercial ammo compared to US & Greek M1 ball ammo.
M1 Garand Ammunition and the Ported Gas Plug

I have 3 that get shot regularly......Still running original springs......No problems.....

The only way to shoot factory ammo in the Garand with out possible damage is to install a SHUSTER adjustable gas plug........Install and open it up....Rifle will not cycle......Shoot as you close it till the rifle will cycle.....Hornady & Federal both make Garand specific ammo........

Great article!!!!!!

 

[Nevada Ed]

If it is just a wild pig........
put that ball ammo on the shoulder, and pull the trigger.

I don't see any problems.

 

[Texas Star]

Is FMJ ball ammo legal for hunting in all states?

 

[Faulkner]

Texas Star, I have several M1 rifles, one of which I shoot a good bit and since I used up my stash of M2 ball a long time ago most of the shooting is with commercial ammunition. I stay in the 150 to 170 grain bullet weight range. I usually carry it on the deer stand and least once or twice a season and I've taken several whitetail deer and a few hogs with it. My favorite ammo is Remington Core-Lokt 150 grain pointed soft point and it works just fine without any feed or op rod issues at all.

I'm not a fan of the Schuster adjustable plug because, well, you have to adjust it and it's a pain in the bohunkus to set up and if you change ammo or bullet weight you have to perform the test shots to make sure you don't need to re-adjust it. I prefer, instead, the so called ported gas plug. All you have to do is exchange it with the regular gas plug and your all set, no hassle, no adjustments, just plug and play.

I bought into the hype about commercial ammo and bent op rods about 20 years ago when I got my first Garand so I bought a couple of spare op rods just in case. I decided to go ahead and shoot select commercial ammo and if I bent an op rod I'd just replace it. Two decades later and after hundreds and hundreds of rounds of commercial ammo those spare op rods are around here somewhere unused still in the wrap. In my experience, if you stay in the 150 to 170 bullet weight range and install the ported gas plug, shooting commercial ammo is not a problem.

 

[Faulkner]

Is FMJ ball ammo legal for hunting in all states?

Hunting with FMJ ammo is not legal for hunting game in most states. Hogs, though, are not considered "game" in most states so you can pretty much shoot them with anything in those states where hogs are considered property and not game animals.