Loading for an M1 Garand

[Skip Sackett]

Well, I did it! The wife talked me into it! I didn't want to go because I knew what would happen! I told her and told her and told her, but she drug me there anyway!

Were? To the CMP store at Camp Perry! Listen, that can be a costly endeavor, to say the least!

I walked out with one of their "specials". It is an all new rifle, stock to inerds.
Everything new, $995! Yeah, OUCH. Then, 200 rounds of .30/06 for $100 and it was a very expensive day to say the least!

So, in an attempt to save money(hahahahahahahahahaha) now, I want to reload for it. (Like that wasn't a plan at the beginning! )

I am aware that it will take some special attention so as not to thump the snot out of it with too hot of loads and that too wimpy ones may turn it into a single shot as there won't be enough gas to make it operate.

I am fortunate in that the last time I went to gibrass.com, I picked up a bunch of MILSURP powder and a bunch of .30 caliber bullets, some were pull down some new.

At any rate, if you load for one and have had good success with them, please share them. I know this is not new territory and there are lots of good loads out there already. Just curious....


Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[brick]

I load 45 grains H4895 with 150 grain FMJ bullet and it seems to work well.

 

[wheelgun28]

Congratulations on a great purchase!!!

Be careful those are very addicting as are the accessories...

I load for them using IMR 4895 I use 150 or 165 (168) grain bullets depending on what I can find. I worked up to 43 grains and for me they shoot great, no cycling issues. I only shoot out to 100 yards and often at 70 as thats the local range. I am also using mil brass.

The CMP web site offers lots of good info on reloading.

30:06 loads are very tried and true, just work up into them for your rifle.

Good Luck

 

[growr]

Lots of articles around on loading for a Garand....stay with powders like 4895 or a burn rate VERY close to it and you will be fine.

Use 147-150-165-168-173-175 grain bullets and things will be great as well. Most accuracy is in the 2600-2700 fps range.

Take one factory round as a set up for your OAL and you will be good to go.

Randy

 

[Skip Sackett]

Anyone using MILSURP powders?
Russian 4895
WC844
WC846

 

[Prof_Fate]

master po has info on reloading for the garand. M1 load data (courtesy of NRA)

From there and other things I've read and the bits I"ve gotten to start reloading:
you can find pulled mil ball for 11c a head in quantities of 1000. it works, it's cheap, but pulled bullets have marks that can (will?) affect accuracy.
Mil surp ammo is M2Ball usually and is 147-150gr. M1Match (think I got that one right...too damn many Msomethings!) is 168-173gr heads and what the army used for snipers and competitions.

The most important thing is you want to keep pressures consistent - too fast or too slow and you can not cycle ( A PITA) or you'll beat up your op rod and ruin your rifle. You can get adjustable gas check/valve form midway and others for $10-15 and this should allow you more flexibility in loads.

I picked up 500 one fired brass at CMP for $30 plus have a few hundred of my own used mil brass. You need to deprime and then using a primer pocket tool (many choice/options) ream out the crimp or else you won't have great success with a new primer installation.

Reloaded brass is CLEAN compared to mil surp. It goes into the enblock clips SOOOO much easier!

Popular powder are IMR4895 (buy a LOT - I bought 8lbs to do 1000 rounds vs 1 lb of bullseye that does over 2000 rounds of 38!) or 4064.
4895 is an extruded powder - think chopped up pencil lead. Few powder measure like to meter it, many cut it. From what I've been reading that makes it slow to load - set you measure to throw light and throw onto a scale then trickle to get to 47gr (or 45 - load varies based on brass type, commercial or mil as mil is thicker so you reduce the load by 2 gr). A couple of tenths I'm told won't make a difference.

I've been thinking of getting the RCBS chargemaaster 1500 as I hear it works great. Hey, it's only money!

 

[growr]

Prof Fate,
thanks for the link to the NRA loading data...I was going to do the same but couldn't find it as fast as you did.

The match ammo designation with a 173 FMJ is M72

Skip... I have used the WC844 with good success in an M1 with 150 FMJ and 173 FMJ ....Russian 4895? wow that could be interesting...I once had some Bulgarian 4895 that was a good bit faster than IMR or Hogdon....shot well but had to reduce the weight by about 1.5-2 grains.

If I were going to use it I would start with a solid bolt gun and a chronograph to see where things are at before trying it in your Garand. If velocities and pressures seem the same as our 4895, then I think you would be fine.

Randy

 

[ACP230]

I used H4895 and Winchester 147 FMJ boattails. The bullets were either overruns or pulldowns. Shot fine out to 200 yards which is the range the matches here used to be shot at. Cycled the action well and the brass lasted a fairly long time. Used the same loads with Remingtion
150 grain PSPs when I hunted with the Garand one deer season.

Velocity was around 2,600 fps. I didn't need to go faster since I was just punching paper.

I never used any other powder than 4895 for either the M1 or the M1A.
Worked so well I figured why experiment.

 

[Nevada Ed]

One of my Speer books stated that the cci #34 primer had mil. spec sensitivity and for the gas operation safty the data
posted starting loads of 51grs of H380, 44grs of IMR4895 and 45grs of IMR4064, with the Speer 168gr BT HP-match bullet with an OAL of 3.295".

I have a 1903 and use regular cci primers and have yet to have a mis-fire.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I also shoot cast 150 gr. gas checked bullets in mine.

 

[Ron H.]

Sir, there's lots of good info here: http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/176829-need-garand-load-nm.html

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

 

[bgrafsr]

$100.00 for 200 rounds of .30-06? I must really be out of the loop.

 

[planojack]

One little warning on the milsurp powders. Several years ago, I took my newly acquired Garand and a supply of loads that worked well in my 03A3 to the range. They were loaded with a very slow powder, (4831, I think). The pressure curve was apparently off and the piece doubled or tripled with each trigger pull. A change to loads with 4895 solved the problem.

 

[BigBill]

In all my military surplus semi auto rifles i use only CCI #34 nato primers with IMR 4895 powder. The #34 primers have a thicker wall for the floating firing pins so they won't slam fire. The #34 primers are also 1 1/2 times hotter than normal large rifle primers. So your powder charge may need to be cut back a tad.

At www.wideners.com they offer the 150gr FMJBT bullets you need for the garand in bulk. These are pulled bullets and free from all marks too. I been buying up the 145gr FMJBT for my 308's.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Skip,
It's really not how hot the rounds are, it's how slow the powder is that causes the problems. If the powder is still building pressure when the gases hit the gas port you can slam the op-rod back hard enough to bend or break it. That is a very expensive part to replace these days.

I have been loading 30-06 M1 Garand ammo for about 3 years now since I bought my M1 Garand from CMP. (an H&R) I have gotten very good results using a CCI#34 primer with a charge of 46.4gr H4895 under a pulled surplus 150gr M2 bullets from Widener's. Of course if you're looking for "Match" accuracy there's nothing wrong with loading a 168gr match bullet but for range fun I like the load I listed. Widener's also sells the same bullet in lots of 2000.

I have also used a CCI-200 primer when there were no CCI#34 available. (and sometimes the CCI-250 too)

 

[Forrest r]

After owning several garands & “tanker garands” (308), I’ve found that these little gems are the cat’s meow.

Schuster DCM Adjustable Gas Plug Wrench M1 Garand Steel Parkerized

They come in a 2 hole & 4 hole version. They did this to mimic the different slots in the original gas plugs (early=’s strait slot & late=’s x or cross). I like the 4 hole version better, it allows for finer adjustments.

These adjustable plugs will free you from the bonds of the 4895 only m1 blues & will allow you to use any powder you want. They are caveman simple to use, just dial them all the way out & the rifle will act like a single shot rifle. Adjust the gas plug’s adjuster screw in a little at a time while test firing until it allows enough gas in to start to cycle the action. Then fine tune the rifle/load combo from thereby keep opening the plug by little adjustments at a time until you get the rifle to function. I like to set the plug so it will lay the spend cases 2 to 3 ft away.

An as you will find out, 2 to 3 feet away is a huge difference from what the garlands normally do. The ability to control the garands fixed hole gas port with an adjustable gas port brings these rifles into the 21 century. It will allow you to use/shoot any 30-06 load, powder, mfg’d ammo you want.

Protect your $1000 investment & open up a new world for it at the same time.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Forrest r,
I'll check them out!

Here is a picture of mine:

I got a case, sling, certificate and one clip with the purchase.

I also found out when it was made: November 1941. Now, this one is all new, except for the receiver, but, that is when it was made.
So, since I got it on the 237th birthday of the US Marine Corps, and I am a former Marine, and this was built in November, I am going to assume it was born on The birthday as well. Makes it exactly 71 years old, as a matter of fact!

Shot it and it will shoot MOA no problem. At 50 yards, first 2 shots were in the bullseye but a bit left, 3 clicks and good to go. Moved to 100 yards and was 4" low and 4" right, a few more clicks of adjustment and we were dialed right in.

I am excited! Now, to build some rounds for myself!

 

[Nevada Ed]

Got to love those iron sights !!

When you find your loads another thing you might do is see
how many clicks it takes to hit a spot 6" left and right of
center line at 200 yards to give you some data for those windy days that might be in the future.
200 yards is the maximum yardage at the Reno range for "walking distance" targets to put up paper targets, longer distances has to be with matches and aid of a spotter.

Good shooting

 

[growr]

Mark those settings so that you can return to them....I usually write them on a piece of masking take that is on the stock as well as have a chart in the log book.

Also, I usually will set the rear sight to the mechanical zero and then move the front sight accordingly so that I have the full range of motion in the rear sight.

If possible, see about purchasing a high power log book with all of the standard windcharts for a .30 caliber.....helps BIG time..Champions Choice, Champions Shooter Supply and maybe even CMP will have them.

Your sights are 1 minute per click for windage and elevation...so at 200 yards as mentioned above it should take 3 clicks right or left to hit a spot 6" on either side of the bull. 1 minute will move the point of impact approx. 2" at 200 yards.

I always counted my click up from bottom for each yard line....ie. 10 clicks up from bottom is my 200 yard elevation zero with M2 Ball or equivalent. 300 yards is 13 up from bottom, my 600 yard zero is 23-24 up from bottom.

I always would return the sight to the bottom after each string to prevent putting my elevation on twice....seen many a fellow shooter do just that....oops

If you change to a different bullet weight, then build another grid with all of those elevation markings as well. Then simply look up what you need for any given distance and bullet weight.

Probably more information than you needed....comes from many years of high power shooting.

Randy

 

[Skip Sackett]

Randy,
GREAT information! Thanks a bunch!

I doubt I will be putting any tape on this stock anytime soon but, making a log book is a good thing.

When I got the rifle, someone had moved the sights so far to the left that they were over against the last mark! I figured if I put them back in the center and it was way off, I would move the front sight. No need, I am just a few clicks from the center line anyway and am right on target left to right.

I wish I would have bought this rifle or an M1A instead of my AR-15. I never was too enamored with that little round but, I have one now so, it stays until they come to take them away from us!

At any rate, I went to the range again today and, I'll tell you what, this thing is going to go everywhere I can take a rifle! It is absolutely awesome!

The loadings I used today found me a duplicate for the M2 ball and I am using a powder that cost me $15/lb, Russian 4895. I took two loads, one with some 150gr pulled bullets and another load with 165gr Nosler BTBT. Both loadings were from an NRA suggested load data sight and shot really, really well. The 150gr shot to 30fps more than the Greek M2 Ball I bought at 2730fps and the 165gr ended up with just over 2650fps. At 100 yards, with the standard sights that came on the rifle, I could keep all shots inside a 6" group. Just shooting from a bag, nothing special or slinged up. Next time I will get all geared up and see what happens.

But, like I said, I am super pleased. In fact, I was so pleased, I called the CMP store in Ohio where I bought the rifle and told them that I was really happy and to pass that along to the guy that built my rifle. They, of course were stunned because NO ONE calls to tell them they did good! But, this time, they sure enough did!