What is appropriate ammo to shoot in an M1?

[horseman308]

My dad has an M1, which for a variety of reasons we have only recently had a chance to shoot and get interested in. It has had about 50 or 60 rounds fired through it in the last 15 years since he bought it from CMP. It's on a Springfield receiver (serial # 421xxx) and all the hardware looks in really great condition. I took it down and cleaned everything really well last week before shooting it and everything looked great. I put 40 rounds through it last weekend. It was 30-06 Sellier & Bellot with 180 gr. FMJ. I bought it because it was the cheapest stuff at Cabela's and I had a gift certificate.

Anyway, I've been trying to read up on it and find that some people don't recommend shooting commercial hunting ammo in the M1 for many reasons. I understand the issue with the softer primers and potential slam-fires. But I have also heard that you shouldn't shoot certain weight bullets, that you should only shoot milsurp ammo, that head-space is an issue, and other reasons. Other people don't seem to have an issue.

So what kind of ammo is acceptable? What bullet weight, etc.? Is reloading once-fired brass possible or not for this rifle? I would really appreciate some input, since I don't want to mess up the rifle and I REALLY don't want to get someone hurt.

[mauser98us]

 Issues are standard 30-06 commercial type if used over a prolonged period of time tends to bend the operating rod due to excessive bolt speed caused heavy loads. Best choice is to reload for speeds approximating military ball or ball itself. You know you have the right functioning ammo if it put the ejected shell casings on the ground at approximately 1.00 to 3.00 o clock on the ground. This tells you ,you are approximating the right op rod speed.  Bullet weights between 150 t0 180 grains are about right, with 168 grainers about perfect. Hope this helps Mike

[horseman308]

Okay, that makes sense - essentially you're saying many commercial loads are too powerful for the op-rod to handle the recoil and they need to be loaded down a little bit. If we reload, are regular primers gonna be okay or shoot we look for harder ones? Which would y'all recommend. Thanks for the information, Mauser.

[jpuke]

I've had good results using CCI 200 primers and H4895 powder.  I am a bit conservative with the loads and only get 2650 fps with a 150 grain bullet.  Accuracy is good and it doesn't beat up the gun.  There's also a bit more too it than just "loading down".  The problem with commercial ammo (non mil-spec 30-06) is that the pressure curve is different with slower burning powders and this forces too much gas through the cylinder onto the op rod which leads to the bending mentioned by mauser98us.  There's still plenty of power to be had from the M1 with its standard load.  Look up "M1 Garand" on gunsandammomag.com and you'll find a good article on reloading for the M1.  It's mostly about match loads but the principles are still true.

I also put on a Schuster adjustable gas plug which makes the impulse on the op rod even softer and the empties don't go flying everywhere. 

[cbxboy]

I don't have an M1 but as mentioned you need to be cautious on bending Op rod. 

Powder speed is the key here.  A fast powder is a Real quick whack and done.  All energy is expelled quickly and the bullet is enroute form initial energy.  A slower powder is a boom, which still has powder buning and accelerating the bullet with gases as it travels down the barrel.

Thats the only way I can explain the impact on the rifle itself.  Personally I woudl reload and use H4895 as the powder choice as mentioned.  It was basically our Military standard FOR the M1 Garand action.

Due to the value and personal connection, I would only shoot reloads if it were at my house.  Guaranteed quality control.

[jpuke]

I've gotten a lot of the Greek HXP ammo from the CMP - great stuff if you don't want to reload and still want the correct loads.

[mauser98us]

also look for military cases as they are thicker. I always tried to use National Match brass in my service rifle when competing. Even tho I did not care for remington primers in my bolt gun is used them and the mil spec primers CCI makes. They seem to have a little thicker cups. I also reamed primer pockets to seat the primers uniformly. You would be amazed how many primer pockets are not reamed to spec allowing a high primer seat.  TeThe biggest tell tale to proper bolt speed is the rifle depositing their empties between 1.00 to 3.00 o clock  All the best Mike

[Mikey]

horseman:  Number 1 - avoid Korean war surplus ammo for the 06 - it has led to failures in both ammo and rifles.

#2:  the best ammo you can use is mil-spec, due to the operating pressures.  The Sellier and Bellot 180 gn fmj is ok to use - it is not loaded to hunting specs (higher pressure) but mil-spec. 

Reloads - yes.  The best load I have ever found for the Garand is (with commercial components) 47-47.5 gns of IMR4895 under a 180 gn bullet for 2650'/sec, which matches the M1 match and sniper loadings using a 173 gn bullet at 2650'/sec.  Depending upon your chamber dimentions and headspace, your brass should last you for many reloads.

Different weight bullets - yes!  Standard M1 fodder during and after the great war used a 147-150 gn bullet.  The match/sniper load used a 173 gn bullet.  Later on they found the Garand shot the 190 gn bullet very accurately in the 1000 yd Wimbleton matches. 

The issue is not bullet weight, the issue is pressure that can spike and ruin the rifle.  HTH.  Mikey.

[targshooter]

One of the best reference books for Garand shooters is "The Book of the Garand" by Hatcher. They carry it in Amazon. The M1 was designed to shoot specific .30-06 loads with pressure, burn rate and bullet weight all factors. The military kept the loads within their specifications; the Garand being designed such that its service life was acceptable with the 150 grain and 172 grain loads. When the Garand was under development and adopted, the US Army had switched to the 172 grain bullet (was originally a machine gun load) as the general cartridge. They switched back to the 150 grain due to recoil complaints. All this is detailed in Hatcher's book. Older reloading manuals (from the 1960s) when WWII was not so distant recommended powders for duplicating military cartridge specifications. I believe that IMR 4064, 4895 and IMR 3031 were all recommended. The 4895 was touted as the "exact equivalent". These are DuPont powders, the IM standing for Improved Military. I chose 3031 because I used it very successfyully in my .222 Rem and my .444 Marlin also. I still use IMR 3031. I have not owned a Garand for many years, but I shot thousands of IMR 3031 reloads with 150 grain bullets through one of the Garands I owned and the op rod remained true. The load I used approximated the 2750 fps of the US ball cartridge load. At some of the military matches I participated in during the late 1960s and early 1970s, some of the shooters used 190 grain bullets. The armorers had an unlimited supply of component parts for the Garands and M14s and replaced the op rods and other components as appropriate after a certain time period to avoid loss of firearm performance.

[Cheesehead]

I belive hard primers are a must. In my M1A, useing standard primers, the gun went full auto on me, not good for many reasons. The floating firing pin hits the soft primer upon chambering and sets it off,

Cheese

[prairiedog555]

Cheese,
be careful about saying you went "full Auto"  you might end up like that poor guy from Wisconsin.
I was very disappointed that the NRA didn't support that guy.  He got a raw deal for sure.

[buckweet]

IMR4064...47gr.. SIERRIA 165  works great in mine.

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