Garand Ammo

[Rshooter]

Got into a discussion with a gent about Garand Ammo. I made the remark that you should only shoot a Garand with ammo made for it and that commercial ammo could damage the op rod. Another got real unsettled and said that any commercial ammo would work in a Garand. I was taken aback with his attitude, he said that dead horse has been beat too long. I wanted to ask him about 30-06 light magnums but I thought discretion was necessary. What is the current wisdom on Garand ammo?

[lapriester]

Any 30-06 ammo "will work " in a Garand. It just won't work for very long if the incorrect ammo is used. But saying that, most any commercial ammo 175gr or lower can be used by simply buying a garandgear ported gas plug. Barring the addition of that you would be well advised to stick with ammo designated as Garand appropriate. You could probably get away with using Remington classic Core Lokt 150gr ammo in one but even that is loaded with a slower than recommended powder. Essentially IMR 4350 powder. Any light magnums or Super Performance ammo I would avoid like a plague. Stay at 175gr or below.

[David Milisock]

Got into a discussion with a gent about Garand Ammo. I made the remark that you should only shoot a Garand with ammo made for it and that commercial ammo could damage the op rod. Another got real unsettled and said that any commercial ammo would work in a Garand. I was taken aback with his attitude, he said that dead horse has been beat too long. I wanted to ask him about 30-06 light magnums but I thought discretion was necessary. What is the current wisdom on Garand ammo?

Stay away from any light magnums, PERIOD. Buy Garand specif ammo if available. The 150 grain factory ammo from major manufacturers will work.

If you have some U.S, Government ammo I suggest this, take a clip and load 2 rounds of your factory ammo so it shoots last and load 2 rounds of the Government ammo.

Shoot the ammo, pay attention to where the brass extracts, how forcefully the op rod cycles, particularly if it bottoms out hard.

Extracted brass should land between 1:30 and 2 o'clock, extraction at 3 o'clock or higher many be a problem. Specifically if the Government ammo extracts correctly but there is a significant change in the factory ammo. If the government ammo extracts at 3 o'clock see if you can find a differ lot 9f government ammo to try, if it all extracts late there may be an issue with the rifle.

In my opinion when considering standard pressure150 grain factory ammo there is very little risk of damage and the discussion is far greater than the risk.

With that said factory ammo with projectiles heavier than 150 grain projectiles may be an issue as increased pressures with slower powders present issues because of the placement of the gas port.

The Garand was designed using a powder that is no longer available using a 173 grain projectile. Prior to WWll the projectile weight was reduced to150 grain and a different powder, today H4895, IMR4895 are reasonable equivalents.

[Smokey]

The ammunition most used in combat with the Garand was M2 AP (armor piercing). This is a fairly hot load that drove a 166gr bullet nearly 2800 fps with 54 gr of a propellant similar to Winchester 760 ball. Peak pressure was around 54,000 psi. It's noteworthy that barrel life with M2 AP was approximately double that of plain M2 ball. Working with Quickload I get a port pressure of 9100 psi, while M2 Ball got 7900 psi. In tests with a variety of 30-06 loads, Grand Gear measured the actual gas cylinder pressure and has plots of the various loads. This might help you work out which factory loads to select for your rifle.
The M1 Garand and Commercial Ammunition - GarandGear

[Rshooter]

Thanks all for the replies. I will stick with ammo made for Garands.

[adanac]

I get all my 30.06 from the TMP, so hopefully it's the appropriate ammo for my Garands.

[Smokey]

The cost of .30-06 ammunition being what it is, I reload and save a huge amount of cash. I can also tailor my loads for what I need.

[David Milisock]

The cost of .30-06 ammunition being what it is, I reload and save a huge amount of cash. I can also tailor my loads for what I need.

I agree 4895 works well.

[lapriester]

I agree 4895 works well.

As does Varget, IMR 4064 and several others. 4895 is a dirty, horrible metering powder. I've been loading with Varget and 4064 for the last 10 years for all my Garands and 1903's for recreational and competition shooting. Varget being the cleanest of the bunch. Data for 4064 and Varget are virtually identical.

[lapriester]

As I said before. If you are having problems finding specific Garand ammo you can shoot most any commercial ammo up to 175gr in your rifle by simply buying and installing the garandgear ported gas plug. Avoid light magnums and Super Performance stuff.

[Beltfed]

As ‘lapriester’ stated, I for one use the ported gas screws on both my 7.62 and .30-06 Garand range rifles. I use unknown surplus powder and tune my reloads to USGI m-2 ball.

[David Milisock]

As does Varget, IMR 4064 and several others. 4895 is a dirty, horrible metering powder. I've been loading with Varget and 4064 for the last 10 years for all my Garands and 1903's for recreational and competition shooting. Varget being the cleanest of the bunch. Data for 4064 and Varget are virtually identical.

I use Varget for my AR in 5.56, the case capacity is good for that case size. I used a great deal of 4064 it never metered well for me and it never worked as the best powder for any of my loads. My loading for 4895 does require a trickle as the metering is as you stated. I haven't found it too dirty, do you use H or IMR. What primers do you use? I do find it works well for medium weight bolt rifle loads and Harand function is dead on loads chronographing and ejecting properly with good accuracy. Mine prefers the heavier 173 grain projectiles and a powder match for the 1935 loading has no direct match. I'm thinking of trying Leverrvolution.

[lapriester]

As ‘lapriester’ stated, I for one use the ported gas screws on both my 7.62 and .30-06 Garand range rifles. I use unknown surplus powder and tune my reloads to USGI m-2 ball.

Honestly, for a 308 Garand the ported plug is completely unneeded. In fact garandgear actually doesn't recommend it's use on a 308. A 308 Garand will virtually and safely shoot almost all commercial and military 7.62×51 ammo made at or under 175gr. Though I still would avoid the Superperformance crap.

[Beltfed]

I used the ported gas screw to develop a load of this unknown surplus powder on both calipers. Yes, once I got the load data dialed in I could go back to a regular gas screw but why? I even have one for my super match M1A.

[lapriester]

I used the ported gas screw to develop a load of this unknown surplus powder on both calipers. Yes, once I got the load data dialed in I could go back to a regular gas screw but why? I even have one for my super match M1A.

If you ever decided to compete in as-issued competition with your Garand the ported plug is not allowed.