I was considering reloading ammo for my M1A SOCOM II. I talked to some guys at a gun shop a while back and told them that I was planning on using either 110 gr. or 125 gr. bullets and they were telling me that using bullets that light might give me some big problems. Does anyone here know if there should be any concern over this or is there something else I should be aware of when using these lighter bullets in a M1A?

Note than I'm not planning on hunting with these rounds. I figured that using a lighter round would be better suited for a possible home defense event since that even a 110 gr. bullet would probably be pretty effective against people, while having less over-penetration of the typical 150 gr. bullets. On top of that, since it's a lighter bullet it could be a bit more controllable and would be good for three gun type of range shooting.

Use the 155 AMAX in the house. Friend of a friend killed someone in his kitchen with it and says it's everything Doc Roberts says it is.

What did Doc Roberts say about these rounds? To me they look more like either target or longer range hunting rounds.

I would want something that expands as fast as possible, to be specific when I brought up the 110 gr. bullets I was looking at the Sierra Varminter bullets and for the 125 gr. bullets I saw the Sierra Pro Hunter bullets. There was also another 110 gr. bullet under the Pro Hunter line that I considered also.

I've shot thousands of Speer 130 HPs through several M1As including one I made into a "Bush" rifle (shot the barrel out in that rifle). I load them to 2900 fps in a 22" standard barrel with H335 or AA2230 in LC cases. Quite accurate and deadly to 500+ yards. Very destructive and would impress "Dr. Roberts" with any up close and personal shots for sure!

It is my load of choice for just what you mention.

Larry Gibson

There have been a few companies that loaded the 308 with 125 gr bullets for Law enforcement use.

The theory being that for Urban Sniper shots it cuts down on penetration.

This will work in any 308 for the same purpose, just make sure you loads are of proper pressure for your semiauto, and that they will reliability function the action of the rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
There have been a few companies that loaded the 308 with 125 gr bullets for Law enforcement use.

What companies make these rounds? It might be an alternative to my idea.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
This will work in any 308 for the same purpose, just make sure you loads are of proper pressure for your semiauto, and that they will reliability function the action of the rifle.

I've already looked into what powders to use for my M1A, to be specific the powders that the Sierra reloading book it says

"In the M1 and M14 series, powder choices are fairly straight-forward; use nothing slower than IMR 4320 as shown on a burning rate chart. The use of anything slower than this will raise port pressure to unacceptable levels and will eventually damage the rifle. As a general reloading practice, avoid powders that are overly fast as they can generate dangerous chamber pressures long before the case is reasonably full. Two of the more popular choices have been IMR 4895 and 4064, both of which were used in military ammunition for many years. For those who prefer ball powders, Winchester's 748 is a good choice and is quite similar to the ball powder used in many lots of Lake City Match ammunition."

On top of those powders I've had people suggest Hodgdon 335 and Hodgdon 4895, which of both of these powders are within the burn rate limits of the powders suggested out of my Sierra book.

Having shot a few deer with 125 gr 308 dia bullets. Out of a 06 I can assure you they make a mess of the insides. Lungs and heart look like mush.

IMR 4895 is considered by many to be the besr all round powder for the M1-A.

I have always used IMR 3031. That is what I would use for 125gr bullets.

I think CorBon still loads 125gr bullets for the 308.

Remington has a Low Recoil 125gr load, it kills deer and pigs great, my Nephew and I have shot a few of each with it, turkeys too, but I do not think they would run a M1-A.

If you cannot find a suitable 125gr factory load and do not want to reload, try some Federal 150gr Ballistic Tip loads.

my socom likes 110 gr bullets better than anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
Remington has a Low Recoil 125gr load, it kills deer and pigs great, my Nephew and I have shot a few of each with it, turkeys too, but I do not think they would run a M1-A.

I've got an adjustable gas plug on my SOCOM II. So if I got some of that ammo I could adjust it as needed to work.

TJC, I have put 700+ Speer TNT 125 grain bullets through my SocomII. They are very accurate out to 300 yards (all I had distance wise at the time) and very destructive on the other end. Don't believe that story about hurting the M1A, its all BS. I would'nt shoot anything I was planning on eating with one!
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewp...productnumber=712369

Try the Nosler 125 Ballistic Tip and WW 748 at either 2900 or 3000 fps.

2900 fps matches range dope for a 147 grain FMJ BT and is a low recoil tactical load. Less recoil than the 150 at 2600 fps cheater loads used by many tactical competitors.

You can go up to 3200 fps in a bolt gun w 24 inch barrel but my Steyr built LAR and M1a handle 3000 fps OK.

Ditto 150 Nosler BT if you need loaded ammo. Reduced power 155 Hornady good load also but in a SOCOM you might be only going 2550 fps or so.

Andy

for your knowledge the Springfield M1A1 weapons system do not have a true adjustable gas system the only thing the system will allow you to do is either turn it on or off, Too maintain a long life of the system you must watch the gas pressure very close most reloading books have a section for the M14 reloading.

Hornady has a 110gr factory load in their TAP line.
I have shot several coyotes with the Sierra 110 varminter and they do make a tremendous mess.
155 grains (A-Max) is the lightest bullet I have tried in my M1A and it seems to like those better than 168s or 175s.

Sam, the 155 A-Max is the hands down most accurate bullet in my loaded M1A. The 125 Speer takes the honors in my Socom II.

quote:

Originally posted by rnb:
for your knowledge the Springfield M1A1 weapons system do not have a true adjustable gas system the only thing the system will allow you to do is either turn it on or off, Too maintain a long life of the system you must watch the gas pressure very close most reloading books have a section for the M14 reloading.

No I meant an after market gas plug, it's this one here.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewp...productnumber=699378

Also thanks Sam for pointing out the TAP Rounds and telling how well those Sierra Varminter rounds work.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I have always used IMR 3031. That is what I would use for 125gr bullets.

Do you mean that you used that powder in a M1A? Or just that you used it once in some other .308 rifle? Looking at my book it would be probably a too fast burning powder.

Try Ramshot Tac with the 125's in your Socom. It is a great powder for that combo. Accurate, good velocity and works fine with the M1As gas system.

quote:

Originally posted by TJC1988:

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I have always used IMR 3031. That is what I would use for 125gr bullets.

Do you mean that you used that powder in a M1A? Or just that you used it once in some other .308 rifle? Looking at my book it would be probably a too fast burning powder.

Sorry I was not more clear. I got my favorite 308 load from another M1-A shooter years ago and I have use dit in several different M1-A's, 308 M1 Garands, FNFAL's, H&K 91's as well as several bolt, and lever rifles.

That load is 39.5gr of IMR 3031 with a 165/168 gr bullet.

This is a mild load but works these gas guns great.
I have also killed a lot of game with this load.
In fact I use the same powder charge for 180gr loads in bolt rifles.

For 150gr bullets I use 42gr of IMR 3031.

The only time I use other than IMR 3031 in a 308 is if I am shooting Palma, or 1000 yd Any/Any rifle matches.

There are a lot of newer powders out there now, but most old school M1-A shooters prefer IMR 4895.

Some of the guys shooting 1000 yard Service rifle used IMR 4064.

However my IMR 3031 loads have always shot so good I never saw any reason to change.

I have never shot 110 or 125 grain bullets in my M1, always use 150 or 165 gr, but in my rifle IMR4064 is best and IMR3031 is a very close second. My rifle for some reason hates IMR4895.

Did you get to try the lighter bullets in the SOCOM? I'm interested to here how they did and what kind of accuracy you got with them. I owned a SOCOM for awhile but could never get any accuracy with it but I always used 147gr. up to 175 gr. bullets. I hope the lighter bullets did the trick for you.

I just had the best shooting session since I bought my M1A 4 months ago.

Winchester brass
44 grains IMR 4064
Federal 210 match primers
Nosler 125 balistic tips

Shot about 1.25" group and ejected well. Next time I'll borrow my buddy's Chrony and see how fast they're moving. I would guess these will turn deer lungs into jelly!