Does anyone here shoot M-1 Garands? I've got 3 RM-1 Specials coming from the CMP and I am looking for some clean, reliable handloads with 150 Gr. bullets that will operate the gas system, but not over task it. Slow burning powders are out. Also what is the cleanest burning powder you have experienced in this rifle? I have 1,440 rounds of the Greek HXP ammo I purchased from the CMP last year, but I have read that some users of this stuff are experiencing bent op rods when shooting it from their Garands. I've fired some of it through my .30-06 bolt guns and it is loaded quite hot. The Greek ammo is said to have the correct pressure curve for the Garand, but I have no way of knowing this, and don't care to gamble a rifle on it. Comments?? Bill T.

There is an article in the March 1986 American Rifleman titled Reloading For The M1 Rifle that has load & bullet data.I reloaded denver 1942 & 1943 brass with imr4895 powder,cci primer,Hornaday 150gr fmj spitzer boattail bullets and with the data in the article for matches. I used the data with a nosler 165gr ballistic tip for a successful mule deer hunt in colorado.A garand owner sent me the article in pdf format it's on my pc.When I was running m1 garand qual matches for our gun club I advised everyone to buy that issue of the rifleman for the article.If you want it send me your email..I purchased a redfield hooded globe front sight with inserts for a garand sight from Dean Alley, he passed but brownells still sells that sight I used in matches and for hunting part number 034-200-001 other parts sources are www.miltecharms.com http://www.northridgeinc.com/gun_parts.htm www.m1garandrifle.com http://www.mccannindustries.com has a gas system for the garand with an explanation on how it functions,they also remanufacture garands into 338 mag & 458 mag rifles

Look at the Hornady reloading manual; it gives loads specifically cooked up for the Garand.

I have the new Hornady manual and I noticed that. To be honest, I trust the guys on this board more. I'll go with what they say over a manual. The combined knowledge here is tremendous! Bill T.

bilt
Yes there are a lot of folks with vast experience on this and other boards.
But they don't have the resources or equipment that Hornady, Sierra, Barnes, Remington, Winchester, etc. have.
Believe the info in the manuals. With a little common sense the manuals will not steer you wrong.

muck

The Hornady data is spot on. I load for a 308 & 06 Garand & use 147grFMJ to 168grSMK. Any of the med. burners starting w/ IMR3031 thru IMR4320 will work fine. Ball powders like BLC-2, W748 & AA2520 work well in progressive measures. Just stay w/ midrange loads in any manual for 06 & you'll be fine. Good accuracy & clean burning, IMR or H4895 for me.

The March/April 1985 issue of Handloader had an article on loading for the Garand. PM me your email or Fax and I'll send it along. My load was 50gr H4895 with 150gr Speer BT.

The Hornady data is a good place to start. The main problem in loading for gas guns is maintaining proper “port” pressure. To high port pressure will bend op-rods+.
Bill

The surest way to load for the M1-Garand is to stick with IMR-4895 or IMR-4064.

Then load the 150gr bullets to 2750 to 2800 fps, while staying under 52grs of powder.
(The original spec's called for 2750-2800 fps and 52grs 4895)
This normally works out to around 48-49grs of IMR-4895, but not always. That is why you need a chronograph and load to the specified velocity.
The armour piercing load drove a 165gr bullet to 2750fps with the same type powder.

So to recap:
1- Use a chronograph and target 2700 to 2800 Fps
2- Use a powder with a 4895 to 4064 burn rate
3- Stay under 52grs of powder, but let velocity drive this value! Once the designated speed is reached call it good even if powder is at 48grs.

Another method is to buy the HXP surplus, use a collet puller and remove the ball projectiles. Then seat & crimp a hunting bullet of the same weight and shape in its place. (150gr Hornady SPTZ is flat based and has crimping grove, works great.) Now you have M2 spec hunting ammo.

I like the 165gr Sierra HPBT at these speeds, but some M1's like a flat based bullet over a BT. Dont know why just that they do.

Have fun!

IMR 4895
Originally a military powder featured in the 30-06, IMR 4895 is extremely versatile. From 17 Remington to the 243 Winchester to the 375 H&H Magnum, accuracy and performance are excellent. In addition, it is a long time favorite of Match shooters.

Living in S. Tx. where summer temps often run up to 105* I found that 47 gr. of H4895 duplicated M2 ball performance and is very accurate load in the Garand. Start low & work up! Have even loaded lighter than that for use by junior shooters in our CMP club matches and had no feeding problems. IIRC we dropped another grain or grain and a half for the youngsters.

In addition to op-rod damage, you should be aware of the precautions that should be taken to avoid a slam-fire when loading for gas guns.

I have fired many thousands of rounds through gas guns using regular primers and have never had a slamfire in one of my rifles. Most of my experience has been with M1/M14’s. Having said that, I have used CCI mil spec primers when loading for the M1/M14 ever since they became available.

Thankfully, slamfires are a relatively rare occurrence in any gas gun, but they have been documented in M1’s/M14’s & can have disastrous results if it occurs before the bolt is in battery.

Lack of care in following careful reloading practices or a bit of debris on bolt face, or perhaps a broken firing pin, combined with a soft primer could cause a slamfire.

While the following concerns an M1, hopefully it will illustrate what can happen should a rifle slamfire while not in battery. I have personal knowledge of several other such events that I did not actually witness. One was an M14 using military issue ammo in which the shooter received some serious injuries, so the hard primer is not absolute insurance against a slamfire.

A friend who is a very experienced highpower competitor and reloader wrecked his match grade M1 Garand using the same handloads he had used for years when the rifle slam fired out of battery. Bent his op-rod, blew extractor/ejector out of bolt and rounded the receiver locking lug recess about 1/8" showing the bolt lug (thankfully) had barely entered the recess but was not fully in battery at the time the slamfire occurred. He received a cut on the forehead and had somewhat of a problem with his trigger control for a while thereafter. Fortunately, the rifle, and his shooting ability have since been restored.

Upon examination of the remaining lot of ammo, we found that the rounds did not have sufficient headspace (clearance) in his snug, match chamber. He had loaded this batch of ammo using the same (full length) die setting as always. Remember, all previous lots had measured OK. The problem stemmed from the fact that this particular lot of brass had been fired at least 8 times and had work hardened. His dies had been set to give proper headspace with once fired brass and he failed to check headspace on this lot after loading. The harder brass springs back more than softer brass after sizing which resulted in oversized (for his chamber)rounds.

Other than a dirty chamber, a broken firing pin or a pin that is no longer free floating for whatever reason, IMHO, ammo is probably the number one cause of slam fires in the Garand & M14. Anything that can cause the round to "stop short" of full chambering can result in the firing pin hitting the primer with sufficient force to set it off. If this occurs before the bolt is in battery, it can be disastrous!

Soft primers can contribute to a slam fire. The CCI #34 & #41 military primers have a hard cup to duplicate GI ammo, most of which is loaded with a hard primer. Handloaders must be aware of two other factors that can result in slam fires.

First, make it a practice to run your thumb over the primer as each round is removed from the press to be sure that the primer is fully seated.

Secondly, each cartridge must be sized sufficiently to fit your rifle's chamber giving proper headspace clearance. I would not load for any "gas gun" without using a cartridge case headspace gauge. Best practice is to run each case through the case gauge at the time the loaded round comes off the press after determining the actual headspace required for your rifle; remember, all rifle chambers are not created equally. At the very least, spot check every few rounds in a given lot of reloads (for this to be acceptable, one must keep all brass in lots that have been fired the same number of times).

Sorry for long post, but hopefully, this information may help someone else avoid this pitfall.

Regards,
hm


One load

A 150 grain Sierra FMJ (part no. 2115) over 46.9 grains of Hodgen Varget is super clean and very accurate out of my Garand. Varget falls right in between H4895 and IMR4895 in terms of burn rate so it's as suitable for the Garand as any other powder.

H4895 and Varget are both very clean, also I like VV 135. Most will shoot the best 2650-2700 with 150 grain bullets.

hm1996;

AMEN to your post.

In my own loading for M1/M1A rifles, I use the L.E. Wilson case gauge on every single round, religiously.

If a round fails to "chamber" freely in the gauge, I give it a fast once-over under lighted magnification, to see if it's just a minor burr on the rim from extraction or ejection. If it's something other than such an easily-correctable fault, the round is deep-sixed, period.

So far, over many thousands of rounds, no problem (crossing fingers).

Thanks for your lucid explanation of the slam-fire problem.