I posted a similar question over on the medium bore forum then figured this to be the more appropriate place to ask.
The other day I bought a Springfield M1 Garand in 30-06. At the same time I bought four boxes of Federal Fusion ammo. I read today that this was not the wisest thing to do as commercial ammunition's primers will not stand up to the Garand's slamming action, and by using it I'm asking for slam fire after slam fire. So I need some Military surplus ammunition.
Anyone know any place in Canada I can get aquire some? I'm currently in BC so west coast dealers are preferrable but not necessary.

Arctic Gun, Are you able to order ammo via internet? I don't know what your importation laws are, so duties, taxes, hazmat charges etc. could be expensive.

If you can order from the internet, and not go broke, then there are a lot of places that can supply you with surplus 30-06 ammunition.

mike

quote:

I read today that this was not the wisest thing to do as commercial ammunition's primers will not stand up to the Garand's slamming action, and by using it I'm asking for slam fire after slam fire.

I've never heard of this! I've owned an M1-Garand and used normal primers without incident. I've also seen many an M1 used in HP competition..... and I've never heard anybody complain about a "slam fire" problem using commercial ammo or ammo reloaded with standard primers.

This said......always be safe and have the weapon pointed in a safe direction when letting the bolt go forward on a round. This is just COMMON SENSE.

The problem with commercial ammo in a Garand has to do with the pressure curve of the ammo. Depending on the powder used in the loading, you can bend the op-rod due to the higher pressures at the gas port, even if the loading is otherwise safe. Generally, medium burning powders are considered safe in the Garand. IMR 4895 is a fine powder in the Garand.

As far as the primers, CCI does make military spec primers, which are designed to be used in auto loading rifles and will help eliminate slam fires. I belive they are built heavier than a normal primer. A solution to a non-existent problem IMHO.

quote:

I read today that this was not the wisest thing to do as commercial ammunition's primers will not stand up to the Garand's slamming action, and by using it I'm asking for slam fire after slam fire. So I need some Military surplus ammunition.

There may, indeed,be some truth to this idea.

Yet I have fired many hundreds (if not thousands) of rounds of ammo through an M1, and this includes a lot of commercial ammo and ammo i have loaded with Federal primers, and have never had, or indeed seen, a slam-fire with an M1!

The op rod bending problem seems to go along with heavy (180 grain or heavier) bullets loaded with slow (IMR 4350 or slower) powders. If you stick to 150 to 168-grain loads, I think your op rod will be OK!

El Deguello is right. I used the M1 for years in the service as a member of the Navy Rifle Team using thousands of rounds of military ammo and loading thousands of rounds without benefit of military primers. Never had a slam fire! I have used more handloads in a .308 version than the '06 as a civilian and still never had a slam fire.

The "answer" most often given on the CSP forum is to obtain an adjustable gas plug to avoid damage to the operating rod.

McCann Industries and Schuster are two manufacturers. Midway or Brownells will carry them.

I've loaded ammo for my garand using Fed mag primers,IMR 4895 and Nosler 165gr BT's w/o any problems.An article I have from the AR uses fed match primers for match reloads with Lake City or commercial brass I also use Den '42 & '43 brass as I have hundreds of empty brass cases.when Fed Ord was in S ElMonte CA I brought back 8 800 round cases of 06 mg ammo that had been purchased by Canada with a tracer every 5 rounds which were removed ,it was den 42 and 43 in link belt shot it in our garands.The ball & black tip 06 ammo left in Africa after the big war probably accounted for every species of african game and would work great on any species in N. America.