I am begging wife for a Garand. As my dad, and uncles carried these, and they are not going to make anmore of the "real" ones, her resolve is weakening. I am looking at a CMP, and a new CMP stock set.
As I understand it, H4895 is a natural for this round/rifle.
Any suggestions you might have are appreciated, I would like an accurate load, economical on bullets and powder, that will let me maximize brass life.

(don't want much, do I)

Thanks Gents!

150gr fmj with 48gr 4895

168gr match with 46.5gr of 4895

The following are loads I have shot in my CMP M1's; all loads used CCI #34Primer and milsurp brass:

150gr WinSP H4895 46gr ?

155gr Nosler Comp IMR 4895 47gr 2600fps

165gr RemSP IMR 4895 46gr 2600fps

168gr AMax IMR4895 47gr 2577fps

168gr Amax H4895 46gr 2622fps

The 155NosComp load was accurate (2"); the 168grAmax was accurate (2.5"). These loads were fired in several CMP rifles I have.

I'd suggest buying some of the LC non-corrosive ammo CMP has, and saving the brass and clips. This will give you a source of good brass. Remember to back off 1 to 1.5grs from reported loads when using milsurp brass. You will have to take the military crimp out of the primer pocket. The "cheap" way is to ream it out with a deburrer or countersink or large drill.

You will have to trim after the first use; however, after that I have not had to trim for several loadings. I'd try and keep my brass separated by "lot" for reloading purposes.

A case gage is very helpful-even necessary- and you may have to "dress" cases after sizing that have burrs on their rims where they were "abused" by the extractor.

I bought some MilSurp 4895 from AA and have been shooting it. It works just fine and was about $8/pound in 8 pound cannister. If you buy the M34 primers at the same time you can have them for the same hazardous fee. Graf&Sons have M34 primers for $59/5000 plus the fee. I don't know if they have the surplus powder. They have H4895 for about $130/8pounds. Check the Nosler Pro Shop (Google it), and see what 30cal bullets they have one sale. The 155 and 165 Competitions have a good rep for acc and are some times reasonable. They will be about .5-1" better than bulk Winchester 150's or Rem 165's, and sometimes equal to or less expensive.

Be sure to get the neat little green book on disassembly of the rifle (shot manual) from CMP for about $8-12. It is irreplaceable. And replace the recoil spring in your rifle first thing. One of mine was crystalized and fragmented when fired. Kudude

Thanks kudude and ScudRunner!

I am fortunate to live about 10 minutes from Powder Valley, so no HazMat fees for me! Can I sub WLR primers for the M34's, or will the fit too loose?
The CMP has what looks like a good deal on 90's production Greek ammo, in clips and bandolers. Any of the greek stuff BLOW UP?
The also have de-linked Lake city ammo, do you think it will be as accurate as the std. rifle ammo?

Thanks guys!
Joe

Win primers work fine, the loads I quoted are for LC brass. I never got great accuracy from LC surplus. You can also use WC-846 surplus powder, 50 grs with a 150gr bullet.

If I were making match loads, I'd go with a commercial brass. If I wanted some accurate fun ammo, I'd use milsurp brass. I have picked up a bunch of the Greek ammo and it loads well. I don't see any difference between it and the Korean brass I've collected.

The US ammo should be non corrosive. The Greek and Korean, I am uncertain of, and clean very thoroughly. I use a cleaner with ammonia and Wipe Out, (turn the rifle upside down) and it cleans very well. Kudude

kudude, the CMP has some Greek ammo, and they state it's non-corrosive, Boxer primed and packed in clips and bandoleers. I wonder if thats the same ammo you picked up. Looks like fun stuff to blast away with, I was just a little unsure of the quality.

Thanks!