M-1 Garand Guru's I need advice

[pathfinder317]

I inherited a M-1 Garand , and I know nothing about this rifle , other than it is what the guy carried in WWII and Korea , I know it is a 30-06 , now my question is , I read on this site the other day something about not firing commercial grade ammo out of a garand , something about it beeing to much pressure ??
If I don't fire the commercial stuff what should I be looking for ?

 

[RobbLG]

Ammunition Sales

A good start anyway... THE Garand Guru's...

 

[jontheturboguy]

I've also heard about old tales of operating rods of some sort coming and smacking you in the face on the old garands. Any one shed some light on this?

 

[CarmelHP]

There is some concern with Garands that shooting anything that much exceeds the pressure curve of G.I. 30-06 risks damage to the op-rod. I've only ever used FN and LC mil surplus, but some have recommended PMC 150gr 30-06 as being close to mil-spec.

 

[03A3]

Like RobbLG said the CMP is your best bet. What you're looking for is known as M2 ball ammo. You could probably find some at the 1500, both USGI and the CMP Greek HXP ammo. Both are basically the same thing.
Buying it locally or at a gunshow will cost you more since you're paying a middleman, but if you wanted to buy a couple of bandoleers or a can of ammo just to get the old girl out and shooting that would work.
I've seen USGI match ammo for sale but there's no need in using what is getting to be collectible ammo just to plink with.
Schuester (sp) and McCann both make a replacement gas plug that will bleed off some pressure, allowing you to use regular factory ammo. Whatever you do, don't bend your op rod. Use enough of the wrong ammo and it will happen. They can be repaired (usually) but why go there. BTW op rods aren't straight to start with so if you notice yours looks bent don't panic.
Join the CMP. It takes a little paperwork to get it started but it's not that big of a deal

 

[rimfire_crazed]

CMP M2 ball, Hornady commercial M1 loads, or roll your own with 150gr FMJ projectiles and a powder charge of 4895 or similar burn rate powder to generate 2700-2800fps.

Commercially loaded ammo generally uses slower burning powder, creates higher gas pressure, places more stress on the operating rod, and can generally cause all sorts of havoc.

Another solution is to replace the gas block with an adjustable one.

 

[Dog1]

This is something I wrote up on AR15.com a while back-So..you want to buy a M1 Garand.. - AR15.COM

Hope that helps out. If not, shoot me a PM.

What the serial number? I can look it up for you.

 

[boozoo]

There's an adjustable gas plug on the market that will let you shoot any ammo you want in that Garand.

Schuster DCM Adjustable Gas Plug with Wrench M1 Garand Steel Parkerized - MidwayUSA

What I had read on the CMP forums was that you open it up to start, then gradually close it down until it's ejecting properly and you're done. I don't have one yet because the CMP got in a bunch of HXP Greek ammo that works really well.

 

[Yosarian87]

I don't want to sound to idiotic...but is the cor-loc a horrible thing to put 40 down range? how about the Federal Power-shock? Just a question...if so I will return them and look for other options.

 

[Leo]

All the timing on a Garand is built around powder with the same burn rate as IMR 4895. A 150 gr reload that uses IMR or Hodgdons 4895 powder in the middle of suggested loading specs will work fine. Like the man said above, there are adjustable gas plugs, but I never used them, The rifle runs fine with proper ammo.

Please note: unlike the wives tale about military 5.56 brass being thicker, the 30-06 military brass WAS actually much thicker. If using mil brass, the powder charge needs adjusted. The NRA published the proper load adjustment many years ago. I am sure someone still has that around. A little time on the internet will surely turn that information up, if you are loading vintage mil brass. Good Luck

 

[jblomenberg16]

I don't want to sound to idiotic...but is the cor-loc a horrible thing to put 40 down range? how about the Federal Power-shock? Just a question...if so I will return them and look for other options.

The answer is a definite MAYBE. The big concern is around bending the op rod due to the increased pressure. I'm not sure how much different the pressure curve is on the two brands you mentioned, but my guess is since both are hunting rounds that tend to maximize velocity to increase bullet terminal ballistics, they are probably "too hot" for the Garand.

 

[Fordtough25]

Like already said I would stick to ammo designed for the M1 Garand! CMP is the best but there are several ammo makers out there now that make M1 Garand specific ammo.

 

[Walter Zoomie]

AMM-675 - Ammo .30-06 Springfield Federal American Eagle Full Metal Jacket 150 Grain 2740 fps 20 Round Box For the M1 Garand

 

[GARANDGUY]

looks like you guys covered it all. DO NOT FIRE CORELOKT or ANY AMMO OUT OF YOUR M1 THATWASNOT MADE FOR IT or you WILL be sorry! The gas plugs that allow factory modern 30-06 do work if you decide to go that route. I have one on one of my Garands but I only shoot milsurp ammo from CMP.

 

[mikebaker1129]

You will bend a perfectly good op rod shooting the corelokt or other commercial ammo out of the M1 without the ajustable gas plug ,as previously metioned here.
It could be a $125-150 mistake.

 

[Yosarian87]

I got the adjustable gas plug saturday...went out today and it worked great. Had a wonderful day out with it. Looking forward to this next weekend when we can finish up the ammo we bought. Thanks for all the info.