Reloading guidelines for M1 Garand M2 Ball ammo

[Papa Charlie]

I have a large lot of M2 casings for my M1 that I would like to start processing. I know pressure is important and this rifle is 1943 Winchester so I don't want to put too much stress on her. She is my baby. Still have 400 to 600 rounds of surplus ammo left. But a lot of it is AP or other collectors type ammo.

I assume that the Spitzer rounds are the preferred in the 150 or 155 gr range. I use Varget in my .308 match rifle but not sure that is the best for ball ammo. I have heard some use IMR 4895.

What do those who reload for the M1 what are you using and what type of charge?

This is not a match rifle, just my piece of history. Thanks for your inputs.

 

[dave@aDave]

The March 1986 American Rifleman has an article by John R. Clarke that should get you started.
Quite a bit of commercial 30-06 is "too" hot for an M1.
Speer Reloading Manual #13 on page 297 has data for a 168 grain bullet using H380 & IMR 4895.
General data suggests a CCI # 34 primer and IMR 4895 powder between 44.0 to 48.0 grains.
Rule of thumb: 150 grain bullet - less than 2850 fps
165/168 grain bullet - less than 2750 fps
173/178 grain bullet - less than 2650 fps
Start at low loading in manual and work up.
Your operating rod is tender and wants to be cuddled.
If you have trouble obtaining either reference listed above, PM me and I will e-mail copies to you.

 

[riflewoman]

Hornady and Sierra have specific data for loading the Garand in 30-06. In general I offer the following:

Primers.,. Winchester or CCI seem to be fine. Remington are decent but Federal seem to be a bit soft leading to indentations after cycling that make me nervous.

powders... the consensus is to keep powder speed between IMR 3031 on the fast side and IMR 4320 on the slow side. Those are for burn rate limits. These are not 100% limiting, as some have loaded 2520 successfully, but you have to be careful and understand the limits.

bullets...the old admonition that “heavy bullets will damage an M1” are patently false. It isn’t the bullet it is the powder charges. Heavy bullets usually get heavy charges. This can raise operating port pressures but there’s also a belief that the total gas volume plays a role in the M1 system. A larger charge of powder creates a larger volume of gas. Even though the bullet has left the barrel there is still a large volume of high pressure gas and it’s still driving the piston. Too this end, be careful of charges exceeding 50 grains of powder. Make sure that it comes from a reliable source. Because of all this, bullets between 150 grains and 180 will do almost everything a Garand can do. Spritzers feed better but some rifles do ok with RNSP.

cases can be almost anything. M1s are t picky. But they are picky about sizing. Use a cartridge case gauge like a Wilson to set up your dies.

as others have noted, the vast majority of commercial hunting ammo overdrives a Garand. If the Garand was a full auto it would cycle at about 800-850 rounds per minute. Which is about the upper limit for the operating rod mechanically.

 

[rammac]

M2 ammo was the common ammo during WWII and would probably be the kind of ammo I'd use if it were my rifle.

A load using the following components would work pretty well but I think that there are more accurate loads that I'd prefer.

155gr Sierra SMK
Any case that holds about 68gr of water
Military style primer
COAL of 3.34"
50gr of IMR4064

Another load that would be slightly lighter:
Same as above except 48gr if IMR 3031

There are more accurate loads but I doubt if that's what you are looking for as they produce slightly higher port pressure and you might have to use a vented gas plug.

This should produce a muzzle velocity of just under 2800 fps

 

[D.Stone]

The 175 Sierra Match King is a very good approximation of the M1 Ball bullet; in fact it was designed to replace it for use with 308 Winchester Military Match ammo.

I want to say my go-to 30-06 load was around 48 grains of IMR 4895. These days I would use Varget or H4895 and find a charge weight that gets me to around 2650fps, and call it good. I know the M1 ammo they were shooting out of Springfield rifles was right at 2700fps, and that was in the 1920s.

Varget, H4895, and IMR 4895 are all very close in burn rate, so I would take the extra temperature stability of Varget or H4895 over the IMR variety. IMR is preferred by some people...but that's probably because it was the best powder around when they started shooting, and they've been doing the same thing for 50 years.

 

[akajun]

As stated before , it’s the powder burn rate not the bullet weight that’s critical.
Good powders are 4895, 4064, 3031, 748, and others in that range
Keep bullets in the 150 gr to 175gr range for general shooting
I will say that my go to load for games matches is 47 gr of 4895 or 4064 pushing a 135 smk or nosler 140
Light recoiling and accurate

 

[fatelvis]

Here's some great and proven loads for the Garand:
http://www.masterpostemple.bravepages.com/M1load.htm

 

[SPQR70AD]

during WWI the 30-06 round with 150 gr bullet was out ranged in machine guns by the 8mm Lebel which had a higher BC bullet. so the army switched to the 173 gr BT bullet which when the Garand was introduced was to much for the rifle and they had to switch back to the 150 gr for WWII. the Johnson rifle was much stronger

 

[Papa Charlie]

I don't plan to shoot this rifle in competition. I have my F-TR rifle for that. This is my collector rifle that I enjoy shooting now and then. I don't want to take the chance of over loading it and bending the op rod or causing any other damage to it.

I had read that the government at some point had gone to a heavier 173 gr BT bullet, but went back to a 150 gr bullet. Not sure if the 150 gr was a Spitzer FB or a BT. Although I think it was the Spitzer FB. I think the 150 gr Spitzer FB may be my choice here. It is my understanding that there is no benefit to BT at ranges less than 300 yards.

I think I will probably go with the Varget. It is not temperature sensitive and is close to the burn rate of the other recommended powders. Besides I have larger quantities of it for my F-TR rifle. Thinking about starting at 43gn through 47gn looking for something that does not exceed 2700 fps (+-) @ the muzzle, but shoots well.

As I already use CCI LR primers BR-2's, I will try those.

Thanks for the input.

 

[akajun]

The m1 bullet was 172-3 and was replaced by the m2 150 gr bullet for weight savings on the soldier and shipping however the m1 was still retained for belted machine guns and sniper use as it did in fact fly farther for the machine guns and shoot better for snipers.
Nm 06 Ammo was always loaded with 172/3 grain bullets and is fine for the garand.

 

[Papa Charlie]

The m1 bullet was 172-3 and was replaced by the m2 150 gr bullet for weight savings on the soldier and shipping however the m1 was still retained for belted machine guns and sniper use as it did in fact fly farther for the machine guns and shoot better for snipers.
Nm 06 Ammo was always loaded with 172/3 grain bullets and is fine for the garand.

Do you know if the 172/173 was a BT or FB bullet?
I think it was a BT.

 

[riflewoman]

The actual rationale for changing from the 173 M1 bullet to the 150 grain bullet was as much due to improvements in tactics in using small caliber mortars. With the use of 60mm and 81mm mortars, the long range area weapon indirect fire of a heavy machine gun was no longer needed.

 

[2506]

I have been shooting the M1 Garand for about 40 years. Here are some things I have learned. NEVER USE ANY FEDERAL PRIMERS. You WILL have slam fire because they are too sensitive. Any CCI, Winchester and Rem. 9 1/2 is fine.
IMR 4895 is the go to powder for 150/55 gr bullets. IMR 4064 and Varget and RL 15 for 168 to 180 gr. Keep the loads mild. If using military cases you will use about 1 gr less powder than most commercial cases.
For my 1953 Springfield M1 this is it's load.
LC Match Case, 48 grs IMR 4895, CCI-BR2, 155 gr Nosler Custom Competition BTHP, COAL 3.334 and I use a medium crimp using a Lee factory Crimp Die.

Use GREASE not oil on moving parts.

 

[akajun]

Do you know if the 172/173 was a BT or FB bullet?
I think it was a BT.

Bt

 

[akajun]

The actual rationale for changing from the 173 M1 bullet to the 150 grain bullet was as much due to improvements in tactics in using small caliber mortars. With the use of 60mm and 81mm mortars, the long range area weapon indirect fire of a heavy machine gun was no longer needed.

In hatchers notebook it was specifically stated thats why they went back to it for belted machine gun Ammo, lobbing it over hills and such

 

[dave@aDave]

I have been shooting the M1 Garand for about 40 years. Here are some things I have learned. NEVER USE ANY FEDERAL PRIMERS. You WILL have slam fire because they are too sensitive. Any CCI, Winchester and Rem. 9 1/2 is fine.
IMR 4895 is the go to powder for 150/55 gr bullets. IMR 4064 and Varget and RL 15 for 168 to 180 gr. Keep the loads mild. If using military cases you will use about 1 gr less powder than most commercial cases.
For my 1953 Springfield M1 this is it's load.
LC Match Case, 48 grs IMR 4895, CCI-BR2, 155 gr Nosler Custom Competition BTHP, COAL 3.334 and I use a medium crimp using a Lee factory Crimp Die.

Use GREASE not oil on moving parts.

+1, YEP

 

[wkdickinson]

A bit off topic, but I have had great results with my M1 (Springfield SN 500K, 1943 barrel date) by pulling bullets from BALL ammo and then seating Sierra 155gr Palma bullets.

 

[karrarararararar]

For 200 yard games matches, 49.5 grains of Varget with 125 Speer TNT's hammers.

For sniper matches, 46.2 grains of Varget with 178 ELD-M.

 

[D.Stone]

The actual rationale for changing from the 173 M1 bullet to the 150 grain bullet was as much due to improvements in tactics in using small caliber mortars. With the use of 60mm and 81mm mortars, the long range area weapon indirect fire of a heavy machine gun was no longer needed.

The primary sources I have read claim that production of the M1906 ball ammo was continued for training purposes because the M1 ball bullet exceeded the safe dispersion zones of many of the ranges in the United States.

And it was decided during the inter-war years that it was cheaper to produce the old ammo than it was to expand the impact zones of ranges in the country.

M1906 ball eventually became M2 ball ammo.

My understanding is that M2 Armor Piercing was basically standard issue during World War II for combat purposes.

30-06 National Match ammo was loaded with 173gr M1 bullets from basically the mid 1920s onward...and it was used in M1 Garands with no issue.

 

[243winxb]

Reloading for Semi-Autos and Service Rifles http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reloadbasics/gasgunreload.cfm