[wanderinwalker]

Just curious if there are any special tricks I should try while working up a load for this old warhorse. I have both IMR and Hodgdon 4895 to try out. (Don't worry, I KNOW that they are NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.) I will also be trying Nosler's Custom Competition 155gr BTHP. For an OAL I will try 3.3-3.325" and I have a Lee FCD. Any other points to hit on? Thanks for any and all help.

BTW, I have loaded for an 03A3 using H4350 and 168gr Nosler CCs. To date my best effort with this combo, off of the bench, is 1.5" for 5 shots at 100 yards. I might try the 4895 in this monster, or I might just be lazy and load what I know works. :) We'll see in time.

[hps1]

Do not use 4350 in your garand! It is too slow and will result in too high port pressure which can bend your op-rod.

4895 is the powder the garand was designed to use. Any powder in this burn rate range is OK and the 168 gr is an excellent bullet to use.

Be sure to watch for high primers and/or insufficiently sized cases. I would not load for a gas gun without using a cartridge case gauge (which measures the shoulder length of the sized case). Any case not sufficiently sized that can result in insufficient headspace can contribute to a slam fire in a garand (M1a or AR 15) due to the floating firing pin, which "pecks" the primer each time a round is chambered. Anything which results in the bolt "stopping short" can cause firing pin to strike primer hard enough to set it off.

Since your already have 4895, pick a load that will produce around 2640 fps with the 168 gr. bullet and you will be very closely duplicating M72 Match ammo for the M1.

Regards,
hps

[wanderinwalker]

Thanks. Yes, I know not to use 4350 in the Garand. I had some on hand from loading my .260 and figured that it would be safe for the 1903A3 bolt-gun. The Garand has taken a little hunting to come up with powders to try (for some reason).

And thanks for the heads-up on the M72 spec. I actually have a few boxes on hand, and could probably chrono a few of them alongside the test loads Tuesday.

I'll keep you posted on the results.

BTW, I've loaded for an AR and a couple of other odd semi-autos, so I am aware of checking the dimensions of reloaded cases and watching for high primers.

[PaulTX]

I don't crimp my Garand ammo - neck tension of a properly resized case is sufficient to hold the bullet.

[hps1]

Since you have some M72 ammo will pass on some info you might find helpful.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to purchase some M72 w/headstamp LC 62. I was very disappointed in the accuracy of this ammo and decided to break some of it down to utilize the cases. When pulling bullets, discovered that some of the bullets "cracked" loudly when they first moved in the puller, others did not. Determined that the cases had become "welded" (for lack of a better word) to the bullets and others had not which caused extreme variations in the neck tension. I did not own a chronograph at the time so was not able to check for velocity variations, but am sure there was quite a variation.

I then took the remainder of that ammo, set my sizing die to "bump" the bullet a few thousandths deeper in the case, thereby breaking the weld. The remaining ammo shot very accurately.

You might wish to try that on your ammo, as I am sure it is probably near 40 years old, also.

Regards,
hps

[Khornet]

doesn't military ammo have an asphalt seal at the neck, that you have to break?

I've pulled a few m2 Ball in my time, but always with a kinetic puller, so I'd never hear any 'crack'

[hps1]

Yes, the bullets have a shellac or asphalt material sealing bullet, but this does not cause the problem. That particular lot did not seem to have as much of the sealant as some other batches of ball ammo I have pulled, however. That may have something to do with the matter. The "welding" of the bullet to case neck, I have been told, is due to electrolosis between the two dissimilar metals???

This cracking noise varied considerably from case to case and some did not seem to be affected at all. I did find an obvious improvement in accuracy on that lot of ammo when bullets were bumped a few thousandths.

Regards,
hps