First Garand Reloads, Missing Anything?

[lpsharp88]

I loaded up 16 rounds of reloads for my M1 and am going to shoot them tomorrow, am I missing anything important?
Here's what I did: tumbled the brass, lubed, FL sized/decapped, tumbled again, removed primer crimp, trimmed to 2.48", chamfer/deburr, prime, charge, seat, light crimp. I put all of the cases through my Lyman case gage after FL sizing and again after the rounds were completed. I also verified that each primer was below flush. Load data is as follows, and came from the Garand section of Hornady #9. 150gr FMJ-BT, 45gr H4895, CCI LRP #200, 3.185" COL. I know the charge is light, but I'm starting low and working up. Brass is HXP 1x fired.
I'm probably being a little bit crazy, but I'd hate to blow up my favorite rifle.

 

[Laphroaig]

Looks like a winner to me. Flush primers are very important for Garands. While a 45 gr. 4895 load is light by M2 ball standards, it will function your rifle and probably be as accurate as anything else. No need to go higher in my opinion.

 

[cfullgraf]

Looks ok.

You do not need to crimp. It can cause more problems than it solves for the handloader. Neck tension is what holds the bullet in the case.

I do not crimp my Garand ammunition, or any of the several different cartridges that I fire in my AR-15s

 

[GooseGestapo]

Accuracy may suffer at that length.
My Match/practice load is the same Hornady 150 at 3.250", over 48.0gr of H4895. I use CCI 34 primers, lately some Federal range pickups brass.
If it's not an X, at 200yds, it is my fault, not the guns. (CMP "Special" with criterion barrel).
The cannelure on the Hornady bullet is set for the 7.62x51 (.308). It's wrong for the .30/06 and most other .30cal milspec cartridges.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Sounds like you are fine. I agree the COAL is a little short but if the feed reliability you are good. I would lengthen them in the next batch. I also use a COAL of 3.250" for my Garand ammo.

As you said, your charge is a little light. I also load lighter than I can because of accuracy. I charge 46.5gr H4895 under a 150gr FMJ bullet and they are accurate my M1. I rarely shoot that rifle longer than 200 yards because there are no longer ranges in my area.

 

[lpsharp88]

Thanks for all of the input! I'll see how these loads do in a bit, and try out 3.250" for COAL next time. These are just range blasters, so MOA accuracy isn't the goal

 

[george d dennis]

I use 150gr fmj with 47.0 gr of imr 4895, cci34 primers

 

[1KPerDay]

You did fine. As noted you don't need crimp and should see better results at around 3.24" or so. But yours might surprise you. Good job checking for proper shoulder setback. That IMO is the most important step for Garands, other than using the right powder and charge.

 

[Reloadron]

Once you send those down range be sure to return with how things went. The loads and your attention to detail look fine.

Ron

 

[lpsharp88]

Thanks all! They fed, fired, and ejected just fine. Got the nice PING! and a solid bolt lock back. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring paper targets, so I am unsure of their accuracy (I dumped them into the hill). I brought steel to shoot, but it's not rated for 30-06. I'll load some more up with the longer COAL and not crimp them, and make sure to bring some targets haha.

 

[mdi]

When I started reloading for my Garand I used the suggested OAL from the bullet manufacturer's data. Hornady 155 A-Max, Sierra 155 HPBT, and Nosler 155 HPBT, and OAL ran from 3.210" to 3.250" depending on bullet. BTW my first load was the same as yours, functioned well, shot pretty good groups...

 

[Sunray]

3.185" COL is too short. Load to 3.340". That's the SAAMI .30-06 Max OAL. Been using it with every bullet weight for 40 years with no fuss. Feeds every time.
45 grains of H4895 is a tick below current minimum too. Not enough to worry about though. You'll find you get more consistent accuracy with IMR4064 too.

 

[devils4ever]

I've used IMR-4895 exclusively for my M1. I believe that's what the original military rounds used.

 

[Hardtarget]

You're right there. All I'll say is "welcome to the fun"...M1s ROCK!

Mark

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I've used IMR-4895 exclusively for my M1. I believe that's what the original military rounds used.

You are correct. IMR-4895 was the original military powder for the M1 ammo.

I use mostly H-4895 under either a 150gr or 168gr bullet. Either 4895 or AA2495 are equally good choices for M1 ammo. AA2495 was developed to mimic the pressure curve of 4895.

 

[lpsharp88]

Thanks everyone! Is it ok to just neck size brass fired from the Garand? Or is it best practice to FL size it since the action is pretty rough?

 

[1KPerDay]

No, it is NOT OK to neck size for the garand or any semi auto really. FL only, and some say small base FL. You have to bump the shoulder back and confirm at least 3 thousandths of headspace clearance with a case gauge or other method. I check every piece of brass, every time. Sometimes they spring back a bit after sizing, particularly if they've been resized and fired a few times. If you don't you are risking a slamfire/out of battery explosion which is like a grenade going off at your nose.

 

[Reloadron]

Thanks everyone! Is it ok to just neck size brass fired from the Garand? Or is it best practice to FL size it since the action is pretty rough?

I have to agree with 1KPerDay. Any rounds fired in a semi-automatic rifle should be full length resized. I simple FL Resize and load them up. I simply rely on neck tension (bullet hold) which has worked fine for me over the years. I also inspect my resized brass, each piece. prior to priming, charging and bullet seating.

Ron

 

[mdi]

I have full length sized every round I reload for my Garand. I purchased a "case gauge" but found many of my sized, trimmed brass wouldn't fit the gauge. I made myself crazy looking for a solution. I asked about my "problem" over at CMP forum and got an answer; "Will the finished round chamber?". I tried and yep, they chambered fine. Fed, chambered and shot fine! I soon discovered that my HXP brass was getting dinged on ejection and the rim was distorted enough to keep the round/case from seating in the gauge. The accuracy was the same with the HXP dinged brass as with "normal" commercial brass so I put the gauge away...

At the beginning of my Garand reloading I used a Lee FCD (collet) crimp, but soon found it wasn't necessary so I don't crimp my 30-06 Garand reloads anymore...

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree, always FL resize brass used in any semi-auto rifle.

This is a useful tool for setting dies and checking cases, you might want one.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/270484/lyman-case-length-headspace-gauge-30-06-springfield

 

[lpsharp88]

This is the best forum with knowledgeable members on the net. Thanks you all

 

[Bart B.]

While IMR4895 was popular for Garand loads, it never produced best accuracy with bullets heavier than 150 grains. One of the arsenals (Frankfort, I think) proved that IMR4064 shot the 165-gr AP and 173-gr match bullet about 30% to 40% more accurate than IMR4895 did. But only when charges were weighed to a 2/10ths grain spread. IMR4064 never metered as consistent as IMR4895 in high speed metering cavities in mass production of ammo, hence the choice was economically based. Competitive shooters handloading ammo in new cases used IMR4064 with the arsenal 172-gr bullet and commercial 180-gr FMJBT match bullets from Western and Sierra that shot much better than arsenal match ammo or handloads with new cases.

Fired cases from Garands resized any way never shot bullets as accurate as new ones. Bolt faces were never squared up and the first firing with a new case ended up with its case head out of square enough that if reloaded, its high point would smack the bolt face off center causing the barrel to vibrate more in that same axis before the bullet left. Such reloads strung bullets between 1 and 7 o'clock; right angles to the bolt lug axis when in battery.

 

[Laphroaig]

While IMR4895 was popular for Garand loads, it never produced best accuracy with bullets heavier than 150 grains. One of the arsenals (Frankfort, I think) proved that IMR4064 shot the 165-gr AP and 173-gr match bullet about 30% to 40% more accurate than IMR4895 did. But only when charges were weighed to a 2/10ths grain spread. IMR4064 never metered as consistent as IMR4895 in high speed metering cavities in mass production of ammo, hence the choice was economically based. Competitive shooters handloading ammo in new cases used IMR4064 with the arsenal 172-gr bullet and commercial 180-gr FMJBT match bullets from Western and Sierra that shot much better than arsenal match ammo or handloads with new cases.

Fired cases from Garands resized any way never shot bullets as accurate as new ones. Bolt faces were never squared up and the first firing with a new case ended up with its case head out of square enough that if reloaded, its high point would smack the bolt face off center causing the barrel to vibrate more in that same axis before the bullet left. Such reloads strung bullets between 1 and 7 o'clock; right angles to the bolt lug axis when in battery.

Excellent insight! My "holy grail" of Garand match ammo is the Hornady Garand ammo. I'm pretty sure its loaded with Varget powder, which is close to 4064 in burn rate. I've never been able to duplicate that accuracy with my reloads using the once fired brass.

Bart, do you remember the 4064 charge that was used with the 172 bullets? I'd like to load some 175 SMK's with Varget but am a little hesitant due to the slower burn rate and potential higher port pressures. So far, I've stayed away from that and just used the Garand ammo for the rare occasions when I shoot at 600 yds.

 

[Bart B.]

48 grains of IMR4064 with arsenal 172-gr match bullets worked good with new cases, Nobody ever got good accuracy with resized cases shot in Garands. That's why you couldn't duplicate the Hornady new case accuracy with once fired Hornady brass.

I was issued some Hornady match ammo to shoot in my 7.62 NATO Garands. Did kind of OK at 200 yards, but further down range the bullets stopped landing close together. Muzzle velocity was right so poor bullets may have been the reason. Another lot of Hornady match ammo did very well.

 

[RecoilRob]

Next time you shoot the M1...watch where the cases eject as this is a pretty good indicator of how happy the rifle is with the ammo. If it's throwing them forward at 1-2:00...they're fine. If they go out sideways to 3:00....they're getting a little warm. If they're going back at 4-5:00...they're getting hot for that rifle. If they're going back over your shoulder at 6:00...stop shooting them! This is not a perfect way to judge how the ammo is performing in the rifle, but we've seen many, many M1's that eject in this manner if the rifle is healthy with good springs and ammo that suits the gas system.