Garand benchrest position

[BullRunBear]

I have a Garand coming from CMP, hopefully before Christmas, with a bunch of their Greek ammo. When shooting from a bench is there a particular spot of the fore end to put on the rest for best results? I never fired a Garand from a bench before but I can't easily get into (actually up from) kneeling, sitting or prone positions anymore, so it's off hand or benched.

I'm curious how accurate it will be compared to my old bolt action mil-surp rifles. Should be a fun learning curve.

Thanks for any help.

Jeff

 

[mtlucas0311]

I would rest the forward part of the stock on the bag. I would not let it rest on the bottom of the front handguard, that's where the op Rod reciprocates, you don't want that even slightly rubbing against anything.

When testing ammo I always do it prone with a proper loop sling. Since that's not a possibility for you, maybe you can still use the loop sling sitting at the bench while resting the stock on a bag? Not sure if it's possible, but I've always had better results with a good tight loop sling holding the rifle firmly into my shoulder.

Enjoy your new Garand!
Mike

 

[Bexar]

Don't be disappointed too much in that Garand. I think military acceptance was a four inch 100 yard group using GI ammo. That said...I love the Garand.

 

[tcoz]

That's correct about the military requiring the M1 Garand to be a 4MOA rifle but mine will shoot 2-3MOA if I'm having a good day. It depends on the grade that you ordered and the barrel on it.

Edit--I should have mentioned that I shoot my handloads, not milsurp M2 ball

 

[BullRunBear]

Thanks for the tips. I ordered a service grade rifle. Using a sling will be new for me and I'll look into learning about it. I can always apply it to the other rifles.

Shooting the Garand will likely be a bit different from the cast bullet hand loads I'm working up for the old bolt action battle rifles. Love their look and the history behind them and, as I mentioned, learning the Garand will be fun.

I took a qualifying course with the Garand about 30 years ago. Think I remember how to avoid M1 thumb.

Jeff

 

[tcoz]

If you're not already doing so, start reading the CMP Forum.
http://forums.thecmp.org/index.php

The people on there are amazingly knowledgeable and very eager to answer your questions. When you first receive it you should completely strip it except for the trigger group. Clean everything and grease (not oil) it in the appropriate spots. I use Mobil 1 Synthetic. This will give you an excellent understanding of the rifle and really shouldn't need to be done more than once a year or so although you can reapply a small amount of grease to the areas more often. I think the CMP website, thecmp.org, and Garand Gear, garandgear.com, have the best instructionals on doing this. There are also a number of good YouTube videos. It's not a complicated rifle but a lot different from anything else you may be used to working on except an M1A if you have one of those. As an aside, the firing pin channel on my CMP Garand was very gritty and didn't allow the firing pin to move freely so I took it apart and found it was full of sand. Interesting to think about where the sand was from, but anyway reassembling the bolt can be difficult so I watched some videos and learned a few tricks that I thought would help. Well, nothing much helped and it took me and a friend who is very experienced about three hours to get it back together. The next day I went online and bought a bolt disassembly/assembly tool whivh is worth it's weight in gold. My advice is that if your firing pin moves freely within the bolt, don't take it apart until you have to or until you have the tool.

If your interest is really piqued, you can get one of the books that will help you identify all of the parts and you can fill out a data sheet on it. Almost all Garands were rebuilt one or more times during and after WWII. Since all of the parts from each manufacturer were required to be interchangeable, what we have are "mixmasters". If your rifle is a 1942 Springfield Armory for example, that only means that the receiver is a '42 SA. The other 70+ parts could be from any or all of the other four or five manufacturers. Most of the parts have serial numbers stamped on them and most of the parts that don't, have identifying characteristics that will allow them to be traced to a specific manufacturer and production date. It's a lot of fun to look these parts up in one of the reference books and write them down. There are data sheets available that you can use for this purpose and a few websites that can also help. Scott Duff is considered by many to be the best authority on the a Garand so his books could be considered to be the last word.

The most important thing is that you get out, shoot it and enjoy it. It's far and away my favorite rifle. There's nothing like the "ping" when the clip ejects after the last round to draw people over at the range. Good luck and have fun.

 

[carbine85]

Assuming you get a top of the scale service grade rifle you should expect a 2 MOA rifle with good ammo. Greek ammo is pretty good but it is Mil Surp ammo. My H&R will shoot under 3" with the Greek ammo.
I rest the rifle on a sand bag just ahead of the trigger group and hug the butt stock into my right shoulder with the left hand.
Buy some good commercial ammo suitable for the M1 garand and compare it to the Greek unless you reload. There is a lot M1 reload data out there.
I have used the chrono with the Greek ammo and it's a little surprising at the difference between rounds. I have seen 200-300 FPS difference but still get decent accuracy.

 

[mtlucas0311]

Tcoz brought up some great points about cleaning and greasing the Garand, here's a really good link about how and were to apply the grease:

http://www.garandgear.com/m1-garand-grease

I also agree about using the Mobil1 synthetic grease. A friend I shoot service rifle with is an engineer, formerly from Ford. We forced him into doing the research to find out what the best grease was. He came up with the Mobil1 as the clear choice for a list of reasons.

When I first started shooting the Garand matches, I set out to find the best load for my rifle to squeeze every bit of accuracy I could out of it. One of the best rifle shooters at our club (and my bullseye team match partner) old me not to bother, just load up 46.0 grains of IMR 4064 with HXP or LC brass with 168 grain match bullet and shoot it. I decided to play mr. Load developer ALL SUMMER anyway.....guess what load was the most accurate....

 

[MEHavey]

and the Garand can be very accurate... even w/ 57-year old surplus.

 

[W.E.G.]

The main thing to remember shooting 30-06 off the bench is LOTS of padding between the butt and your collar-bone.

 

[tcoz]

Buy some good commercial ammo suitable for the M1 garand and compare it to the Greek unless you reload.

A key point to know here is that the Garand doesn't use full power .30-06 loads so you definitely want to use commercial ammo that specifically says is for the Garand or use milsurp Garand ammo. Full power ammo will bend the (expensive) op rod probably sooner rather than later if you shoot it.
If you can't find Garand ammo or just want to be able to use full power commercial, you can replace the standard gas plug a Schuster adjustable gas plug which if you follow the instructions and adjust it properly will allow you to use any .30-06 ammo in your Garand.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/77...s-plug-with-wrench-m1-garand-steel-parkerized

 

[mtlucas0311]

In my opinion, this is the best deal out there for match grade 30-06 specifically for the M1 Garand...the brass alone is almost worth it. My partner for vintage sniper bought a case, it fired superbly. Big surprise, from the CMP.

http://estore.thecmp.org/store/cata...pmax=&note1=&note2=&note3=&note4=&note5=&max=

 

[25-5]

Posts #9 and #11 are spot on. Also you might want to peen the barrel. YouTube has good videos on this. If shown for the M1A it's the same deal. Small hammer and easy touch. Test for tightness after each peen.
Privi Partisan is better than the Greek for ball ammo.
The Hornady 9th Edition Manual has a special section for reloading data for the M1 Garand and M1A.
Sight blackening, front and rear, helps a lot. Use a cloth so it doesn't go all over.

 

[BullRunBear]

Wow! Lots more great information. I did know about the M1-appropriate ammo and I'm set up to reload it properly when the Greek stuff runs out. Did some checking about the Mobil1 grease. Turns out it's good for bolts, the slides and rails on semi-auto pistols and even the center shaft on reloading presses. Considering the low cost and very thin amounts needed, it will be a bargain. The CMP forums and Garand Gear site are excellent. The photos really help. I love learning about new-to-me firearms.

To make this even sweeter: it was my wife's idea to get a Garand. Something about getting one while decent examples are available and affordable. I knew I was right about her 36 years ago.

Jeff

 

[Crashbox]

A very timely thread, I just picked up an M1 Garand myself last week. And I have lots of Mobil 1 grease, too- I use it on my presses and numerous other items. Good stuff.

I found it also paid to let others at my local gun club know, as I just found out one person I knew there (though just in passing) is a virtual expert on the M1; I told him basically what I intended to (re)load with and he said I was on the right track. Objective research is good.

Thanks y'all for what you've posted here.

 

[25-5]

For the M1 Garand and M1A I use CCI #34 primers. For powder Varget, H4895, IMR4895.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Sshhh! Don't mention H4895 and M1Garand. Keep it a secret. Never, ever, load the 150 grn Hornady, over 47.5grn H4895, it'll bad bend your op rod! (Not the rifles!) my two M1's shoot it under 1.5moa but have superlative barrels.
Man, I love these two rifles! Love the ping! Load, repeat!

 

[tcoz]

I did know about the M1-appropriate ammo and I'm set up to reload it properly when the Greek stuff runs out.......

IMO you shouldn't wait for the Greek stuff to run out. Start loading for it now especially since components are plentiful at the moment and they may not be in 6 months to a year. Plus your handloads will be more accurate.
Greek HXP brass is good and there are always a number of people selling it at very reasonable prices on the CMP forum. Buy a small amount to get started and save your own once fired brass as you shoot it. My range is only 100 yds so I use good old Hornady 150gr FMJBT projectiles that you can buy for about 17-1/2 cents at various online sellers. Some people will disagree with me here but I use CCI 34 mil-spec primers because they're a little more resistant to slam fires and it's pretty widely known that the M1 Garand is more prone to them than just about any other rifle...but they're still very uncommon. Load development for my M1 was pretty simple. I laddered three loads and settled on 46.0gr of IMR4064 as I thought I would. Keep in mind that this is the load my rifle likes best and you should always develop your own.

 

[BullRunBear]

Tcoz, Thanks for the specifics. I plan to keep the cases for the Garand separate from the brass I use in the 03 Springfield, where I use cast bullets, neck size only and load as a single shot. I assume the Garand ammo will need a crimp (research to follow) and full length resizing every time. Didn't know about the CCI #34 primers but it sure won't hurt to try them.

GooseGestapo: Don't worry. If I end up using 4895 powder and the Hornady bullets, I won't tell a soul. Nope, not me! It will be our secret. Death before Disclosure!

Jeff

 

[tcoz]

Full length size definitely. I give a light "crimp" with a FCD but many dont.

 

[BullRunBear]

I already have the Lee FCD for 30-06. It is worth the extra seconds to use it.

It will seem odd to use jacketed bullets. Except for 22 Hornet and 222 Remington, ALL my reloading is with cast and lubed bullets. To save costs I toyed with the idea of cast in the Garand but while they can be made to work, accuracy is usually poor and they can end up clogging the gas cylinder. Not worth the potential trouble to save a few pennies. Midwayusa is having a sale on Hornady 150 gr. FMJBT. Time to place an order.

Over half my shooting is with muzzleloaders and black powder. It would be a hoot to start a session with a flintlock and switch over to the Garand. There is a lot of variety in our hobby.

 

[Reloadron]

As to loading for the M1 Garand there is;

Master Po's M1 loads (Courtesy of the NRA).

Another good source is the data from the Hornady 9th Edition which addresses service rifle loads. The following loads will keep your pressure curves where you want them.

Service Rifle Loads.

Crimping the loads is a matter of personal preference. I suggest you try a crimp like the Lee Factory Crimp Die and try using just neck tension. See what works for you. Powders like IMR 4895 and IMR 4064 are among the classics for service rifle loading the M1 Garand and M14 type rifles.

Ron

 

[cfullgraf]

A key point to know here is that the Garand doesn't use full power .30-06 loads so you definitely want to use commercial ammo that specifically says is for the Garand or use milsurp Garand ammo. Full power ammo will bend the (expensive) op rod probably sooner rather than later if you shoot it.

It depends on what your definition of "full power" is.

The M1 Garand's Achilles heel is the port pressure at the gas cylinder. Modern 30-06 commercial hunting ammunition uses slower burning powders to eek out a little more velocity. This results in higher port pressures when fired in the Garand.

High port pressure results in excessive loads on the op rod which can result in damaging the op rod.

This is why there is a particular range of powders considered safe for use in the Garand.

A pressure relief cylinder plug such as the Schuster will allow for the use of modern hunting ammunition without risking premature failure of the op rod.

The Garand receiver is more than strong enough to handle any commercial 30-06 ammunition loaded to commercial specifications.

 

[tcoz]

Midwayusa is having a sale on Hornady 150 gr. FMJBT. Time to place an order.

Before you order seconds or blems from Midway, check the price on first quality from Monmouth Reloading. I would check the price but I'm at work right now and don't have a chance to do so.

 

[MechAg94]

When shooting the Garand off the bench do be careful with the trigger. I had trouble with "milking the trigger" by trying to shoot it carefully like a bolt gun. The recoil ends up making you rock back and forth on the trigger causing it to fire a second time. I have found if I use only a front rest and keep it firmly on my shoulder, I tend to avoid it.

I would also try to set up the bench rest high so you don't have to lean down too much. That seems to help keep the butt plate on the meat of my shoulder rather than the bone.