If the ammunition fires, just go shoot it. And save the cases. The best military ball ammo for the Garand was the stuff made in the 1950’s up to the early 60’s. I have ammo cans of LC69, the brass is good, but the bullets are awful. If you had NM ammo, that stuff is good, but it is collectable. Come to my estate sale and bid on the unopened case that I have. LOL.
A good rack grade Garand is going to shoot between 3 and 4 MOA with good ammo, and about 4 MOA is what you are going to get will ball. A exceptional rack grade Garand will hold the nine ring at 200 yards. I don’t have an exceptional rack grade Garand, my best one will hold the eight ring.
My first choice of a powder for use in the Garand is IMR 4895/AA2495/H4895. The first two powders are identical, H4895 is almost the same. For all practical purposes, they are “4895”
My second choice of powder would be a toss up between IMR 4064 and AA2520. AA2520 is a ball powder whose pressure curve is totally appropriate for use with the M1/M1a.
If you can buy it cheap, use it.
I purchased AA2520 from Pat’s Reloading, when Pat was on Commerical Row at Camp Perry. I tested my lot. It is one grain slower than some older lots of AA2520 I have used.
My test data is below.
If you plan to use AA2520, I think an excellent load with a 150 grain bullet will be around 47.0 to 48.0 grains. With a 168/174 grain bullet, somewhere between 46.5 and 47.0 grains.
Code:
[SIZE="4"] PAT's Reloading AA 2520 Lot 6095
M1 Garand Rack Grade
150 Sierra Match 48.0 PAT2520 Lot 6095 WCC54 CCI#34
29 April 04 T= 80 ° F
Ave Vel =2625
Std Dev =40
ES = 127
Low = 2547
High = 2674
N = 8
30-06 M98 26" Wilson Barrel
174 FMJBT 46.0 grs PAT2520 wtd R-P Cases, CCI #34, OAL 3.300
lot 6095
10-Mar-02 T = 42 °F
Ave Vel =2585
Std Dev =33
ES = 86
Low = 2548
High = 2634
N= 5
174 FMJBT 47.0 grs PAT2520 lot 6095 wtd R-P Cases, CCI #34, OAL 3.300
10-Mar-02 T = 42 °F
Ave Vel =2636
Std Dev =19
ES = 52
Low = 2604
High = 2656
N= 5
174 FMJBT 48.0 grs PAT2520 wtd R-P Cases, CCI #34, OAL 3.300
lot 6095
10-Mar-02 T = 42 °F
Ave Vel =2700
Std Dev =23
ES = 55
Low = 2668
High = 2723
[/SIZE]