Reloading for a M1 Garand- The National Match
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ArchAngelCD
Member.
I'm serious, buy what you need tonight because everyone is going nuts and causing a shortage by what they are doing. Like i said, CCI #34 primers and Tula 7.62 NATO primers are both still in stock at Powder Valley.
Good luck finding everything you need. I'm glad I bought 8 lbs a few weeks ago just because I was getting low on powder. I got lucky again...
Good luck finding everything you need. I'm glad I bought 8 lbs a few weeks ago just because I was getting low on powder. I got lucky again...
ArchAngelCD
Member.
Powder Valley has then and for less money. ($33/K)
http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/
Don't wait, do it now...
I have 5000 #34 and 5000 #41 so i'm not ordering any more.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
If you qualify to buy from CMP you can purchase 200 rounds of loaded 30-06 ammo for only $98 and then reuse the brass.
http://odcmp.com/Sales/ammo.htm
Enbloc clips are also in stock, 25 for $20.
http://odcmp.com/Sales/accessories.htm
http://odcmp.com/Sales/ammo.htm
Enbloc clips are also in stock, 25 for $20.
http://odcmp.com/Sales/accessories.htm
rodregier
Member
Up to say 250 yards the bulk Remington 165g PSP projectiles are a good buy for accurate loading the Garand in my experience. (Trajectory is better beyond 250 with a HPBTM projectile). Use 168g load data.
http://www.natchezss.com/Bullets.cfm?contentID=productDetail&brand=RX&prodID=RX235951&prodTitle=Remington .308 165 gr PSP 100/bag
http://www.natchezss.com/Bullets.cfm?contentID=productDetail&brand=RX&prodID=RX235951&prodTitle=Remington .308 165 gr PSP 100/bag
rodregier
Member
You don't have to use mil-spec brass for reloading the Garand, good commercial is fine. Using the cartridge gage to setup your resizing die is really important. (as mentioned earlier).
Thanks, I must have lived too long, as people are now thanking me on my advice on how to reduce the risks of a slamfire , when prior to the turn of the century, I received a lot of hostility.
I found out the hard way that the NRA advice, that “only high primers” and your worn out blunderbuss caused slamfires, was patently false. The NRA staff always misdirected the conversation away from anything having to do with the design of the mechanism, never acknowledged primer sensitivity, their root cause for all problems was “shooter misconduct”.
It does seem that with all the reports of inbattery and out of battery slamfires that the shooting community is recognizing that primer sensitivity and the kinetic energy of the firing pin has been the primary root cause of slamfires. I am of the opinion that all measures necessary must be taken to reduce the probability of a slamfire, especially an out of battery slamfire.
When I read and have talked to people who have had out of battery slamfires in Garands the most common themes were Federal Primers and standard sizing dies.
There are enough out of battery slamfires accounts with US and Greek military ammunition to give me the willies,
but the most dangerous reloading condition in these mechanisms is an insufficiently sized case and a sensitive primer. You cannot totally control individual primer sensitivity, you can buy primers that are on average less sensitive, but you can control how much you size the case. I wanted to show that standard sizing dies sometimes do not reduce a case enough to drop in the chamber.
Gene Barnett cut me this reamer cut gage. He also cut me a 30-06 reamer cut gage. These gages are exact duplicates of the chambers of the match rifle barrels he cut as he used the same chambering reamer to cut these gages.
Wilson gages are excellent for their purpose: to measure length from shoulder to base. Wilson gages are cut large between the shoulders so that you can drop a fired case into the gage and get a very good idea of the headspace of a bolt action. It does not work for a gas gun, because cases are stretched during extraction in a gas gun. But, the limitation of these gages is that they don’t measure “fatness”.
The reamer cut gage will display “fatness”.
Unsized range pickup cases. One falls into Wilson gage, as expected, the other will not drop into reamer cut gage.
one case sized in standard sizing die
Lee Die sized case does not drop into reamer cut gage.
Small based sized (actually sized in an RCBS small base die) drops all the way in.
I also purchased reamer cut gages from Compass Lake Engineering http://www.compasslake.com/. Frank has a number of barrel stubs that he will cut with a chambering reamer to make you a reamer cut gage.
I will "confess" that most of my range pickup cases dropped into the reamer cut gage after sizing in the Lee die, but go deep enough into your brass bucket and you will run across fat cases especially if you have once fired military cases.
But to continue pounding on this subject, but without additional pictures, is something happens when you stuff a bullet in the case. This is not appreciated till you get gages, but there are dimensional changes when you stuff a bullet in the case.
My second out of battery slamfire, occurred with 30-06 cases that were sized in a Bonanza NM sizing die. It sized cases down more than my RCBS standard. I did not have small base dies at the time. Each of the Bonanza sized cases would drop into the reamer cut gage. But when I reloaded the same cases with powder and ball, and tested them by dropping them into the reamer cut gage, rounds stopped basically at the location you see in with the standard based sized 308. Just a little case head sticking out. I sort of tossed it off because conventional wisdom was that only high primers caused slamfires. To prevent high primers I had individually reamed each primer pocket to depth and inserted a Federal Match primer by hand and visually inspected each case to see that every primer was well below the case head. I reamed the pockets to an excessive depth, probably 0.006 to 0.008” below the case head in the errant belief that if high is bad, then really low must be good. Events showed the fallacy of that theory. I was sighting a new NM Garand with a new Barnett barrel. The receiver was cherry and the parts were virtually new in the box GI. That Garand slamfired out of battery, from the clip, blew the back of the receiver heel into my face, busting my shooting glasses and cutting my cheek. My shooting glasses prevented a hail of brass and powder bits from getting into my eyes.
Except for the receiver, I am still using all the other parts from that rifle, including the trigger mechanism, and the reconstituted parts made those targets I previously posted.
There are a few things that can be learned about this 1) always wear shooting glasses, 2) primer sensitivity is always important 3) cases change dimensions after you seat a bullet 4) even a slight interference fit increases the risk of an out of battery slamfire.
Now just where the case changed dimension, I don’t know. Maybe the shoulder is buckling, or the sidewall. But when I started sizing with small base dies, loaded rounds dropped flush into the reamer cut gages.
So it is my opinion that clearance between round and chamber is very desirable.
TooManyToys
Member
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Smamfire1,
I can't imagin the amount of time you must have spent assembling & composing this information! and then presenting it in the clear and concise way! (Nice photos too)
It is contributers like you (and others) who continue to make this site a treasure of experiance, knolledge & wisdom.
I'm sure I speak for many readers when I say Thank you for sharing.
I can't imagin the amount of time you must have spent assembling & composing this information! and then presenting it in the clear and concise way! (Nice photos too)
It is contributers like you (and others) who continue to make this site a treasure of experiance, knolledge & wisdom.
I'm sure I speak for many readers when I say Thank you for sharing.
Last edited:
Centurian22
Member
Slamfire1,
Very informative, clear and well presented information! I don't have any semi-auto centerfires yet, but this gives me a very clear understanding to watch for if I obtain one in the future or encounter one from a range 'neighbor'.
Thank you for taking the time to assemble and present this.
Very informative, clear and well presented information! I don't have any semi-auto centerfires yet, but this gives me a very clear understanding to watch for if I obtain one in the future or encounter one from a range 'neighbor'.
Thank you for taking the time to assemble and present this.
SlamFire-
This is going to probably be a total "durrr" question. So, when you're talking small based dies, you're using the 308? I have both the FL and the SB 30.06 dies, but I just wanted to clarify your process and see if I can pick up the "must haves".
Thanks!
This is going to probably be a total "durrr" question. So, when you're talking small based dies, you're using the 308? I have both the FL and the SB 30.06 dies, but I just wanted to clarify your process and see if I can pick up the "must haves".
Thanks!
Red is Dead
Member
I have small base dies in 223, 308 and 30-06. Those are all the calibers I shoot in NRA Highpower, and these are calibers which I have multiple rifles and semi autos.
I don't have pictures of my other small base dies, but I have them.
I am a little out of my league with the great advice already put forth and I am fairly new to .30-06 reloading (M1 specific). I would like to point out that I use 178 grain A-MAX bullets and Hornady load data particular to the M1 with no ill effects. Something to keep in mind if 150-168 grain bullets aren't available.
USSR
Member
Yeah, no problem using th 178gr Amax (great bullet) in the Garand with a suitable powder. Afterall, M72 Match ammo uses a 174gr bullet.
Don
Don
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