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M-1 Garand Ammo

winchestercollector66
Hi,
Recently purchased a really nice complete USGI M-1 Garand this past weekend and was wondering the correct ammo to use in it. I have heard that it should take the 150-165 grain ball ammo but what about shooting the commercial ammo such as Federal 180 grain soft point or federal 154 grain fmj bought from walmart would this be ok for about 20-40 rounds or should a guy wait to buy the correct surplus ammo as we dont want to damage the gas cylinder, operating rod or barrel on this newly required rifle. Thanks in advance for any info!!!
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • XXCross
    The US Cal-30 M-1 (Garand) will digest just about any 30-06 round ever loaded as long as you try to avoid any ammo that has been loaded with slow burning powders. (4831, H450, WW780, Re-19, etc. 4350 is marginal) The problem with the slower burning powders is the excessively hard cycling of the mechanism. Bent operating rods are getting hard and expensive to replace.
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  • 32 Magnum
    For best results, longer life and leff wear and tear, stick with Milsurp M2 Ball. I've seen a number of M1s that were damaged by using commercial hunting ammo. The burn rate must be correct to provide the proper gas pressure at the gas port to properly cycle the action without breaking the recoil spring, bending the op rod and wearing out the bolt knob. It is also possible to crack the rear of the receiver.
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  • Emmett Dunham
    +1 hoter ammo equals bent oprod. The adjustable valves will let you shoot hotter loads by adjusting for the higher gas pressures.
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  • 1911 Gunslinger
    As others have said, shooting an unmodified Garand with commercial ammunition can cause it to break and/or bend parts. The rifle was designed around the .30 M2 round and commercial loads tend to be hotter. Even if commercial ammo is not loaded to higher pressures most it probably won't use the same powder as the .30M2 ball round. Faster burning powders cause lower pressure in the gas system which can cause short cycling, slower powders can cause excessive pressure which can damage your rifle. Experienced shooters who want to use commercial ammo in their Garands use the Schuster Adjustable Gas Plug, it allows you to either turn up or down the volume of gas entering the gas cylinder so that you can shoot a variety of lower or higher powered loads through the Garand without damaging it.
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  • Don McManus
    The first rifle I ever purchased was a Garand. I put 40 or so rounds of commercial (Federal, I think, its been quite a few years) ammo through it, and the force mushroomed the cam track in the op rod that rotates the bolt, and the rifle quit cycling.

    Replaced the op rod, switched to M2 milsurp and 3,000+(?) rounds later, it is still running like a champ.

    As long as M2 is available, nothing else will ever go through any of my 30-06 battle rifles.
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