Ok, I know I posted this before, but I finally got the numbers right. My friend has a stash of handloaded .30-06 and I was wondering if it would be soundly safe (not just marginally safe) to use in the Springfield M1 Garand I'll be picking up this weekend. The load is: 47gr of 4320 powder with 180gr bullets. My stash is mainly AP, but I do have some military tracer, Remington 150gr and Win 180gr ammo. Would any of that be good or bad for the Garand? I want to treat the old boy right. Also want to know what's the best bulk ammo to buy. Would the steel cased Barnaul be good or bad?
Hey battlerifle My reloading manual says not to use fast burning powders, I dont know how fast 4320 is, maybe some one else does. Sierra recomends IMR 4895, IMR 4064,2495br and 2520. Try not to use a bullet over 180 grain. this will also increase chamber and gas port pressure. Be careful with hand loaded ammo. I would throw the tracer in the trash. The part of the tracer that you see when firing is phosphores( hope that is spelled right) it will wear the barrel alot quicker than plain ball. The Ap is good stuff i have shot some in my m1, and it shoots great. So far the best bulk ammo i have found is the cmp. i just ordered 800 rounds, for $199 that isn't bad.
Reloading for M1 BattleRifle, IMR4320 is somewhat slower burning than IMR4064(per Hornady's reloading manual) which is what I use for reloading for the Garand and other semiauto rifles. Suggest you check the data on the Garand Information Place(Fulton Armory) for some recommended powders. Please do yourself a favor and steer clear of "light magnum" commercial loads and some of the Federal stuff. Don't get me wrong, I like Federal ammo in a bolt gun but it is really hot ammo! Tried some in a new Remington auto and was amazed how hard the op rod slammed into the back of the receiver. I have used either Remington CoreLock or handloads with IMR4064. Don't swing too far the other direction either. I have used IMR3031 in a couple of bolt action rifles but would not use it in the Garand. Willys is right in suggesting IMR4895 AND IMR4064. Hard to go wrong with either of these powders. Best of luck. WildBill
Stick with the 4895 in the Garand! Use of the slower powders will risk bending the operating rod. Not Good! Also, as someone else said, watch the bullet weights. The Garand was designed to operate with a pretty specific pressure curve and straying too far will cause problems. I've settled on varying amounts of 4895 with 150-168 g. bullets in my Garand. Regards, Hal Beatty
Ok, can anyone give me some load data for 4895? Most of my .308 cal heads are AP, anyone know the exact grain weight and load for them? And what loads to use with 180gr bullets?
According to my Sierra, using 180 gr. bullets and IMR-4895 powder, start with 42.3 gr. of powder. You can work up, but the book has a max charge of 46.3 gr. Start low and work up to find what your gun likes. let us know what you come up with. good luck
