Reloading for the M1 Garand

[SanPedroShooter]

Okay so i am just about ready to start for my garand (i havent got it yet, in fact i'm on hold with the CMP right now...)
I 've got everything i need, i think
Remmington 30'06 brass
Hornady 150 grain FMJ/BT bullets
I dont have the powder yet or the primers, but i've got some formulas for garands. Although i would appreciate suggestions.

My question is their anything left i should do or need before i start?
I've got the whole setup from a press to calipers, scale, dies.
One question i had was about cannalure (sp?), the hornadyS i ordered have a cannlure, but most of the guys on the cmp forum dont crimp their bullets. Can i just ignore the cannalure and seat normaly?
I was going to try and replicate the demonsions of factory ammo to start. How about measuring bullet seating depth? Any recomendations on Headspace or go/no go gauges.

[Mac Attack]

I have loaded the Hornady 150 grain bullets you are using for my Garand and the advice I was given was to seat the bullet to length and disregard the cannelure. I apply a light crimp to my dies using the Lee FCD. I also read on the CMP that other reloaders do not crimp their rounds. I figured a little bit of crimp would not hurt anything plus my rounds are giving great accuracy and performance.

What factor round are your trying to duplicate - M2 ball, LC Match? I used to load 150's but after reading other peoples loads on the CMP forum I switched to 168 SMK's and performance over the 150's was measurable. By the way, do you have an adjustable gas plug?

[FLIGHT762]

Here are a few threads regarding loading for the Garand.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=192603&highlight=garand

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=328367&highlight=garand

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=337233&highlight=garand

If you are new to reloading for the Garand, which It sounds like you are, do some reading on the net. Tons of information out there.
Google "Garand slam fires" and do some reading. Just understand what can cause it and how to avoid it.

Keep your primers seated below flush. Some recommend not to use Federal primers, cups may be too sensitive. If you want, you can use CCI's #34's. Full length resize EVERY TIME. NO neck sizing.

Set your F/L resizing die to bump the shoulder of the case just slightly back, .002"-.004".

You do not have to crimp or use the cannalure if you don't want to, but you have to seat the bullet where you won't jam into the lands and so they will feed from the clip. When using 150 gr. softpoints,they will be seated in a little more than FMJ bullets.

Read up on the correct powder for the Garand. Not all rifle powders are suitable without using an adjustable gas plug.

When loading a single cartridge into the chamber, use a SLED(single loading enbloc device) or the technique of putting the cartridge in the chamber and not letting the bolt fly forward at full speed. Ease the bolt forward about 1/2 way, then let it go. Garands and M-14/M1-A's are designed to be fed from a magazine.

The Hornady loading manual has a section dedicated to loads for the Garand. The Sierra manual has a 18 page section on reloading for gas guns.

Garands are a lot of fun to shoot and reload for. I own three.

Just do some reading on the subject so you understand some of the things you need to be aware of to be safe.

Have fun with your Garand.

[SanPedroShooter]

awesome! thanks for all the good tips. A lot of it i have heard a little about, but the adjustable gas plug is a new one. I dont know, cause i dont have the gun yet, but i will find out.
If you had to buy one manual, would you get the Hornady or the sierra?
I am leaning towords the sierra, because all my guns are gas operated, and i heard the Hornady garand section dosent mention one of the more common powders.
I have a lyman manual right now.
I was thinking about duplicating the M2 ball round.

[Ross]

awesome! thanks for all the good tips. A lot of it i have heard a little about, but the adjustable gas plug is a new one. I dont know, cause i dont have the gun yet, but i will find out.
If you had to buy one manual, would you get the Hornady or the sierra?I am leaning towords the sierra, because all my guns are gas operated, and i heard the Hornady garand section dosent mention one of the more common powders.
I have a lyman manual right now.
I was thinking about duplicating the M2 ball round.

Go with the Hornady manual - it has a 30.06 the section dedicated to the Garand which, even though it doesn't mention "the more common Powders" (care to elaborate?), with the loads it does provide, you don't have to ask "is this a safe powder/load for the Garand."

[FLIGHT762]

I like the Sierra manual because they have a larger powder selection for the loads tested, but the Hornady manual does have a section with loads dedicated to the Garand. I like the Sierra as an all round manual. They have a section specifically for the Ar-15.

Here's a few more resources.

http://masterpostemple.bravepages.com/M1load.htm Has a list of powders from the NRA. I used this data wit the H-335 info. I'll tell you, 49 grs. was way too hot. 45-46 grs. worked fine.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=445557

http://forums.thecmp.org/ This is the CMP forums. "The how to" forum has a lot of info. The "Ask each other" forum has a sub forum on reloading. Lots of info there. Go the "ask each other" forum and the Reloading forum is above the main forum. It's there you just have to look for it.

[SanPedroShooter]

Just powder, not powder(s) with an s. I swear i read somewhere (probably cmp forums) that they left out data for one of the more common powders because they had determined that it wasnt suitable. But whatever, i couldnt find it. I think i will get the hornady book first, and the sierra down the road.
The Lyman manual lists the "most accurate" load behind a 150 grain sp as, 48.0g IMR-4064.
Thanks for the links, that is just what i need. Lyman recommends using a maximum case gauge to "ensure your rounds will chamber properly". What do you think. Lyman's instrructions are very conservative.
Thats the only thing i am unsure about. Making sure the OAL is correct and bullet is seated properly. I dont have any dies yet, so i havent read the instructions, but i've watched a lot of you tube videos...

[Mac Attack]

I use a case gauge to verify my FL sizing die is set up correctly. I then use the case gauge to periodically check cases during the reloading process.

Here is a tip for you that may save you some time and money figuring out which recipe to use for your reloads. Start with known recipe and buy the powder and bullet in the recipe. IMR 4895 and Varget are very popular powders for .30-06's fired out of a Garand and have proven to be accurate. IMHO you can spend a lot of time and money trying out different powder combos, or you can take a well known data and spend more time shooting than experimenting. JMHO.

I use Varget and it has worked fine for me but doesn't meter well in my Dillon powder drop. I am planning to try IMR 4895 to see if it meters any better....and yes, I know they are both stick powder but I have read 4895 meters better for some than Varget.

When you get everything set up and are ready to load then post a thread with questions. Once you get all the reloading parts and rifle you will have a whole lot more technical questions.

[FLIGHT762]

If you haven't bought powder yet, I suggest you try IMR XBR8208.
It's burn speed is just a hair faster (only by a grain or two) than IMR4895.

It's suitable for use in the 30/06 and it is within the burn rate suitable for the Garand.

IMR suggested loads with XBR 8208 are:

150 gr. 47 to a max of 50 gr. with a max velocity of 2935 FPS

155 Sierra 46 to a max of 49 gr. with a max velocity of 2869 FPS

168 BTHP Match 45 to a max of 48 grs. wit a max velocity of 2748 FPS

I have been using it in 308 match loads and it meters very well. I used it this morning loading some 308 loads and the powder drops were all within .2 tenths.

It is also very suitable for .223 Remington loads.

For me, Varget meters better than IMR4895 in my RCBS powder hopper.

Just something to consider if no powder has been bought yet.

If you are going to stick to just 30/06, Varget will also work well and you will get slightly higher velocities , but it will not meter as well as with the XBR 8208.

You can go to Hodgdon's reloading data site and see the data there for many powders. It can help you to decide.

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

[Divernhunter]

This load works well in my 5 M1grands and my buddies 2. IMR4895 powder(the powder it was designed around) 47grs with a 150gr bullet and a reg or mag primer.

[SanPedroShooter]

I have everything but the rifle. I got lee single stage press kit with lee dies. I dont mind going slow right now untill i get more confident. I am only reloading for 30'06 specifically for the garand right now. The only thing i dont have yet is powder and primers. I intend to copy a well estalished load with 150g fmj hornady bulllet.
The xbr 8208 sounds good, the lyman book dosent have that formula. I will end up reloading 223 soon as well.
I dont particulary feel the need to push my garand to limit. Its well cared for antique and i hope to keep it that way. I would like to get close to the USGI round.
Flight, the loads you list dont have a bullet type. Cant using differnt bulletes effect pressure, seating etc...?
Edit*
I just ordered the new Hornady book.

[rob1105]

First of all you need a reloading book. Hornadys newest reloading book has a chapter just for the M1 Garand. The book list all the measurements you are looking for. A good powder for the M1 is IMR4895. I reload using 168gr HPBT from sierra using IMR4895 and Winchester Large Rifle primers. Have fun

[SanPedroShooter]

Has anyone reloaded the HXP ammo the cmp is selling right now? If the primer is crimped in, do you need a special tool to remove the crimp, beyond the normal case prep tools?
also, i have a lee case length guage. Its a steel pin that fits on a shell holder and allows the case to be trimmed to spec, or not. Is buying something like this dillion case gauge overkill? If the brass is trimmed properly with the lee gauge, can i just check OAL of the finshed round with my caliper?
I would like a guage that would help me adjust the seating die, and check the FL sizer or could i just load dummy rounds and measure with calipers untill i get the OAL and demensions i want?
It seems like it would be faster to use the gauge. OAL is easy to measure, but what about some of the other dimensions. If you used this dp gauge, could you drop the loaded round into it and get a quick go or no go?

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25547/catid/3/Dillon_Rifle_Case_Gages?item=4095#4095

[FLIGHT762]

Flight, the loads you list dont have a bullet type. Cant using different bulletes effect pressure, seating etc...?
Edit*
I just ordered the new Hornady book.

Yes, bullets and components different than what is listed in a particular load can effect pressures. That is why you start at the starting load and work up from there.

I did have an issue with 49 gr. of H-335, which was way too hot, however, it opened primer pockets and made the brass un useable, but didn't blow primers or damage the rifle. When I did a little more research, I found that about 46-47 grains was max. Sometimes different lots of powder will vary a little bit in the burning rate, that's why we start low and go up from there.

The XBR 8208 load information is found on line at the Hodgdon site does list the brand of the bullets. If you start at the lowest listed charge for the 150 grain bullet and use a 150 FMJ, you shouldn't run into dangerous pressure.

Sometimes, when I load for my Garands, I use the starting loads and if it functions in the gun fine, I stay there. I don't feel the need to go to the max load. It will wear your brass out quicker than milder loads.

Read up on the techniques used for reloading for gas guns.

And yes, you need to remove the primer pocket crimp in military brass. If you're going to use the HXP brass, take a flashlight and look into the cases and be sure they are boxer primed. I read somewhere that some lots were berdan primed. It will save you damaging your decapping rod or pin. You should always check when using unfamiliar brass.

[SanPedroShooter]

excellent advice. I've got 100 pieces of remm brass to start with. I've taken the time to read over the links, plus some searching of my own, and a thorough rereading of my lyman manual. Also, Understanding Firearm Ballistics, Basics to Advanced. sixth edition by Robert Rinker. I recommend this book for any shooter.