Discussions
After the CMP having recently run out of surplus M2 ball, and the scarcity of GI ammo only growing worse, the topic of M1 ammo has has never been hotter. So I thought it would be good to discuss some options and data that may shed some light for those who don't reload or are having trouble finding ammo to shoot in competitions or just regular old plinking around at steel plate with your buddies. So, first, lets talk about the oprod situation. If you pick up a box of Remington 150 grain soft point corelokts and go to the range, it probably won't be long until a self proclaimed expert will come running over claiming that you'll bend your oprod because its too hot of a load for the M1, and god forbid you show up with something like 180 grain ammo. To be frank, this is simply not true. And on top of that, the likelihood of actually bending the oprod is slim, they are rather robust, and yes the dog leg is supposed to be in it, don't straighten it out! You are actually more likely to damage or break the tab that rides in the track on the receiver should you fire an excessively hot round in the Garand. Heavier bullets actually tend to shoot a little bit better in the M1. Lets not forget that M1 Ball (yes, M1, not M2), M72 National Match, and M2 Armor Piercing were all heavier bullets. M1 ball was actually what the Garand was designed around after it was rechambered and rengineered from .276 Pederson as John Garand had originally designed the rifle to shoot (the reason is another good topic for discussion later on, a little hint, it involves MacArthur). M1 Ball was a 174 grain FMJBT, originally designed for use in the 1903 and 1917 post WWI. M1 Ball was actually dropped for concerns that the FMJBT had a substantially longer range and created the issue of the potential fliers that would surpass the boundaries of the practice and training ranges and become a hazard. As a result, M2 ball was engineered to be a shorter range cartridge, using a 150 grain FMJ flat base cannelured bullet, catering to the Army's requirements. Next we have M2 AP; a 165-167 grain steel core bullet, designed to do exactly what its name claims it does. Its also what is perceived to have made up the vast majority of what was supplied to combat for used in the M1 and most other .30 cal small arms during WWII and Korea. Last we have M72 National Match ammo. This was designed and engineered to produce exceptional accuracy and was distributed specificly for use at Camp Perry. It was also given to snipers for use in the M1D and C at the end of their eras, and most notably to snipers with Winchester M70s like the legendary Carlos Hathcock. It was a 173 grain FMJBT, and was actually derived from its predecessor M1 Ball. So now we know that bullet weight alone won't bend or damage an oprod, so what will? And where does this theory come from? The answer is in the pressure impulse. This is the spike of gas pressure from firing the bullet, the gas entering the cylinder as it expands rapidly and pushing back on the oprod piston head. In modern ammo, most heavier loads in larger calibers are catered towards hunting with a bolt action rifle, because there is no gas system or moving parts on a bolt gun and it's inherently a stronger action as a result, manufactures are able to beef up the charge in order to increase the velocity of heavier bullets that would otherwise create to sharp and to long of a spike in pressure impulse in a gas cylinder. This is why the CMP recommends factory ammo between 150 grain and lighter than 180 grain, which is also where we can assume the idea of heavier bullets not being safe came from, with out people actually knowing the science behind it. Most factory 150 grain ammo is safe for the M1, and surprisingly much of it is actually not quite as hot nor does it have as harsh of an impulse as M2 ball as a mater of fact. Two good places for info on this are Jeremy Cheek's videos on youtube where he tests all sorts of different ammo in all ranges of weight and bullet type, and Garandgear.com, where they have actual hard data that compares physical numbers of impulse pressures between M2 ball and commercial ammo on graphs and charts. Now, all that having been discussed, we can actually talk about commercial ammo and what to use and what not to use. Magnum or high velocity rounds. Big no no. Winchester and Hornady both produce these hot rod cartridges specifically designed to maximize velocity with various weight bullets but mostly those in the hevier end. These are designed for use in a bolt action and use a larger charge with a slower burning powder, which causes a prolonged impulse. They are not safe for an M1. Standard 150 grain off the shelf ammo with a velocity of about 2800+/-100pfs. Good to go. These will be comparable to M2 ball in terms of impulse and velocity. 168 grain match ammo, yes, I've only seen three manufacturers of this and they are Hornady, Creedmoor, and Federal. All three manufacturers have loaded these with the M1 actually being the intended use. Thier .308 168 grain was not, and was optimized for M14s and M40 type bolt guns, but is still safe for a .308 M1. My recommendations, though I still encourage you to actually dig into the data and research a little bit, I would point people to S&B 150 grain SPCE (soft point) for hunting, and that or their FMJ for targets. Its decently priced (about 0.75 to 0.80 per round), and the soft point does and exceptional job on deer. Regular old Remington corelokts work as well, but in all five of my M1s, the S&B has out performed the Remington ammo. It just shoots nicely. Herter's 150 grain SPCE is the same ammo as S&B; it's produced by S&B to the same specs it just has a Herter's head stamp. For ball/fmj ammo, both PPU and S&B make M2 ball spec ammo for about $0.72 to $0.75 depending on where you get it. Again the S&B out performs the Privi Partisan in my experience, but both do fairly well and both are legal for JCG matches where you will need to use M2 ball spec ammo. Some places to look to find the PPU and S&B M2 ball would be SGammo, Sportsman's Guide, luckygunner, and few other places that you can order from. The CMP does carry the S&B since running out of GI M2 ball, though they seem to be on the higher end of the price range. Thats about all I have for you guys today on this topic, if I find anything to add I'll update it and put a comment on it saying so, again two big sources of info for this would be Ammogarand.com for the impulse charts, and Jeremy Cheek on youtube if you'd like to check his experiments out. Let me know if you like to talk in person or over email I'd be happy to discuss anything about the M1 with another Osage Orange member! -Caleb Smith
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