Every now and then someone has a question about suitable commercial .30-'06 ammo for the Garandicon. I checked this topic on the well-known US site CSP GUN TALK with Gus Fisher, who is a retired USMC armourer and currently services rifles for the National Match competitions at Camp Perry, Ohio. Gus's advice was to use the American Eagle FMJ 150-gr. load, which he has used frequently with no problems. His other preferred load was the Federal Gold Match 168-gr. FMJBT load, which was designed for the Garand but is very expensive. He had no opinion on the Remington-UMC or Winchester 150-gr. loads.

The crux of the matter here is the burning speed of the powder. I still have some PMC M2, which is an exact copy of the US military load for the Garand. The American Eagle, as well as the Winchester and UMC loads, equals the ballistics for those companies' 150-gr. hunting loads, which seem to use powder of the wrong burning speed for the Garand. However, Gus Fisher acknowledged that the American Eagle was a bit hotter than the military loads, but still caused no problems such as bent op rods, etc. He was unsure about this problem re the Winchester or UMC loads.

I would like to hear opinions on this question from other Garand shooters out there, especially non-reloaders like myself. Many people feel that there is no problem with any standard commercial 150-gr. load, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and stick with the American Eagle and Federal loads, and my dwindling stock of PMC.

All answers appreciated, and Merry Christmas from Alberta!
Information
Warning: This is a relatively older thread
This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.