1943 Garand at the range

[Patrick Chadwick]

Took the Garand to the range on Saturday. The "paper target" stands were occupied, with a queue lasting into Sunday - that's what happens when the temperature finally gets above freezing!

So I had to use one of the "electronic target" stands - and the printer was out. Literally - I could not find it. As a result, I pasted patches onto a couple of old targets to show where the shots landed. In each white circle there is the shot number and the electronic score.

Cineshot
Attachment 42446

Hornady Light Magnum
Attachment 42445

PRVI
Attachment 42447

I now have first results for 3 different types of 150gn ammo. All good, and if you make an overlay of all three groups, it is clear that the Garand could use a 1/2 minute correction to the left - which is not possible with the standard horizontal sight correction, so I shall be looking for a complete NM sight assembly.

I checked the head clearance (NOT gauge headspace) by the usual method, and the result was less than 0.1mm - less than 0.004" - which is about the measurement limit for this method. And the Cineshot ammo places the bullet 0.4mm (0.016") off the lands - excellent. The working of the brass is so small that neck-sized reloads can be chambered with no apparent problems.
Amazingly good for a 70-year old rifle.

My next trial will be to imitate the Cineshot ammo, but reduce the powder charge until the self-loading starts to become erratic, then continue at a level that ensures reliable operation. It's not wanting to save a couple of grains of powder, but rather to save my shoulder!

Watch this space!

Information

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[vintage hunter]

Patrick, others may disagree with me but I wouldn't use Hornady Light Magnum ammo in my Garand. Especially with an ''uncut'' op rod. I've seen several semi-auto hunting rifles that were wrecked by this stuff, one was a Browning BAR ( not the military B.A.R.) and the others were Remington 742's or 7400's. When Hornady first introduced the Light Magnum line in the mid 90's the 150gr 30-06 load almost equaled the standard 150gr .300 Win Mag load in velocity, IIRC the HLM 30-06 MV was 3150fps and standard .300 WM is around 3250fps, give or take.

[no4mk1t]

Patrick,

It looks like you have a nice shooting M1 there. Good shooting.

In an effort to keep that rifle shooting that well, I offer the following cautions.

Factory loaded commercial ammo today most likely uses a powder that is not compatible with the M1's gas system. (There are three exceptions I know of) Powders with burn rates slower than IMR4064 will produce port pressures above what the M1 was designed to tolerate. This will eventually result in a bent op rod.
The two choices you have to fire the M1 with factory commercial ammo is to use either Hornady's 168gr Match load or their 150gr Ball load that is specifically tailored to the M1, or Federal's M2 Ball load. Prvi Partisan also lists a M2 Ball load on their website, but I've never seen it for sale in the States. You may be able to find it in Europe.
Your other choice is to buy a Schuster adjustable gas plug. Then you can meter the gas to properly cycle the action without battering.

Another caution is on hand loading for the M1. You need to size the cases so they freely chamber. True neck sizing with a neck sizing die may not accomplish this. However, you can tinker with backing off a full length sizer die to size the case sufficiently, but no more than is necessary. This will extend your case life and minimize stretching.
Also ensure your primers are at least .002" below flush to prevent slam fires. Sinclair makes a primer pocket uniformer that will recut the primer pocket to OEM depth. Primer pockets get slightly shallower with each evolution and need to be cut every few firings to prevent high primers.

Hope this helps.

[noelekal]

I'd be curious to know if the Hornady Light Magnum cases ejected uniformly or were flung violently to the side and behind you. Did you happen to notice?

I'm not one to consider the M1 to be a "wilting flower" of delicacy in the rifle world but I'd be a little reluctant to shoot the Hornady Light Magnum ammunition in the M1. I've chronographed it in a 24-inch barrel to find it clocked about 3020 fps. It is a bit warmer than typical 150 grain .30-06 stuff. Don't know what Hornady does to achieve the velocities but it is difficult to duplicate them with any sort of handload using 150 grain bullets.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Patrick, others may disagree with me but I wouldn't use Hornady Light Magnum ammo in my Garand. Especially with an ''uncut'' op rod. I've seen several semi-auto hunting rifles that were wrecked by this stuff,

Thanks for the warning. It was only the 5 shots for comparison - and it costs 3 times as much as the Cine-Shot! The Garand will be going on a diet, as far as powder charges are concerned. Competition shooting here is predominantly at 100 meters, with occasional 300 meter events.

---------- Post added at 07:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 AM ----------

I'd be curious to know if the Hornady Light Magnum cases ejected uniformly or were flung violently to the side and behind you. Did you happen to notice?

All cases from all types tested landed in front and to the right.

N.B. The overlay of the 3 targets reveals a score of 143/150. Half a minute correction to the left would have produced 146/150. From a mix of 3 different types of ammo. A very tolerant rifle!

[jmoore]

Another caution is on hand loading for the M1. You need to size the cases so they freely chamber. True neck sizing with a neck sizing die may not accomplish this.

Not a statement to be taken lightly! Firing out of battery is rare, but isn't unknown. Probably takes the right combo of hard chambering round and a primer that's more sensitive than the military spec.

[Patrick Chadwick]

OK, I won't push my luck too far! A normal sizer barely setting back the shoulder should do it. Having an original service rifle that is so accurate is marvellous enough.

---------- Post added at 12:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:31 PM ----------

Primer pockets get slightly shallower with each evolution and need to be cut every few firings to prevent high primers.

That is an excellent tip. I shall observe it!

[noelekal]

"All cases from all types tested landed in front and to the right."

Hmmm...interesting. That's where they ought to be landing. When port pressures are high the rifles generally misbehave.

Knew a family member who was enamored of 220 grain round nose bullets for hunting (small Texas whitetail no less). Was fond of handloads concocted with 220 grain Hornady round nose bullets over heavy charges of IMR 4831 so loaded up a batch of them when he got his DCM M1 back in the early 1980s. His M1 ate 'em right up. Ejection was quite "enthusiastic" though. Very violent and erratic. The cases could have been deadly projectiles in their own right. He shrugged off the information offered on appropriate M1 loads from out of the NRA M1 booklet of the day. As far as I know he continued to get by with it. It was easily observable that the M1's ejection habits with the load were abnormal and that a condition ripe for damage was evident.

[noelekal]

"Primer pockets get slightly shallower with each evolution and need to be cut every few firings to prevent high primers."

This I've never heard of or observed before.

Once as a silly exercise to determine case life I deliberately used the same batch of 60 cases for monthly high-power match shooting for a lengthy period. I ended up with 16 loadings on the cases over nearly two seasons. Finally tossed them when I figured they just had to be worn out. They were Lake City '67 cases and, despite what one will read about cases prepared for the M1, effectively neck-sized with the full-length sizing die significantly backed out. Case mouths were trimmed twice. By the time the cases were discarded the rims were chewed to the point that they appeared too degraded to give reliable function and the head stamps were no longer legible. They never gave a functional malfunction and no case ever failed.

[Patrick Chadwick]

the head stamps were no longer legible.

That suggests that there is indeed a slight battering of the base of the cartridge case. The tip from no4mk1t sounds plausible enough that I shall try to devise a test to measure the effect - if it is measurable. Since I have a measuring head that will read to one micron, if I can't measure it, then it is insignificant for our purposes. If I can, I shall let everyone know the results. But please don't ask me for results a.s.a.p. - the competition season is now running at "full load" and I have to concentrate on shooting!