Newbie question about M1 Garand ammunition.

[ZoneIII]

I'm fairly new to M1 Garand rifles so please excuse what is probably a dumb question. This is just something I'm curious about and would like some clarification about.

In Hatcher's Book of the Garand, pages 125 to 127, he talks about the evolution of 30.06 ammunition used in the Garand. In the very first paragraph (p. 125), he mentions that armor piercing ammo displaced ball ammo for combat and "ball is now used for training only." But later on (bottom of page 126) he talks about how M2 ball ammo was made standard for ground use. (I realize that this book was written in 1948).

Anyway, I'm confused by what seems to be a contradiction. He seems to be saying that AP ammo was the standard for combat and then seems to say M2 Ball was the standard. I'm probably misunderstanding what he wrote but I did re-read it several times and I'm still confused.

What was the standard ammo used by our troops in WWII and Korea? If it was armor piercing, what was all the surplus M2 ball ammo such as the Greek ammo sold by CMP used for? Training or combat?

Again, sorry for this dumb question but I'm just curious.

One other thing: I see weights of 150 grains and 152 grains listed for M2 ball ammo. Which is it?

Thanks!

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[SA M1Dom]

I posed this question out of curiosity not too long ago. I was informed by those of experience that AP was in fact issued in the field for most of the war, and after. Standard M2 was used State side for training purposes. Greek surplus was used by the Greek Army I would presume, and sent here when they returned the M1's. Here is the thread, I hope this helps.

AP ammunition

[ZoneIII]

Thank you very much! Your link was very helpful and it answered my question. It appears that my confusion may have been justified.

[SA M1Dom]

LOL it was the exact same confusion I had at the time. Glad I could help.
Dom