What ammo should you use in your M1 Garand?

M2 Ball,.30-6 150-grain, is the ammunition of choice for milsurp rifles. High-pressure hunting ammunition can damage your M1. But with M2 Ball ammo on the surplus market dwindling, what is a Garand shooter supposed to do? Factory M1 Garand ammunitionSeveral ammo companies started producing lower-pressure M1 Garand ammunition a few years ago. Federal produced a 150 grain Garand load as part of its American Eagle line. Hornady was another. It produces a 168 grain Garand ammo that works well with the M1 gas system. “Standard factory loads can cause permanent damage to the M1 Garand’s operating rod, bolt and receiver,” said Dave Emary. Reload Your Garand AmmoIf commercial ammo is not available for your M1 Garand, you can handload your own. Reload Your Own Garand AmmoIf you can’t find commercial ammo for your M1 Garand, you can always handload it. Do not load the bullets all the way to the lands. There should be enough room for the rounds to feed out of the clip. Use bullets that are lighter than 180 grains. 150 grains is a safe weight. Popular powders include IMR3031, IMR4064, and Varget. Some claim that Federal 210M primers can cause a slamfire. Other reloaders have reported no problems.GarandGear.com Ported Gas ScrewThe GarandGear.com Gas Plug allows you to shoot all sorts of .30-06 ammo in your surplus rifle.If you have trouble locating commercial M1 Garand ammo loadings and don’t want to venture into reloading, there’s another option: The Ported Gas Screw from GarandGear.com.”Unlike a venting gas screw, our product works by changing the initial conditions in the gas cylinder,” the company says. The ported gas screw increases gas cylinder volume, resulting in lower peak pressures. The device does not require any adjustments and will not vent gas. The ported screw will lower peak pressures for all ammunition brands that meet SAAMI specifications, regardless of bullet size. “Pressure tests were conducted by garandgear.com. Photos courtesy garandgear.com.GarandGear tested a variety of commercial .30-06 loadings against M2 Ball as the benchmark to measure pressure curves. The ported screw reduced pressure for 26 different loadings. Click here to read more.M2 Ball Ammo sourcesDon’t overlook Civilian Marksmanship Program, a long-time source of M2 Ball ammunition. It has its own loading produced under the Creedmoor Ammunition label. The stuff is loaded with Hornady’s 150-gr. Gunbroker is a good place to look for online gun auctions. You can keep this iconic battle rifle shooting for years to come. You’ll be able to enjoy this iconic battle rifle for many years. The grids and bullseyes are measured in MOA. Subscribe to the Gun Digest newsletter and we will send you your print-at home target pack immediately. Enter your email below.