I have been avoiding reloading for my M1 Garand for some time. All those stories about broken op rods quite simply have made me quite..... careful.
I believe I am ready to prepare my test loads. Would appreciate the forums review of preparations below and let me know if there are any factors I have not yet considered.
Brass: New in the box PPU M1 Garand cartriges, fired from MY rifle. Deprimed with LEE depriming/resizing die, Cases trimmed, deburred and pockets cleaned (most did not take a trim)
Primer: CCI large rifle primers
Bullet: 149 GR FMJ BT
Powder: Varget.
As per Hornady manual, 9th edition, M1 Garand loads:
Start charge 42.3 GR
Never exceed 46.2
My plan: Prepare 8 each of the charges from Start to Never exceed in 0.5 gr increments (42.3, 42.8, 43.2, 43.8, etc) using a dipper and trickler.
Range day,
1. Begin by shooting several clips of commercial M1 ammo to get a feel for proper cycling and recoil.
2. Fire each charge test clip from lowest to highest charge, retaining spent casings and noting if any charges failed to cycle.
3. Final charge will be the lowest which reliably cycles the weapon.
Please note i have zero interest in producing the most accurate charge. The rifle has iron sights which I plan to leave, and my eyes don't go beyond 50 yards without magnification anyway.
I suspect a charge which could damage an op rod would likely operate successfully for may rounds. In the course of testing my loads, what should I look for? Are there any conditions, which if encountered, would indicate i should DISCONTINUE testing?
I believe I am ready to prepare my test loads. Would appreciate the forums review of preparations below and let me know if there are any factors I have not yet considered.
Brass: New in the box PPU M1 Garand cartriges, fired from MY rifle. Deprimed with LEE depriming/resizing die, Cases trimmed, deburred and pockets cleaned (most did not take a trim)
Primer: CCI large rifle primers
Bullet: 149 GR FMJ BT
Powder: Varget.
As per Hornady manual, 9th edition, M1 Garand loads:
Start charge 42.3 GR
Never exceed 46.2
My plan: Prepare 8 each of the charges from Start to Never exceed in 0.5 gr increments (42.3, 42.8, 43.2, 43.8, etc) using a dipper and trickler.
Range day,
1. Begin by shooting several clips of commercial M1 ammo to get a feel for proper cycling and recoil.
2. Fire each charge test clip from lowest to highest charge, retaining spent casings and noting if any charges failed to cycle.
3. Final charge will be the lowest which reliably cycles the weapon.
Please note i have zero interest in producing the most accurate charge. The rifle has iron sights which I plan to leave, and my eyes don't go beyond 50 yards without magnification anyway.
I suspect a charge which could damage an op rod would likely operate successfully for may rounds. In the course of testing my loads, what should I look for? Are there any conditions, which if encountered, would indicate i should DISCONTINUE testing?