I finally got an M-1!

[mustangdriver]

That is one interesting letter.

[Ztex]

Glad to hear you got a Garand...they are great fun.

Stay away from the Korean Surplus ammo, It smells heavy of ammonia and is very dirty ammo

There are two types of Korean ammo ...you have to look at the headstamps
Look for KA..."Korrosive Ammo"
and PS..."Pretty Safe"

All of it is good shooting stuff. The PS quite good and clean. I won a 1903 Springfield match with it...1st out of 5 guys...

For corrosvie cleaning you need WATER. Water is the only thing that will dissolve the salts...
Look here to answer all your cleaning questions...http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/corrosive/index.asp

Have fun and be safe!
Z

Last edited by Ztex on Mon May 07, 2007 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[mustangdriver]

This thread has reall been educational for me. Thnkas you to all of you. I am still learning about this gun, and due to work, will not get to shoot it until next week.

[Airlift48]

Zane, explain that to me.

The Korean stuff I bought, like I said, very strong ammonia smell and man, it takes 5 times longer to get the barrel clean than the Danish Surplus stuff or plain US made new or surplus.

You know, I dont know what is stamped on the 400 or so rds I have.

Thanks!

[Old SAR pilot]

The Korean stuff's not bad....be leery of the French and Taiwan ammo that has become available.

As for corrosive ammo, like I said before, use Sweet's 7.62, or household ammonia to kill the corrosive stuff left from the primer. And clean it one or two days again after firing (this includes bore, op rod, gas cylinder, gas cylinder lock and gas cylinder plug). Have fired a LOT of corrosive rounds, including WWII US GI ball, with no problems after proper cleaning.

You can still get US GI ball from CMP, and (I believe) J&G Sales. The Greek stuff's ok (so far - 300 rds with no problems).

If you save any corrosive ammo brass for reloading, dump in in a bucket with a light dose of household ammonia, let it dry, lube, resize, and then tumble clean (otherwise the brass'll corrode as well).

Another note for reloading mil-surplus brass (not just .30-06) - check for Berdan priming. That stuff's kinda hard on decapping pins...

Final note....If you get a deal on .30-06, or .30 carbine, I'd be stocking up on it.....

:::::::climbin' off soap box::::::::::

[Ztex]

Zane, explain that to me.

There are two different headstamps for Korean surplus 30.06 (I think there were two different plants)
The ones marked KA have corrosive primers.


The ones marked PS have non-corrosive primers.


The date code will change but the KA and Ps will mean the same thing.
If your ammo came in the en-bloc clips then most likely it is KA.

As for cleaning...military and commercial ammo are not the same...commercial stuff is most always easier to clean.

and be careful what commercial ammo you shoot in your Garand...don't shoot bullets heavier than 150 grains..with commercial ammo. It is loaded too hot and can damage your operating rod. You can load your own up to 168 grain but you have to be careful with your powder charge. The Army Marksmanship Unit developed great 168 loads for the Garand...with 4895 powder.

[Old SAR pilot]

Just a note on heavier weight bullets. There's still some M72 LC Match out there (173gr FMJ match - I just acquired 400 rds of it), as well as 168 gr Sierra HPBT loaded by Federal (still have 200 rds of it). Before shooting this ammunition, I'd have the M-1 checked over by a good armorer/gunsmith.

Additionally, do NOT forget to lube the left locking lug recess in the receiver and the bolt cam slot in the op rod before firing anything.

Note to folks new to reloading GI brass: a decrimper (RCBS makes one) is a good thing to have to remove crimps from the primer pocket area on military brass. Also, some of the foreign stuff is Berdan primed (French, Belgian ammo, for example) - toss it in the scrap bucket; it's kinda tough on decapping pins!

[Matt Gunsch]

For those that don't know what a Berdan primer is, if you look inside a fired case, at the bottom, you will see 2 small holes, that is a Berdan primer and is not reloadable, if it is a single hole, that is a Boxer primer, and is reloadable.

[Old SAR pilot]

Thanks, Matt!

[RickH]

Interesting side note, the Berdan primer was invented by an American and is predominately used in European ammo. The Boxer primer was designed by a Brit and is primarily used in the USA.

[bdk]

And the Handley-Page leading edge slat was used during the war primarily by the Germans...

[John Ceglarek]

Sorry I found this thread so late...I don't know how much more I can ad...but here goes.

1. Buy Scott Duff's book on the M1/M14...it's loaded with usefull information. IMHO, no M1/M14/M1A owner should be without it.
2. There are several good websites with knowlegeable people (not that these guys aren't, but this is a warbird forum)...I'd start with www.jouster.com, but there are others as well.
3. Before you shoot it, especially if it didn't come from CMP (sorry, can't remember if it did or not), have a "qualified" gunsmith look at it. I don't mean take it to your local gun dealer, I'm talking about someone who makes their living working on these types of weapons.
4. Don't even THINK of trying to modify it to shoot full auto. Federal prisons are not nice places, so I've heard.
5. Learn to reload...your initial investment will be a little bit steep, but in the long run you'll save many $$. You need to be careful reloading for the M1, though...make sure the loads you look up were designed for the M1 instead of a 30-06 bolt gun.
6. Don't necessarily expect great accuracy, depending on the condition of the barrel, etc. If it doesn't shoot great, you'll have to decide if you want a decent shooter or if you want a historical piece. That decision will determine what, if anything, you fix or replace.

Can't think of much else, at this point, that hasn't already been covered. Congrats on your new gun!

John

[mustangdriver]

Thanks again for all of the help. I am going to keep the gun as original as I can. I don' plan on firing it a whole lot, but every now and then.

[RickH]

John is right, spend some time on http://www.jouster.com. There is a discussion group specifically on M1s, 1903s, Trapdoors, etc... A lot of the really serious and knowledgeable collectors and shooters are on that board. You can learn an amazing amount about the care and feeding of your rifle in a short amount of time. In fact I'd venture to say that you will probably be overwhelmed with the info .

[Old SAR pilot]

A note for any of you folks that like shooting M-1s/'03s/'17 Enfields/etc. at longer ranges. If you happen to be out in the hinterlands of West Texas, there's a fully computerized 300/600/800/1000 meter range in Robert Lee.
Web site is:

http://www.spindlerarms.com

-Home of the U.S. branch of Trans-Oceanic Shooting Sports (TOSS).