I am going to purchase my first Garand in the near future, and am wondering what types of ammo I can safely use. It seems that everyone says current commercial 30-06 ammo is loaded to a higher pressure than ammo made in the 40's and 50's. I'm only looking for a shooter, and rebarreling to .308 would be an option. Could I use current or military surplus .308 safely if I rebarreled? I know I can get .308 cheaper than 30-06, even if it is surplus.

Andy,

Just get USGI M2 ball, you can get it from the CMP for a good price

You can use current commercial ammo, just keep the bullets to the 147-165 grain weights.  Of course, that being said buy the CMP ammo as it's your best bang for the buck!

M2 Ball is the correct ammo.  The rifle was designed in the '30s and is designed for a specific powder burn rate and a narrow range of bullet weights.

Commercial loaded ammo uses modern powders with a faster burn rate.

You risk damaging your oprod  both by bending and accelerated wear on the bottom lug.  Tje oprods are about $100 each now and the price is climbing.

FNM is the only commercial manufacturer that is making M2 ball spec ammo (aside from the ammo special made by Federal and only available thru the CMP).

Surplus is fine, and the best place to buy is CMP, Greek is the most accurate (IMHO), followed by the USGI surplus.

Quoted: You can use current commercial ammo, just keep the bullets to the 147-165 grain weights.  Of course, that being said buy the CMP ammo as it's your best bang for the buck!

WRONG!

Ar wrench is right.  See his post.

ar wrench is correct in the basics, but slightly off in the details....

Commercial loaded ammo uses modern powders with a faster burn rate.

That should state "SLOWER burn rate".... which is heading toward the "no-no" side for being OK in the M1's gas system.

Way back when the M1 was first being made available to civilian competitive Highpower shooters the Army gave the "gas system safe" ammo rules for the M1 to the NRA and the CMP.  They are as follows:

1)  NEVER load with bullets HEAVIER than 180 grains
2)  NEVER load with powder SLOWER than IMR-4320

These rules STILL apply today.....

Fast burning powders peak in pressure early then drop quickly as the bullet leaves the chamber area.   Slower burning powders peak a bit later and at a lower pressure, but the residual pressure remains high all the way out to the end of the barrel..... where the gas port on the M1 is located, hence the need to avoid slower burning powders.   Many commercial hunting loads are loaded with powders too slow for the M1's gas system.   If you MUST shoot commercial ammo in your M1, equip it with a gas bleed ported lock screw to take the over pressure off the gas system.

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever

My bad, slower powder produces higher gas port pressure, duh!

I researched it when I first started shooting garands and just remembered the important part, M2 ball  is the design ammo for the rifle.

So how about if I switch it to .308? Will Mil surp and/or commercial .308 fall into the correct pressure range, or will I need the adjustable gas port lock screw?

So how about if I switch it to .308? Will Mil surp and/or commercial .308 fall into the correct pressure range, or will I need the adjustable gas port lock screw?

The EXACT same rules apply to an M1 in .308.    Either Nato Milsurp or follow the 2 loading rules posted above.

Gotta' shoot commercial hunting ammo???..... install the ported lock screw.

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever