i was told not to use hunting ammo. something to do with chambering could  dent or discharging hunting ammo but not military ammo. any truth to this?

ask this in the armory M1a / M1 section.

Hunting ammo can bend the operating rod.  Try odcmp.org for surplus M2 ball ammo that was made for the M1 garand + it is cheaper.

Surplus only or reloads done specifically for M1 Garands.  Specifically related to the gas system and modern ammunition powder/ primer combinations as I understand it.

just wanted to make sure before buying ammo since it's very salty right now. thanks

+1 on odcmp. Thats where I get my ammo from. Price just went up though . Oh well, it goes to a great organization.

Buy your ammo thru the CMP. They have the best prices, even though they just took a substancial price increse this last week. They sell HXP (Greek) ammo that is M2 Ball Spec ammo. and they may or may not have anymore Lake City M2 Ball ammo. The Lake City was delinked machine gun ammo...but still good stuff, the HXP Greek was manufactured specifically for the M1 Garand. It's my favorite, I think it's just slightly more consistant than the Lake City. It's sealed, boxer primed reloadable ammo that is passed out at Lake Perry for the High Power rifle competitons every year.
They also sell it in sealed spam cans on 8rd enblocs packed on bandloleers.
If for some reason you can't qualify soon enough and need some, IM me and I'll hook you up w/some.
Trust me, you want this ammo vs commerical hunting loads. This ammo is designed to be shot out of the M1 Garand...period!
Welcome to the desease by the way......it's called Granditis . No known cure, only treatments.

I would probably shoot 30-06 ammo out of it.

Not a good idea unless it is M2 spec or you have an adjustable gas plug.  

Buy an adjustable gas plug.  Then shoot whatever you want.

Ok is it self adjusting or do you manualy adjust it?  and where is a good place to get one? Thanks

Thanks for the offer their site says that theres a 100 day wait to ship.
 so I got time to qualify but thanks again.