ww2 ammo for M-1 Garand

I recently purchased a Garand from a fellow who had bought it from the CMP. He threw in a bunch of ammo as boot. The ammo was in the original bandoleers with en-block clips, cardboard retainers and even the safety pins to pin the bandoliers to the uniform. I shot a couple of clips to test the M-1 (it worked fine) but looking at the fired brass I noticed that the manufacture date was 1942! It would seem to me that these could have some collector's value, but I'm not sure. Can anyone out there give me some idea of what these bandoliers are worth?

 

Be aware that ammo is probably made with corrosive primers, and you really need to clean the gun very well after shooting. They will rust out the barrel in a short time. The vast majority of WW2 30-06 ammo is corrosive, as most of the arsenals did not transition to the non-corrosive ones until the 1950s.

 

The empty bandoliers are worth a few dollars each and the ammno about nothing because they are corrosive for shooting range fans, similar to non corrisive 50s amno, and illegal in Europe if live. So there isn't much demand for them. Bandoliers are popular among collectors though.

 

Thanks Doct. and Skipper. I was well aware of the corrosive primers and cleaned the heck out of the barrel, with two different solvents, after I got home. I will be monitoring the barrel every day to make sure that nothing gets away from me. One use to be able to get G.I. Bore Cleaner cheaply, but I haven't seen any in my area for ages.

I just thought there could possibly be a market for original bandoliers, with ammo, etc., with collectors, not for shooting.

 

Tri-Flo, Break Free-CLP, or any of the Hoppe's products are just fine and work quite well. The old military solvent bore cleaners work very well but can cause health problems. Never use any type of penetrating oils such as WD-40 or Liquid Wrench or anything with a silicone base. Automotive engine degreasers are also a big No-No.

 

I once used WD-40 and a week later looked down a dark bore to my surprise but I was able to clean it again and use a good oil to preserve it. I later found out why you should be careful about using WD-40 on bare iron.....and bluing.....WD-40 is not ph neutral for metals and is only valuable as a penetrant.........not a preservative. I tried to use it on nuts and bolts and experienced the same thing after they had dried out....they were rusty and stuck. If you use it as a penetrant be aware that you need to wash it off and retreat with a good neutral oil. Yeah, I admit......it took me a long time to be smarter than the tool I was using. Anything that attacks rust also attacks bluing used on weapons so I like to be careful to protect the bluing which is a controlled form of rust. Good advice being given here for the old guns.

 

Again, thanks Victor and Cooler King. No, I used Shooter's Choice and Hoppes #9. I also got tons of copper out of the bore. Only in the last 10 or so years have we started to realize that most old barrels aren't shot out, they're just clogged with copper. Looking through Cabelas and Midway catalogs I find that several ammo companies offer mil-spec 30/06 ammo oriented to the Garand.

 

Yeah using WD-40 for anything is a bit problematic if you don't realize what it was made to do. The name itself tells you if you know what the W & D stand for. It is Water Dispersal, and this is the fortieth formula tried and the one that worked best. Back in the "old days" when we still had breaker points in our distributors a person could spray a batch into the cap and on the body after a car washing and it would work perfectly since the water was dispersed and the heat of the engine would get rid of the solvent itself in no time flat.

It only after the stuff had been on the market for a time that it started getting a rep. as a "rust buster", and it didn't do too bad a job really. But it did dry stuff out if you didn't use something after you broke the nuts loose. I always took issue with the label claim that it "protects metal", never saw any proof of that myself. But that said, it should never be used on weapons for any reason other than initial breaking an old piece down, then cleaned off and "real" stuff designed for the job applied.

 

There really is no substitue for a good slathering of elbow grease.
As far as ammo is concerned I roll 150gr jacketed through mine with no problem, cycle and accuracy are just fine.

 

Surplus Ammo is running about 50 cents a round; new 30-06 ammo is about $1 a round.
The individual clips are going for around $1.50 each.
The cardboards should be kept in the bandoliers to improve sales potential.
WWII bandoliers with cardboards can go for $10-15.
Korean, Taiwanese, or Greek bandoliers maybe $5.

 

Dear UFM,

Thank you!

 

The Garand systems requires ammo loaded to a specific pressure curve to avoid damage to the op rod. The 150 gr. loads you see listed are loaded to US Cartridge M2 Ball spec.s & are safe. The other alternative is to order Greek Mfg'd. HXP ball cartridges from the CMP.

 

I wish I had a Garand, I would stay within the design parameters to preserve it forever. I have never liked all the problems that come from hot loads unless you are using a throw-away rifle and I can't afford a big choice so I am easy on what I own. I do shoot a 300 winchester magnum but it is expensive if you crank through a lot of rounds so it gets just a minimum of use and as a magnum life is very short compared to other rifles I conserve with it.

 

If you are serious about owning a Garand, I suggest you go to the Fulton Armory for one. They are pricey as hell, but fully reliable. They also sell ammo at reasonable prices if you don't like reloading yourself. I gave away my Ruger Model 1 single shot in Win. Mag 300 to my son since he has more use for it than I these days, but that could really "reach out and touch". When your left arm no longer functions well it is hard to "go hunting" or target shooting. Damn I miss it.

Anyhoo, for a link to the CMP that "harolds" was speaking of;

Goto:

http://www.thecmp.org/Sales/m1garand.htm

Might take some time to get a Garand, but might also be worth trying and Fulton takes your CMP rifle as trade on one of their new rebuilt units. I used to reload my own stuff, but even the .300 Win Mag rounds aren't as killer from Fulton Arms as they are in local stores. Look under the "Ammunition" section.

Goto:

Fulton Armory | M1 Garand

 

The Service Grade rifles from the CMP are about the best way to go for a functioning M1. Fulton's has nice stuff & a flashy website but there are other alternatives for a restored M1 that are cheaper & just as good on the quality of work scale. Orion 7 comes to mind & for re-parking & trigger work there is a guy named Shufflin who has had some really nice work shown on the CMP forum.
My CMP rifle was a Greek return HRA Service Grade. The only wear on the rifle is the usual amount of stock dents from it's rack-mate's op rod handles & sight knobs. The metal cleaned up to show a rifle that had few if any rounds put thru it.
The issue w/ Garand ammo isn't "hot" loads, it's a system that was designed w/ a specific pressure curve given by loading powders w/ a set rate of burn. Commercial ammo is usually loaded w/ bulk powders that the manufacturer tests & uses the results to load to a safe max. pressure. While the max. pressure may be under the limit for safe .30-06 ammo the pressure curve may be out of the safe range for the M1.

 

I've got some commercial 30/06 ball ammo ordered. Our local gun show comes up over Labor Day and I hope to find some Nat. Match ammo-hopefully non-corrosive. I remember when I had a Springfield 03A3, and that armor-piercing was also much more accurate than ball. I'll try to get some of that also.

 

If the commercial you ordered is Hornady I've read good things on it's accuracy & reliability. And the brass is good quality for reloading. The CMP had some AP cartridges available but I never ordered any. For some reason they couldn't ship to certain states (Michigan being one) & I had bought 4 spam cans of M2 Ball of which I don't think I've fired a 100 rounds.
Don Burgett mentions in one of his books on his service w/ the US 101 Abn. Div. that they preferred AP because they felt it was more accurate & it penetrated better than ball.

 

Golly, Old Schoolr, AP had darn well better penetrate more than ball, wouldn't you think. As far as accuracy, when you pour molten lead it often has small bubbles in it that cause deviations in the flight path. In AP, most of the core area is taken up by the penetrator so they might be more consistant internally. Wartime ammo probably doesn't have a heck of a lot of QC.

Actually, I ordered some Federal "American Eagle" that is made for the Garand. It is configured to duplicate M2 ball. I believe the Hornaday stuff is duplicating the national match with its 168 Gr. Bullet-if you can find it. It wasn't listed in my Midway catalog.

Whoops, checked the Hornady website: it's listed all right, at over $40 per box of 20. OUCH!

 

The current AE ammo could be fine for a Garand but this was not the case 5 years ago. I sent this question to Federal on 4/19/2007...
"Does Federal recommend the use of American Eagle .30-06 ammo in an
unaltered M-1 Garand rifle? Specifically, is Federal American Eagle
product AE3006N 150 gr. FMJ Boat tail bullet loaded to a pressure curve
which is safe for the gas system of the Garand rifle?
Thanks."

The response received from Federal on 4/24/2007:

"They are not Mil Spec ammo.

Ammo is available from the CMP for this gun."

 

Hmmmmm.......I'll have to double check this and see what's happening. I did get a box of Hornady 30/06 labeled M-1 Garand so that I'm sure is ok and it roughly duplicates the old Nat. Match stuff.

By the way, if one were to reload for this rifle using 150 gr. bullets, what powder(s) would be appropriate and give the correct power curve?

Thanks for the info!

This a follow up: Federal now makes two loads in fmj. One is at 2900fps and is probably what Old Schoolr is referring to. They also have another load (fmj) at 2700fps and is lableled "M-1 Garand".