M1 Garand loading

[mookiie]

I am looking to use a 150 gn - 1 part lead:1 part Linotype Lee mold cast bullet. I size to .309 and add a copper or aluminum gas check then powder coat the bullets (around 22 HB). I was looking to use these in an M1 Garand. My usual load with a 147 gn FMJBT bullet is 50 gn of IMR4064 is perfect to shoot well and cycle the action. Does anyone have a load, with a similar bullet, for an M1 Garand I can use as guidance? My Lyman cast reloading manual only has loads for a bolt 1903 action.
Thanks!

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[lancem]

I don't feel like going back out to the shop, but off the top of my head I'm thinking my 150 gr pc cast load is 34 gr of IMR-4895. Start low and work up till the action cycles reliably.

[fatelvis]

It takes 36 grns of H4895 to cycle my Garand reliably with a 311299, sized to .311". Any less than that and it will eject but wont pick up a new round.

[OptimusPanda]

The lowest mine would go was 34 grains of 4895 before it wouldn't reliably lock open. Boolit was a lee 312-185 (sized .310").

[mookiie]

The lowest mine would go was 34 grains of 4895 before it wouldn't reliably lock open. Boolit was a lee 312-185 (sized .310").

How hard is the lead you are shooting?

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[OptimusPanda]

12ish. I normally load at 36 grains of imr4895 (just over 2000 fps). The bad news is the ejection pattern. 1230 or so, have to call a cease fire to go get the cases.

[mookiie]

12ish. I normally load at 36 grains of imr4895 (just over 2000 fps). The bad news is the ejection pattern. 1230 or so, have to call a cease fire to go get the cases.

Wow 12ish, that is significantly softer then mine. Do you have any issues with leading? How are you lubing your rounds?

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[OptimusPanda]

Leading hasn't been a problem up until maybe 80-100 rounds. Couple patches down the barrel and cleaning the gas cylinder/port and it was gone. I suspect the gas port fouled slightly as it threw something back past the op rod. Lube is the 666+1 lube with one of sages gator checks. Ideally I'd be using a harder alloy but I tried the pistol alloy I'd been using. Surprisingly it worked just fine if properly sized, lubed, and checked.

[mdi]

An older post; http://castboolits.gunloads.com/arch...p/t-43856.html And one from the Garand fellers at CMP; http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=77324

[Tim357]

Mike Venturino has penned a couple articles in Handloader Magazine over the years detailing his M1 and 1903 Sprg loads with cast. Don't recall off the top o my head, but they're out there.

[mookiie]

I love Mike's work. Wish I had the articles!

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[mookiie]

Leading hasn't been a problem up until maybe 80-100 rounds. Couple patches down the barrel and cleaning the gas cylinder/port and it was gone. I suspect the gas port fouled slightly as it threw sometime back past the op rod. Lube is the 666+1 lube with one of sages gator checks. Ideally I'd be using a harder alloy but I tried the pistol alloy I'd been using. Surprisingly it worked just fine if properly sized, lubed, and checked.

You said you size them to .310 why is that what did your bore slug at? Have you tried bullets sized to .309? Thanks for the responses by the way.

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[OptimusPanda]

It was the bore size. My M1 slugged at 309-309.5 on the grooves. Adding a thousandth to that would have been .310-.311 but I had a .310 sizing die on hand so that's where I started and ended up. I'll add that a Lyman m die proved quite helpful in reducing the runout. Every dozen or so the boolits would seat crooked as the neck was expanded too little from the resizing die.