Cast Bullets In The M1 Garand

[guicksylver]

Hi again guys..Dan here

Ever see that heading in a thread..

Sorry but I got a story with no picture..(grown up type)..

So I thought it would be fun (wrong)..to take on the M1 shooting cast...well it was actually fun
but not reveling..well maybe reveling...

The gun I have is a stock HRA..all HRA...all original...manufactured 05-54

Haven't checked the TE or ME...did clean out the copper...

My first choice of bullets were the 284 and 299..my first choice of powders were H4895 and AA4064...

After prepping 50 rnds of brass..30 HXP and 20 rnds Winchester.. I set about trying to determine what bullet diameter this gun likes...no luck there.. no concernable difference between .310 and .311..h-u-u-m-m...just as a note those loads were some 314299's with 29grs h4895 and seated to 3.270..the 314299 has a .304 nose when cast with my 4-4-92 alloy...the rounds for the test were single loaded...

Not getting any clear preference on the bullet diameter I decided to move on to testing the functioning of the rifle with that loading...THERE was the surprise...all rounds functioned fine out of a five round clip...from what I've read most M1's require a bit stiffer load...but hey I'm happy 'cause that's where this bullet likes to shoot out of my other '06's..

Anyways last week we had a pretty good day for iron sight shooting so I took a few rounds (loaded with the 314299 ) with me to the range..nice bright day ..yes I could see the tree inch "shoot N see " target..

How did I do..or rather how did IT do..these were shot using the en bloc..check out the pictures..( ya I know I said I didn't have pictures)..

Encouraged by that results I headed out again today ,armed with the M1 Garand and loads using 29.3 grs H4895 with All my 299's..the Lyman 311299 ( 314 bands-.301 nose), NOE312299 ( 312 bands-.302 nose) and a NOE 314299( 314 bands-.304nose).. I had equal numbers of bullets loaded that were sized .310 and .311....

The light was marginal but I managed to hold the target..(sort of)...of course this was at 100 yds...

OK here's the kicker...(so much for load development)...ALL GROUPS WERE 1 5/8"...NONE SMALLER.. NONE BIGGER...AND ALL SHOT TO THE SAME POI.. ?..

Before I leave I will tell you that this rifle shot the 311284 sized .310 and pushed with 30 grs AA4064 into 1 1/8"..with 4 under 3/4"....

Not great shooting..but fun..

Question.. have you guys had a gun that didn't respond to tweaking of bullet sizes and nose diameters?

Well... off to sizing the cases and reloading some more..think I'll wait for a day that I can see the target before I try this again...

Thanks for listening..Dan

[Bill*B]

Under 2 MOA with cast - or anything - is wonderful shooting with that tough old warrior. You have an exceptional rifle, a good load, and obviously know how to shoot. It doesn't get any better! Enjoy.