Your choice for a M1 Gerand

[Eric H]

I am finally a proud owner of a rifle I have wanted for a long time. It's a post war Gerand. Its in great condition. Ok enough bragging. On with my question.
I was wondering if anyone has a favorite cast bullet. That they shoot in there's.
I have some 30 caliber molds already. But there on the lighter side.

[Hickory]

Most people I know go high hog with the Garand and will not give cast boolits any consideration.

[ShooterAZ]

I like the Lyman 311299. There are others that work pretty well, but this one is the classic M1 Garand cast boolit. I load mine with 34.5 H4895 powder for around 1950 fps with very good accuracy, and it cycles perfectly in my M1.

[RU shooter]

I had my best luck with the rcbs 165 sillywet bullet cast fairly hard the Lee 185 also did well

[Rich/WIS]

Ditto on the RCBS 165 SIL, IIRC used 35 or 36 grs IMR 4064. Not sure of velocity but accurate and reliable function. Start at 34 grs and work up to reliable function. Only issue was lead deposits on the piston face and tiny lead fragments in the gas cylinder. Not a severe problem just needed a good cleaning every couple hundred rounds. If you haven't done so replace the oprod spring from someone called Orion7, the old springs often get weak and a new spring will ensure it operates like it should. A new clip latch spring is not a bad idea either. If you have issues of any kind the CMP forum has a Garand section that is a good resource.

[Adam Helmer]

Eric,

My Garands like the Lee .312-185R, sized .309, 36 grains IMR4895, and CCI primer. The load cycles all my rifles and boolits hit the same point of aim/point of impact at 100 yards as my Ball loads and 150 jacketed reloads.

Adam

[Baja_Traveler]

Started out with the 311299, and they worked really well - but then moved to the 311365 when I started shooting it at our military rifle silhouette matches, and I like the looks better too...

[RU shooter]

Started out with the 311299, and they worked really well - but then moved to the 311365 when I started shooting it at our military rifle silhouette matches, and I like the looks better too...

Loving the patriotic color scheme you got goin on there ! Cool

[Thumbcocker]

I like the Lyman 311299. There are others that work pretty well, but this one is the classic M1 Garand cast boolit. I load mine with 34.5 H4895 powder for around 1950 fps with very good accuracy, and it cycles perfectly in my M1.

I use the same boolit sized .311 over 34 grains of 4895. I lube with Ben's red and then tumble lube over that. I get a few led flakes in the gas piston but they come out ok.