IMR 4895 and Lee C309-170-F

[ilcop22]

Good evening,

As some of you know, I had recently been experimenting with Varget loads for my M1 Garand. The reason for that was the lack of IMR 4895 in my area. Well, it's back.

I have some references for loads, but I was hoping to see if anyone has good load data for the Lee C309-170-F 17gr boolit? A cursory search revealed no results.

Thanks!

[Philngruvy]

I just finished casting 235 of the 170 grain boolits using straight wheel weights. I am also using IMR 4895 and need some good advise. I found on another forum a load using 30.2 grains of 4895. Does this sound like a good starting load? Another issue---- I also cast the C309-150-F and the 170 grain boolits I cast today have a smaller nose diameter than the 150 grain boolits. Will this be a problem? I have not loaded any yet. I usually size down to .308 and I was thinking that I probably dont need to size these at all. Any comments?

[Larry Gibson]

For use in the M1 Garand functional reliability is the first order of business; with the 170+ gr bullets start at 28 gr of 4895 and work up in 1/2 or 1 gr increments with a 1/2 - 3/4 gr Dacron filler. The load you are looking for will function the action including the ejection of the empty clip and locking the bolt to the rear. With a 170 gr cast bullet this generally means a velocity in the 1950-2050 fps range which is about where accuracy will start deteriorating. How much you want accuracy to deteriorate for the sake of velocity is up to you but I prefer my gas guns to shoot at least into 2-3 moa. Some don't mind the accuracy level of LC69 M2 ammo which can be 4-6 moa or even worse. What you want is up to you but with that Lee 170 gr bullet your best accuracy is going to be where you find functional reliability, that is with 4895 which is my preferred powder for th M1 with cast bullets.

Larry Gibson