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Thread: Primer choice for M1 Garand?

  1. #41
    Boolit Buddy
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    I'm glad to hear your experiment went well!

  2. #42
    Boolit Buddy
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    I use any L/R primer for M1.
    NRA Life member since 91
    Retired Guard 20yrs
    Shoot,Shovel,Shut-up

  3. #43
    Boolit Buddy Rick459's Avatar
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    Small rifle primer pockets .118 To .122
    Large rifle primer pockets .128 To.132
    Small pistol primer pockets .118 To .122
    Large pistol primer pockets .118 To.122 these are the primer pocket depth. minumum to maximum

    i have been using federal match large rifle primers since i built my match M1 in 1995 and have never had a issue. but then i uniform all my primer pockets so that all primers sit below the case head. i still have 10,000 #34 primers that i bought back in 99 for $70.00 per 5,000 from powder valley..those were the good old days and i didn't even know it. when one reloads ammo for any of your rifles one should match prep ones cases to gain the maximum performance out of that fire arm. even if it is a stock rifle. HTH.
    Rick
    Last edited by Rick459; 10-02-2021 at 06:22 AM.

  4. #44
    Boolit Mold M1slamfire's Avatar
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    Hey guys a lot of good advice given on this topic. I do recommend CCI # 34 primers for military free floating firing pins weapons. I too have reloaded lots of standard CCI L.R primers for M-1 without issues.
    * But When I first started reloading standard LR CCI for my M-1 Garand I made a few Rookie mistakes and gotta way with it for while. Then one day it caught up to me, with 3 shots slow fired off the bench and checked target with spotting scope and was ready to send #4 round down range... I pulled the trigger and the bang sounded different and looked over @ my shooting buddy and there was a string of 5 cases in the air and hitting the bench. What made me look up was the sound of all 5 shots so close together that I didn't recognize it was all of them,,, but I did recognize the tattle tell "PING", that's what got my attention and then saw the string of empties. After much investigation on my part and a gunsmith buddy comparing 3 other M-1's parts and pieces i figured out that my rifle was fine and nothing that caused it to go full auto.
    But what I did have was high primers from not cleaning the primer pockets. Rookie move on my part but thankfully no one got hurt and the rifle wasn't damaged! I too realized after that happened that I needed to be more diligent on my part and that after cycling lots of re loads &
    commercial and factory lake city 1942 surplus through it,, that the free floating firing pins will dimple all rounds that goes into the chamber when the bolt flies home & slams the next round in chamber. The Next part of my Rookie reloading blunder was after my case gauge finally arrived,,
    I was just slightly long in my case measurements because I hadn't reset the shoulder back quite enough thus my case neck was making the cartridge slightly out of spec and helped create the slam fire event. Boy did I learn alot about M1Garands and case prep. I learned that just cause the bolt will close doesn't mean that it correct. Buy the tools you need for the job, and get all the good advice from knowledge people and be safe and enjoy.

  5. #45
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    georgerkahn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by M1slamfire View Post
    Hey guys a lot of good advice given on this topic. I do recommend CCI # 34 primers for military free floating firing pins weapons. I too have reloaded lots of standard CCI L.R primers for M-1 without issues.
    * But When I first started reloading standard LR CCI for my M-1 Garand I made a few Rookie mistakes and gotta way with it for while. Then one day it caught up to me, with 3 shots slow fired off the bench and checked target with spotting scope and was ready to send #4 round down range... I pulled the trigger and the bang sounded different and looked over @ my shooting buddy and there was a string of 5 cases in the air and hitting the bench. What made me look up was the sound of all 5 shots so close together that I didn't recognize it was all of them,,, but I did recognize the tattle tell "PING", that's what got my attention and then saw the string of empties. After much investigation on my part and a gunsmith buddy comparing 3 other M-1's parts and pieces i figured out that my rifle was fine and nothing that caused it to go full auto.
    But what I did have was high primers from not cleaning the primer pockets. Rookie move on my part but thankfully no one got hurt and the rifle wasn't damaged! I too realized after that happened that I needed to be more diligent on my part and that after cycling lots of re loads &
    commercial and factory lake city 1942 surplus through it,, that the free floating firing pins will dimple all rounds that goes into the chamber when the bolt flies home & slams the next round in chamber. The Next part of my Rookie reloading blunder was after my case gauge finally arrived,,
    I was just slightly long in my case measurements because I hadn't reset the shoulder back quite enough thus my case neck was making the cartridge slightly out of spec and helped create the slam fire event. Boy did I learn alot about M1Garands and case prep. I learned that just cause the bolt will close doesn't mean that it correct. Buy the tools you need for the job, and get all the good advice from knowledge people and be safe and enjoy.
    I do not believe I could have "said it better"!!! However, I will ADD on very important, quite regularly overlooked by fellow M1 shooters I have known (including ME!) -- which is to clean, and keep clean, the rifle's chamber. A close friend had his U S WWII vintage military Garand blow apart, with the dirty chamber deemed (by a good gunsmith!) as its cause.
    Yes... in the cleaning kit tucked in many Garand butt-stocks as a brass brush... but I reckoned it more of an accessory than a very much needed tool! Just using a .30 cal brush, or even as I do -- pull a brush (Otis-style) through -- does NOT clean or remove crud from the chamber. Nothing does it other than the tapered brush! And, if not done, the cartridge cannot be seated sufficiently, producing similar effect as the high primer noted in prior post.
    Several vendors purvey chamber brushes, and I cannot recommend strongly enough using one!
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chamber Brush.JPG 
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  6. #46
    Boolit Mold M1slamfire's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by georgerkahn View Post
    I do not believe I could have "said it better"!!! However, I will ADD on very important, quite regularly overlooked by fellow M1 shooters I have known (including ME!) -- which is to clean, and keep clean, the rifle's chamber. A close friend had his U S WWII vintage military Garand blow apart, with the dirty chamber deemed (by a good gunsmith!) as its cause.
    Yes... in the cleaning kit tucked in many Garand butt-stocks as a brass brush... but I reckoned it more of an accessory than a very much needed tool! Just using a .30 cal brush, or even as I do -- pull a brush (Otis-style) through -- does NOT clean or remove crud from the chamber. Nothing does it other than the tapered brush! And, if not done, the cartridge cannot be seated sufficiently, producing similar effect as the high primer noted in prior post.
    Several vendors purvey chamber brushes, and I cannot recommend strongly enough using one!
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chamber Brush.JPG 
Views:	22 
Size:	32.7 KB 
ID:	290019
    ����

  7. #47
    Boolit Master OBXPilgrim's Avatar
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    I'm another that has always used WLR in M1 Garands. No problems.
    Avatar - 2006, my oldest son (6'2"), trying to lift the 95lb Cobia he caught at Cape Hatteras, NC from the beach.

  8. #48
    Boolit Master

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    No, no, no, you've got to use the real thing in M1 loads:
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I picked up a pile of these at a show a couple years ago, for $1 per box. I've been using them in my Garand loads and they work well.

    Of course we can't all rely on 40 year old surplus stocks for our primer needs. Typically I would use CCI or Winchester primers in my M1s, never had a problem.


    Funny thing, I posted a photo of those primers when I found them a while back, and a couple people replied that I should be careful with them, because they might be corrosive. I guess that's proof that most of us aren't terribly good with attention to details.

  9. #49
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by fatelk View Post
    No, no, no, you've got to use the real thing in M1 loads:
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_1728[1].jpg 
Views:	35 
Size:	28.0 KB 
ID:	291263

    I picked up a pile of these at a show a couple years ago, for $1 per box. I've been using them in my Garand loads and they work well.

    Of course we can't all rely on 40 year old surplus stocks for our primer needs. Typically I would use CCI or Winchester primers in my M1s, never had a problem.


    Funny thing, I posted a photo of those primers when I found them a while back, and a couple people replied that I should be careful with them, because they might be corrosive. I guess that's proof that most of us aren't terribly good with attention to details.
    Details like the wording NON CORROSIVE right on the box!

  10. #50
    Boolit Master

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    The whole primer thing in semi-autos is exaggerated. Use what you have, and just don't place a loaded cartridge on the chamber and let the bolt slam into battery on it. The magazine's resistance while releasing the cartridge during regular cycling is important, as it slows the bolt's travel before going into battery. This minimizes the chances of slamfire.
    I shoot so that I can handload.

  11. #51
    Boolit Master Baltimoreed's Avatar
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    Cowboy action shooters prefer the more sensitive Federal primers as they run very light mainsprings in their SAs. I use them in ammo for an Argentine 7.65 Mannlicher automatic as it has such an anemic hammer spring. The secret is in not allowing the M1 bolt to slam on a chambered round. But I’m sure that I did that boo boo shooting off a bench years ago but I’ve always used CCI’s which are considered the hardest.

  12. #52
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have 3-5 1000 of S&B small rifle/pistol and 10000 lr and a few hundred cci sp, the s&b have become my standard.

  13. #53
    Boolit Master
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    i have wolf been using them for all my LR primer needs for years and years to come

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check