M1 garand reloading data help??

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kgoodrich

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Ok so here is the story. A friend of mine, her dad was a range officer and did a lot of reloading with the m1 garand. Sadly he passed away and she acumulated a lot of his items. Well some time passed and I ended up with a 1942 awsome condition springfield m1 garand. I rememberd that my friend had a lot of reloading stuff and so i picked all of the m1 reloading supplys that she had. Well come to find out the 8 out of the 10 pounds of powder was IMR 1185. Much to my chargrin I have yet to find any reloading data with the IMR 1185 and i have speent a few weeks looking. The funny thing is out of the 10 pounds of powder 2 pounds of it was DU Pont sporting rifle powder number 80 which survived the years and didnt decay and has the reloading data on the back.

So now im stuck with a lot of usable powder with no reloading data what so ever and looking threw all the info on the internet and all my reloading books has yeilded me nothing but lost time! I am begging, no pleading for those of you with greater wisdom than i posses to show a bit of kindness to this poor youngster that cant find the info he needs! Do laugh because it is funny in a way, i laughed when i got the powder for such a good deal. I have relized i should have kept my mouth shut. Have pitty? On a side note i have what looks to be a mint pound of du pont number 80 powder in the metal can with the wax paper...
karl
 

Grumulkin

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Unless you can find a really old reloading manual, you're probably out of luck in getting data.

If I were doing it, and I'm NOT suggesting you do it, I would:

1. Go on the assumption that the powder was intended to almost fill a 30/06 case.
2. Make a test cartridge and shoot it in a 30/06 with a strong action (an Encore or a bolt action).

As long as the load was heavy enough to push the bullet out of the bore and not so heavy as to damage the gun, I would have the data needed on firing a single cartridge to proceed with load workup. I definitely would NOT try this in a Garand and once again, what you do is ENTIRELY at your own risk.

There was a site that I couldn't bring up today, www.stevespages.com where you might be able to get this information. It's possible the site is just down for maintenance or perhaps the guy that maintained it has died; in any case, check it again over the next day or two and if it's up, contact the owner thereof. If anyone would know, he would.
 

kgoodrich

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Thanks i will try castboolits and see what comes up. I know the imr 1185 is a slow burn and was used in the garand and working up a load i might try that as a last option i just hope the 03a3 can handle it. I just dont want to let good powder go to waste!
 

kgoodrich

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oneof79 ive been staring at that page for a while the only thing is dose imr 1185 burn the same way as 4895 with the same amount of grains or dose one burn quicker than the other or if 4895 was the same thing just what was later released to the public or what. I know that 4895 took over the 1185 because the millitary wanted something a little better with out the kick that the 172gr ammo had. The thing is i dont know what preasure the 1185 runs at or just something that i could start with that i can work up to the right load without killing my self or the m1.
 

358norma

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Order a 8lb can of 4895, and load for the Garand. The Garand and M1-A have issues with proper port pressures. Look up loading for the Garand, M1-a on the net. You can mess up a good gun by not loading for them right. You can get a can for about $150.00, much less than your repair bill may be, and this is the powder for a Garand. That powder may be 80 years old, why take a chance. Even if it works great, and you find a load your gun likes, you will never get any more?
 

oneof79

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oneof79 ive been staring at that page for a while the only thing is dose imr 1185 burn the same way as 4895 with the same amount of grains or dose one burn quicker than the other or if 4895 was the same thing just what was later released to the public or what. I know that 4895 took over the 1185 because the millitary wanted something a little better with out the kick that the 172gr ammo had. The thing is i dont know what preasure the 1185 runs at or just something that i could start with that i can work up to the right load without killing my self or the m1.
Since 1185 was used in ammo with 173 gr bullets I would assume that it is a little slower burning than 4895. I use 4895 in loads for my Garand and have never heard of or used 1185.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Spanner1751/3006match001small.jpg

Here is another link I found showing actual loads. Use at your own risk.
 

kgoodrich

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358norma. the imr1185 was made for the m1 garand 30-06 and since i have the powder that was set up for the rifle that i have and the powder is in perfect condition there is no sence in not using it. If ive got 8pounds of good powder why not use it up and be happy that i got good cheap powder that works? ONEOF79 you found exactly what i needed thank you ever so much!!!! you rock!!!!! IMR 1185 was what the millitary used in the garand up to 1936 i belleve and it was never released to the public to use. I now have data that i can work with thanks ever so much!!!!!!!!
 

1911user

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I would do the load development in a bolt-action 30-06 instead of the M1; one based on a Mauser action would be best. Use a chrono on all load development shots to see if the loads are consistent and stable. It is 80 year old rifle powder, no need to risk an M1 to find out it really didn't age well.
If you do use an M1 for development, use a vented gas plug for some added rifle protection.
 

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