M1 Garand Zeroing Question

Tim

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So, I took this obsolete old relic out for a spin on Saturday.

IMG_0982.jpeg



In reading The M1 Garand: OWNER'S GUIDE by Scott Duff he says...

If a typical 6 O'Cock sight picture is used, the bullets impact will be located in the center of the bullseye
Click to expand...

Does anybody know what SIZE bullseye he's referring to here? A 6 O'clock hold on a 12" bull is significantly different than on a 6", 4", etc.

Yes, I'm using Garand specific ammo.
 
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You don't need garand specific ammo..thats a myth.

I do a quick BZO at 25 to get me close to center.

Then zero at 100y/m with a 6 o'clock hold on an SR-1 target.

Then hold 6 o'clock all the way out to 1000 and adjust as needed.

Thats for shooting at x-rings.
 
Ballpark elevation zero is to start 11 or 12 clicks up on a SR-1.
 
Since I'm a cheap bastard, can someone tell me the diameter of the black area on a 100 yard scaled SR-1?

I have a sharpie and a pile of paper plates...
 
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Tim said:
Since I'm a cheap bastard, can someone tell me the diameter of the black area on a 100 yard scaled SR-1?

I have a sharpie and a pile of paper plates...
Click to expand...

Iron sights, always go with 6 MOA + at all distances.

On the longer range stuff, go to the Dollar Store, buy some gift wrapping paper or poster paper and wrap the target backer. Spray paint BLACK 6 MOA circle.

100yds = 6"
200yds = 12"
300yds = 18"
400yds = 24"
 
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Jeremy2171 said:
lol.... yeah gotta kill that myth every-time it rears its head...
Click to expand...

Some myths have an element of truth. I started shooting Garands back in the 1960's with the idea that I could shoot any 30/06 ammo through them. It worked OK for a while until I had an op rod damaged by one of my deer hunting loads. Op rods were common and cheap back then. I have shot loads ever since that are close to the powder and velocity of the military rounds and have not had any problems. Can you use some regular commercial hunting ammo in a Garand? Probably. Can you use all commercial hunting ammo in one without danger? Probably not. Some loads specifically warn against using in autoloaders. Can you get adjustable gas plugs? Yes. I have one but have not installed in any of my Garands at this time. I prefer to know that a round going into my Garands is appropriate for Garands.

I have seen a bunch of YouTube videos about op rod speed using different ammo. That is all well and good but does not tell the whole story. Other things affect the action of the moving parts. A person can shoot whatever he/she wants out of their own rifle, and I hope no damage is done to them or to the rifle. I prefer to learn from the lesson I learned by my own experience.
 
Charlie said:
Some myths have an element of truth. I started shooting Garands back in the 1960's with the idea that I could shoot any 30/06 ammo through them. It worked OK for a while until I had an op rod damaged by one of my deer hunting loads. Op rods were common and cheap back then. I have shot loads ever since that are close to the powder and velocity of the military rounds and have not had any problems. Can you use some regular commercial hunting ammo in a Garand? Probably. Can you use all commercial hunting ammo in one without danger? Probably not. Some loads specifically warn against using in autoloaders. Can you get adjustable gas plugs? Yes. I have one but have not installed in any of my Garands at this time. I prefer to know that a round going into my Garands is appropriate for Garands.

I have seen a bunch of YouTube videos about op rod speed using different ammo. That is all well and good but does not tell the whole story. Other things affect the action of the moving parts. A person can shoot whatever he/she wants out of their own rifle, and I hope no damage is done to them or to the rifle. I prefer to learn from the lesson I learned by my own experience.
Click to expand...
Well of course you shouldn't shoot ammo that says for bolt guns only out of semis.....nor should you use handloads using slow burning powder.

However I'm still looking for commercial ammo thats dangerous for the garand. So far haven't found any.

Keep it well greased and a good in spec oprod spring and you will have no worries or need for an adjustable gas screw.
 
Jeremy2171 said:
Well of course you shouldn't shoot ammo that says for bolt guns only out of semis.....nor should you use handloads using slow burning powder.
Click to expand...

Then we agree that there are limits to what ammo can be used in a Garand safely. I do not know what powder the commercial folks use, and many 30/06 loading data sets show loads for very slow powders.

I like to make sure the ammo I use is within those limits. That is fairly easy to do if I load the rounds myself or buy commercial ammo that specifies it is safe for Garands.
 
Charlie said:
Then we agree that there are limits to what ammo can be used in a Garand safely. I do not know what powder the commercial folks use, and many 30/06 loading data sets show loads for very slow powders.

I like to make sure the ammo I use is within those limits. That is fairly easy to do if I load the rounds myself or buy commercial ammo that specifies it is safe for Garands.
Click to expand...
The CMP specifically states commercial ammo 180gr and less is fine for the garand. The only limits are what you handload...and some wild above SAAMI spec bolt gun load. Actual testing shows us commercial ammo isn't the dangerous thing the internet makes it out to be.
 
Jeremy2171 said:
The CMP specifically states commercial ammo 180gr and less is fine for the garand.
Click to expand...

More limitations on what should be shot in a Garand. Now we are up to none of those commercially loaded light magnum loads that specify no use in autoloaders, no handload with very slow powder, and no bullet over 180 grains. It sounds as if the myth is getting less mythical.
 
Charlie said:
More limitations on what should be shot in a Garand. Now we are up to none of those commercially loaded light magnum loads that specify no use in autoloaders, no handload with very slow powder, and no bullet over 180 grains. It sounds as if the myth is getting less mythical.
Click to expand...
Well to be honest..hornady recalled/cancelled the "light magnum" line since it wasn't semi auto safe and replaced it with the superformance line which is semiauto safe. Handloads aren't a part of the equation.. and yes you can shoot ammo over 180gr..CMP says it "may" cause increased port pressure...but actual testing shows its no worse than milsurp so yeah that myth is busted.
 
Forgot to add with my post.

6 MOA is the perfect size fo a 6 O'clock hold. Now keep in mind the 6 o'clock hold is because the rear sights on a M1 should be zeroed at 300yds. And the BDC stops at 150yds "typically"

@Tim if you have 300yds on that range go paint you a 18" circle and when you get you a centered up 9" group of 10 shots slip the rear sight to 3 and call yourself zero'ed.
 
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Jeremy2171 said:
Well to be honest..hornady recalled/cancelled the "light magnum" line since it wasn't semi auto safe and replaced it with the superformance line which is semiauto safe. Handloads aren't a part of the equation.. and yes you can shoot ammo over 180gr..CMP says it "may" cause increased port pressure...but actual testing shows its no worse than milsurp so yeah that myth is busted.
Click to expand...

I always try to be honest. There is still a lot of that hot ammo out there that is not appropriate for autoloaders. I have several boxes of 308 that a friend gave me when it would not work well in his Browning lever action. I certainly do not want to try it in my Navy Garand. Why are handloads not part of the equation? Many of us handload, and several manuals give specific loads for use in Garands. You mentioned not using slow powder. Since the commercial people do not generally tell you what powder they use, that limitation had to be directed at reloaders. I would question the "actual testing" if CMP said what you said they did about bullets over 180 grains. Who did the tests, and what exactly did they measure. YouTube has several people measuring this or that with different ammo in Garands. I still do not believe everything I see on YouTube. Remember that there are several things that affect the action of the rifle, and measuring only port pressure or bolt speed may not give the whole picture. Myth still not busted.
 
I understand how to zero. My question was on the size of the referenced target.

Asked and answered!

thanks!
 
Still looking for the “obsolete old relic” in that photo :D
 
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