I bought a 54 H&R a while back, never got around to shooting it.

Have been looking around locally (Alaska) for ammo.

AK ammo has some 150G S&B for 1.08 a round. 400 round case.

Another shop had some wooden crates with what I assume is old surplus, cardboard boxes of 20 marked 1962. Wants a buck around. Also 150G.

I was leaning towards the new S&B for .08 a round more.

Naturally the guy at the shop with the old ammo says the S&B is lousy ammo. Which I don't believe and blew it off as sales pitch.

What say you guys?

I'd be tempted to go with the S&B, then scrounge some IMR-4895 or IMR-4064, 150 grain FMJs, and #34 primers to keep the old warhorse chugging.

If you decide on the 1962 ammo, if not domestic, there is a chance it may be corrosive. I have a '53 IHC, and used to load once-fired brass, and even once fired could cause corrosion if originally primed with corrosive primers, which made wet-tumbling a wise step.

PPU also makes Garand-specific ammo, but I'm unsure of how price would compare or availability, especially where you are located.

Depends on what those "cardboard boxes of 20 marked 1962" has written on them. They could be a sleeper. If U.S. surplus it could be Ball, M2 ammo, or better yet Match ammo (both probably Lake City if that's the case). Either way it's excellent ammo custom tailored for your M1 and well worth the price in today's market, and most assuredly non-corrosive. Even being 60 years old it beats hell out of S&B and/or PPU in my opinion. Pics, or an accurate portrayal of what's written on the boxes would be in order for identification here. The old guy may well not have been pulling your leg.

As stated above if not U.S. milsurp ammo and dated 1962 I would be leery of the quality. Not so much for corrosiveness as that feature wasn't around much anywhere in '62, except of course Commie stuff that turned up in dark corners of the world, and even a lot of that was non-corrosive. Biggest let down for foreign .30-06 milsurp ammo of that time was the universal use of Berdan primers.

I have been shooting the S&B for about 5 years now...no issues.

When it was "in stock", I bought from here: S & B ammo

Thanks, good info I will have to take a closer look at the boxes.

Have shot a lot of both CMP Greek Surplus and PPU factory M2 ball in the 500 rd. can.

Both very good, and ~ $0.50/rd., before the Soros/Soetoro/Bi-Duh Democrat National Socialist/Communist Regime decided to destabilize the region, to cover their Tax-Payer Money-Laundering Operation.




GR

Johnn,

While I am still using some older stuff (Danish M/48 AMA 80, Greek HXP 68 & 74, and LC 69) I have test fired all of my M1's with PPU M2 Ball and it shoots very well.

I picked up a 500 round can before the COVID craziness and now I wish I had bought 4 more cans.

I can't speak to the S&B stuff.

StarchedCover

The CMP had some surplus ammo for a while at about .75/round and, predictably, they sold out. They match grade they now sell is at least $1/round.

I've gotten some good deals at Freedom Munitions, although I haven't tried their 30-06.

and don't forget about local estate sales. This past week I stumbled across a pile of .30 Carbine ammo at a sale. Under $.30 each.

One of my dad's friends used to shoot military surplus ammunition in a bolt action 30-06, said the recoil was pretty stout

Interesting observation considering it was probably loaded to lower pressures for the M1.

I bought this plug and haven't been limited to M1 specific ammo since. https://www.garandgear.com/product/ported-gas-plug/

I had an 03A3 and shot the same ammo in it as I did my M1. Recoil was more noticeable.

Dinny, I use that plug and fire M1-level ammo in it. Since Uncle Sam ain't providing me with parts, I try to go easy on it.

I bought the 400 rounds of S&B, sadly I have not had a chance to shoot it. And waiting for the snow to go away at the local range.

Considered a adjustable GB, if I can get M1 ammo,I I will probably leave it alone.

Occasionally ammo shows up around here on one of few local sites. I look every now and then.
Shipping is a no go for Alaska.

I bought several hundred rounds of Greek HXP 74 a few years ago. I got some hang fires with it in a Model 70 Classic. Reasonably accurate otherwise, though.


Okie John

We had a saying: "Shoot Garands in the summer and shoot Springfields in the winter." A heavy coat is a ready made recoil absorber.

Ball M2 level loads are my standard in all my .30-06's anymore, at least when not shooting cast loads. As long as the 4895/Varget/4064 lasts and 150 spitzers are available I'll be a happy camper. Haven't bought any surplus ammo since prices went nuts - I'll be damned if I'm paying $.50-1.00 per shot, unless it was clean U.S. issue Ball or Match ammo and then only for nostalgia reasons. I have nothing against Korean/Greek/Eastern European Ball ammo. It functions fine and is an excellent source of brass for continued shooting but I just never got as good/consistent results with the foreign stuff as I did with U.S. surplus - sometimes better, yes, but sometimes worse, a lot worse.

If given the choice between foreign stuff and good old U.S. Ball ammo for a few cents per round more I would always go for the U.S. stuff, but only if my arm was broken and I couldn't operate the handle on my loading press!

If you want a real eye opener, snag some WWII era Armor Piercing .30 ammo and put it on paper.....

H-4895 with a 150 grain bullet, works well in my H&R. Sometimes you can get a deal on a bullet lot. 47 grains of powder, joy to shoot!

I want to say it was Mule Deer who did a write up on loading for an M1. One of his recipes as I recall was 48 grains of Varget with a 150 grain soft point. That is the one I used to load for my M1's and Springfields. It's got a noticeable buck in the Springfields but not so noticeable in the M1's. Nicely accurate in both.

kwg

Depends what you want it for.

S&B M2 ball goes bang, but if precision is important, the HXP or PPU M2 ball are better rounds.




GR

I shot up some PPU in my Garand, and it did pretty good.

It was factory ammo someone had given me. It kind of impressed me for Garand fodder, but the only factory loads I had to compare to was the S&B stuff, which it outshot.

I bought the case of S&B, mostly just to give it some range time and get familiar with it.
If it shows promise I will try something else and see what it can do. Or more so what I can do!