Best ammo to run in your M1 Garand?

Several companies make match ammo specifically for the M-1 and its unique gas system. Here's the Hornady offering on sale at Cheaper Than Dirt:

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/56791

I would NOT use any modern ammo regardless of bullet weight in an M-1. You cannot assume that any modern commercial load is OK with an unaltered M-1 gas system.

As you can see, the Hornady match ammo is not cheap. If your rifle doesn't shoot well with this ammo, you can pretty much assume the problem is with the rifle. The possible problems include:

-- Sloppy fit of the gas cylinder on the splines milled into the barrel. Some play is normal and necessary, but too much is very bad for accuracy.

-- A damaged muzzle, often by some idiot with an old steel segmented G.I. cleaning rod. This is easily fixed by re-crowning the muzzle.

-- A badly fitting or warped stock that allows the "legs" of the action to shift in the stock under recoil. This will wreck the accuracy of any M-1. Fix this by replacing a warped stock or by bedding the action.

Those are the likeliest causes of poor accuracy, although others are possible.

You never say what groups you are getting, so let's be sure you are realistic. With a good G.I. M-1 and good ammo, I would expect at or a bit under 2 inches at 100 yards. Better groups are possible, but an M-1 that shoots around 2 inches doesn't necessarily haven anything wrong. Don't expect one ragged hole from an issue M-1.

standard 30.06 works just fine....make sure your gas tube and spring are cleaned