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M-1 Garand ammo -- what did WW2 Army infantrymen use?


rams2050
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I'm getting a couple of M-1 Garand 8-shot clips, and I would like to load them with the proper ammo and then put them into an ammunition belt for an authenitc display with the rest of the militaria I have been accumulating.

 

My question: I bought a bunch of 30.06 match ammunition from the Civilian Marksmanship Program back in the early 1960s, before it was illegal to ship ammo to non-holders of an FFL, and it is, of course, full-metal jacketed. Could this have been the ammo used in WW2?

 

I know it probably isn't, but it would really save me some hassle if it was.

 

Thanks, again, for your help.

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If it's full jacketed, who's going to notice when they are in the clips? When they are, you can't tell can't even tell if they have military markings on the bottom of the casings. Does it really matter that much?

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Guys who dig WWII foxholes report that much of the Garand ammo that they find on clips is A.P. ammo (black tips).

Tom Bowers

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As a preferred load, black-tipped AP was common, at least with Infantry.

 

For Normandy, the Abn troops, including glidermen were issued AP. That is NOT to say that any and all ammo they got on resupply was AP.

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I read somewhere, & MAY also have seen a clip from a WW2 training movie, that stated that the M2 A.P. round was THE main issue ammunition; as the powers that be considered the WW2 battlefield to be an armored battlefield - so issuing AP as standard meant that the GI was able to engage personel AND light skinned vehicles, half-tracks, etc.

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Right. I wrote that without thinking. Thanks for the save. The shipper needs the FFL. . .

 

Nope, no FFL is required on either end, only proof of age.

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I read somewhere, & MAY also have seen a clip from a WW2 training movie, that stated that the M2 A.P. round was THE main issue ammunition; as the powers that be considered the WW2 battlefield to be an armored battlefield - so issuing AP as standard meant that the GI was able to engage personel AND light skinned vehicles, half-tracks, etc.

 

 

Also the AP round was preferred because it used a heavier bullet than the standard ball ammunition and was considered more accurate.

 

Dug examples of 8 round clips on Okinawa also point to its use in the PTO as Garand ammunition.

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You could dip some of you match Ammo into black paint to simulate AP, really wouldn't fool anyone with a match headstamp so most would find it ethical.

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The standard cartridge used in the servie riflr of WWII was the M2 ball. This hard a cooper colored bullet with no paint on it and while Ap was used in the Garand most of the ammo used was ball.

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The standard cartridge used in the servie riflr of WWII was the M2 ball. This hard a cooper colored bullet with no paint on it and while Ap was used in the Garand most of the ammo used was ball.

 

Where did you get that information, about the M2 ball being the standard round?

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The standard cartridge used in the servie riflr of WWII was the M2 ball. This hard a cooper colored bullet with no paint on it and while Ap was used in the Garand most of the ammo used was ball.

 

Not according to supply records, the majority of 30 cal shipped to the ETO was AP.

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I remember reading somewhere that all the ammunition issued in combat was AP. Ball was used only for training. Now, we can never say never, but I believe that was the general policy.

Steve

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All military manuals state the standard round for the 30 Caliber Rifle (M1 Garand) is the M2 Ball Round. In the ETO, troops were likely to encounter vehicles, thus AP was carried.

 

AP is less accurate than M2 Ball ammo. I shoot JC Garand matches, and have yet to see any compeitor fire AP during the match. I have shot AP to see if there was an accuarcy advantage, and other competitors reported M2 ball being much more accurate.

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For what its worth. A 29th Division soldier told me his magazines were all loaded with AP rounds, except he loaded 1 tracer round per clip hoping that if he shot at something it might catch on fire...

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So the match that I have is all copper. I guess that would be good enough. . .

 

That AP -- maybe they used it in Normandy but switched somewhere along the way. What do I know?

 

anyway, did the clips come pre-loaded? Or can you load them yourself? Someone told me that they were quite difficult to load. Is that right? Any tricks I should know?

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Johan Willaert

That AP -- maybe they used it in Normandy but switched somewhere along the way. What do I know?

 

anyway, did the clips come pre-loaded? Or can you load them yourself? Someone told me that they were quite difficult to load. Is that right? Any tricks I should know?

 

The rounds I dug up in the Ardennes were mostly AP..

 

They were available pre-loaded, but clips can easily be loaded by yourself.... Some say it is important to put the first round either left or right of the clip as the wrong side can cause a jam....

 

Some vets have told me they put a tracer as the last but one round to keep track of the number of rounds available in the rifle...

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If you are planning to only display the ammo, you might consider obtaining dummy rounds. That's what I did for my display. Granted, I have my live ammo as well, but when I display, I use dummy ammo which consists of the casing and projectile, but with either no primer, or an already popped primer installed. No powder in loaded into the round. For all intents and purposes, it looks like a live round, can be chambered, but can not be fired. It makes displaying the weapon with it's ammunition infinitely safer for public display too. I currently have an M1923 belt full of 8 round enblocs and a full 100 rd cloth belt of .30-06 dummy ammo in my display. You can find dummy rounds lots of places, you just have to look. A 100 round belt usually runs about $40 to $50.

 

Hope that helps you.

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So the match that I have is all copper. I guess that would be good enough. . .

 

That AP -- maybe they used it in Normandy but switched somewhere along the way. What do I know?

 

anyway, did the clips come pre-loaded? Or can you load them yourself? Someone told me that they were quite difficult to load. Is that right? Any tricks I should know?

 

.30-06 ammunition was loaded in crates preloaded in six pocket bandoliers of 8 round clips or in belts for machine guns. Each Bandolier carried 48 rounds, preloaded into 8 round clips. There were also crates of specialty ammunition as well such as Armor Piercing, tracer, and grenade launching cartriges (which had no projectile). The tracer ammunition was usually boxed and mixed in by hand. Belted ammunition was usually pre-loaded ball/tracer in a 4 to 1 mix.

 

As far as loading the clips it's really rather easy. Take five or six rounds and place them in the clip, push them to one end. They will self stagger in the clip. Now, take the remaining two rounds and feed them into the clip from one side and they will snap right into place. When loading, ensure the bases of the cartridges are well seated against the base of the clip. Any missaligned cartridges should push easily into alignment by hand. I would avoid pushing the points of the round against anything to seat them.

 

Once you've done a few clips, it becomes really easy to load clips in a rather quick manner. IF you load live ammo and fire it, keep your clips for reuse. Those things run about $2 bucks apiece. The best way to obtain ammo is to get it pre-packaged in the 192 round spam can if you can find them. They are becoming rather scarce.

 

Wayne

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