Greek Ammo in a Garand?

[The Duke]

I picked up Garand #2 yesterday, this one in .30 cal...A bandoleer of Greek
.30 delinked and clipped (as in MG linked) ammo came with the deal...Its got the NATO stamp on the case head along with mfg date of 1967..and HXT indicating Greek mfg.

Im thinking its prob non corrosive primed...but not too sure about shooting it through a Garand...Since the ammo has been delinked it was prob designed for MG...Not sure if MG ammo and rifle ammo are the same stuff...There is no indication that the rounds are for MG only...

Im thinking about pulling the bullets and reloading with some 4895...That can be a PITA...Maybe taking it to the gunshow this weekend and dumping it off on someone...Im not sure what the bullet weight is, so Im going to have to pull at least one before I shoot it...IF I do shoot it..

I get a little itchy about some of the foreign fodder...Had some South African battle pack 7.62 that was excellent in FALs, but Hot as Hell for anything else I shoot...

My resident experts on Garands differ in their opinion...one says, Shoot it, it wont hurt a thing."..the other says, "I dont know about that."

Im leaning towards NOT shooting it...least ways until I see what the bullet weight is. When in doubt, Dont..ya know..

Y'all got any suggestions or info that may help in my decision process? Damn I can ramble on at times...

[JLA]

Being MG ammo, id be afraid it might bend the op rod in the garand. I dunno, i never much cared for running 50 year old mil-surp thru such a fine weapon. I always used proper handloads and american eagle garand factory stuff..

[Alpo]

It should not have the NATO cross on it, as 30/06 is not, and has never been, a NATO caliber.

The CMP sells Greek ought-six, especially for the Garand. It's fine ammo. The stuff I got came in clips on bandoleers, so it's not "de-linked machine gun ammo", but have you ever found any evidence that machine gun ammo is loaded hotter? The whole purpose of having your machine gun chambered in the same caliber as your rifle is so the same ammo works in both. If MG ammo is hotter, then accidentally putting MG ammo in a rifle could cause a blow-up, while accidentally putting rifle ammo in a MG could cause a jam. Neither of these would be good during a battle.

[woolleyworm]

A friend bought two Garands about 5 years ago and picked up 2000 Greek surplus rounds for them. He's only got a few hundred left and not a single problem that I've witnessed and I've fired at least 200 of them.

Called him and confirmed that his ammo is 150gn. See what yours is and let us know.

[gdmoody]

The Greek stuff is actually HXP M2 Ball and that is the only kind of "factory" ammo that I shoot in my Garand and 1903A3. I got a few cases of it from the CMP a while back. It will not hurt your Garand at all. I think that Alpo is right about the MG vs Rifle ammo. I was curious about the NATO stamp so I just looked at what I have and it does not have the stamp. Mine is dated 69 so it might have been added later but I don't know for sure.

I will not insult your intelligence, but are you sure the new rifle is a 30.06 and not a .308? The reason I say this is that, I bought a M1 Garand at a gun show a few years ago and when I got it home, I attempted to chamber a 30.06 and it would not fit. I went back in the house and got a .308 and BINGO it worked fine. There was no markings on the rifle anywhere that indicated .308, but it was. Normally the barrel is marked .308 but this one was not. I have read that HXP made .308 ammo and it does have the NATO stamp on it.

[The Duke]

Y'all right about the NATO stamp...the round I looked at had a small ding in the outside edge of the head...The way I looked at it...and the fact I cant see as well as I did at21..looked like a circle with a +...After examining several other rounds, aient nuttin' there except the "HXP" and the date stamp.. CSS AND CRS sneaking up on me fast!!

Anyone reload HXP brass???...is it Berdan? The primers appear to be crimped in three places around the edge...Pretty much looks like what a Lee Factory Crimp die does to the case mouth.....I can swage this if I can extract the fired ones without punching through....I got a can of good LC bandoleered stuff that I think I will hoard and reload the HXP for what little shooting I do with the Garand..

Interesting that my rifle was made on or within a couple days of my actual birthday...only a few years before ..

[The Duke]

Wooly...I will try to dissect one or two tomorrow and post a report...Hell, they may even be loaded with Military 4895...I dont have any 30-06 dies, but I should be able to use the .308 die with the seater screwed way down to break the bulllet sealant...Should have some .30-06 dies in a day or so.

Im going to the range and shoot up some of the Greek stuff tomorrow..

[Alpo]

That Greek is boxer primed. Good brass. Swage the crimp and you're good to go.

[The Duke]

Alpo...Ive not found anything regarding MG ammo vs rifle ammo..This was a speculation from one of my 'resident experts'....Seems to me that it would only make sense to load them the same so they could be interchanged if need be...Unless they only used the stuff in MG's and not service rifles...I dunno...Ive shot quite a bit of de-linked 7.62 and not had a problem...Its obviously hotter than commercial ammo, but not alarmingly so.

There was some European or maybe Israeli 9mm I have seen years ago that was marked for MG only...But Ive not seen any of that floating around for 30+ years...Wish I could find some more of it as the range has a for real UZI that I check out once in awhile...Most commercial fodder simply doesnt run the UZI...S&B is the exception...I need to chrono some of this stuff sometime and compare...When I buy commercial FMJ, I will buy S&B anytime I can get it...Good Stuff..

[flintlock]

The only problem I've had with Greek ammo was this morning. Loading a few Garand clips when I noticed something didn't look right. One round was "short". It seems to be a 7.62x54 Russian rimmed round. One out of a few hundred is no big deal however, I don't think it would have chambered. the case markings were HXP 75, right in step with the .30 cal. rounds.

[medalguy]

There is no such thing as "machine gun ammo" at least in US inventory. The same round was designed to be fired interchangably in rifle or machine gun. The Duke is right, it's the same ammo.

HXP is great ammo, and many people say it's more accurate than LC ammo. It is all boxer primed and all I've seem is noncorrosive. There was some talk over on The CMP Forums about some early lots being corrosive, but I've not ever seem any. And it's great brass for reloading. The primers are "staked" in with three dents and most of it can be reloaded without having to swage the crimp like you have to do with USGI ammo.

I've bought and fires a lot of HXP and never had the slightest problem with it in a Garand. Also remember some years ago the CMP was selling delinked M2 Ball ammo in 20 round cartons. That was great ammo, originally linked up for machine guns with 4 ball and 1 tracer. The CMP contracted with Talon to delink it, remove the tracers, and package it in cartons. I still have some of that ammo and it's really good stuff. Mostly LC67 is what I have.

Shoot it and enjoy it. Save the brass.

[Wildalaska]

The Greek Ammo is fine

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