PART I: Velocity Theory
If you're anything like me (and I know that I am) you get a certain appreciation out of trying to duplicate or clone and already existing load. Some may call it a fool's errand, I call it entertainment. One such load I have set out to clone is the 30-06, M2 Ball, for my M1 Garand.
The truth is this is a super simple load to clone. The powder, primer, case, and bullet are already chosen for us. And since this is not a particularly accurate round (by modern day standards) the main variable we are solving for is velocity.
It actually amazes me how little information there is regarding the velocity of this round. Don't get me wrong, everyone and their mom is tracking that it is clocked in at 2740 FPS at 78 ft from the muzzle, but I was only able to find a few sources where someone had actually chronographed the round.
If you are trying to duplicate the round and you don't have any factory ammo to chrono then the next best thing is to try to convert 2740 FPS at 78 ft to X FPS at 15 ft. If you assume a Ballistic Coefficient of .390 for the 150 FB projectile, and you play around with a ballistic calculator, you will find that 2740 FPS at 78 ft comes out to 2789 FPS at 15 ft (and 2793 FPS at 10 ft).
PART II: Actual Velocity (Sort of)
A while back my father-in-law gave me a handful of Lake City M2 Ball Rounds from 1953. They were pretty tarnished and I didn't think I would ever fire them from any rifle I owned (I didn't own an M1 Garand at the time). Since they were in pretty bad shape I decided to pull and 'refurbish' them. I pulled the rounds, resized and decapped them, washed the brass with SS media, annealed them and reloaded the round with the original bullet, powder, and case. The only thing that was new was a CCI 200 LRP.
While I de-milled these rounds I weighed a few charges, of what I assume was IMR 4895, and found them all to contain around 49.0 gr. I do not remember the exact measurements, but I do know that I used 49.0 gr when I put the rounds back together.
Even though the rounds that I used for my baseline velocities are not TRUE M2 ball rounds, they are closer than any other LC M2 Ball that I have seen chronographed… which is none.
I took readings on two different occasions, once on 28SEP2019 in Dundee Oregon, and another on 12AUG2022 in Sandy Oregon. Both at 15 ft using a Caldwell Chronograph.
Dundee
Velocity: 2739.8FPS
SD: 40.8 FPS
ES 88 FPS
Sandy
Velocity: 2768.3 FPS
SD: 12.6 FPS
ES: 35FPS
PART III: Clone Load
I fired 8 rounds of each load (including the control group) all on the same day from a range of 15 ft. I used the components below for my clone load.
Bullet: PPU 150gr M2 bullet (NEW)
Brass: Lake City 67 30-06 (Once Fired)
Powder: IMR 4895
Primer: CCI 200 LRP
Powder Charge: 46.0 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2669 FPS
SD: 36.5 FPS
ES: 86 FPS
Powder Charge: 46.5 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2695 FPS
SD: 55.2 FPS
ES: 166 FPS
Powder Charge: 47 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2765 FPS
SD: 51.1 FPS
ES: 146 FPS
Powder Charge: 47.5 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2765 FPS
SD: 51.7 FPS
ES: 147 FPS
Powder Charge: 48 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2785 FPS
SD: 44.7 FPS
ES: 127 FPS
Powder Charge: 48.5 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2779 FPS
SD: 28.5 FPS
ES: 79 FPS
While all of the rounds cycled just fine, I found the 47.0 gr - 47.5 gr most closely resembled the 'original' M2 Ball that I fired.
If you're anything like me (and I know that I am) you get a certain appreciation out of trying to duplicate or clone and already existing load. Some may call it a fool's errand, I call it entertainment. One such load I have set out to clone is the 30-06, M2 Ball, for my M1 Garand.
The truth is this is a super simple load to clone. The powder, primer, case, and bullet are already chosen for us. And since this is not a particularly accurate round (by modern day standards) the main variable we are solving for is velocity.
It actually amazes me how little information there is regarding the velocity of this round. Don't get me wrong, everyone and their mom is tracking that it is clocked in at 2740 FPS at 78 ft from the muzzle, but I was only able to find a few sources where someone had actually chronographed the round.
If you are trying to duplicate the round and you don't have any factory ammo to chrono then the next best thing is to try to convert 2740 FPS at 78 ft to X FPS at 15 ft. If you assume a Ballistic Coefficient of .390 for the 150 FB projectile, and you play around with a ballistic calculator, you will find that 2740 FPS at 78 ft comes out to 2789 FPS at 15 ft (and 2793 FPS at 10 ft).
PART II: Actual Velocity (Sort of)
A while back my father-in-law gave me a handful of Lake City M2 Ball Rounds from 1953. They were pretty tarnished and I didn't think I would ever fire them from any rifle I owned (I didn't own an M1 Garand at the time). Since they were in pretty bad shape I decided to pull and 'refurbish' them. I pulled the rounds, resized and decapped them, washed the brass with SS media, annealed them and reloaded the round with the original bullet, powder, and case. The only thing that was new was a CCI 200 LRP.
While I de-milled these rounds I weighed a few charges, of what I assume was IMR 4895, and found them all to contain around 49.0 gr. I do not remember the exact measurements, but I do know that I used 49.0 gr when I put the rounds back together.
Even though the rounds that I used for my baseline velocities are not TRUE M2 ball rounds, they are closer than any other LC M2 Ball that I have seen chronographed… which is none.
I took readings on two different occasions, once on 28SEP2019 in Dundee Oregon, and another on 12AUG2022 in Sandy Oregon. Both at 15 ft using a Caldwell Chronograph.
Dundee
Velocity: 2739.8FPS
SD: 40.8 FPS
ES 88 FPS
Sandy
Velocity: 2768.3 FPS
SD: 12.6 FPS
ES: 35FPS
PART III: Clone Load
I fired 8 rounds of each load (including the control group) all on the same day from a range of 15 ft. I used the components below for my clone load.
Bullet: PPU 150gr M2 bullet (NEW)
Brass: Lake City 67 30-06 (Once Fired)
Powder: IMR 4895
Primer: CCI 200 LRP
Powder Charge: 46.0 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2669 FPS
SD: 36.5 FPS
ES: 86 FPS
Powder Charge: 46.5 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2695 FPS
SD: 55.2 FPS
ES: 166 FPS
Powder Charge: 47 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2765 FPS
SD: 51.1 FPS
ES: 146 FPS
Powder Charge: 47.5 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2765 FPS
SD: 51.7 FPS
ES: 147 FPS
Powder Charge: 48 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2785 FPS
SD: 44.7 FPS
ES: 127 FPS
Powder Charge: 48.5 gr IMR 4895
Velocity: 2779 FPS
SD: 28.5 FPS
ES: 79 FPS
While all of the rounds cycled just fine, I found the 47.0 gr - 47.5 gr most closely resembled the 'original' M2 Ball that I fired.