What ammo do you use?

[GaryKeim]

I took my m1918 to the range for the first time. The RO asked for my papers, which I didn't have on me. He relented and said it was OK to fire full-auto but only if he was there to hold my arm. He said it would rise and I'd hit the ceiling. I told him I wanted to start out with semi-auto and he walked away. I misread F as Full-Auto and pulled the trigger. A burst of 4 rounds resulted. He shut me down... mistake made, lesson learned. [Aside: they could have done a better job marking the fire selector switch from a usability standpoint.] The RO said the last round did hit the ceiling. Felt like a dope.

 

When I inspected the target there were 9 holes and many of those were small. Is it possible the rounds fragmented? I was firing:

 

PPU Rifle Line 30-06 Springfield For rifle M1 Garand

FMJ 150 gr | 9,7 g

 

What do you guys use?

 

[jim c 351]

Gary,

I shoot reloads.

175 gr M72 match bullets

45 gr 3031

CCI primer.

"F" is semi. "A" is full.

However, if your trigger pull is sensitive you may get a double when set on semi.

Jim C

PS are you banned for life??

Edited September 26, 2018 by jim c 351

[fifthmdec]

Bummer man.

 

It takes time to feel out the weapon, even though it is around 20 pounds loaded. It does climb, it catches the neophyte off balance.

 

Had a NE Arms 1918A2 for a long time. It has a rate of fire reducer setting. I found out that helped the operator to get a feel for the rifle.

 

Sounds like you have a 1918 model, semi and full...

 

Lot of knowledgeable guys in the boards.

 

Enjoy your purchase. Youll get the hang of it...

[Petroleum 1]

Geez Gary thats a good way of wearing out your welcome Dont feel bad a few months back i was at the indoor range with my M1A1 blasting away. I asked the tough looking young kid (RO) if he could take my tele and get some video which he did an excellent job.As i finished the last mag i noticed the range mgr standing behind me drooling. I turned around and said hey i have some extra ammo would you guys like to fire a mag?? Sure !! so the range mgr fires off the first mag does a great job never fired a tommy before. The tough looking young kid gets up there and fires a full burst into the ceiling halfway down the range!! he finished the mag and as all the white ceiling sound insulation is drifting down he hands the tommy back to me and says...you have a real MANS gun here lol!! I said to the range mgr you would ban me for life if i did that!!!

Vin

[GaryKeim]

The RO just shut me down for the day with the m1918... I was able to continue with other weapons. I understand that you can't make mistakes with this stuff in that environment. My main mistake was not having it on Safe in the first place. If I had, I would have seen F and A and realized it probably meant Fire and Auto. I've got to get better at that.

 

It especially caught this newbie off-guard as I wasn't expecting it.

 

I think the ammo I'm using, M1 Ball, is the proper ammo.

Edited September 28, 2018 by GaryKeim

[jl7422]

To your original question; M-1 ball is the correct ammo to use. I've used CMP surplus ammo in both semi and full auto BARs and it works fine.

[Grasshopper]

Hi Gary,

 

I can't be helpful with ammo, but I do teach an NFA RO course at my local range. Since safety is our primary goal with shooting NFA firearms at our range, one of the many strong recommendations is that folks with new guns, guns new to them, or ammo new to the gun (especially with open bolt guns) that the shooter start with 1 round in the magazine. Then 2 rounds. Then 3 rounds until the shooter is more familiar with the firearm and the reliable function of the gun/ammo combination is confirmed.

 

I have to do a better job however. After the last classroom session, one shooter loaded a Sten with lowpower ammo. It was the first time he had fired the subgun. Yes, you can see it coming. The gun ran away and dumped the magazine with 1 pull of the trigger. After shaking the adrenalin out of his shorts, we went back through a portion of the class and proceeded ahead.

 

BTW, I wish I had a problem with a 1918 as I don't have one

 

Enjoy,

Grasshopper

[GaryKeim]

@jl7422: thanks... still wonder why there was more holes than rounds fired. Especially since one apparently hit the ceiling.

 

@Grasshopper: great advice that I will employ. Love your dog! Reminds me of the lion from The Wizard of Oz.

Edited September 28, 2018 by GaryKeim

[Petroleum 1]

Recently i took delivery of a MP43. First time at the range i loaded 10 rounds and ran two mags in semi. Then two 10 round mags in full auto bursts. After i was comfy it was game on ha.

[jl7422]

I have used the 1-2-3 round technique Grasshopper outlines above for as long as I can remember, No matter what style weapon or action; something new to me always gets that treatment the first time out. A lot less to go wrong and a lot easier to clear jams and potential problems.

[GaryKeim]

Thanks for your support, guys. I’ll be taking it to the range again this weekend with a plan in hand.

[GaryKeim]

Went back to the range with an off-duty range employee/friend. We executed the following shooting sequence:

Semi-auto standing
a) 1 rd. in mag
2 rds. in mag

Full-Auto sitting with fore stock resting on table

c) 1 rd. in mag
d) 2 rds. in mag
e) 3 rds. in mag

My buddy did fine on (a) but on ( he mistakenly had it on A, even though we discussed this extensively! This scheme worked well as the barrel rose and his 2nd round hit the top of the target.

Next time we'll move to Full-auto kneeling then standing.

It's a blast to fire and was the star of the range.

Edited October 1, 2018 by GaryKeim

[michaelkih]

I use the PPU that comes in the 500 round cans. Good stuff.

[GaryKeim]

Yes, I was told that PPU is considered very high quality. I believe the fragmentation I saw on the first attempt to fire it was caused by rounds hitting the ceiling or other hardware supporting the target.

 

Everything was normal on the last visit.