AMMUNITION
25. General
The M1 rifle fires several types of ammunition. The riflemanshould be able to recognize them and know which type is best forcertain targets. The M1, M1C and M1D Garand rifles fire .30 U.S.(.30-06) ammunition. Commercial sporting type ammunition willusually function if the bullets are of the right length, and areloaded to pressures approximating those of military loads. Whenusing other than military issue ammunition, the sights (peep orscope) must be zeroed in for various ranges with the particulartype of ammunition, due to differences in velocities andwind-bucking characteristics of the particular round. Militaryammunition is marked on the tip of the bullet in color,indicating the type of bullet.
26. Description
a. Ball, M-2. This cartridge is used against personneland unarmored targets, and can be identified by its unpaintedbullet. M-2 ball is the most common of the military loads, is notmarked in color, as it is the only one left plain (aside from thefrangible ball). It has a gilding-metal jacket. The length of thebullet is 1.123 inches
b. Armor Piercing, M-2. This cartridge is used againstlightly armored vehicles, protective shelters, and personnel, andcan be identified by its black bullet tip.
c. Armor Piercing Incendiary, M-14. This cartridge isused, in place of the armor piercing round, against flammabletargets. The tip of the bullet is colored with aluminum or whitepaint.
d. Incendiary, M-1. This cartridge is used againstunarmored, flammable targets. The tip of the bullet is paintedblue.
e. Tracers and M-25. These cartridges are for use inobserving fire, signaling, target designation, and incendiarypurposes. The tips of the bullets are painted red for the M1 andorange for the M25.
f. Blank, M-1909. This cartridge is used to simulaterifle fire, firing salutes, training and signaling. The cartridgeis identified by having no bullet, and by the cannelure in theneck of the case which is sealed by red lacquer.
g. Rifle Grenade Cartridge, M-3. This cartridge is usedwith the grenade launcher to propel grenades. The cartridge hasno bullet and the mouth is crimped.
h. Dummy, M-40. This cartridge is used for mechanicaltraining. These are two types. One has longitudal grooves in thecase, and is usually tin plated. Another merely has small holesin the case, and no primer. These are also of use on the rangewhen mixed in with a clip of ammo, to detect flinching on thepart of the firer.
i. Match. This cartridge, used in marksmanshipcompetition firing, can be identified by the word"MATCH" on the head stamp.
j. Frangible ball M-22. This cartridge is unmarked, butis identifiable by its bullet length, which is 1.185 inches (asopposed to 1.123 for M-2 ball).
The approximate maximum range and averagemuzzle velocity of the .30 ammunition issued for the M1, M1C andM1D rifles is:
| Cartridge | Maximum Range (yds) | Feet Per Second |
| Ball, M-2 | 3,500 | 2,800 |
| Tracer, M-1 | 3,350 | 2,750 |
| Incendiary, M-1 | 2,875 | 3,020 |
| Armor-piercing, M-2 | 3,160 | 2,800 |
| Armor Piercing, Incendiary M-14 | 3,300 | 2,830 |
Ammunition for the .30 M1 series of rifles usually comespacked in eight-round clips, which inturn are packed in bandoleers, and in metal cans. Ammunition mayalso come packed in 20-round boxes.
The standard means for carrying ammunition for the M1 was inthe cartridge belt. The M1923 cartridgebelt adopted for use with the M1903 Springfield rifle and itsfive round chargers was the belt originally issued with the M1.This belt had ten pockets which could hold either two 5 round '03chargers or one eight round M1 clip each. After the adoption ofthe M1, the Model 1938 cartridge belt was adopted. This belt wasessentially identical to the earlier M1923 belt but had twelvepockets instead of ten to provide extra ammunition for thegreater firepower of the M1.
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