The story goes like this. After spending years developing a fancy new 30-06 cartridge (the M1) for their fancy new semi-automatic rifle (the “U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30”), the U.S. Army made an unfortunate discovery: the M1 cartridge could shoot well past the safe zones built into exiting Army practice ranges.
Going back to the drawing board, the military developed the M2 cartridge, a throttled-back version of the M1 that would keep errant rounds within bounds.
The rifle, commonly known today as the M1 Garand, was designed to function with the M2, which means that modern commercial 30-06 ammunition often produces higher-than-safe pressures. These higher pressures can bend the rifle’s operating rod, destroying its functionality and seriously decreasing its value.
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One of the most common AND WRONG myths found on, and created by ,the internet. The fact is that the US Rifle Cal..30 M1 will shoot anything from the 150. grain M-2 ball to the 172 grain National Match. WITHOUT RISK TO THE RIFLE. The op rod is bent at the factory. The 150 grain M-2 ball fires at 2800 FPS or as fast as the M/4 carbine. ANOTHER Gun expert that isn't. AND: The 172 grain M1 ball was unsafe to shoot...in the gas trap Garand. As some "modern" 3006 ammo is loaded to .300 win mag speeds. It should be up to the shooter to use the brain in selecting ammo.
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