I was shooting my M1 today with some reloads I made (150gr FMJ bullets with 42.4gr of H335). The brass I made these loads with was assorted once fired 30-06 brass. When I made the loads the brass was polished and free of any dents. After firing these reloads from my M1 however I discovered that most of the spent casings were dented to the point where I didn't even bother saving them to reload. Some had huge dents and in others the case mouth was deformed. So basically the M1 was taking in perfectly formed clean brass and spitting out junk.
M1 Garand Ruining Brass
- Thread starter chasep255
- Start date
My Garand dings case mouths, too. I understand this is pretty common.
You can use a tapered punch to "iron out" the wrinkle and make it easier to fit in the resizing die. Mild dings don't generally require this step.
I read somewhere that the "hump" on the operating rod is deliberate, and is designed to throw the brass clear.
You may be able to control the position of the ejection, and possibly the case dings, by how much lube you use. You can also use an adjustable gas nut (gas cylinder lock screw) and control ejection force to some extent.
You can use a tapered punch to "iron out" the wrinkle and make it easier to fit in the resizing die. Mild dings don't generally require this step.
I read somewhere that the "hump" on the operating rod is deliberate, and is designed to throw the brass clear.
You may be able to control the position of the ejection, and possibly the case dings, by how much lube you use. You can also use an adjustable gas nut (gas cylinder lock screw) and control ejection force to some extent.
It's not the case mouth which really bothers me. The base of the case neck is the part where many of the dents appear. And I'm not talking about small dings. I don't have any of the brass to take a picture of but it kind of looks like this picture I found on google but without the bullet of course.
maggys drawers
New member
Where was your brass landing in relation to you and the rifle ? Properly lubed, the brass should land to your right at about the 3 o'clock position.
More like 1:30 - 2:30 O'clock for me. 
Look here to see what is happening upon ejection (and also why the last round always lands slightly behind you)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYfxzrTar0g
That said, proper ejection timing is affected by both the powder load and it's burn-rate (affecting the port pressure). QL says 42.4gr of H335 in a 30-06 case under a 150gr bullet is only 65% case fill ...and a relatively quick burn (leading to relatively low port pressure/ejection speeds)
Try any of these loads from the NRA (Master Po) and see if your problems don't clear up:
Recommended .30 caliber M1 loadings from the NRA
http://masterpostemple.bravepages.com/M1load.htm
147 - 155 grain FMJ or HPBT bullets
IMR 3031 - 48.0 grains
IMR 4895 - 49.0 grains
IMR 4064 - 50.0 grains
W748 - 48.0 grains
AA2460 - 49.0 grains
AA2520 - 51.0 grains
AA2495 - 50.5 grains
H4895 - 49.0 grains
BLC-2 - 49.0 grains
H335 - 49.0 grains Note this runs higher chamber pressure/but also gets port pressure (& ejection speed) up).
RL-12 - 48.0 grains
Look here to see what is happening upon ejection (and also why the last round always lands slightly behind you
)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYfxzrTar0g
That said, proper ejection timing is affected by both the powder load and it's burn-rate (affecting the port pressure). QL says 42.4gr of H335 in a 30-06 case under a 150gr bullet is only 65% case fill
...and a relatively quick burn (leading to relatively low port pressure/ejection speeds) Try any of these loads from the NRA (Master Po) and see if your problems don't clear up:
Recommended .30 caliber M1 loadings from the NRA
http://masterpostemple.bravepages.com/M1load.htm
147 - 155 grain FMJ or HPBT bullets
IMR 3031 - 48.0 grains
IMR 4895 - 49.0 grains
IMR 4064 - 50.0 grains
W748 - 48.0 grains
AA2460 - 49.0 grains
AA2520 - 51.0 grains
AA2495 - 50.5 grains
H4895 - 49.0 grains
BLC-2 - 49.0 grains
H335 - 49.0 grains Note this runs higher chamber pressure/but also gets port pressure (& ejection speed) up).
RL-12 - 48.0 grains
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I forgot to mention that my M1 dents brass and dings cas enecks too, but so far almost all are reloadable.
As I understand it, the hump was put there to throw the brass forward. The military doesn't worry about reloading and hot '06 brass in the ear can be a little distracting to the guy firing next to you from the foxhole.
As I understand it, the hump was put there to throw the brass forward. The military doesn't worry about reloading and hot '06 brass in the ear can be a little distracting to the guy firing next to you from the foxhole.
The real problem, IMHO, is that H335 is just too fast for the Garand. Go back to the classic IMR/H4895 & IMR4064 loads above (starting maybe 4 grains less if nervous)and see if your mangled cases go away.
Print this (John Clarke's) M1 article out and put it on the reading rack in your bathroom:
http://www.mediafire.com/?y2eyjvnmmfj
Print this (John Clarke's) M1 article out and put it on the reading rack in your bathroom:
http://www.mediafire.com/?y2eyjvnmmfj
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Most of my M1 brass has dings, either at the case mouth or where the extractor grabs the lip of the base. All have been reloadable but sometimes I need to open the mouth a bit with my needle nose pliars so that the sizer can do its thing.
My reloads are 47.5 grains IMR 4895, Hornady 3037 FMJ bullets. Very few cases are "damaged" but more than a few have a ding.
If you find that your brass is unusable, send it my way!
My reloads are 47.5 grains IMR 4895, Hornady 3037 FMJ bullets. Very few cases are "damaged" but more than a few have a ding.
If you find that your brass is unusable, send it my way!
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I use IMR 4895. My match load is a 168 with 47.0 grains IMR 4895, I have shot 150 SMK 47.5 grains IMR 4895, CCI #34 primers.
I don't get terrible case dents, sometimes the case mouth gets a bump. Maybe your rifle is unlocking too early in the pressure curve and the case gets wanged hard?
chris in va
New member
All my Garand does is dent the case mouth with 47gr of 4895. I think you need to switch powders.
The load is not good, being an unfortunate combination of a spherical rifle powder and low loading density (poor case fill). In general, stick powders are easier to light and less sensitive to case fill than spherical propellants. I note the starting load in Hodgdon's load data is 47 grains of H335 with a 150 grain bullet. That's in a Winchester case. The equivalent in a Lake City or a Remington case would be about 46.5 grains.
Despite the load problem, I am not sanguine that correcting the load alone can be assured of correcting your problem. I've adjusted one of the vented gas cylinder plugs before until the rounds went from being tossed long at 1:30, to being nearby at about 4:00. I didn't see any brass indentation problems develop from the reduced operating rod action.
I'm thinking the timing and spin of the ejected case are just less desirable than normal. Since the gun functions correctly otherwise, I think some small influence could be responsible. It wouldn't take much. The first thing I would do is disassemble and detail clean the whole gun, but especially the bolt. Make sure there's no carbon or lube gum build-up, particularly in the ejector tunnel. I'd swap the ejector spring, ejector, and extractor claw with my spares to see if that changes it. (You ought to have spares you keep with the gun anyway, as the bolts very occasionally self-disassemble. Always in the middle of a match. I keep my spares and a firing pin in a ZipLoc baggie in the cleaning kit recess.) You could also pop a new hammer spring in, just in case the tension there is off.
Despite the load problem, I am not sanguine that correcting the load alone can be assured of correcting your problem. I've adjusted one of the vented gas cylinder plugs before until the rounds went from being tossed long at 1:30, to being nearby at about 4:00. I didn't see any brass indentation problems develop from the reduced operating rod action.
I'm thinking the timing and spin of the ejected case are just less desirable than normal. Since the gun functions correctly otherwise, I think some small influence could be responsible. It wouldn't take much. The first thing I would do is disassemble and detail clean the whole gun, but especially the bolt. Make sure there's no carbon or lube gum build-up, particularly in the ejector tunnel. I'd swap the ejector spring, ejector, and extractor claw with my spares to see if that changes it. (You ought to have spares you keep with the gun anyway, as the bolts very occasionally self-disassemble. Always in the middle of a match. I keep my spares and a firing pin in a ZipLoc baggie in the cleaning kit recess.) You could also pop a new hammer spring in, just in case the tension there is off.