Help me read this case

[BigJ]

Its a 30-06, and has been fired 3 times out of the same M1.



Its not bulged or cracked, nor does it show any other bad signs that I can see. And the bullet/charge combo is more than safe for an M1.

Is this normal and still good to go, or ... ?

[edwardm]

Hard to say for sure. Deprime it and run a bent+sharpened paperclip along the inside, see if you have any case wall thinning.

From here, all I readily see is:

1. A dinged up rim/extractor groove (typical for Garand brass),
2. The die transition 'ring' down low on the case head, and
3. A couple of rings further up the case that may or may not indicate
thin spots.

If you don't like the paperclip trick (I don't, since other things can make it hang up/get stuck), shine a light through the flash hole and look down the neck. That will tell much.

BTW, why did you sharpie the extractor groove?

[BigJ]

Thank you Edward, good info and I'll do as you suggest (both methods) and report back.

The sharpie is how I mark my brass; I shoot this gun competitively and am often on the line with other 3006 shooters; this way of marking helped me ID my brass really easily even when still in the dirt.

Thanks again.

[bigedp51]

Lay a straightedge on the primer, if you can see daylight around the base of the case your in good shape. This means the chamber pressure is not great enough to cause the case to stretch to meet the bolt face.

I use a RCBS Case Mastering Gauge to check for case thinning and stretching, which gives very accurate readings in thousandths of an inch.

[edwardm]

Thank you Edward, good info and I'll do as you suggest (both methods) and report back.

The sharpie is how I mark my brass; I shoot this gun competitively and am often on the line with other 3006 shooters; this way of marking helped me ID my brass really easily even when still in the dirt.

Thanks again.

Gotcha. I usually just put a mark on the head, across the primer, for the same reason. I thought maybe you were looking for extractor issues.