M1 garand duds.

[MRG2680]

I'm working up a load for my m1. I used CCI No. 34 primers and had a lot of duds. The gun fires factory ammo with out any issues. I'm thinking that the primers are to hard for the old hammer spring in my gun. I thought I would ask my fellow Cal Gunners there thoughts on this before I bought new springs. Any feedback would be appreciated.

[bruceflinch]

Will the rounds fire after re-cocking the gun & trying again?
Checked CCI for a possible bum batch of primers? How old are the primers? Did you buy them new or thru a 2nd party?

[MRG2680]

I tried to run them through a second time and still would not go bang. Bought them new and have had them for about a month. I'm going to load some 308 and run them through my m1a and see if I have the same problem.

[popeye4]

Are you seating the primers to the bottom of the pocket? They should be slightly recessed below the base of the case. Also, do the primers have a good strike mark after attempted firing?

And, of course, you kept any oil well clear of these primers, correct?

Springs don't cost much: http://www.superiorshootingsystems.c...ings_All_.html

[MRG2680]

All primers were seated correctly. No oil near the primers. Ordered a spring kit. I was just going to replace the hammer spring but figured it would not hurt to replace all the springs.

[NotEnufGarage]

Might want to check for a short firing pin, too.

How's your headspacing? Is it possible your resized the cases too short? The M1 headspaces from the case neck, so I'd compare your loads with factory loads and pay attention to the distance from the case neck to the case rim. If they're seating too deeply in the chamber your firing pin might not even be reaching the primer.

[MRG2680]

Might want to check for a short firing pin, too.

How's your headspacing? Is it possible your resized the cases too short? The M1 headspaces from the case neck, so I'd compare your loads with factory loads and pay attention to the distance from the case neck to the case rim. If they're seating too deeply in the chamber your firing pin might not even be reaching the primer.

Have not checked the headspace. Is it possible to check headspace with out a gauge.

[NotEnufGarage]

Have not checked the headspace. Is it possible to check headspace with out a gauge.

I have checked it with a dummy round, the bolt (stripped) and plastigage. Don't remember the exact tolerance offhand, though. You'd need to look up the specs and compute them yourself.

Offhand, I seem to recall I was looking for .002" to .004".

Keep in mind, the plastigage will smear as the bolt rotates into place, so lightly lube the bolt face and base of the catridge to minimize this. Even still, the measurement will be suspect.

The best you can hope for with this is indentifying if the headspace is badly out of spec to the point where it's unsafe to shoot. A good reading doesn't guarantee correct headspace, just close enough to be safe and not have a round bursting in the chamber because of excessive headspace.

I've also heard of Garand DIY'ers checking headspace by cutting a small chunk from a feeler gauge, sticking it to the stripped boltface with just the tiniest amount of oil to keep it in place and closing the bolt. Obviously, you'd need to try several thicknesses to determine how much clearance you have before the bolt won't close.

If you can borrow a no-go and field gauge from someone, that would be the best course of action.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a gunsmith and any advice I give depends on the ability of those following it to use their best judgement as to whether it is sound or not. If there is any question in your mind concerning the safety of performing anything in my comments, don't. Take your rifle to a qualified gunsmith and have it professionally checked.



Hmm.. Calguns needs an armory rental program for such items!

[popeye4]

There is no substitute for doing it right when checking headspace. You need the gauges and you also need to disassemble the bolt.

If commercial rounds are chambering and firing but your reloads aren't, I'd suspect the headspacing on your ammo instead of the gun.

Did the firing pin strike on the commercial ammo look different from the strike on your reloads?

[MRG2680]

There is no substitute for doing it right when checking headspace. You need the gauges and you also need to disassemble the bolt.

If commercial rounds are chambering and firing but your reloads aren't, I'd suspect the headspacing on your ammo instead of the gun.

Did the firing pin strike on the commercial ammo look different from the strike on your reloads?

The strike looks the same. I don't think the issue is with the headspace of my reloads but can not be sure without the headspace guage.

[Triple R Munitions]

take a primed case and try to fire it....see what happens. take a no 34 primer and a std LR primer and see if that goes off.... IMO just another way to see what your problem may be....

i never have used no 34 primers in 30-06. just std LR. i have also never had a slamfire in my garands....but ofcourse, that doesnt mean it could not happen...

R

[Beelzy]

Please post a pic of the primer strikes on your ammo that failed to fire and the factory ammo.

If the primer has the same exact dimple depth as the factory ammo that worked, this could be a bad thing, for a lot of people.

[NotEnufGarage]

Just curious. Have you dissassembled and cleaned the inside of your bolt and lubed your trigger group lately? It could be dirt slowing down the firing pin or hammer, in which case you'd get a nice dimple, just not happening fast enough for a hard primer.

[popeye4]

Please post a pic of the primer strikes on your ammo that failed to fire and the factory ammo.

If the primer has the same exact dimple depth as the factory ammo that worked, this could be a bad thing, for a lot of people.

No kidding. If the primer dimples are similar, I would suspect there is not an issue with the gun. That would leave either dud primers, dud powder, or flash hole blockage (unlikely). Since I believe the military primers are loaded to magnum performance levels, there ought to be enough fire to light off just about anything.....

[MRG2680]

I took the bolt apart when I got home from the range and it did not look dirty. I gave it a good cleaning anyway. I might be able to post some pictures of the primers this weekend. I'm almost positive that the problem is a combination of old springs and primers that are a lot less sensitive than the Federal primers that were used in the factory ammo.