M1 Garand making my brass unreloadable?

[Exodus343]

I shot a few rounds yesterday and as I am polishing my brass right now I noticed that a lot of my brass have cuts in them at the bottom and it's all in the same area!

some cuts arent as deep but some cuts are deep to the point where the brass has a small hole :O

any advice on if I should scrap the brass or is there something I need to do for my oprod?

[russt]

post some pics

[morrow]

What ammo are you using in the garand? If anything other than military surplus you need to use an adjustable gas plug --- and even then, it's still smart to use one, or else you're putting excess stress on the op rod.

[GeoffLinder]

What ammo are you using in the garand? If anything other than military surplus you need to use an adjustable gas plug --- and even then, it's still smart to use one, or else you're putting excess stress on the op rod.

Yup, the Garand is quite ammo specific and many things can happen if you use plain old 30-06 commercial ammo designed for bolt gun / hunting use.

[Exodus343]

I'm using my own handloads of R-P brass with 48 grains of IMR 4064

[GeoffLinder]

Bullet weight and type? OAL?

[Exodus343]

150 FMJ
3.200 OAL

I think it's the ejection, I went through each brass one by one and there's the same dent on the brass
not sure if dents/scratches are allowed to reload or I should toss them?

[sofbak]

Are the nicks in the same approx. location as these?

[IMG][/IMG]

If so, chances are you have a sticking or "under-performing ejector. This allows the extractor to hold onto the case a little too long, and the case is banging on the front of the sight base area at the end of the op rod stroke.

Could be jammed with crud, or weak spring, or in some cases previous owners would trim off one or two coils of the spring to keep their brass from flying too far away.

[GeoffLinder]

Dents and scratches are usually not a problem but would need to see pix to say if they are serious or not.

Excess damage on ejection may be a sign of too high gas pressure. If so, an adjustable gas plug would be the right thing to do.

[Exodus343]

Are the nicks in the same approx. location as these?

[IMG][/IMG]

If so, chances are you have a sticking or "under-performing ejector. This allows the extractor to hold onto the case a little too long, and the case is banging on the front of the sight base area at the end of the op rod stroke.

Could be jammed with crud, or weak spring, or in some cases previous owners would trim off one or two coils of the spring to keep their brass from flying too far away.

IT IS EXACTLY LIKE THIS!!!!

now what are my solutions??

[sofbak]

IT IS EXACTLY LIKE THIS!!!!

now what are my solutions??

You have to disassemble the bolt to get the ejector out. And you need either a garand "combo tool" or a dedicated bolt disassembly tool. The spring loaded ejector pin is what holds everything together.

I used to disassemble them in a vise with a piece of keystock to depress the ejector pin, but I came very close to losing a couple during the process, so I switched to the two other options.

Here is a link to guide you on disassembly of the bolt:

http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/striphtml/detailstripboltgroup.html

Once disassembled, you can clean out the cavity where the ejector sits, and clean off the spring behind it.

And here is a link to guide you on reassembly of the bolt:

http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/assemblyhtml/reassembleboltgroup.html

If you're not inclined to attempt the disassembly, you might try a can of chlorinated brake cleaner, and douse the bolt really good. If that doesn't free it up, disassembly and cleaning are the only other options I know of.

[bcrich]

My garand leaves those exact marks, I load them 4 times then recycle them (scrap) just load them up.

[Orlando]

Not a big deal and wont hurt anything. Where does your brass land on the ground from the shooter, what Oclock?
The brass hits the side of Op Rod upon ejection ,this is what throws brass away from shooter
I would first make sure rifle is properly cleaned AND greased. If rifle is properly lubricated it can slow down timing.
I would also replace the Op Rod spring with one from Orion 7. Every Garand I buy the first thing I do is replace the spring. A weak spring can also effect timing.
If if decide you want to dissasemble the bolt all you need is a punch and your fingers. I find it much easier than using the combo tool.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYM8JnI2CJg

[Exodus343]

It ejects to the 2 o'clock area and it flings it petty far away lol

[Orlando]

2 Oclock is fine,you say far, how far?
What ammo are you using?