M1 Garand - strange gunpowder marks on 30-06 brass?

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pierrody

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I shot my M1 Garand for the first time last week and although it functioned flawlessly (and grouped nicely, I may add) I saw something strange when I collected my 30-06 brass.

None of my other rifles do this - I have never had gunpowder marks below the cartridge neck - and I was wondering if this is normal or indicative of some problem.

I had the same powder markings on the few brands of factory ammo that I ran through the rifle.

Here are some pictures:

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Are you sure you don't have some gunk in the chamber? Maybe some oil or grease. If you chamber and eject a round without firing do you get the same affect?
 
I'm not sure but that don't look like powder marks to me there is no way powder could get that close to the case head, it looks more like something thats coming off the chamber like some dirt or something, When a rifle is cleaned most of the time the rifled part of the barrel gets cleaned but the chamber is rarely cleaned unless a person makes a conscious effort to do so. Check your chamber.
Bullet Caster
 
The mark is pretty much where one would expect case head separation. Clean the spent rounds off and take a close look for a fracture. Use a magifying glass if necessary.

headsep.jpg


If you are getting case separations with new factory ammo, you may have a wall hanger on your hands.

Don't shoot it again until you figure out what's going on!
 
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Another way to check is to take a piece of thin stiff wire with a 90deg hook on the end and feel around the inside of the case near the discoloration for thinning of the brass (a valley per say).

I know these things as the first center fire rife I purchases was a Savage 99 in 308 that ate brass. One use only for new factory ammo. Reloading once consistanty produced case separations. G Smith told me there was nothing that could be done to correct the situation. Just the nature of the beast, a very springy action.
 
Some powders are known to produce "sludge" in the chamber of semi-auto rifles, and that's why they are not recommended for Semi use. If your brass are not thinned at the base, then, that might be what you have. The powder fumes condenses into the camber / other parts and make that sludge.
Clean the rifle thouroughly and try another make of ammo / powder. But before make sure you brass are OK. You can cut it in two, it's easier to see the head separation that way.
 
It doesn't look like separation to me. I think Baribal's assessment is most likely what is happening. But you do need to check the case for the beginnings of separation - which would be as simple as wiping off the smudge. If it is a separation, there has to be a hole to allow the gases to get outside the case, so it would be easy to see.

Semi automatic rifles eject the case while there are still hot residual gases floating around the barrel. When the case ejects, it creates a small vacuum that sucks those residues back into the chamber. Semi auto chambers get dirty faster than bolt action chambers for that reason.
 
there's a special chamber brush for the garand, just like the m14- there might be one in the buttstock kit- if not get a 45 cal RIFLE brush,and make a "cleaning rod " with a 90 degree turn in it- i made one from a 12 guage cleaning rod h had kicking around- both holes are 8/32- i took a piece of standard rod, cut the end off, made it about 2 inches long- drilled the 8/32 hole for the brush in one end , and the hole for the cleaning rod segment in the SIDE of the aluminum piece- then you lock the bolt back,and work the brush/adaptor /segment up and down like it shows in the m14 manual but you have no ratchet to work with
 
It does not look like a weaking of the brass/near-case separation. I've had a few brass get ripped in two by my M1919 (gnmontey saw a good one at the recent M14 clinic in calgary!), and they always leave a fine 'cut' line.

It looks like you've just got a gunky chamber.
 
m39a2 said:
A Savage 99 "Springy" I don't think so. You needed a new barrel or to have the existing one set back and rechambered.
Scott
Click to expand...

Hey what can I say... that's what the GS at GUNCRAFT told me. Since I couldn't reload for it, I sold it. Don't really miss it, the stock configuration was such that felt recoil was a offensive (i.e. beat the dickens out of me). Too much drop in the comb for my tastes.

As for the current thread, just blow into a spent casing. If it's a partial separation it won't hold air.
 
Gunk in chamber. It's pretty common and I'd only be concerned if you are a clean freek or there are feeding issues.
 
It's tough to diagnose the problem with a photo alone. I'd do a thorough chamber cleaning as suggested. I'd also verify whether or not you actually are getting case separations on firing new brass. If so,you have an excess headspace situation which is only correctable by fitting a longer bolt or a new barrel. It would be prudent to have the headspace checked to rule out the possibility of an excess headspace situation.
 
gunsmith-you may be ableto have the headspace adjusted by turning the barrel in one more thread or something- if it's a new gun,( like one of the springfield armory ones- not ww2 issue) they SHOULD fix it
 
Even though you may have excessive headspace, the picture looks more like just chamber crud rather than an incipient case head separation. Have you run a dental pick or paperclip into the fired cases to check for a "notch" at the case head?

Unfortunately, you can't just set back a barrel in a gas-operated rifle the way you would a bolt action because the gas system gets in the way.
 
OK. your head space gauge indicates the chamber is out-of-spec.

What did the spent cartidges tell you? Was it a partial separation?
 
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