Garand load

B

BoogieMan

New member
I just won a IHC Garand and I need to load up some brass. I know that no one can offer me the perfect load for my rifle. However I want a quality starting point and I am pretty sure that a few of you have loaded for this gun in the past. Lol
I am assuming something on the light to medium side in a 150gr ball. I will cross check any suggestions with my manuals so no responsability on the part of anyone suggestions.
 
You want to read the Zediker article on reloading for M14s and M1s (Google should be able to find it). The issue with the M1 is port pressure, which translates into using a propellant that is not too slow burning.

For what it is worth, I use Win 748 and 165 gr. SGKs.
 
Popular loadings for the Garand with 150s are with 4064 or 4895 powders, in the vicinity of 45 to 48 grains. With either powder I use 45 gr for 150 to 180 gr jacketed bullets. Some say they have used cast lead bullets for the Garand but most will take great exception to that. Be aware of the recommendation to use the Redding primer pocket depth uniformer tool to cut primer pockets to optimum depth to help the possibility of eliminating slam fires with the Garand's free floating firing pin. Primers need to be seated slightly below flush with case head. Congratulations on your win.

CCI #200 primers, due to their hardness, are often a recommendation to help with the slam fire issue. The other worse issue is the possibility of a discharge with the bolt out of battery, usually caused because of a high primer.
 
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You are probably aware of the admonishment not to use factory '06 rounds, in particular those with heavier bullets, on the possibilty they may be loaded with slow burning powder. This is a port pressure issue based on the liklihood the slow burners could raise the port pressure and possibly bend the operating rod. It is often said that you don't want to have to replace the OR. Federal ammunition boxed with the American Eagle label has 150 gr Garand ammunition available based on military loadings, complete with recently dated headstamps, but unfortunately also with crimped in primers.
 
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IMR 4895 from 46-48 grains maximum with 150 M2 military bullets in LC, RP, Win, or HXP brass. I load both Hornady 150 FMJ and 150 M2 bullets at 47-47.5 grains of IMR 4895. I use Remington 9 1/2 primers. No need to start workups less than 45 grains. At 48 grains it isn't maximum for 30-06 but is where you need to stop for Garands. Hornady's 150 FMJ's are good bullets. Hornady used to list the overall length at 3.260-3.262" but latest data lists an oal at 3.185". I've shot them in Garands at both lengths but prefer 3.185" as this puts the cannelure at the case mouth if you want to crimp. At the longer length the cannelure is out in front of the case mouth. Watch your brass closely for signs of stretching and possible case separations. Chambers in Garands tend to be on the long side of spec. I recommend a case gauge to measure the fired cases from your Garand and to adjust your sizing die to only push shoulders back .004" maximum. I like Hornady's Headspace gauge set which works with your calipers. Garands tend to be rough on brass with nicks and dings and sometimes rim damage. Just monitor your brass. Have fun with your new toy.
Note that the Garand requires grease in the right amounts in the right places and not just oil. Search for grease recommended for Garands and where to apply the grease.
 
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There is no perfect load for your rifle until you work up the load for your rifle.
No such thing as "the slam fire issue". Slam fires are caused by improperly loaded ammo, not the rifle. Usually high primers. Seat the primers correctly.
Plus, like any other semi-auto, FL resize every time, check the case lengths(trim, chamfer and deburr as required) and watch the OAL and you'll be fine.
The Hornady manual has an M1 Rifle specific chapter, but IMR or H 4895, IMR4064 or Varget will do nicely. Not the only suitable powders and IMR4064 gives more consistent accuracy than either 4895(IMR4895 was the powder in .30 M1 and M2 ammo).
Think 150 to 180 grain bullets. 150's out to about 300. 168's to 600 and 175's past there.
There's an American Rifleman article with 200 grain loads. Never seen any need for that heavy a bullet. The 220 Silvertips I shot a ground hog with long ago was really impressive though. Silvertip was a semi-jacketed Winchester bullet with an AL cap. Blew the off side of the chuck completely away.
http://www.crossecreekrifleandpisto...mation/ReloadingForTheM1Rifle_JohnRClarke.pdf
CCI #200 primers are regular LR primers and will do nicely. Cups aren't any harder than any other primer though. It's the CCI "milspec" primer you do not need. Those are just magnum primers. The use of the term "milspec" is pure marketing.
 
Mr T,
You seem to be contradicting yourself by saying there is no such thing as the slam fire issue, but then say the way to avoid slam fires is by proper seating of the primers. No one argues with the latter part of the statement. Among three rifles I have had four doubles and assumed, maybe incorrectly, that the second shot was a slam. However U'Nick has pointed out that doubles can occur due to factors resulting from a loose sling.

Still, CCI standard #200 LR primers are a recommendation against slams, whether it be from a harder cup or greater primer compound insensitivity to ignition, most likely the latter. Consider the dynamic duo against slams to be CCI primers and the use of the Redding primer pocket depth uniformer tool.
 
Quite a few years back now, possibly as far back aw 12 years ago I tried doing some research on the IMR powders as developed by DuPont and now being made by IMR in Canada. Never could quite figure out when DuPont first made 4895 but will estimate a date of around 1937/38, about the same time the grand was being accepted. As far as I can figure, 4895 was developed primarily for the Garand and 150 and 165/176 gr. bullets. Burn rate varied greatly based on data that was given when it was sold as surplus after the war. I've seen the powder where it said use 3031 data, or use data for 4064. Some even used 4320 data but was called 4895. Does get con fusing. I have a 1952 IIRC Lyman load manual where the start data for 4895 is 51.0 gr. That starting load is now considered maximum in some, if not all loading manuals. I have at least one 30-06 rifle that will have the bolt lock up at 49.0 gr. of current manufacture 4895.
When I had my small hand loading business back in the mid 1970's, I loaded ammo for a fellow who had an M1 Garand and the load that worked best was 46.0 gr. of IMR 4895 and the 150 gr. Sierra Pro-Hunter. He told me it hit to the same point of impact as the GI ammo he had sighted the gun with. No chronographs back then so I'll just say there load duplicated the GI load and call it good. I'd say that 46.0 gr. of either H or IMR 4895 should be a decent working load for the OP's rifle.
Paul B.
 
Paul,

They were still using IMR1185 in the 1930's. The Garand was originally developed and tuned for M1 Ball ammunition with the 173 grain BT bullet using either IMR1185 or IMR1186, which were very similar to IMR4895 and IMR4064, respectively.

IMR's history page says IMR 4895 was introduced in 1941. That's around the time 168 grain AP bullets were becoming combat standard issue, IIRC. But no question it was meant to load for both the Garand and Springfield rifles. Someone who's more of a history buff than I will likely chime in with the exact dates.

CCI #34 primers are specifically for the Garand and M14 as they are made to match the military H test for sensitivity (I'll post it below). They are identical to the CCI 250 except the anvil legs are shorter and splayed out to a slightly wider angle to bring about the sensitivity reduction needed to match the military numbers. CCI reformulated their magnum primers in 1989 to better ignite the spherical military propellants like WC852 used in M2 Ball (sold as H380 for handloaders) and are a closer match to the military #34 primer specs.

Military%20Primer%20Sensitivity%20Specs%20b_zpsrwtfvv5j.gif


I was a line coach at an ORPA DCM clinic around 1988 or 89 when a round of Lake City M2 Ball slamfired in one of the ORPA Garands at the load command. There's no absolute guarantee that loading correctly will protecty you against such events. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, especially when loading.
 
No such thing as "the slam fire issue". Slam fires are caused by improperly loaded ammo, not the rifle. Usually high primers. Seat the primers correctly

It's the CCI "milspec" primer you do not need.
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This is of course, a lie, one that T'O'Heir knows is a lie, has been told it is dangerous advice, and he keeps repeating it. As a CCI hater he is trying to steer the market away from CCI #34 primers, and if someone gets hurt or injured, well, too bad.

Primer sensitivity is a real issue in all semi auto matic mechanisms. Forums are replete with posts where semi automatic mechanisms slamfired. AR15's have a lot of slamfire reports. Unlike the AR15, the Garand mechanism can slamfire in battery and out of battery. This mechanism does not have a positive firing pin block. The firing pin is totally free floating until the last thousandths of cam down. That means the firing pin can rebound off the primer, and if the primer is particularly sensitive, it can ignite. If you have an AR15 bolt, you can see that the bolt carrier prevents the firing pin from extending through the bolt face until cam down. That is why the only slamfire reports you read in AR15 are in battery slamfires. The Garand mechanism, the firing pin is free floating for 99.99% of its forward travel, and the things have lots of out of battery slamfires.

This thread, while I posted in it, the OP never came back and told us just how he sized the case, seated the primer, and what primers he used. However, the picture of the blown off receiver heel is a warning about primer sensitive in this mechanism, and so are the injuries to the shooter. You won't get any sympathy from T. O'Heir if you lose an eye following his advice. By getting you to do something that hurts yourself will only prove to himself how clever he is, and how stupid you are.


http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1106793
Always wear your safety glasses!

I was looking forward to a nice morning at the range with my new to me Garand. Through CMP in June. This trip was number 5 with the Garand and had fired the 12th round and this happened. The piece glanced off my nose and hit my glasses jamming the Right nose piece into my nose. 3 stitches later and what will be a very colorful black eye, what happened?

Shooting reloads this morning. .308 (LC brass) 42gr of IMR 4895, 168gr Hornady Match HPBT. There were 4 rounds left in the rifle, bolt was closed, barrel clear. This was a 16 round batch of 168gr HPBT and I took apart the others and found all had 42grs.

The day had started out so well. My first 2 shots were on either side of the red dot in the 10 ring at 100 yds.
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My advice for reloading for Garands/M1as is to

1. Full length resize in a small base die

2. Trim cases

3. Clean primer pockets, ream to depth

4. Prime all cases by hand, verify that all primers are below the case head, and use the least sensitive primers you can find.

5. Use IMR4895/AA2495/H4895 powders.

6. Seat the bullets to magazine depth, no longer than 3.3” inches for the 30-06, no longer than 2.8 for the 308, shorter is fine.


There are important safety considerations when reloading for Garands, M1as, and M1 Carbines. All of these rifles are functionally similar in that they all have a free floating firing pin. The risk in all mechanisms with free floating firing pins is that incidental contact between the firing pin and primer can cause cartridge ignition, or a “slamfire”. You can search the web and every mechanism with a free floating firing pin has a posted slamfire incident. This includes AK47s, SKSs, French rifles, etc, etc, etc. The worst case slamfire is a slamfire that occurs out of battery, this will result in a catastrophic failure of the mechanism. The Garand mechanism has the most out of battery slamfires of any rifle on the market, and this is due to the lack of a positive mechanical firing pin lock or blocking device. All of the Garand based mechanisms share a firing pin retraction cam, this cam pulls the firing pin back during extraction. It also has limited utility as a safety device, because it blocks to a limited extent the firing pin going forward, but that only happens in the last 0.007” of movement. Long or tight rounds totally defeat the firing pin retraction’s cam ability to hold back the firing before cam down. Given an overly sensitive primer, one that will go off when struck by a rebounding firing pin, if you sized your round smaller than the chamber the odds would will be in your favor to have an in battery slamfire.

Only at final cam down is the firing pin retracted. Up to then the firing pin is totally free floating and tapping the heck out of the primer.

This is a M1 Carbine firing pin retraction cam.





A M1 Garand firing pin retraction cam is functionally identical, just the carbine is easier to visually understand.


Firing pins in this mechanism are free floating and the mechanism does not have a positive mechanical interlock to prevent incidental contact between the free floating firing pin and the primer. As can be seen here, that bolt has around three inches of travel before the firing pin tang touches the retraction cam.





This is a M1 Garand receiver and the firing pin is fully forward and just touching the firing pin retraction cam. As you can see there is only thousand's of an inch of forward movement left in bolt cam down and yet the firing pin is out about 0.064" of the bolt face.





It turns out that cam down is the point at which out of battery slamfires occur. It does make sense that it is because here the bolt has its highest forward velocity and yet, it has to de accelerate to go into battery. The firing pin , of course, has the same velocity of the bolt, but on cam down, being free floating, it continues to move forward and it will rebound off the primer. If the bolt has to stop to crunch fit a long or a fat case that firing pin is rebounding off the back of the primer at its highest velocity and the lugs are not engaged.

That is why it is best practice to small base size cases used in these rifles and to set up the dies with a case gage and size to gage minimum. (Assuming you don’t know the headspace of your chamber, if you do, always be 0.002 to 0.003” less) You want the bolt to close without resistance. This will reduce the risk of an out of battery slamfire assuming an overly sensitive primer. You can still have an inbattery slamfire given an overly sensitive primer, also an undesirable event, but an inbattery slamfire is less likely to blow off the back of your receiver, blow the bolt face off, rip off the elevation knob, and split the stock in two.




If you attempt to small base size with a spray on lube you will stick the case in the die. I recommend RCBS water soluble or Imperial Sizing wax. These are excellent lubes.


For these rifles it is good practice to ensure ream primer pockets to depth, seat the primers by hand, and verify that all of the primers are below the primer pocket. There is a chance that a cocked primer, with the anvil firmly seated on something, could ignite when hit by the bolt fact. Clean those pockets! High primers are one of the most common cause of misfires because the primer won't fire unless the anvil is seated and is pushed up into the primer cake. http://www.shootingtimes.com/2011/01/04/ammunition_st_mamotaip_200909/ However, given a shallow pocket, given debris in the pocket, it is possible that high a primer could be ignited by the bolt face.


After seating primers examine the back of the case and see if there are high or cocked primers.

It is also safety critical to use the least sensitive primer around because these rifles will slamfire in battery or worse, out of battery, given a sensitive enough primer.

Federal primers are the most sensitive primer on the market and the most "slamfiring" primer in Garands. I have lots of web accounts of slamfires with Federal primers. Don’t use them. I recommend CCI #34s and Tula7.62 primers as they considered "Mil Spec" primers. Which means they are less sensitive than commercial primers, federal are the most sensitive commercial primer on the market

Slamfires are a low probability event, but they do happen. The DTIC document :

Comparison Test of Rifles 7.62 mm, M14, Manufactured by Springfield Armory and Harrington and Richardson Arms Company, July 1963 has the only credible data that can be used in estimating out of battery slamfire probabilities. In this test six new M14’s were undergoing various tests. Each was to be fired 6000 rounds each. One Springfield Arsenal M14 slamfired out of battery at round 5271. Based on this, I estimate that the probability of a slamfire with military spec primers is 1:35,000 per round fired. The slamfire risk with more sensitive commercial primers would be higher.


When firing single shot, use a SLED. Do not put a round in the chamber and drop the bolt. Lots of inbattery slamfires, and a few out of battery, have happened because of this. You want to slow the bolt down. When rounds feed from the clip the friction between cartridges slows the bolt a bit. You want to use a SLED as that slows the bolt a bit.

If loading a Garand without a SLED, lower the bolt about 1” over the follower and let go. Always get your hand out of the way so that if the mechanism slamfires the operating rod does not cut through the palm of your hand.






Use powders that are close to IMR 4895 in burning rate or just use IMR 4895. This mechanism will be over accelerated if gas port pressures are too high. This will happen with powders that are too slow, such as IMR 4350, or loads that are too high pressure. This round pre dates WW2 and was not a magnum round and the commercial round is loaded to pressures higher than the service round. Reference b. recommends choosing powders that have burning rates between IMR3031 and IMR4320. This includes powders such as IMR 4064, and Winchester 748. Accurate Arms stated that AA2520, AA2495 and 2700 are their best powders for the M1 Garands. AA2700 appears to be a slow burning powder, listed as even slower than IMR 4350, but Accurate Arms told me, that because it is a ball powder, the pressure curve has dropped enough that port pressures are not excessive for a Garand. The first lots of AA2700 that Accurate Arms sold were actually surplus WC852 and that powder was used in 30-06 ball ammunition and tested in Garands. I believe the first choice of powders are IMR 4985, H4895, AA2495. In the 30-06. I have used a load of 168 grain Sierra Match, 47.0 grains IMR4895, LC cases, and CCI #34 primers OAL 3.300” for years. I am a consistent winner at club matches with this load. This is a great target load, should be considered a maximum load, does not hurt a thing to cut it a grain or two. The maximum bullet weight to use in these mechanisms would be a 175 grain, I don’t recommend any heavier. National Match ammunition was loaded at 2640 fps with a nominal bullet weight of 173 grains.

If you can’t find CCI #34 or Tula7.62 primers then you have to use primers of commercial sensitivity and the risk of a slamfire increases, but I don’t know how much. I do not recommend Federals in this mechanism, I don’t recommend the new brass colored WLR, CCI 200 seems to have a harder cup than other commercial primers, I have never tried Remington primers, no opinion. I have conducted my own primer tests to see what happened over the chronograph, personally I am a fan of the Russian primers, they shoot very well.
Notice that ball ammunition is not that hot, and neither is Lake City National Match.

Code: 
[B]M1 Garand  BMR Receiver Douglas Barrel 1:10 twist [/B]			
150 gr FMJBT 1966 Ball 	
		 	
14 Nov 2011 T= 74 ° F	
			
Ave Vel =	2545		
Std Dev =	20		
ES =	68		
Low =	2513		
High =	2581		
N= 	8		


174 FMJBT White Box 1968 NM M72, Headstamp LC67 match, box velocity 2640 fps 
			
14 Nov 2011 T =  74 °F	
			
Ave Vel =	2592		
Std Dev =	28		
ES =	103	 	
High =	2647		
Low =	2544	 	
N =	10		
			
			
174 FMJBT 47.0 IMR 4895  Lot L7889 thrown LC62NM CCI #34 OAL 3.30  
			
14 Nov 2011 T =  74 °F	
			
Ave Vel =	2632		
Std Dev =	20		
ES =	60	 	
High =	2671		
Low =	2611	 	
N =	10		
			
174 FMJBT 47.0 IMR 4895  Lot L7889 thrown LC62NM Tula 7.62 lot 1-10 primers OAL 3.30  
			
14 Nov 2011 T =  74 °F	
			
Ave Vel =	2582		
Std Dev =	15		
ES =	49	 	
High =	2602		
Low =	2553	 	
N =	10		
	excellent group	
			
			
174 FMJBT 47.0 IMR 4895  Lot L7889 thrown LC62NM Wolf NCLR lot 18-09 OAL 3.30  
			
14 Nov 2011 T =  74 °F	
			
Ave Vel =	2607		
Std Dev =	17		
ES =	57	 	
High =	2642		
Low =	2585	 	
N =	10		
			
			
174 FMJBT 47.0 IMR 4895  Lot L7889 thrown LC62NM WLR (Nickle)  OAL 3.30  
			
14 Nov 2011 T =  74 °F	
			
Ave Vel =	2650		
Std Dev =	19		
ES =	68	 	
High =	2688		
Low =	2620	 	
N =	10		
Very good group		
			
			
174 FMJBT 47.0 IMR 4895  Lot L7889 thrown LC62NM CCI200  OAL 3.30  
			
14 Nov 2011 T =  74 °F	
			
Ave Vel =	2599		
Std Dev =	22		
ES =	75	 	
High =	2637		
Low =	2562	 	
N =	10		
Very good group

A source for the old NRA recommended loads, for bullet weights other than 168 or 174 can be found here. http://masterpostemple.bravepages.com/M1load.htm I load my 150’s with 47.5 grains IMR 4895 instead of a max recommendation of 49 grains. I have chronographed and tested all my loads, a 150 SMK with 47.5 grains IMR 4895 is moving just at 2725 fps, and that is as fast as I want a 150 grain bullet to go in this mechanism, regardless of what someone else may say.

Check cartridges for case head separation. Gas guns are hard on brass: the bolt unlocks while there is still significant chamber pressure. Because of this the case gets stretched on extraction. Carefully inspect cases for stretch ring marks at five reloads. They occur about .4” of an inch ahead of the base. You can verify if the cases are internally necking by inserting a bent paperclip in the case, and feeling for an edge.






A number of shooters claim various case lives in the M1 or M1A. Some have case head separations about the fifth reload, others have taken their cases up to ten reloads. The useful lifetime of a case is determined by case head separations, case neck splitting, or primer pocket enlargement. When any one of these failure mechanisms happens to a case, it has exceeded its operational lifetime. In my experience, US military brass holds up better than commercial cases. But this is a broad generalization. You want to use heavy cases over light cases.

References:
a. The Mysterious Slam-Fire, American Rifleman, Oct 1983
b. Reloading for the M1 Rifle, American Rifleman, Mar 1986
 
Thank you so much for all of the information. I am new to Garands having only fired one on a few occasions. I currently have 200 rounds of mixed headstamp brass that has been FL resized, pocket cleaned and CCI 200 primers installed. I will recheck them to make sure that they are in fact below the rim. And that the COAL is on the short side. I have never had the chance to take down a Garand bolt. Has anyone had success purring a light spring in front of the firing pin, or doest the design simply not lend itself to such a precaution?
I knew that virtually any SA rifle has the potential for slamfire, however I didnt know that the Garand tends to be one of the more likely culprits.
I will be staying on the lower side with loads for this Garand in particular. When I find surplus (boxer primed) or good deals on factory Garand rated ammo I will likely buy some just to plink and harvest the brass.
 
The Garand mechanism was used by other nations and it is instructive that the Italians added a firing pin spring to the bolts of their Garand based BM 59 rifles. Obviously they had experienced slamfires in their Garands previous to designing this mechanism.





Roland Beaver will perform this modification. Roland charged me $25.00 total, I shipped it on a Monday, received the bolt back next Monday.


Roland worked as a USMC rifle team Armorer 1958-62 before M14’s came out. He also worked on a USMC M1 rebuild line. Has never seen a Garand or M14 that slamfired out of battery with issue ammunition but has seen at least 10 rifles that slamfired out of battery with commercial ammunition or reloads. (He actually has no idea of the count, I asked, “more than 10?, more than 20?” . He never took a count, but agreed at least 10 rifles) He has a 6,000,000 NM Garand receiver that slamfired out of battery, the receiver heel is cracked and bent back. Has never seen a forged GI Garand or M14 receiver that had the heel blown off, the out of battery rifles he examined, the heel is cracked on both sides. For cast receivers, he has seen “everything”.

Roland is a talking history book on the issue of slamfires and the Garand. He told me the 1st test report on Garand indicated a concern about slamfires in this mechanism. Early rifles had the round firing pin recalled and about 40% of the weight was removed through grinding. Slamfires were not an issue with Government ammunition but once civilians started shooting the things, using reloads with improperly sized cases and commercial primers, slamfires started happening on the firing line.






Less sensitive primers are not a cure all for slamfires, mil spec primers are less sensitive on the average, but that does not mean a particularly sensitive primer is not in the mix. This shooter had an out of battery slamfire in a M1a. He was using CCI #34 primers, but, he had tight cases and he did not feed the round from the magazine. Tight cases and a sensitive primer are the most likely conditions for an out of battery slamfire in this mechanism.


http://m14forum.com/m14/120119-out-battery-slam-fire-today.html



After 15 years of shooting and reloading for this rifle, I blew it up this morning. Out of battery slam fire. Receiver came apart to the rear of the rear sight. Bolt is destroyed and op rod is tweaked. Near as I can figure, my once fired LC brass should have been run through a small base sizer, I think the loaded round chambered about 90% of the way, bolt and firing pin wanted to keep going and kaboom. Case head separated and turned into a frag grenade, remainder of case remains stuck in the chamber. Detonation was on par with shooting .50 BMG and taking the hardest punch ever in the face simultaneously.

So what are my options here, complete new rifle? Or some attempt at salvaging the remaining parts that appear to be undamaged on the surface, not a smith so that's why I say on the surface, I have no idea what an event like this does to a barrel and gas system
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I'm fine, thanks to all for asking. I lucked out as I was only loading the rifle at the time, didn't have my face on the stock as I would have had I been firing the rifle. I was sitting at the bench, so my face was about a foot above the explosion. I single loaded a round into the chamber, then let the bolt go, round detonated, good thing, as I still took a fair amount of shrapnel to my face and right hand, chin is sore, I believe the large chunk of the receiver hit me on the chin, got by bell rung for sure and my face looks like I took a load of bird shot from about 100 yards away.

Springfield wants to see the rifle, they sent a prepaid shipping label. They think they may be able to rebuild the rifle with a new receiver. I'll let them have a look, curious what the cost is.

So this brings to mind small base sizer dies, I currently use a Redding full length sizer, I'm racking my brain in an attempt to figure out what happened, and all I can come up with is that the LC brass is a little tougher to size and would have been a good candidate for a small base sizer? Do any of you guys use them? Should I just dump the LC brass and stick to commercial?

Learned the single loading lesson the hard way I guess.

Yes I inserted a single round into the chamber, reached up and "sling shotted" the bolt, next thing I knew I was seeing stars.

Primers used were CCI #34's

My load was 41.5 H4895,in once fired LC brass,lit by a CCI #34, pushing a Sierra 168 HPBT. Standard load for the rifle.

I've spent the day thinking about this and I've come away with the opinion that this accident was not an ammunition issue, but an unsafe mode of operation of the rifle that caused it to explode.

Yes I am extremely embarrassed by this event, but I wanted it out there so others could learn from it and hopefully avoid doing something similar to their rifle.


Two things I'm sure about in the process of loading this ammo last night is the charge weights of the powder, they were all measured, and there were no high primers, I seated them all with a hand tool and all were inspected and since it was only last night I can clearly remember thinking the primers were actually seated a little deeper in this LC brass as opposed to my usual IMI brass. If any part of the ammo is to be blamed I believe it to be a sizing issue. I believe the case was not sized enough, and when I chambered the round by hand it encountered resistance in the chamber and stopped a little short then I used a sling shot method of closing the bolt, so now there is a fast moving bolt with a floating firing pin and a stationary round not seated fully in the chamber and there you go recipient for disaster.

I had never used LC brass before, I know for a fact this brass was all fired out of USMC machine guns. I was unaware of the toughness of this brass and just set up my die to full length size the case as I would normally any commercial case. I was unaware the brass could require a second pass through the die sometimes to get it sized correctly, I believe An improperly sized case contributed greatly to this blow up.
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Everyone has their brass preference for the Garand. From commercial brass, many seem not to prefer Federals due to brass softness compared to others. On the other hand, Federals (my preference) are usually heavier with thicker case necks that result in greater neck tension during bullet seating. The difference is obvious when seating bullets between Federals, Remingtons and Winchesters. Winchesters seem to result in the least neck tension but are much preferred by many. Of course military brass is popular but swaging the primer pockets from the crimped in primers becomes a necessity. One other thing on Federal brass, it seems that slightly more cutting with the Redding primer pocket depth uniformer tool is needed to achieve optimal depth compared to uniforming the Rems and Wins.
 
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Every time I get ready to do some reloading I look at the threads on here that show a mishap. Seeing as I am a machinist I am by nature rather methodical and pay attention to detail. I wish I could say I have never made a mistake in my career, however it has happened. The brutal pictures on here, especially those that show injuries remind me that I cannot be to careful or have to much information when I decide to detonate small bombs (loaded ammo) next to my face with only a 1/4" of steel (sometimes 100 y/o) to protect me.
All that aside. I will take any advice on how to prevent a slamfire that anyone has to offer. Nice repost from slamfire about slingshoting single rounds.
I have a Lee full length resize die that my brass has passed through. Not sure what the difference is between a small ring and large ring FL resize die. How would I identify one from the other?
 
Obtain the Redding primer pocket depth uniformer tool from Midway at $31. Product number for large primers is 664266. The tool comes with a handle for manual operation but you won't want to process more than one manually. Chuck the cutting tool into an electrical drill. Note that the Redding tool is set to exact depth setting and cannot be changed (which is the way it should be). Others like the RCBS are adjustable which, if using the adjustment, can result in losing the exact
depth setting.
 
There are those who don't believe you need to use small base dies for Garands or M1a's. I am going to try to show how it could make a difference.

The last I shot my M1a in competition, I think I was the only Dinosaur shooting 30 caliber on the line. My rifle has a Barnett barrel and the commerical chamber dimensions are smaller than the standard military rifle. I am able to tell the difference when sizing brass for this rifle, compared to sizing brass from my FAL. The FAL has such a huge chamber that it is very difficult to small base size those cases.

I have 308 and 30-6 gages, cut by Gene Barnett which are a little out of the ordinary. He cut these gages with his chambering reamer. Standard cartridge headspace gages are cut with a special reamer that is wide in the middle. A standard cartridge headspace gage measures length, not “fatness”. A reamer cut headspace gage will show you if the case is too long and too “fat” for that chamber.

I have a number of 308 small base dies, and I still have my Lee standard die. I sized a number of my match cases in the Lee die. All of them dropped in the reamer cut case gage. So, if you said you don’t need small base dies, you would be correct most of the time. So now I had to scratch around trying to find cases that would prove my point. These two cases are once fired range pickup brass that I found in my brass box. I had to go through about 20 cases before I found a set of really ballooned cases. On the right is the Barnett reamer cut gage.






If you notice one unsized case has completed dropped into the Wilson cartridge headspace gage, while the other has not dropped into the Barnett reamer cut gage. This shows how much they have swelled up after being fired. Must have been a big chamber, typical of a military chamber. The second picture is of the fattest of the group after sizing in with Lee Die. I trimmed the thing to make sure that the case neck did not interfere with the throat in the gage.





Hopefully you can see that the case did not drop all the way in the case gage. At least on its own. It would have taken a good hard push to get that base all the way in.





This is after resizing in my RCBS small base die. I could not find the RCBS box, so the case/gage are sitting on a Redding small base box. However, that little additional sizing removed the interference fit.




Sometimes cases are so ballooned that even a small base die won’t reduce the case to factory dimensions. It all depends on the chamber the round was fired in and the limitations inherent in the little presses we use. I was told ammunition remanufacturers have huge hydraulic equipment that roll fired cases between steel plates. I assume the press is so strong it could roll you, inside your car, to the width of a pencil. But we, we home reloaders don't have that equipment.

I don't have pictures of 30-06 cases, but 30-06 cases have their own issues. I have similar reamer cut gages in 30-06. I have a number of dies. When I size 30-06 cases in my Forester Bench rest die, they will fall into the reamer cut gage without resistance. I put a bullet into the case, and the loaded case will stick, slightly, in the reamer cut gage. There is something about the length and taper of the 30-06 case so that it reacts differently to the 308. I think the 30-06 cases are buckling when I insert a bullet. Not much, can't see it, but the reamer cut gage don't lie. When I size cases with my Lyman small base die, loaded cases don't stick in the gage.

I know it is extra effort to size cases with small base dies, if you use a good lube like Imperial Sizing wax or RCBS case lube, the effort is somewhat reduced. Still for all the extra bother involved in sizing with small base dies I'll do it for my Garands and M1a's. With those rifles I don’t want any resistance to chambering, I don’t want any delay to bolt closure. Because as the bolt stops and the lugs are turning, that darn free floating firing pin is just tapping the heck out of the primer.
 
Do you use a standard sizing die before running the small ring sizing die? Are these dies designed for semi auto rifles or do they have another use? Do most people run the small ring dies for garand ammo?
 
Every time I see one of these threads, I tiptoe into the gun room and hide the Garand under a pile of other guns.

Maybe I'll just forget it over time.




But it's like peanuts.... :rolleyes:

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