Surplus problems

[KY DAN]

So I am trying to reload for a m1 Garand and I am pulling my hair out lol. I have a hornady head space gauge and am using a lee loadmaster to full length size due to the fact I am reloading one 5 gallon bucket of brass. So here are my issues
- Stuck cases ( 1943 TW AND SL) commercial and everything else goes perfect
- One case will drop into HS gauage then the others will not go all the way, they stop at the rim part
I can see the heads are more to one side than others, they will slide in with no resistance until you get to the rim.
- Lube is 4 bottles os iso Heet (RED Bottle) and 4 oz of lanolin oil and lube is spayed into frezzer bag and cases rubbed around. Soaking wet is

 

[ArchAngelCD]

It's possible those WWII cases from 1943 were shot in some sort of automatic weapon like a BAR and under poor conditions the cases were stuck and bent slightly when the extractor yanked on them.

Just a wild guess

 

[troy fairweather]

get a small base die, spin the 180 and size again. archangelcd makes a good point to.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've owned eight M1 Garands, and I'm now currently down to five. Every one of them has had a "generous" chamber, meaning the shoulder is about .008" longer than SAAMI specifications for the .30-06. I don't see where you've referenced the actual chamber of your rifle in your measurements, just the gauge. Since the rounds won't be fired through the gauge, I'd suggest you check those that won't fit in the gauge, in the rifle's chamber.

If you oversize the brass for the Garand, you'll suffer case head separations, sometimes on the first loading, especially if the shoulder is set back too far. See if those rejected cases chamber, and if they do, then load them up and shoot them.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[higgite]

Have you tried to insert the problem cases into the gauge rim first to see if they are actually hanging on the rim? Check for burrs?

 

[rdnktrkr]

I have had to size 6.5x50 arisaka and 303 british brass and then turn it 180 and size it again, this was brass bought bulk so no idea how old or what shot it, made me think the guys press was out of adjustment.
My Garands are less pickey than any other 30-06 I own, I would do as reloaderfred said ad try to chamber them

 

[mdi]

I had a similar "problem" with my early Garand handloads. I tried everything I could to get my finished ammo to "gauge"; sizing the brass 3 times, measuring every conceivable dimension, changing bullets and even buying new dies. I asked this same question over at CMP forum and one old timer asked "do they chamber OK?". I checked, and they did. Fed, fired, and ejected smoothly. After a few more weeks of checking and shooting I found that my brass was hitting the OP rod hump on the way out, dinging the rim about .008"-.010", keeping the handloads from gauging. My case gauge now lives in a drawer somewhere in my shop...

 

[cfullgraf]

Soaking wet

Make sure the alcohol has flashed off before you try to run the cases into the die. The case should be a bit sticky not wet.

Lanolin is a good lubricant, alcohol is not. The alcohol makes the application of the lanolin possible.

As another said, the cases may hhave been fired in an automatic rifle or machine gun. A small base die should fix that for most if not all the cases.

 

[ReloaderFred]

In my experience in shooting Garands since 1963, they are the last rifle I would use a small base die on, since they don't need it and it may cause problems. They're designed to chamber and fire rounds that have dirt and grime on them, under battle conditions. Like I mentioned before, over sizing brass for the Garand will result in brass failure very early, as in the first reloading. You size to the chamber for the Garand, not the gauge.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Walkalong]

Agreed, any time you have a rifle with a generous chamber you should scrap the case gauge and use the chamber to set up the sizer. This is almost universally done with old military .303 British rifles.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Agreed, any time you have a rifle with a generous chamber you should scrap the case gauge and use the chamber to set up the sizer. This is almost universally done with old military .303 British rifles.

Without a doubt with a 303 British. I had some brass that failed in its second firing because it was not sized to the chamber. I suggest you take the above advice with M1 ammo and save yourself headaches.