Brass expansion in the Garand

[ultraseven]

Hi Everyone,

I shot my Garand for the first time yesterday. I put about 60 rounds through it. I noticed the spent brass (30-06) had a little bit of expansion just forward of the head of the case. My calipers showed the case at the head was .469 and approximately 1/4 inch up it was .471. The primers still looked well seated and all the spent brass was expanded by these same dimensions. Is a .002 expansion (at the web of the case?) normal in a Garand? Or is this an issue I should be concerned about?

I'm a handgun shooter and this is my first experience with a full power rifle so I have no frame of reference to go by. Thanks in advance for your responses.

Regards,

UltraSeven

---------- Post added at 01:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:07 PM ----------

PS: I was shooting surplus M2 FMJ Ball ammo.

-UltraSeven

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Don't worry, and at any rate the only thing you could do is to change barrels. I wouldn't do that unless you have separation problems. A minor case web swell won't harm anything. It's just the case sealing the chamber.

[Parashooter]

Completely normal. See chamber spec .200 from base, and note tolerance of +.002".

[Edward Horton]

The base diameter of the case and the diameter of the chamber control how much the base of the case will expand.

Below are British .303 cases as an example, both of these cases below were shot in the same rifle. Nothing is wrong with either cartridge case BUT guess which case has a smaller base diameter and thinner case walls.



Now if you really want to see an "odd looking" case fired in an M1 at Camp Perry just take a look below.