Question regarding buldged case with my FAL

Gun Dude · November 07, 2004, 21:00

I put my fal together last year and had the smith headspace it for 7.62 nato. He told me he made the tolerence tight enough to accept .308 winchester as well. I know the cartridges are almost identical, however when I shot some of my .308 ammo, I noticed that a portion of the case near the rim has a slight bulge to it. The micrometer reads .565 on an unfired .308 case. The fired case in the exact same spot reads .575. My question is whether this is normal or should I get it checked out by another smith? Perhaps it needs to be re-headspaced?
My fal is particularly hard on ammo, it chews up almost every case that goes through it. The extractor bends the case rims on 60% of the brass I find. I'm wondering if that's normal? I have a pic of the fired case w/ micrometer if anyone wants to have a look at it. You can PM me for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

tim02 · November 07, 2004, 21:08

You have made the gas adjustment, right? (from the FAQ)
Bent rim could be too much gas - too violent extraction.
(don´t know about the bulge though)

tim

**ar15junkie** · November 07, 2004, 23:14

Theres a chance that the bulging cases are causing the brass to stick in the chamber which is causing the extractor to destroy the brass.

Also.. Only shoot surplus in your rifle. The brass in surplus is thicker, which should keep you bulge under control.

dougjones31 · November 08, 2004, 08:02

Sounds like a case of loose headspace combined with a rough or slightly off center chamber.

November 07, 2004, 21:00	#1
Gun Dude Registered FALaholic #: 10635 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oregon Posts: 1	Question regarding buldged case with my FAL I put my fal together last year and had the smith headspace it for 7.62 nato. He told me he made the tolerence tight enough to accept .308 winchester as well. I know the cartridges are almost identical, however when I shot some of my .308 ammo, I noticed that a portion of the case near the rim has a slight bulge to it. The micrometer reads .565 on an unfired .308 case. The fired case in the exact same spot reads .575. My question is whether this is normal or should I get it checked out by another smith? Perhaps it needs to be re-headspaced? My fal is particularly hard on ammo, it chews up almost every case that goes through it. The extractor bends the case rims on 60% of the brass I find. I'm wondering if that's normal? I have a pic of the fired case w/ micrometer if anyone wants to have a look at it. You can PM me for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. __________________ "The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire"

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November 07, 2004, 21:08	#2
tim02 Registered FALaholic #: 5294 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Kymi, Finland Posts: 671	You have made the gas adjustment, right? (from the FAQ) Bent rim could be too much gas - too violent extraction. (don´t know about the bulge though) tim

November 07, 2004, 23:14	#3
ar15junkie Veteran Member Contributor FALaholic #: 9867 Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,122	Theres a chance that the bulging cases are causing the brass to stick in the chamber which is causing the extractor to destroy the brass. Also.. Only shoot surplus in your rifle. The brass in surplus is thicker, which should keep you bulge under control.

November 08, 2004, 08:02	#4
dougjones31 Registered FALaholic #: 6967 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,282	Sounds like a case of loose headspace combined with a rough or slightly off center chamber.