.308 thru a .270 savage

[PCShogun]

OK, before you get ragging on me, I didn't do it. wasn't even there.

A guy a few houses down the street came over and asked if I knew anything about guns ... (duh?). I said I knew a "Little Bit" and what did he need. He said he just got back from the range and the bolt on his rifle was stuck. He had a Scoped Savage .270 in a camo polymer stock.

Apparently, his son has a similar Savage in .308 and, shooting from the same table, he threw a .308 into his .270 and Boom! Now the bolt won't open. Only thing else I noticed is that it looked as if the action had moved forward in the stock, but cannot be positive on that point. it may just be a bad fit.

I ran a rod down the barrel and can tell that the projectile went down range and isn't stuck. No obvious EXTERNAL damage to barrel or chamber, but the bolt wont open. I put it on the bench and tried to open it with the old "Mosin Slap" using a cloth and a rubber mallet on the bolt handle. Being fairly gentle (because its not my rifle) I got no satisfaction. I told him that likely the brass is badly distorted and banging on it more will likely tear the rim off and get it open, but that the old brass case is going to be a "beach" to get out. He will also likely have bolt damage to the extractor. I then pointed him to D&R gun smithing, because I know how much he likes a good story.

Anyone else ever done this, and if so, just how did YOU get the bolt open? I was willing to beat on it some more, but again, it wasn't mine and didn't want to take responsibility for marring the finish.

 

[Tigerstripe]

just the opposite, i was with a guy that likes old bolt and millitary guns. i dont remember what they were but he shot a couple of rds that were to small for the bore. like 6mm in a 243 or 243 in a 308 but they were oddball maybe japanese cals. you could tell something wasnt right.

thats amazing that a 308 came out the bbl. id almost bet the gun is ruined. be sure and report back.

 

[jfeenin]

How hard did he have to work to chamber that and close the bolt in the first place? I agree with Tigerstripe I suspect the gun is a write off. I wouldn't trust the metal after that even if they did get it open. I suppose you could have it x-rayed or whatever but I would never trust my face next to that chamber with that kind of pressure again once it's been through that. And my face is nothing to write home about even.

 

[PCShogun]

According to him and his son, it wasn't that hard to close, which is scarey as this must happen more often than I thought.

 

[rotarymike]

.308 (7.62x51) is much shorter than .270 (6.8x62) ~.30-06 length. The bullet likely wasn't in the throat at all; the bottleneck on the .308 is wider than a .30-06 based case but only a little so that's what he was squishing when closing the bolt. I'm amazed it went through as well, or that the jacket didn't stay in the chamber. I think the powder charge is a little less in the .308 but pressure levels and charges are fairly similar. I'm guessing the bullet overpressure extruded some brass into the bolt head and nice and tight in the chamber.

 

[jfeenin]

I see what you mean. I was thinking they were similar length for some reason but you're right. I've seen a few situations like Tigerstripe said but I have never personally seen this way. I've seen pictures of some of the more negative results of it like everyone else but never in person. I think I'll be glad if I never do to.

 

[PCShogun]

An update:

The gunsmith was able to remove the barrel and extract the bolt.

The bolt head and extractor was replaced and the gun certified as safe to fire.

 

[biganimal]

Thanks for the update

 

[11B3XCIB]

just the opposite, i was with a guy that likes old bolt and millitary guns. i dont remember what they were but he shot a couple of rds that were to small for the bore. like 6mm in a 243 or 243 in a 308 but they were oddball maybe japanese cals. you could tell something wasnt right.

thats amazing that a 308 came out the bbl. id almost bet the gun is ruined. be sure and report back.

I know this is an old part of the thread, but there's a thread circulating out there of a guy who loaded a .300 BLK round in his 5.56 AR (got 'em swapped...something I'm sure anyone who shoots the two calibers has to be very aware of) and the projectile cleared the barrel. IIRC, the bolt was beyond repair along with other stuff, but all things considered the damage wasn't catastrophic. Not sure if it was a subsonic or supersonic round, for what it's worth