Case Seperation I thought.

[crkckr]

Did you confirm you had the correct powder? 2 grains shouldn't have done that. Put a mic on the bullets and confirm correct diameter, then weigh them to make sure you didn't grab the wrong ones or have a mix up of some kind. No oil or grease on the cases or in the chamber? Also, check your barrel for obstructions (or a bulge somewhere along it's length; if there was an obstruction it's cleared now!). This is a massive over pressure and only the strength of the action saved your bacon. I probably shouldn't say this but determine whatever caused this with certainty before you shoot it again. Can we assume this isn't the first time you've shot this rifle? If it is, you need to slug the barrel and make sure it's what they say it is! Once the brass is out, look at the end of the bolt with the highest power magnifier you have to make sure it isn't cracked. I've seen some serious over pressure loads in my 50 years of shooting & reloading but this is one of the worst!
Good luck.
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[dave86]

I have a Remington 700 BDL .270 with that problem. I traded 500 rounds of 22LR for the rifle. A .308 was fired from the .270. The bullet made it through the bore. The rifle held together, but I had to beat the bolt open with a wooden mallet. I forced the case out of the boltface, destroying the extractor in the process. I will need to get a new exractor and install it.

 

[bojangles]

While at the range testing a few loads on a Remington 700 308 i heard an unfamiliar report as smoke seeped out of the bolt area. Oh.. no,I thought as I attempted to extract the bolt.
was it case separation? I could not break the bolt loose without a mallet so I left for home.

After removing the scope and stock I was able to get better leverage and continued hammering on the bolt in an upward direction. when finally the bolt moved, I then continued to hammer it reward and it came out shell and all. As seen by the photo below it appears the case was melted into the bolt face. ( shell body badly beat up as I could not break it loose from the extractor with a pliers. Has anyone had this experience before and does anyone have any suggestions how to break the case free from the bolt face.View attachment 130805 View attachment 130807

If it were my rifle I would first have all parts dimensionally inspected then follow up with fluorescent magnetic particle inspection. If everything checks okay then run a box of hot factory loads through it and reinspect it.

 

[jimwest]

I want to thank all of those who shared their thoughts on this issue.

I did remove the firing pin and all looks good. I also went back and pulled the bullets on the other 4 rds i wast testing. I have been reloading for over 40 years both pistol and many calibers of long guns and this is the first time anything has happened like this.
The remaining rounds were over the desired powder charge intended 41.4 of Imr 4895 behind a 168 gr. Berger VLD. The only explanation I could think of is the scale it self.
I have been using an RCB beam scale for years and did have some problems and RCB sent me a new scale to replace it. Who knows what the real issue was, at least all turned out good. Once again, Thanks you all.

Happy to know that you were not injured in the mishap. You mentioned that the intended load was 41.4 of IMR 4895, but later post said you were 2 grains over the max. What was the weight that you measured for the rounds you pulled afterwards?
IMR lists Max load at 45.4 (compressed load). Just curious if you weighed 2 grains over the max of 45.4 for those unfired/pulled rounds.

 

[bigngreen]

Personally I'd throw the whole mess in the garbage can and start over, I've seen a number of those bolt noses fail and break out. You likely set the lugs back in the action, you need the barrel pulled and the lugs checked for sure!!

 

[DKSDonnie]

While at the range testing a few loads on a Remington 700 308 i heard an unfamiliar report as smoke seeped out of the bolt area. Oh.. no,I thought as I attempted to extract the bolt.
was it case separation? I could not break the bolt loose without a mallet so I left for home.

After removing the scope and stock I was able to get better leverage and continued hammering on the bolt in an upward direction. when finally the bolt moved, I then continued to hammer it reward and it came out shell and all. As seen by the photo below it appears the case was melted into the bolt face. ( shell body badly beat up as I could not break it loose from the extractor with a pliers. Has anyone had this experience before and does anyone have any suggestions how to break the case free from the bolt face.View attachment 130805 View attachment 130807

So glad you are okay. As soon as I saw the pic and your description I said to myself, "Way over max load. Serious hot load! You said you were over max by a couple grains and I didn't see what temps you were shooting at. Hot barrel/chamber can cook a load and with higher than normal ambien temps it raises pressure even more. You're lucky. I'm glad you had to stop and go home because the next might have blown your face off. Hope all worked out in the end.

 

[jeeper80]

I used to be a competitive highpower shooter. My favorite load was 42.0 grains of IMR 4064 in a Winchester case with a Sierra 168 Matchking and a Remington 9 1/2 primer. My loading routine was to charge the primed cases with powder then visually check powder level in all the cases as they sat in the loading block to be sure that the powder levels were uniform. If I was satisfied that they were, I proceeded to seat the bullets. I was a calibration tech in a USN calibration lab so I had standard weights that I could check my scales against. Scale checking weights can be purchased and it's a good idea to do periodic checks. OP, thank your lucky stars that you were shooting a strong Remington 700 and not a converted military surplus rifle. The end result could have turned out different. For brass to flow as pictured, it would have to be subject to tremendous pressure well beyond a factory proof load.

 

[jeeper80]

I have a Remington 700 BDL .270 with that problem. I traded 500 rounds of 22LR for the rifle. A .308 was fired from the .270. The bullet made it through the bore. The rifle held together, but I had to beat the bolt open with a wooden mallet. I forced the case out of the boltface, destroying the extractor in the process. I will need to get a new exractor and install it.

I've read elsewhere of .308's being fired through .270's. It amazes me that people walk away uninjured from such incidents. It's a real tribute to the tremendous strength and design of the Remington 700. This comes from a Winchester 70 fan.

 

[nicholasjohn]

I want to thank all of those who shared their thoughts on this issue.

I did remove the firing pin and all looks good. I also went back and pulled the bullets on the other 4 rds i wast testing. I have been reloading for over 40 years both pistol and many calibers of long guns and this is the first time anything has happened like this.
The remaining rounds were over the desired powder charge intended 41.4 of Imr 4895 behind a 168 gr. Berger VLD. The only explanation I could think of is the scale it self.
I have been using an RCB beam scale for years and did have some problems and RCB sent me a new scale to replace it. Who knows what the real issue was, at least all turned out good. Once again, Thanks you all.

I wouldn't think you could get enough of that powder in the case to do that. Was it a brand new can of powder, or one that you had already loaded other cartridges from ? It may somehow have been mis-labeled, and it isn't the powder you think it is. I think that with 40 years of loading experience, you probably didn't just screw this up - something is wrong with this picture.

This may have set back the surfaces that the bolt lugs seat against in the action, or perhaps cracked a lug. Cheking the headspace, like someone else suggested here, would be a good first step. Maybe magnaflux would show any cracks in the bolt lugs - ask your gunsmith. I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting that rifle again without a thorough examination of all the working parts. The fact that it held together once under this kind of pressure is remarkable. Expecting it to hold again, even at normal pressure levels, may be asking a lot.

 

[Gcan]

While at the range testing a few loads on a Remington 700 308 i heard an unfamiliar report as smoke seeped out of the bolt area. Oh.. no,I thought as I attempted to extract the bolt.
was it case separation? I could not break the bolt loose without a mallet so I left for home.

After removing the scope and stock I was able to get better leverage and continued hammering on the bolt in an upward direction. when finally the bolt moved, I then continued to hammer it reward and it came out shell and all. As seen by the photo below it appears the case was melted into the bolt face. ( shell body badly beat up as I could not break it loose from the extractor with a pliers. Has anyone had this experience before and does anyone have any suggestions how to break the case free from the bolt face.View attachment 130805 View attachment 130807

Really need to know how old gun is. Has it been worked on. (Rebarreled or chamber set back, accurized) Is that a reload. If so, how many loadings on that case.
Having said that, once you get that case out I would get it to a competent smith post haste. Or you can just use the force and shoot it again. Personally, unless you have smith experience, I suggest you take that bolt and the gun to a smith as is. Leave the case in the bolt.
If that is factory anmo you want to know ***? Over!

There are a few things can cause that and none of them are good.

 

[jeeper80]

I wouldn't think you could get enough of that powder in the case to do that. Was it a brand new can of powder, or one that you had already loaded other cartridges from ? It may somehow have been mis-labeled, and it isn't the powder you think it is. I think that with 40 years of loading experience, you probably didn't just screw this up - something is wrong with this picture.

This may have set back the surfaces that the bolt lugs seat against in the action, or perhaps cracked a lug. Cheking the headspace, like someone else suggested here, would be a good first step. Maybe magnaflux would show any cracks in the bolt lugs - ask your gunsmith. I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting that rifle again without a thorough examination of all the working parts. The fact that it held together once under this kind of pressure is remarkable. Expecting it to hold again, even at normal pressure levels, may be asking a lot.

Probably the best thing to do would be to send the rifle back to Remington and let them be the ones to determine the status of the rifle.

 

[Bret White]

i would set everything in a hoppes solvent for couple days it will break down brass and copper then put in freezer

 

[lancetkenyon]

Is the bore clear? Squib load? Squib load before? Now two bullets in the bore?

 

[CVCOBRA1]

It would be great to find out what exactly went wrong. Then a chop saw would make right good work on that entire rifle, stock and all. Everything loaded that day would get buried. Out of sight, out of mind.......well maybe.
And yes, I would even do that with one of my prize Sako's.