Ring on Case Head

[Turtlepwr]

Howdy all. I purchased a pre-fit barrel from a reputable shop for my Savage in 6mm-223 Rem. The barrel is snug on the go-gage and a no-go gauge does not chamber, so I'm confident it's installed correctly.

I got to the range today and began shooting groups of increased powder charges to find a good load.

ALL of my cases have the following ring 0.120" forward of the rim/head junction. See this picture for the worst offender:

The barrel is machined with a cone breech leaving the case head unsupported to that line. That line is 0.250" forward of the bolt face and 0.120" forward of the head/rim junction. As I understand, Savage pre-fits are supposed to have a flat breech with 0.130-0.140" case protrusion when chambered, meaning the steel barrel acts as the pressure vessel with only the rim of the case protruding. In my case, the brass case is holding pressure radially, instead of axially.

My theory and course of action (please provide input):
I'm fairly certain the cone breech is a mistake, the manufacturer should have never left that much case head exposed.

I plan on not shooting this anymore, since I think this is unsafe and I'm going to ask the manufacturer to remake my barrel with a flat breech and the correct cartridge protrusion.

What do ya'll think? Thanks a lot.

 

[DaveTooley]

You pretty much have it covered. You have a dangerous condition with too much of the case being unsupported. Most cases are considered solid up to about .190" from the bolt face. Yours is way out of spec.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

^ exactly. Go buy a lottery ticket. Thats some dangerous stuff they got going there

 

[swd]

Just as you determined there’s way too much unsupported case there. That’s a BIG accident waiting to happen. Whoever engineered that, shouldn’t have..

 

[M-61]

I plan on not shooting this anymore

Wise decision. Just wondering how many rounds did you fire?

 

[Turtlepwr]

You pretty much have it covered. You have a dangerous condition with too much of the case being unsupported. Most cases are considered solid up to about .190" from the bolt face. Yours is way out of spec.

Thanks Dave! I'm much more confident arguing my case when I call them Monday.

^ exactly. Go buy a lottery ticket. Thats some dangerous stuff they got going there

If I gambled, I would!

Just as you determined there’s way too much unsupported case there. That’s a BIG accident waiting to happen. Whoever engineered that, shouldn’t have..

They'll get a chance to fix it for sure. Hopefully they didn't make too many prefits like this.

Wise decision. Just wondering how many rounds did you fire?

29 Rounds. Some were getting near 54k psi according to quickload...

Was so focused on the primers and headstamps I didn't look at the case heads...till I did!

 

[varget204]

Think you are 110% correct,breech face is supposed to be flat,should never have left shop,would send back to shop for replacement

 

[hammerjack]

Did you check bolt nose clearence on go gage before you screwed it together ; probably should have not ever shot that you may wanna get that lottery ticket like Dusty said.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Im certain theyll do the right thing. I wonder what prefit action has a cone bolt?

 

[madmixerman]

Very dangerous. I know from experience.

 

[Ggmac]

Just a ' for the future reference ' . Measure you're bolt nose to face depth , add .005" and stick a sized case or headspace gauge in and make sure you close to the measure.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Just a ' for the future reference ' . Measure you're bolt nose to face depth , add .005" and stick a sized case or headspace gauge in and make sure you close to the measure.

Thats a non starter when you have a coned barrel with a flat bolt. No need in even considering it

 

[Ggmac]

Thats a non starter when you have a coned barrel with a flat bolt. No need in even considering it

Coned barrel , I was thinking coned as being cut for no need of cutting extractor cut . If that's the way it was coned then it would matter . If coned as in the need for matching a coned bolt but using a flat bolt then your absolutely correct . Hope this makes sense , no coffee yet .

 

[Turtlepwr]

Coned barrel , I was thinking coned as being cut for no need of cutting extractor cut . If that's the way it was coned then it would matter . If coned as in the need for matching a coned bolt but using a flat bolt then your absolutely correct . Hope this makes sense , no coffee yet .

No sweat. Just had my coffee for the morning. I'll pull the barrel later today and post a picture of the breech face with an empty piece of brass in it. Bolt is a dead standard Savage affair.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Coned barrel , I was thinking coned as being cut for no need of cutting extractor cut . If that's the way it was coned then it would matter . If coned as in the need for matching a coned bolt but using a flat bolt then your absolutely correct . Hope this makes sense , no coffee yet .

Its coned like for a benchrest action with matching bolt. Only problem is the savage has the flat front bolt

 

[Texas10]

It appears that someone took a Savage prefit barrel and machined a cone into the breach face, creating the excessive head protrusion, and a time bomb waiting to go off. IMOP, no competent Gun Smith would have done such a thing, especially to a Savage with a flat bolt nose. Accidents are rarely the result of a single mistake, but rather a succession of mistakes going un-noticed, each building upon each other.

 

[Turtlepwr]

The offending barrel has been pulled. Here's a picture of the same piece of spent brass, and a full-sized Starline .223 case sitting in the chamber as far as it goes. Note that in addition to the cone, there's also additional chamfering where the cone meets the chamber, adding to the un-supported length:

I also took a measurement of my bolt face to bolt nose, and it's 0.110" Meaning that 0.120" protrusion is all I'd need.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Looking at that cone plus that chamfer id say dont send that barrel back- i retract my statement. That is the most rediculous chamber job ive ever seen and they shouldnt be given a chance to even attempt a fix. Chalk that one up as a loss and send it over to @Stan Taylor to get a proper chamber put in there. That is dangerous and doesnt fit any action period. Thats not a cone bolt chamber as i suspected thats attempted bomb making

 

[Ggmac]

Its coned like for a benchrest action with matching bolt. Only problem is the savage has the flat front bolt

I understand that now ! I was thinking the other way .

 

[Ggmac]

That is why you use a licensed and insured smith with known quality . You are dang lucky
If the butcher that chambered that says he does all his savage barrels like that I'd demand an explanation and my money back . He's just blowing smoke .