Bad night - New lessons learned.

[IA_shooter]

I've been load testing a bunch for my .243 and ended up with my first bullet stuck in the bore tonight. :-[

I had new bullets (Berger 6MM 105 gr VLD Match) and powder (H1000) I just started testing with and decided to go to the Keokuk Co. Sportsmen's Club's 100 yd range to test. 1st time there, I just joined, I was the only guy out there tonight. Got set up and all was well thru the first 3 groups, just starting the 4th group, had the round chambered, and a P/U truck pulls up next to my car which was pretty close to the shooting bench I was set up on so I decide to hold off and see who this is, etc. and he walks up to me with a funny look on his face so I go to unchamber the round for safety's sake and wouldn't you know it, the bullet stays in the bore and the case comes out and spills the powder all over everything. At this point the guy walks right up to me and asks me if I'm a member because he doesn't recognize my car. Of course I say yes and show him my little piece of paper from when I filled out the application to send in the dues and he says ok and then asks what just happened so I explain to him about the stuck bullet, powder mess everywhere, and I think he feels badly at this point and tries to come up with something to see if I can run something down the bore to clear the bullet. He does have some copper wire that we try but to no avail.

So I had to cut my night short to go back home (30 min drive) to see if I can get the bullet unstuck with my cleaning rod, which I did with no problem .... BUT .... on the way back home @ sunset I hit a deer for the very 1st time in 30 years of driving and mess up the front end of my 2011 Chrysler 200 that doesn't have a scratch on it otherwise since I bought it new about 1 1/2 years ago.

So when I get home I ask my wife about our insurance for it and she informed me she just raised the deductables on our car insurances from $250 to $500 a few weeks ago to save a few bucks. :'(

So my lessons learned for the night..........DON'T try to unchamber a round seated into the lands and DON'T raise your deductable on your insurance because right after you do something BAD will happen!

 

[savageshooter86]

Dang sorry to hear such a bad night for ya. I know the feeling of hitting a deer. Add a cleaning Eros to your range gear for next time out

 

[wapiti25]

Sorry, I understand. My day was not great but you got me beat.

 

[Erik Cortina]

I think the lesson learned should be not to jam bullets.

Sorry to hear about your bad night.

 

[coupalr]

This what I do if I do not have a way push the bullet out. I pull the bullet from another round. Hold the muzzle up and chamber the case pushing the bullet into the case with the bolt. Then simply fire it off.

 

[Hombre0321]

Nothing wrong with jamming bullets, you just need to be prepared for it when it happens, and it always will happen.

Interesting as well is my shooting partner also has a 2011 Chrysler 200, and he also hit a deer. Must be something about that car. He was only doing 35 MPH or so and his damage was over $6,000.

Roland

 

[Nodak7mm]

On the positive note, you ought to be "golden" for awhile now and can expect good things......

Rod

 

[dtucker]

I always take a cleaning rod with me to the club when i shoot or working up a load. I clean my rifles their and not at home much anymore and if they do not get cleaned i still have the rod just in case something like that happens. Get a rod and keep it in the trunk of the car you use.

 

[Immike]

We just had one of these at the last fclass match. I keep everything ready to go just for the occasion. I had that man back to shooting in not much more than a minute. Some guys carry compressed air cans for it also. I have a sinclare cleaning kit ready to use in my shooting bag to clean the powder out of the lug area and chamber. Now that you have that out of the way you should have smooth sailing for the rest of the week.

A buddy of mine used to say (Eat a toad first thing in the morning and the rest of the day only gets better!!)

 

[AlNyhus]

I think the lesson learned should be not to jam bullets.

Erik, nothing wrong with jamming bulets if that's what it takes to make the gun shoot.

In 100-200 Benchrest, the .30's (30BR's, 30x47's, etc.) commonly run as much as .025 jam. Couple of caveats, of course...you need to have enough neck tension so that you can open the bolt and not stick the bullet in bore. The leade angle and the ogive of the bullet play a big role in how easy the bullet will stay in the lands, of course. Plus, in any sort of registered IBS or NBRSA competition, if an emergency cease fire is called where the range personel have to go forward of the firing line, competitors are allowed to clear their rifles by firing them to avoid just such a scenario.

I think the lesson to be learned is to not open the bolt just because somebody pulls up and wants to talk........

Good shootin'. -Al

 

[NorCalMikie]

New lession learned? Part of life. Could always have been worse.
Thought I'd take the wifes car to work and give it the treatment when things got slow. I don't get to drive it much so I jump on it when I get the chance.
Washed it, changed the oil, rotated the tires and filled it with gas before I headed for home.
About 1/4 mile from home, I hit a deer. Came out of nowhere. Only $4000.00 for the repair. :

The other day I had a FTF in one of my BR rigs. Pulled the round and left the bullet stuck in the lands.
(I jam ALL my rounds) Ran a rod down the barrel and got the bullet out with no problem.
Bolt didn't want to close on the next round. Bolt would close on an empty chamber. ???
After doing a little research, I found powder in the lug area. Didn't think I lost that much powder when I pulled the FTF case but I did. Pulled the action out of the stock and got after it with parts cleaner. Found excess oil in the lug area causing the powder to cake up causing the bolt no close problem.
I had a problem, fixed it and learned something at the same time. It always works out.

High deductable insurance? Better than no insurance at all. Like I said, it could always be worse.

 

[brxbrad]

You could have been the deer..........

 

[Chuckhunter]

Kinda sounds like my blind, deaf, three legged dog; I named him Lucky

 

[wwbrown]

I think the lesson learned should be not to jam bullets.

Said by the man who shoots nothing but Scenars.

 

[dickn52]

Wow, now that is a lessoned learned. By the way how was the weather?

 

[Strut]

At my club, we ended up with a lot of people abusing the range. Long story made short, Be glad you have members who are prepared to challenge. Eventually we had to run off a bunch of jerks and post the property with large warning signs to be prepared for a challenge or face trespass charges. We had adjacent land owners really PO 'd and that is a situation no club needs to deal with. Otherwise, I have had the same problem with stuck bullets and deer accidents.

 

[BoydAllen]

Seating bullets into the rifling calls for careful measurement, both as to how much longer they are than the length at which they first make contact, and the amount of neck tension. Had you determined these numbers? There is nothing wrong with seating bullets so that they engage the rifling, as long as you know how to take proper measurements, and you know the limits of a particular situation. If you are in a place where it is allowed, and safe, if you feel the bullet rotate in the case neck as you raise the bolt, elevate the muzzle so that the barrel is pointing straight up before pulling the bolt to the rear, and the powder will stay in the case. Once the bolt has been raised, the firing pin cannot fall as long as it stays in that position.

 

[lpreddick]

had this happen to me recently...first in 12 years of handloading...they call me "lucky". the primer fired but not powder and bullet pushed into lands. powder was EVERYWHERE! i use bolt grease and what a mess. had my cleaning rod and knew about pushing the bullet out BUT didn't remove the cleaning jag and it GOT BENT. lucky me, i was able to bend it straight without breaking it. on a true hangfire if you hold the gun erect while extracting the case powder just might stay in case and things go better than in my case. i now take a can of air but the above required the air compressor to get all granules out of the receiver.

 

[M-61]

There is nothing wrong with jamming bullets if that is what shoots accurately. Personally I would NEVER try to re chamber the empty brass and fire anything. I would not have any idea as to where the bullet actually is. (That's me). Even though where I shoot is within walking distance of my house in my box I have 3 brass "drop tubes" maybe 6" long (various diameters). Bolt out, muzzle up, and let it go down the barrel. Almost always works the 1st time. Short of that the cleaning rod.
On the plus side I commend you for opening the bolt when walking up to someone.

The advantage of short brass drop rods are two fold:
1.Easy to transport as they are short.
2.Not a chance of a spark.

 

[fdshuster]

Ipreddick: I always hesitated to put a cleaning rod down the barrel to dislodge a stuck bullet, believing that the female threads on the rod will be damaged when they make contact with the bullets tip. Having a stab jag to protect the threads would work, I guess, if the tip of the jag happened to line up with and go into the hollowpoint cavity. If it misses the cavity it will likely slide partly down the bullets ogive where it would make hard contact with the bore.

Sacrificing a jag and having the end of it machined flat would solve that problem if it were threaded to match the threads on the rod.

I did have a primer misfire when fireforming 6BR to 6BRX. Tried numerous times & could not get it to fire. Carefully pointed the barrel straight up and slowly opened the bolt, case came out, but powder still spilled out into the area in front of the locking lugs. That rifle was out of business until I got home. One of my switch-barrels, so very easy to remove the barrel to completely clean out the powder.

Anyone who is regularly jamming bullets might want to give some thoughts to carrying a drop rod with them. I have one. Stainless, 31" long x .190" in diameter.