Belted Mag Chamber issues

[jsthntn247]

I have a 300 win mag that I've been getting allot of stuck cases and clicks at the top of extraction. I sent it to someone who inspected it with a borescope. He called me last night and said there was a portion of the chamber near the belt that was beveled/relief cut made, and was causing that portion of the case .5" or so to be unsupported during firing. This was causing my cases to expand excessively and to get stuck with full pressure loads. He also said the chamber was extremely rough which added to the extraction issues. This was a custom gun that was built for me in February but I have not been able to finish load development because of the extraction issues. Could any of you experieced smiths explain the issue a litlle better to me, so I am more knowledgeable when I discuss my issues with the gunsmith. The fella that borescoped it was going to try and take pics of what he saw but was not 100% sure if he would be able to or not. Thanks,

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

if you are having a "click" but the brass extracts ok, your problem may be timing issue, contact dan40x if unsure

 

[jsthntn247]

Thanks xring. The timing issues have been addressed. Thats actually when the chamber issues were discovered.

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

Any lateral "scratches" in the spent brass?

 

[jsthntn247]

Yes, numerous.

 

[jsthntn247]

Here is a picture of a lateral gauling mark from the chamber. There are several in the chamber just like this. The second pic shows half of a land missing.

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

Well...............based on the pics and what you said. There is a bad scratch in the chamber. Not here to bash anyone, shit happens. It can either be set back or new barrel depending on the taper.

 

[Dans40X]

To save band width & to sum up the chambering job, verified w/ a bore scope-

A TRAIN WRECK!!

jsthntn247-
Have the barrel set back a turn & re-chambered w/ a sharp reamer-
(not by the same BR smith,as he had his chance)

 

[jsthntn247]

To save band width & to sum up the chambering job, verified w/ a bore scope-

A TRAIN WRECK!!

jsthntn247-
Have the barrel set back a turn & re-chambered w/ a sharp reamer-
(not by the same BR smith,as he had his chance)

Thanks Dan for looking it over for me, only problem is the smith also got my 600$ for the chamber job. Really confused on what steps to take next!!

 

[jonbearman]

I would talk with him about replacing the blank at least as his workmanship is awful.Keep a cool tongue as it will only inflame the situation.

 

[jsthntn247]

I am going to shoot it when it gets back and if it won't eject cases I will cross that bridge then. The barrel was sent to Carl campfeld and spiral fluted and coated, so the blank plus that additional cost would cause a come to Jesus meeting to replace I'm sure.

 

[jsthntn247]

I would talk with him about replacing the blank at least as his workmanship is awful.Keep a cool tongue as it will only inflame the situation.

Can yall tell me if the relief cut for the belt in the back of the chamber is supposed to be chamfered or straight? It seems like this could be the cause of all the issues.

 

[Dans40X]

The radial "BELT"was designed to headspace the long body tapered H&H cases.

Your 300WM cases should be sized to headspace off the shoulder,not the belt.
(The shoulder area of your chambering is the best area of your chambering as the throat,neck,body & aft end of the radial belt are a TRAIN WRECK to say the least.

90% of production chamberings through out the industry are leaps & bounds superior to your BR 'smiths work/abortion.

All verified by a Gradient Lens slimline bore scope,that's been working fine for 15+yrs.

Make it public knowledge if he won't fix his screw up for FREE & in a timely manner.

 

[jsthntn247]

I would talk with him about replacing the blank at least as his workmanship is awful.Keep a cool tongue as it will only inflame the situation.

I spoke with him this morning, I nicely explained the situation and he basically cussed me out on the phone, told me I was reloading to excessive pressure ( without checking my loads in a manual) and called Dans40x a dumbass without even knowing him. I guess when your in the benchrest hall of fame you think this type of behavior is acceptable, but I don't. After hearing all of that I don't think it would be a good idea if I go see him because it's undoubtedly going to get me no where and just cost a day off work and 2 tanks of gas. I am going to take the high road on this one, chalk it up to a life experience, and hopefully I can save up enough money to have the gun ready by next deer season. Thanks to everyone who responded and especially Dan for going above and beyond with the chamber inspection and bolt handle timing.

 

[Dans40X]

BR Hall of fame or not-
$600 & a couple years time wise to face an action,thread,chamber,crown & thread muzzle-WOW
(rcvr threads,integrals,bolt face/lugs not touched)

Once again-the craftmanship that I witnessed/viewed thru a bore scope-I wouldn't let the man on his best day touch one of my rifles.PERIOD.

Names will eliminate all doubt for others & is the only course of action that you have to prevent someone else being ripped off &/or going thru the same BS.

Elsewhere,you mentioned a shooting partner that had the same effects on 2 of his rifles chambered by the same "senile" BR 'smith.

Do you see a pattern here??

 

[LC Tikka]

Hi
This poor guy got ripped, not a life experience but a real bad one.
There must a decent local smithy to help put this right.
LC

 

[tclaunch]

A lot of folks would appreciate who NOT to send their work to... just sayin.

I`m almost to the point I could make a guess, as at one time I had a similar experience met with similar excuses.

 

[jsthntn247]

Well the barrel was pulled and the chamber inspected. The threads had at least .030 "flop". When the action broke free I took my hand and wiggled the action and saw how loose the threads were, I knew it would be down here from there. The barrel was then indicated into a lathe. There was .028 runnout at the belt and .018 runnout at the shoulder. The wobbling reamer left length wise gouges in the chamber ( these were the ones observed by dans40x and visible on the fired brass). The reamer wasn't cleaned properly when chambering and chips being pushed up had broken all the lands in front of the throat. This is the reason it took 13 shots and over 60 patches before the barrel quite copper fouling, break in alone took 3 hours. I thought krieger barrels were crap because of this. All of the threads had to be cut off and rechambered, so I lost allot more barrel than I hoped. Tonight I decided to see if I could save the once fired Norma brass. I ran it through a redding body die and then through a Willis belted mag collet die. I had to throw the brass away because it literally pushed a wad of brass off each case because the belt was blown so far out of spec. The person that re-chambered my barrel was nice enough to save enough barrel so that I could keep the first gunsmiths logo, lol. I guess that will serve as a reminder of who never to take a rifle/anything to in the future. Here's a pic of the new chamber and original smiths marking.

 

[Hal]

Thanks for sharing this info with us.

Hal

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

I feel your pain. Too many bad smiths that think they are above the laws of physics. To help you out, just an idea. Get a blank barrel, you pay shipping back and forth with the action, I will chamber a new barrel for you no charge. Gotta do whats right.