Loose barrel

[Shifty6br]

Hey all, I was out at the range today and my buddy had his custom 7mm stw out and the dang barrel came loose!! I could literally unthread the barrel from the action by hand. Its a Hart barrel on a Borden action that he paid HUGE bucks for and had chambered from what I thought was a reputable gunsmith outfit. Just like to get some thoughts on how it all could have came undone...

 

[ridgeway]

Clamp in barrel vise and simply snug it back up with an action wrench. No biggie...probably forgot to snug it.

 

[jdh47]

It's a 7MMSTW.... ;D

 

[carlsbad]

Most gunsmiths torque barrels much tighter than necessary. I'd say, "Not enough torque" isn't the answer.

Probably the most likely cause would be human error, the barrel wasn't torqued.

That is hard to imagine as the headspace should be rechecked after final torque. I'd think you'd remember if you torqued it. So what are scenarios that the gunsmith thinks he torqued it but didn't?

I guess one possibility would be that there was a burr somewhere that the barrel was torqued against. Shooting released the burr allowing the barrel to loosen up.

One error that can cause a very poor jointed fit is to thread with too large an OD on the tenon causing a very fine pointed contact at the top of the thread. Firing would cause this to wear in and loosen up. This would be a real rookie error.

Or really rough threads that embedded with firing allowing the threads to loosen up but I wouldn't expect that to happen either.

I'd ask the gunsmith if the phone rang while he was doing final assembly.

--Jerry

PS I'd also double check the headspace.

 

[Eddie Harren]

I've seen BR shooters screw a barrel on, before a match, and "snap it up" by hand. They then proceed to shoot the entire match without a problem. Tighten the barrel and get back to enjoying your new rifle.

 

[Preacher]

If the threads were cut on the small side they will allow a barrel to come unscrewed ..
Screw it half way on and see how much wiggle room you have... There should be hardly any movement...

 

[Shifty6br]

Thanks for the replies guys, he's just gonna send it back and as mr jerry said have them double check headspace and get 'er goin again on the up and up , we were just kinda at awe this happened because of the shop the rifle came out of. But stuff happens and I'm pretty pos the guys will address his issues. Thanks again!!

 

[Dans40X]

This so called reputable shop had their chance to shine & SCREWED UP !

They wouldn't get another attempt.

Let them perfect working on their own stuff.....first.