Would You Keep Going?

[RabbitSlayer]

Just for clarity, what is your intent with this particular 223AI? Is it a complete rebarrel with a fast twist for heavy bullets for long range or rechambering the existing barrel to get more velocity?

I ask because I built a new rifle a decade or so back in 223AI for using 80 grain + bullets. I wanted it to surpass a 223 using heavy bullets and it has, but not by some huge margin. The side benefits have been never having to trim cases, some extra velocity, an absolutely sexy little cartridge, and since I hate money a temporary depletion of my rifle slush fund. It has been as accurate as I hoped (it better have been this as it cost enough), but in hind sight I could have built a 22BR. Now a days a 22 ARC would be my huckleberry, but please don't mention this to me.

I agree with 92.5% of the responders that bushing the bolt would very likely make the crater disappear. IMHO there is no downsides to doing it except for downtime on the rifle a some $. GreTan got to do every Remington 700 in my safe and a couple Surgeons (they used large firing pins in the beginning) years back. Heck I bushed some bolts that had never shown a crater. As I mentioned I hate money and love uniformity.

It's a lightweight walking varminter for jack rabbits, hiking at 10,000 feet for rock chucks, and calling coyotes. Fast, flat, maximum point blank range. Its an 8 twist just in case I want to try a 62gr eldvt. A 22BR or 22arc would probably be ideal, but a lot more money and headache.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

This is a pretty good picture showing pressure increasing. Primers are flattening out, strike point staying pretty uniform. SAAMI chamber.

View attachment 1642909

Yeah thats how my 6 creed tikka looks.

 

[jackieschmidt]

I never spent the money to bush my Rem 700 bolts. I feel it's just cosmetic and not a problem. Millions of Rem made that way.

Not just Remington.
At the first of last years Deer Season. One of our Club Members had a new Winchester model 70 in one of the higher end grades. It was a beautiful rifle.
He showed us his fired cases, (factory 270 Winchester), and the primer was cratered really bad and the firing pin strike was way off center.

As best I could measure at the range, I figured that pin had about .010 clearance over the pin.

However, It was a beautiful rifle.

 

[M-61]

Shoot them, providing it’s an accurate load.
Primer cratering, primer flattening are not indicative of high pressure.
Cratering has been explained in above posts. Flattening doesn’t indicate much when you understand what happens to the cartridge when fired.
Blowouts and punctured primers are two wake up calls. An ejector mark on the case also.
Your picture looks perfectly fine to me.
However in my world accuracy not speed is all that counts. Of course safety is always the first concern. You just have to know what to look for.