Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing HELP ammo malfunction

I am not sure where to put this so I am posting in several lists.
I went to the shooting range last week to sight in my new (to me) scope on my late 80's PF model 70 Winchester in 300 H&H Magnum using factory Remington 180gr Core-lokt.
1st round OK pulled case and checked the primer because I was going to shot a few reloads later so I wanted a few factory primers first.
2nd round fires "OK" as bullet hit target and had moved in direction it should have, didn't check primer on second and went straight to 3rd
3rd round gun "fires" but my face is "brushed" by something and smoke all around face. Back my head off gun and thick white smoke coming from all gaps around action. Open bolt and the front of the bolt and locking lugs are "black" with soot as is the case. I pulled bolt and could see that the bolt face has been pitted/flame cut.
I was shooting FACTORY Remington ammo that was in very good condition so the question is -
How bad is it?
What can I do about it?
Do I file a claim against Remington?
Thanks,
Andy

P.S.
I have been shooting for over 30 years and have done some competition shooting as well as a lot of reloading so I am not a rookie at this but first time for something like this.

left to right 1-3


left to right 1-3


2nd round


3rd round


bolt face with ptting/cutting


bolt face with pitting/cutting

If it is a factory rifle and factory ammo. Then I would have the head space checked and it if is right then talk to Remington about some sort of compensation. If the head space is not right then it is time to talk to Winchester. Remington has been having some ammo quality issues.
PS I wouldn't shoot it again until head space is checked.

I reload for it and I have not seen anything in the cases to make me think the head space is off/wrong, no backed out primers, over stretched cases, or separation. When sizing the cases, they size easy with no sizing marks. Never had any hard/stiff closing bolts.
Andy
Andy

All I am saying is get your ducks in a row before you go after Remington. Before they will do anything beyond replacing the ammo they will want to know the state of the rifle. And yes I agree it is faulty ammo. They will want what is left back for testing. I have been down this road before with a bad lot of WW ammo.

In the picture of the 3rd. case, it looks like there are two small holes in the primer. If so, this is probably where the gas came from.

I had some Rem. primers a long time ago, and they did the very same thing. I sent some of the fired primers to Rem. and was told that they were trying a new type of forming die, or something, and the new process was causing a weakness in the primer cup.

The gas did pit my bolt face, but not to the extent yours is pitted. Rem. said they would repair any damage, but the pits were so small I didn't think they would hurt anything.

From your experience, it looks like Rem. is going back to the old way that made defective primers.

I realize that flattened primers are not the best way to determine pressure, but yours do not seem to have been subjected to excess pressure. I think the primer cup is defective.

Something is going on in the case, whether it is bad primers, powder or even over crimped bullets. It looks like excessive pressure caused the primer cup to fail and blow out the rear of the case before the bullet got out of the barrel, definitely a weak spot there in the ammo. I see it as the case gave way before other symptoms would show, like flattened primer, hard ejection or stretched case.

I would definitely contact remington, check for lot numbers of recalled ammo, try to date the ammo from lot number on box, and photo document (as it looks like you have already) the evidence before something gets "lost" in your case and you are left with a damaged rifle and nothing to show for it.....

Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a qualified 'smith check your rifle over for dimensionality and any unforseen damage, and document that as well, keeping records of your expenses.

It looks to me like there's a corrosion issue or something with the primers. My bet would be on the ammo being old and/or from a lot with already known issues. To be safe, I would not shoot any more and I'd not reload the brass. I'd maybe send the 3 empty's back to Remington and the rest of what you have unfired though.

I'm not at all familiar with 300 H&H cases. Curious though why the primer anvil is lodged in the flash hole of the one case. I've never seen a flash hole large enough for that to happen.
Might compare that case to one from another lot.

The anvil is not stuck in the primer pocket. It's stuck in what remains of the primer cup. That's part of why this looks kind of like a corrosion problem.

I had the same problem with some Rem 270W ammo