Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing High pressure reloads?

Had a guy bring in a tikka t3 in 300 wsm with a stuck case in the chamber said it may have been do to high pressure. The taps with a brass cleaning rod would not touch the stuck case normally this will do the trick. Next plan of action was to remove the barrel. This didn't go so well when the barrel broke free it turned very hard and actually wiped about half of the threads off the barrel. Once the barrel was off I decided to still try and remove the case. I could actually turn the case partially but it still would not come out of the chamber. The other method I have used cuttin the base of the chamber off and filling the case with ceresafe and tapping it out but the case still is in there. Even though the barrel is for all intensive perposes ruined I still would like to remove it to see the damage.
The action threads are gulled but look like the may clean up Okay with the right tools but the lugs set back into the reciever I did not measure how much but it is significant.
Question is how much pressure would this have taken? Guessing this is not the first time this guy has had a case stuck in the rifle and part of me thinks he may have been intentionally trying to blow it up? Could all of this damage happened from one rodeo?
Should the action be salvaged? Could the barrel have bulged causing the action and barrel to weld together? What could have made the treads wipe off the barrel?

Sounds like it bulged the barrel, leaving the case mechanically locked in the chamber. If it bulged in the threaded area, that explains the thread damage. The action is probably junk at this point IMO.

Has anyone esle seen a bulged barrel in the chamber area? It does make sense that it could cause the threads to pull.

I have seen this a few times. Usually, it was the result of a double charge of bullseye or something similar in a cast bullet load. Also seen it happen with the use of the wrong powder (substituting 4227 for 4320, in one instance).
In one Ruger 77 (30/06), the chamber was bulged but the action was fine. The owner swore he was too careful to have double charged one. I re-barreled it and was two months before he returned with another case stuck in the chamber. I removed the barrel and gave it back to him that way; with the case still in the chamber.
If the barrel and action are stainless, galling of threads is not uncommon as stainless has a real affinity for itself. If the lugs are set back, the receiver has been stress beyond the limits of the material and I would not use it. GD

Had someone bring me a ruger 77 300 win.. Barrel was bulged 80 tho but the threads in the action were ok..it printed the lugs...I had it die checked and recut/lapped the lugs trues up the threads and fitted him up with a new barrel...
The thing screwed apart ok and the case came out after the barrel was removed,

Nasty -- if the lugs set back, that's it for all the metal involved, I'd not try to "save" any of it. T O A S T.

Galling ---

Has anyone tried potions like Permatex or Caterpillar Come on stainless to stainless barrel installations? I never thread anything naked anyway, it's either loctited, oiled or sealanted, and furthermore don't have any stainless actions with stainless barrels just because of the potential gall issue.

If the chamber is expanded and the base is intact it
probably could be knocked out with a drill rod that fits the bore. Should be about like a lee loader.

Yup, I'd cut the action in 1/2 with a bandsaw to keep some as a momento of what happens when too much of the wrong powder gets used.

Never ceases to amaze me when somebody get a RCH away from blowing up an action they think nothing of rebarrelling and trying again...

I would autopsy the receiver and keep the cut-up parts on display with a plaque labelled "stupid" below it. No way I'd ever put my face behind a receiver after it's been done like that.