Blowing primers screwing custom guns up.

[RobertB]

Second time this has happened. I'm not a gunsmith but I have a small bit of knowledge of how they work. KEY WORD: Small. Once with my .260 and now with my .308. I picked up a case of the Hornady superformance 178 BTHP to try out of my 20" young guns built 308' Bartlein bbl-Rem M700 action if that matters. The gun has over 700 rnds of very accurate shots since it came to be new unfired. It has been taken care of and the only ammo shot from it has been SW 175 and FGMM 175. The hold same zero and trajectory for me as well. The Hornady shot great for the first few boxes then we were out at any distance from 100 yds to 1000 yds shots would all be .5 MOA and then a flyer or two like 5-7 MOA above the target. Then the last shot out of a box blows a primer. Now the gun is harder to chamber and very hard to extract either loaded ammo or a spent case. I don't know what it is. Maybe a small piece of primer somewhere I can't see like the lug area in the action? The 260 still doesn't shoot with live ammo and the same thing happened to it. Took it to GAP and they fixed it, I shot it in Kansas and all was fine, took it home and it doesn't work. When a case is in it it it seems like the firing pin drags to a slow hault when it reaches the primer. The .308 is doing this sometimes but not all the time. I loaded some of the SW Ammo 175 back in it and it won't fire say 2-3 rounds of a 20 rnd box. But it is super hard to remove either.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME?

THe superformance sounds like it could happen with the extra speed but the SW did it with the .260. I'm still a big fan of the SW ammo though. I've shot over 1K rounds of it since then with no issue with my .308. Only 100 rnds from my .260 since it was fixed and when I tried to shoot it it doesn't fire at all.

Whats the primers doing to the rifles when they blow? SInce this has happened twice I won't to know if it's something I'm not doing like maybe chamber cleaning or bbl cleaning. Neither gun has been cleaned like most people do I imagine. My GAP 6.5 Creedmoor is 1000 rounds right and never been cleaned but is still very sub MOA, Surgeon .260 is about 500-600 rounds since cleaning and is very sub MOA as with the .308. It's about 700 rnds and never been cleaned. SUper accurate. Maybe yall can tell I don't like cleaning them. LOL Can this be my problem? None are realy dirty. They all stayed in cases and still do.

 

[BoilerUP]

Friend had a similar deal with 223 Superformance in a 700 VTR.

Call Hornady, they'll make it right.

 

[RobertB]

Did it mess up his rifle?

 

[Wannashootit]

What caught my eye was your comment about the FP "dragging"...

What do your primer strikes look like?

This theory is beyond my pay grade, but is it possible enough crud/fouling from the blown primer got into the bolt assembly and is causing the FP to drag?

Did you strip and clean the bolt? Lowlight has a vid on how to do it with your bootlace...

 

[BoilerUP]

Thankfully no...IIRC he had a case head separation with varmint-weight 223 Superformance after no issues with standard V-Max ammo. Hornady paid for him to ship his rifle and the rest of his ammo to them, so in-house gunsmiths could evaluate it. They probably wanted to see if there was a headspace or other issue too...

In the end, he got his rifle back with a clean bill of health and Hornady compensated him for his trouble beyond his expectation (dunno specifics).

 

[RobertB]

I removed it and I t looks like it did before. I will check into that vid right now. Thanks, hoping it will be something simple like that.

 

[buffybuster]

Strip the bolt, clean the FP tunnel, lube the lugs, cocking cam, bolt shroud threads. Also check the extractor and ejector for bits of brass. Brush out the chamber and throat.

 

[RobertB]

Strip the bolt, clean the FP tunnel, lube the lugs, cocking cam, bolt shroud threads. Also check the extractor and ejector for bits of brass. Brush out the chamber and throat.

Will do that. Hope that will do it. What exactly is the cocking cam? DO I have to take extractor/ejector apart? I have the Sinclair rem bolt tool set so I probably have most everything to check it out.

 

[Shoalwater]

Strip the bolt, clean the FP tunnel, lube the lugs, cocking cam, bolt shroud threads. Also check the extractor and ejector for bits of brass. Brush out the chamber and throat.

^^^^^^^^
This is what I would try first, if that doesn't work take it to a smith.

 

[Dirty D]

and Hornady compensated him for his trouble beyond his expectation (dunno specifics).

I sent some soft brass back to Hornady and they FedEx'd me brand new brass the next day, they sent me back alot more cases than I sent them. When I called them about their mistake they said it wasn't a mistake and the free brass was for my trouble. If it's their issue, Hornady will make it right.

 

[xcDave15]

I'd be willing to bet your ejector plunger is stuck, probably from a piece of primer or crud that got in the hole around it. I had a similar thing happen to one of my 700 bolt's from wolf ammo (the laquor or whatever they coat it with melted off and then re-hardened in strings in the ejector hole)

Take the bolt apart and clean the whole thing, soak the bolt face in a cleaner or wd40 and manually work the plunger with a punch, then get needle nose pliers and pull out whatever crud/primer pieces you see. repeat until the plunger moves without much pressure

 

[RobertB]

I'd be willing to bet your ejector plunger is stuck, probably from a piece of primer or crud that got in the hole around it. I had a similar thing happen to one of my 700 bolt's from wolf ammo (the laquor or whatever they coat it with melted off and then re-hardened in strings in the ejector hole)

Take the bolt apart and clean the whole thing, soak the bolt face in a cleaner or wd40 and manually work the plunger with a punch, then get needle nose pliers and pull out whatever crud/primer pieces you see. repeat until the plunger moves without much pressure

Did this and I think I got it. I will try to test fire in the next few days. I think it's going to work because of how much easier it is to get a round out of the chamber. Something has definitely been changed. Thanks a lot guys. I will keep a close eye on this area from now on.

 

[xcDave15]

Keep us updated!

 

[RTK]

. Neither gun has been cleaned like most people do I imagine. My GAP 6.5 Creedmoor is 1000 rounds right and never been cleaned but is still very sub MOA, Surgeon .260 is about 500-600 rounds since cleaning and is very sub MOA .

I would do as buffybuster suggested, but would also start a better maintenance and cleaning program. There is no way I would ever let a barrel go 1000 rounds without cleaning, let alone other maintenance for that time period.

 

[RobertB]

I would do as buffybuster suggested, but would also start a better maintenance and cleaning program. There is no way I would ever let a barrel go 1000 rounds without cleaning, let alone other maintenance for that time period.

I normally do clean more often but this was a test rifle. testing 2 rifles in that department. A 6.5 Creedmoor and a .308. 1/4MOA was still easy with 1000 rnds down a tube that was NEVER broken in or cleaned in the 6.5 CM. The 308 still hasn't dropped off with it's regular diet ammo (175 FGMM& 175 SW ammo) I have cleaned the 6.5 CM now at 1000 rnds and it has changed none. Maintenance is usually done on my rifles and these now will see it regularly. I will clean the bore on the 308 tonight and shoot it tomorrow to verify that the problem is fixed. I keep my actions as protected and cleaned as much as possible so these guns aren't dirty anywhere but in the bore. I am very surprised how many rounds these Bartliens can take. Both of these bbls are Bartleins as they are what I plan to be shooting other than Kreigers. I will post my results tomorrow if testing happens. THanks guys.

 

[scotharr]

Blowing primers is an indication of TOO MUCH PRESSURE. Stop using the Hornady Super-exploding-primer ammo. It's not any more complicated than that. Now, your firing pin problem may be related to a piece of the blown primer getting stuck in the firing pin raceway. You should always remove the firing pin and clean this area thoroughly after a blown primer.

 

[Jedi]

You should always remove the firing pin and clean this area thoroughly after a blown primer.

+1 or suffer like op did

 

[RobertB]

+1 or suffer like op did

Tomorrow we will find out if the problem is truly solved like I think it is. I found nothing in the bolt at all but something must have came out as once it was put back together it works much better.

I stopped using the superformance right after this happened. And blowing primers doesn't mean a load is to hot ALL THE TIME. I have blown 2 other primers on guns/loads that have been shot a thousand times. Might have more of a firing pin/primer problem than a pressure problem. THe superformance I believe was a pressure problem though. It started sending rounds like 10MOA high ever shot or two. Even at 300 yds the problem was very noticeable by missing a large piece of steel. I went from a hit at 700ish then to 300 and missed over the top by 10MOA. Knew something was wrong. For now on, anytime I see this behavior like this I will know to back off. Shooting a hot bbl might have been the final straw too. I have always shot the 175 FGMM as will continue to but bought a case of the superformance to see how much better it was. The first several boxes I shot showed much better ballistic curve, wind drift and accuracy was just about as good as the FGMM. I hate that it won't work out. I will keep the rest of the ammo to put back and might work well in some of my other .308's for something like the occasional paper match I might shoot in or loaning some one my rifle for doing the same. Now I am also scared to use any of the cases of 6.5 CM superformance in my GA Precision Bolt Gun. I bought it for my hunting ammo and feel like the amax will be my hunting round as it shoots fine and safe. Thanks guys. Will post results/report back tomorrow as far as firing problem and accuracy check after such a long no clean/break in life.

 

[kyshootnman]

I had a brand new 700p in 300 wm that wouldn't extract properly and the bolt was very stiff to close. I went ahead and replaced the extractor and it fixed the problem. Just something else to check. Make sure the extractor is in the groove in the bolt face and not bent.