Well gentlemen, I have MAJOR problem. Today, I got of work a little early so I decided to go home and size some brass. I got through a few pieces of neck sizing, and thought I would run one through my rifle and see if I needed FL size them or not. I try to keeping from working the brass to much by minimizing FL sizing to every 4 or 5 firings.
Sooo..... I put in a piece of Lapua Brass and go to cycle it, and it wouldn't chamber so I decided I would need to FL size them. When I went to eject the case, I ran into a MAJOR issue. My bolt handle snapped right off. I did not slam it closed, I did not beat on it to open it, I just popped right off in my hands.
Now if this had been a Remington, or another run of the mill action, I'd be upset, but not surprised. This is NOT a run of the mill action and was made by a VERY reputable custom action company. I'm not going to name what action this is, and if you recognize it please don't discuss how this company has been nothing but a let down for you, etc, etc. I've had nothing but good experiences with this company. Some of you already know who I'm talking about or have seen the rifle.
What I'm after here is someone with some bolt welding/soldering experience to give some expert opinions on what caused this. Pictures to follow.
Keep in mind, there are 80 rounds on this action in 6mm BR. None of which were loaded hot or even marginally hot. They were break in rounds for the barrel. Furthermore, the brass that is stuck in it was not fired and is not loaded, not even primed. It is a piece of raw 6BR Lapua brass, so it was not over pressured or anything of the like. It is not suffering from brass flow or bolt thrust.
EDIT: Rifle smithed by GAP. Bedded by Steve Long.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Anyways, here are the pictures. Your opinions please. Operator error or bad bolt joint? </span></span>
Sooo..... I put in a piece of Lapua Brass and go to cycle it, and it wouldn't chamber so I decided I would need to FL size them. When I went to eject the case, I ran into a MAJOR issue. My bolt handle snapped right off. I did not slam it closed, I did not beat on it to open it, I just popped right off in my hands.
Now if this had been a Remington, or another run of the mill action, I'd be upset, but not surprised. This is NOT a run of the mill action and was made by a VERY reputable custom action company. I'm not going to name what action this is, and if you recognize it please don't discuss how this company has been nothing but a let down for you, etc, etc. I've had nothing but good experiences with this company. Some of you already know who I'm talking about or have seen the rifle.
What I'm after here is someone with some bolt welding/soldering experience to give some expert opinions on what caused this. Pictures to follow.
Keep in mind, there are 80 rounds on this action in 6mm BR. None of which were loaded hot or even marginally hot. They were break in rounds for the barrel. Furthermore, the brass that is stuck in it was not fired and is not loaded, not even primed. It is a piece of raw 6BR Lapua brass, so it was not over pressured or anything of the like. It is not suffering from brass flow or bolt thrust.
EDIT: Rifle smithed by GAP. Bedded by Steve Long.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Anyways, here are the pictures. Your opinions please. Operator error or bad bolt joint? </span></span>
