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Gunsmithing KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

P

Pacrat77j

Private
Minuteman
Aug 16, 2011
5
0
48
DFW, Texas
#1
Please bear with me on terminology and as I am a gun nut, but a gun dummy.
Got a complete 6.5mm upper last week and had problems right out of the box, but nothing too uncommon as I have found from research....until today. Only about 14 rounds total through the thing with about 6 or so FTF's (jammed on feed ramps, fairly common from what i have read and fixable) but today on shot #3, the bolt didnt close completely, but still fired...and Boom!. Mag shot onto the table, dissasembled and destroyed but no immediate visible damage to me or the gun. Stopped shooting, brought the gun home and began to inspect and found this crack in the left feed ramp. Dont know if this was the cause or the effect (any thoughts?) and being one that purchases assembled, am I screwed or can the lug be replaced? Oh yeah, using factory ammo and some reloads built by a buddy (knows what he is doing and was shooting the same stuff that day) [img:left]
rampcrack.jpg
[/img]
 
#2
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

Sounds like a bore obstruction to me. Due to the design of the bolt, it is impossible for the firing pin to reach the primer on the cartridge unless the bolt has rotated into the barrel extension. The blowing out of the magazine is a tell tale sign of a bore obstruction.
 
#3
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

That barrel extension is split all the way down the side.
One more shot and maybe the receiver will banana peel too.
You won't be able to swap barrel extensions (the part with the lugs) because there's no standardization with regard to timing.
Consider yourself lucky and buy a new barrel.
 
#4
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

If rounds were jamming on the feed ramp you could have had a bullet set back, which would obviously raise pressures. Was the ammo your buddy loaded crimped? I could see saving the barrel with a new barrel extension, but the gas port would need to be re-drilled and the existing one plugged. Just tap the existing one and use a set screw to plug it.
 
#5
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

Call the manufacturer, tell them that you have a problem. DO NOT use the word reload, call them hand loads. See what the manufacturer suggests. Your barrel extension has cracked, and your rifle has fired out of battery.
 
#6
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

I don't advise lying about what kind of ammo you were using. That said, the manufacturer is almost certainly NOT going to warranty that thing - which YOU almost certainly broke by using your buddies ammo.

As an avid ammo-maker myself, I accept responsibility for any damage my weapons incur. Its on me.
 
#7
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

this is exactly why i refuse to reload ammo for other people i have never had a incident but i dont want to have the liability for hurting a friend or worse a friends kid with that said call the manufacturer be honest and have them replace any damaged parts

fwiw glad you are ok
 
#8
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

Talked to the manufacturer this morning and they are providing a full replacement under warranty as the gun is Iess less than 2 weeks old.. Told them exactly what happened and what I was using so that they can asses this extreme situation. Didn't need to lie, but thanks anyway turbo. Got it at model 1, and they were extremely helpful and their service has been awesome. Thanks for the help SH guys and keep em shootin straight.
 
#10
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

Lucky all around I'd say. First, you had an extreme failure and didn't get hurt. Second, Model 1 gave you CS above and beyond.
Also, I would think the same as mscott. It appears a bullet was jammed into the case and caused a very large pressure spike.
 
#11
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

JFComfort said:
What cartridge were ya shooting? [/quo

Lapua Brass, 123gn lapua Scenario JHP, 30.3gn 2520 powder when it went bang. Tried hornaday brass and 123 amax's prior to those and had crazy feeding problems. Mainly feed ramp hangers
Click to expand...
 
#12
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

Seems to me you should have contacted Model 1 first before posting here. They took more than care of you. I guess it is a good post for rubberneckers who want to see a KABOOM... it sure got me to look

Glad everyone is ok, and you should give Model 1 some type of Amazing feedback because I can't beleive they would warranty something that blew up using handloads...

Dave
 
#13
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

I never said lie to the manufacturer, I simply said to call them hand loads and not reloads.

Reloads have a negative connotation to them whereas if you say handload it does not have the negative connotation that reloads do.
 
#14
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

It sounds like the company that makes all of there barrels made a mistake or use substandard barrel extensions. I am happy to hear no one got hurt.
 
#15
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

Thanks guys. All is good aside from digging a few small metal shards out of my face. On to the next gun I guess. So many calibers, so little time. Been a troll on this forum for a while, but needed help and got some so its time to return the favor. Thanks again to those who helped.

Jay
 
#16
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

If you had a bore obstruction you might have a ring inside your barrel. Is your extractor bent? If so you likely had an out of battery round go off.

I had something similar shooting my M16-A2 rifle ( full auto) using a "friends" reloads. We shot up all of my ammo and he had maybe one clip of his ammo he wanted to shoot up. That one mag is the one that went kaboom with similar results. No damage to the barrel or carrier. One bent extractor and ejector and spring was flattened out. It blew the bottom of the mag and the floor plate, spring and loose rounds ejected out the bottom.

The only thing I can find in hind sight were his primers we not seated flush and either slam fired from the bolt face or the ding the firing pin makes on chambering. I had an AWC CQB suppressor on the gun and that out of battery firing was loud as hell.
 
#18
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

I don't see how Model 1 could dispute the use of reloads since there is no commercialy available ammo in 6.5 Sporter or any published load/pressure data available for the cartridge.
 
#21
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

If they end up replacing it, before you go shooting the new one take a look at the feed ramps and polish them out so the upper receiver and the barrel extension ramps line up properly and are smoothed out. That may be part of your feeding problem. I'm also not sure how you know the bolt wasn't fully forward and you still attempted to fire the rifle??? Not a good thing to do. If the ammo was tight and the bolt doesn't cam over, resize the brass until it does. Oversize ammo in the AR's just don't work.
 
#23
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

I would also recommend making sure that your buddy is full length sizing all of the brass. I have had issues with my AR bolts closing all the way on brass that was only FL sized 90% of the way because of the die setup. I was lucky enough to pull the round out instead of pulling the trigger though.

My advice - If something doesn't look right with the loaded firearm, it is best to yank the round and try the next. Set the round aside and run some comparisons on it when you get home.

Glad you weren't seriously hurt!
 
#24
Re: KABOOM Today...with damage, please help.

Shooting your buddy's handload when it happened, weren't you?

Didn't think to check his resizing with a gauge?

A quality built rifle is going to have a go-gauge plus .001", or less oal chamber. Your buddy may have some rack grade gun with much longer chamber.

His round likely chambered tight before bolt closed 100% and the firing pin indent fired the primer. Do ya know if he was using mil-spec or hard primer in his loads?

Don't Ever Shoot Another guys loads in your gun...
 
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