bullet stuck in barrel from camming in the lands and grooves

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LocoGringo

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Ok, today I went to the range and shot my bolt action .308 for the first time in 3.5 years. I'm very disappointed it has sat idle for so long, but it was great to get it out and fire away.

I had something happen that has never happened before. I had to open a new batch of rounds that I had loaded years ago and every one of them had to be cammed into place with the bolt. I only shot about 6 of those rounds and had loaded the 7th when I wanted to unload and check something. I tried to unload, but the bolt was stuck in place. I muscled it out, but only the brass came out while the bullet was lodged in the chamber. I knew what had happened and am curious how bad/dangerous this situation is.

Obviously, for this batch, I loaded the rounds too long and the camming of the bolt is forcing the actual bullet into the lands and grooves. Since it's a bolt action, I'm not crimping the round, but it was forced into the barrel enough to overcome the neck tension and pull the bullet from the case when unloading.

What is the tool called to measure overall length from the ogive rather than the tip of the bullet? I think it's a comparator, right? Any recommendations for one for a .308? I'm shooting 175 grain Sierra Matchkings over Varget and it's really accurate. Thanks for any help and suggestions you can provide.
 
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For checking bullets, or shoulder position, or OAL to the ogive, just add the correct insert.
p_749002552_1.jpg

https://www.sinclairintl.com/reload...insert-style-bullet-comparator-prod34014.aspx

https://www.sinclairintl.com/reload...ools/sinclair-bump-gage-insert-prod35265.aspx

https://www.sinclairintl.com/reload...rts/bullet-comparator-inserts-prod126648.aspx


Bump tool body,
.22, 6MM, & .30 caliber bullet comparator inserts,
30 degree shoulder bump gauge insert.
index.php
 
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Thank you for the replies and guidance. How dangerous was the situation I was creating? The rifle is a Savage 10FP with a Rock Creek barrel the size of a truck axle.
 
How dangerous was the situation I was creating?
This is how I explain it.... Remember when you were a kid and you rode bicycles ? At some point in that career a buddy dared you to climb a curb stone. With the front wheel resting against the curb, it was impossible. Try as you might, there simply wasn't enough energy for the job. However, as soon as you backed off the curb and were able to get "a running start", climbing the curb became not only do-able but fairly easy.

So when a bullet is jammed into the lands, it's the same as having the bike's wheel against the curb. Accomplishing the feat simply takes an immense amount of energy. There's no doubt about the primer igniting or the powder burning. When you pull the trigger chamber pressure WILL be created... and it's going to go somewhere. The question is "Where will the pressure go ??" It may push the bullet down the barrel, but it can just as likely escape to the rear into the shooter's face. That's the risk you take.

Hope this helps.
 
I know guys that load their rounds with the bullets into the rifling, but they worked their loads up to work this way. I never saw the wisdom of the practice but doing it isn't unheard of.

If all you did was seat the bullets, seat them a little deeper.

What I used to do, before I got the tool that I can't remember the name of either, I'd load a dummy round and cover the bullet with a black sharpie. Chamber the round, extract it and see if the bullet engaged the rifling. Rinse and repeat until you have your bullet seated where you want it. This method won't give you any data save for overall length with those bullets, but it will work with your rifle.
 
Rock Creek barrel the size of a truck axle.
Don't fool yourself into thinking that heavy barrel is going to hold back any hotter a load than a sporter barrel would. If you're cramming the bullet into the lands it doesn't matter how heavy your barrel is. When you light off that cartridge the pressure is built on only one end of that "truck axle" and the bolt is holding it closed. That last inch of the barrel at the muzzle end only sees full pressure for a millisecond while the bolt has been holding back thousands of PSI since the get-go.
 
@LocoGringo

My advice would be to get back to basics. Re- familiarize yourself with a reloading manual and start from the beginning so you can follow the linear process of safe load development.

I say this with no intent to be condescending, so please don’t take it that way.

The problem you have encountered and questions you’re asking indicate that there’s something fundamental missing in your knowledge of reloading
 
Another tool that I use to measure the OAL to the lands/bullet ogive juncture is the RCBS Precision Mic. Very accurate. Very repeatable. Quite simple.
https://www.rcbs.com/case-prep/measure/353735.html
Yep, a very good tool.

Here's something similar by Whidden for measuring a case's shoulder position.
Whidden 6 Dasher Case Guage.JPG

But it can be a cheap "gauge" like my home made bump gauge for measuring shoulder position.
308 Shoulder Gauge Pic 3.JPG
 
@LocoGringo

My advice would be to get back to basics. Re- familiarize yourself with a reloading manual and start from the beginning so you can follow the linear process of safe load development.

I say this with no intent to be condescending, so please don’t take it that way.

The problem you have encountered and questions you’re asking indicate that there’s something fundamental missing in your knowledge of reloading
I get what you're saying Nature Boy. I haven't loaded any ammo for over a year and a half and the ammo I did load was pistol rather than rifle. As I said, this is the first time I've shot this particular rifle for about 3 years and 8 months (I finally remembered when I last shot it), so the ammo loaded is older than that and I haven't loaded ammo for this rifle for a long time. It's been a while and I've forgotten a lot since I haven't used it. You're right, I will "get back to basics" before ramping up for production again. I've first got to reset my reloading room as I've moved twice since loading ammo the last time. Before I begin production again, I'll definitely refresh the memory. It's more an issue of forgetting knowledge than not knowing in the first place. I do know that I didn't use a crimp on this ammo, so I can just reset the depth after I find the correct depth. The bullet is only being held by neck tension.

I also understand that the pressure build is exponential rather than linear, so it could have been a big problem.

@TonyAngel
That process you describe to find seating depth is exactly what I did to initially find my seating depth. This is the only batch I had a problem with, so it's not a common problem I had.

Thank you all again for the responses. I'm still learning. I definitely have to refresh, but I wanted to find out the tools that would keep this from happening again.
 
I'm still learning. I definitely have to refresh, but I wanted to find out the tools that would keep this from happening again.

I remember something I read from a fellow here on THR who said something to the affect, “..I’m new to reloading, I’ve only been doing it for 30 years, I’ve still got a lot to learn”

.308 is probably the easiest since there’s so much data out there. You should have a set of calipers as a basic tool in your reloading toolbox. Start by measuring the over all cartridge length. If it’s ~2.800 you won’t be sticking it into the lands.

Do you have a reloading manual?
 
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