Welllll….I took it to a gunsmith today. A guy that comes highly recommended and that I've used in the past. He was shocked at the condition of the chamber. He said he'd never seen a custom gun like that, maybe a Remington 700. Lol.
He believes that the brass is flowing into the rings and they're binding it when the bolt lifts. He's not sure he can salvage the barrel but he's going to chase it with his reamer by hand, then hand polish it.
Not sure if that's the issue, but the chamber was in such bad shape he said he wouldn't do anything to the gun before that was corrected. I'm pretty **** upset, but I'm glad it's in good hands.