Is this normal?

[Hbomb11]

 

[Hbomb11]

So after doing some research I am coming to the conclusion there is definitely over pressure signs although they aren't extreme signs but you can see some smearing and can slightly see extrusion marks from the extractor recess. Ugh...this is really frustrating. I think after hunting seasoning I'm going to get the action trued and a bartlein barrel put on with muzzle brake. I got my elk hunt in 3 weeks and my only other rifle I could use atm is a bergara HMR 6.5 creedmoor that is heavy and not what I would call an elk caliber.

 

[manitou]

I believe I would go with the Creedmore and keep my face. Honestly, you could be one shot away from catastrophe.

 

[Stiletto150]

I have had a similar issue with 30WM factory Remington. They have a long freebore so I don't think you are touching the lands. I know from the skid marks on the bullet that you are catching it on the feed ramp. For me, this happens most often with the last load in the magazine. Kind of like single feeding. If I load the magazine with 2-3 rounds it often doesn't happen. Or if I work the bolt quick. I also had gouges running vertically at the base of the shoulder. I am working 210VLD's which might be longer but similar profile. Try to really..really clean the throat. That can cause excess chamber pressure too and fitment issues. You can really tell if you pull the firing pin and close the bolt on a round. You should have minimal pressure with factory loaded rounds. A gunsmith might be able to polish the chamber a little. Sending it to Remington probably wouldn't get it back in time for your hunt. A gunsmith with a borescope will be able to look at the neck and throat of your chamber and get some ideas of what's going on.

 

[Stiletto150]

FWIW. I don't see many extreme signs, but they are starting. If it's anything like my buddies 300WSM HSM loads, the chrono and brass showed the velocity close to book max. I would compare the other cartridges to see if that is normal wear for your extractor. Looks like you have a annular tooling mark that is imprinting on your cases as well.About a 1/4" from the bottom belt. It's probably on the 12 o'clock position in the chamber of your barrel.

 

[the444shooter]

looks like they're jamming into the lands from the marks around the circumference of the ogive, but the "tick" marks running from the tip down the side of the bullet can come simply from ejecting the round slowly as the bullet drags back against the chamber/ejection port on the action, and vice versa, from chambering slowly as well, skipping along the feed ramp into the chamber.

 

[freddiej]

from what you said about having to be forceful with the bolt to bet it closed, it is my educated deduction, your lead is insufficient for the slugs. Your slugs are hitting your lead. have a gunsmith ream your lead out about 0.020" so that your slugs are not touching the lead (forcing cone for the lands and grooves). this will eliminate the touching. the ring that you see on the slugs.

 

[tankgijohn72]

Shoot whatever loads you had that were grouping 1". Those pressure signs aren't bad. Are your bolt lifts heavy? If not, you are probably good to go. My guess is that Remington ran a finish reamer into your chamber. I had a 300 WM that I had to send back to them because it had very tight chamber, and that's what they told me they did to it. After that I had zero issues. (Agree with someone else that unlikely to have tight freebore. No Remington barrel I have is even close. My 308 is near a quarter of an inche). Brass shavings in the chamber/bolt face area can be very common with belted magnums. As you chamber a round the case runs over the sharp edge in the chamber recess cut for the belt. I load and shoot .243 to 35 whelen and there is always more brass on the 300 WM than any other cartridge.

 

[Hbomb11]

The bolt lifts aren't heavy after firing, just a little hard to close the bolt when loading ammunition. Cycles smooth otherwise.

 

[Bob Wright]

1. I've owned some Remingtons that needed polishing at the bottom of the receiver where the mag follower pushes the cartridge up to catch the bolt when going into battery. It causes linear scratches on the brass where there are sharp corners on receiver. The chatter marks on the bullet may be a polishing job also needed on the feed ramp in the breech. Simple fix on either.
2. If your bolt closes hard on new brass cartridges, I would have the chamber borescoped then inspect headspace by your gunsmith.
3. Remington has had extractor issues (breaking). I replaced mine with an M16 style. Look at your bolt face/extractor for debris and cracked extractor/loose or raised rivet interfering with cartridge head. Either could try to misalign the cartridge going into the chamber and feel "tight".
4. Send your spent cases to the gunsmith or new ammo if gunsmith wants it, along with rifle. He might want it for headspace inspection on the brass at shoulder to belt, and spent cartridge length.
5. If you have many rounds down range, build up of carbon in the chamber ahead of the cartridge neck, can be disastrous. Let the smith check yours out, as is, don't clean just yet. My son in law almost blew up his .243 because of lack of cleaning. (Im still ****ed.)
Let us know what you find....

 

[NEMTHunter]

The bolt lifts aren't heavy after firing, just a little hard to close the bolt when loading ammunition. Cycles smooth otherwise.

It would be interesting to see how your bolt would close on a go-gauge.

 

[duke75]

It's a wonder it hasn't pulled the bullet from the case. This is serious and will cause very high pressure. Do not shoot this rifle. Send it back.

 

[AZShooter]

I agree with Lefty that you should color the bullet with a sharpie and carefully slip it into the chamber. An alternative is to polish the jacket with fine steel wool. Carefully remove the round and look at the jacket under magnification. If it is contacting the lands it will have several evenly spaced rectangular or square marks all the way around the jacket near the ogive.

 

[tankgijohn72]

I agree with Lefty that you should color the bullet with a sharpie and carefully slip it into the chamber. An alternative is to polish the jacket with fine steel wool. Carefully remove the round and look at the jacket under magnification. If it is contacting the lands it will have several evenly spaced rectangular or square marks all the way around the jacket near the ogive.

Agreed, give that a shot. I think it is unlikely that you are hitting the rifling, but testing in this manner will prove it one way or another. If you aren't getting heavy bolt lifts then you aren't at a really high pressure. The main issue with the belted magnums is the headspacing. The rifle could headspace perfectly with a go/nogo gauge on a belted magnum gauge and the boltface to shoulder measurement be slightly short (take a look at the pic for headspace gauge. Its a forster, that's what I used rebarreling my win mags multiple times. It only checks boltface to belt and nothing else.) Using the marker method you can eventually determine where the interference is coming from whether it be the belt, shoulder, neck, bullet/lands.