**Reloading Safety Reminder**

[Steve Shelp]

I've got to agree with Darryl on wearing glasses. This was strongly re-enforced to me 2 weekends ago.

I was firing in my first ever F-Class match at Butner, NC in a 600yd 3 match Agg match and my 11th shot in the first match had a primer rupture (not a peircing from pressure but from a primer defect) on the edge of the primer. When the shot fired I saw the black smoke from the action and felt my face get peppered with particles. If you look at my eyeglasses now it looks like they got hit with a violent sandstorm on the left lens (I'm left handed). If I hadn't been wearing them...........

And this wasn't even testing loads. This is a known good load of H4831 and the same lot of primers that I've fired probably 300 primers out of already in 65F weather. I've fired this same loads for 2yrs in much hotter weather then 65F.
That one primer was defective somehow and cracked down the edge of it and allowed the gas to leak out a pin hole on the edge. It blow the ejector back into the bolt (which I haven't been able to get back out yet) and burnt the bolt face as Ian eluded to above with some gas cutting around the extractor also.

The only good thing was the shot was still an X to keep my perfect string going. Ended up with a 600-38X and finished 4th that day. I fired another 40+ rds after that primer rupture without incident using the same componets.

Always keep safety in mind!

Steve

 

[Mountain Man]

ok, so i'm thinking those vent holes in the bolt are sounding real good.

for those who have them, how'd you get them done- local smith, sent somewhere, etc- and what kind of prices are we looking at?

 

[Brent]

Here's the pic Tim sent me of his two vented bolts, notice one vents to the mag-well, and the other vents in front of the lug abutments.

Tim, can you measure the hole size? I can modify my bolts myself I'm sure.

[ 05-12-2003: Message edited by: Brent ]

 

[Mountain Man]

the one on the left looks like a standard remington bolt identical to both of my 700's. the one on the right i can see a difference, but what's there between the one on the left and both of mine?

 

[Tim Behle]

Look at the one on the left. see the little hole under the arrow? Maybe it was supposed to come with such a hole, but that one didn't. If the primer blew out or pierced, all of the gas vented at the back of the bolt.

Brent,
The holes on the M70 bolt ( right ) measure .1515

 

[Mountain Man]

yea, i see the hole, and both my 700 bolts have it. probably explains why i didnt get all kinds of stuff blown in my face when the primer blew the other day.

point for remington....

 

[Perkules]

Good reminder. Glad you´re okay. Ouch!

Too little powder has happened to me once, no fun either.Slow powder in a large case, do not go below minimum.Detonation is for real. Just experimenting...

 

[Brent]

Tim,
After thinking about it, I knew mine had a hole in it somewhere up there, and sure enough it was in the same place as on the left bolt of yours there.

My 721 and all my 700's have one there.

Question; Did your smith "maybe" forget to drill the holes where you asked him and you spotted that one thinking he put it in the wrong place?

I'm wondering why there is two holes in one of them and only one in the other, seems like he would have done them the same way if he did them both.

 

[Mountain Man]

...and, in addition to Brent's, what's your opinion on a second hole being drilled? that way theres one going in to the mag well and one in front of the lug abutments. safer yet, or not needed?

 

[Tim Behle]

The M70 bolt on the right, came like that from the factory. But there was no hole in the Rem 700 bolt until I took it to the Smith and ask him to drill one for me.

When I went to work the morning after burning my face and explained the marks to a dozen or more co workers, one of them asked me if I had a vented bolt? I wasn't sure what he was talking about so the next morning, I brought in my bolt, and he brought in one of his. He had the two holes, and that is what I had hoped for, but must not have explained well to the smith. ( There may be some reason I'm not aware of why you shouldn't drill two holes in a Remington bolt )

The single hole works well, but I still get a little blow back at the end of the bolt. I've pierced primers with the M70 bolt, and didn't know it until seeing the ejected brass.

 

[Brent]

Tim,
Was your coworkers bolt a Remington with two holes, or a Winchester? My sons Winchester has two vents like your too.

I think the number of holes behind the bolt head and locking lugs probably don't matter to strength or function at all... unless you got real carried away it might affect function, all the strength is in the bolt head itself, the body is just a carrier.

I also think that another hole or two that vented down the front of the mag well would relieve alot of pressure coming out of the forward hole, the one that puts crap back in your face. The forward hole would definately save the bottom metal from blowing off in a real serious over pressure situation, but hey, it's your face or the stock and bottom metal! You choose.

When my M14 blew up, it was "real" ugly in the mag area, that was a full casehead and lower bolthead failure though. You could stick your finger through the hole in the case at the bottom rear of it, that blew the bottom of the bolt off and down through the loaded mag, splitting the stock front AND rear, top and bottom, bending the op rod, barrel and cracking the inside of action... Lucky it vented DOWN! Springfield Armory replaced the whole barreled action for $600 too, after they magnafluxed the action and found hailine fractures in it.

I did have problems with the vent hole on a Rem 700 in 300WM, it needed to be chamfered, as it would catch on the cartridge belt and stop the bolt of the top round with all the pressure it had against it, this only happened whan the mag was full and you opened the bolt to try and chamber the top round. Chamfering the hole real good was all it needed though.