Just had my Rem700 .308w finished and got a major problem. Using Lapua brass and 44gr Varget with 168 Berger or heavier I get a belt formed at the base of the cartridge. Only one person I've spoken to says it's probably caused by too much gap between the nose of the bolt and the back of the barrel. Has anyone else had this problem. This is driving me nuts.
P.S Problem doesent seem as bad with the lighter projectiles

give it back to the smith and tell him to do it properly .. DO NOT FIRE IT AGAIN

If you're blowing a belt into your cases, you are generating pressures way, way up there. I'd check for your lugs having been set back, pulled forward or otherwise buggered from spec. That gun might be compromised. It might now be a study aid in gunsmithin' school...

I think the guy who put your rifle together made a rather large mistake.

Find a another gunsmith, a "good" one if you can...

quote:

Originally posted by homebrewer:
If you're blowing a belt into your cases, you are generating pressures way, way up there. I'd check for your lugs having been set back, pulled forward or otherwise buggered from spec. That gun might be compromised. It might now be a study aid in gunsmithin' school...

or the barrel is installed wrong .. read his post.. newly rebarreled ... if it was a huge pressure issue, it woudl likely NOT OPEN

newly rechambered with a 350 rem cutter on a 308 bbl?
send it back with a couple of fired cases.

Probably a combination of the brass and the barrel being improperly fit, with a too-large space between the front of the bolt and the rear of the barrel.

The dreaded 'Sako extractor conversion' for the Rem rifles was instituted because the PPC brass being used by the Benchresters was expanding into the gap described, due to the internal dimensions of the powder chamber in the brass at the case head. EXACTLY as described above except that the truly high pressure reloads used by the Benchresters were actually blowing out the case walls. The length of the issue Rem bolt head was actually almost as deep as the powder chamber in the case and, in the instance of the PPC brass, it was TOO deep.

Set the barrel back to obtain minimum clearance and then rechamber. Different brass might help but the rifle needs correction.
Regards, Joe

JD,

didn't you get the updates?

It is now:

1. You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to roll over on his back and float that might lead you to drink.

2. You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.

just thought you'd want to know...

Rich
DRSS

This seems to be another of those problems where a person has to actually view the rifle and cartridges to diagnose the situation.

My initial reaction, which may well be wrong, is to suspect both the rifle and the cartridges.

That is a healthy load, so let me ask...have you fired some of the same lot of brass with all the same load and components, bullets seated to the same depth, in any other .308 rifle? How does the brass look then? (I'd guess "okay", unless for some reason you have the bullets seated deeper in the cases for this particular rifle chamber and magazine.)

If it isn't an ammo problem in other rifles, then it MUST be a "this rifle" problem. In that case, I wouldn't even suggest trying to figure out what specifically the problem is. Just return the rifle to the gunsmith and say "Here is what is happening. Here are some sample fired cases and some sample loaded ammo. This is not acceptable. How do YOU (meaning the gunsmith) plan to make it right?"

Diagnosis and repair are not YOUR problem, they are his.

I tend to agree with JD Steele. I have seen this episode once in a friend's custom chambered 338 - 284. The gunsmith had not set the barrel fully back into the action & the gap between the barrel shank & the bolt face was enough to force the brass out into a belt. The new & good gunsmith found a 0.015 inch error! The problem was that he also got a ruptured case & gas blow back along with sharp debris from his Sako fiberglass stock which cut his face. Lucky he did not loose an eye.

Get it fixed at once by a different and RELIABLE smith.

One guy decided to fireform 300 Win Mag brass into a rimmed case.



If your gun is creating belts on the bottom of your cases, something is real unsafe.

It's a gonner.....

To repeat what's already been said, you have a problem and could easily end up with a case head seperation which no-one will enjoy! The gunsmith made and error, which happens, but this one is dangerous. Talk to him and see what his attitude is. Ask him to test fire it after correction adn show you cases. If his attitude is crap, send it to someone else. I have done a lot of rebarreling and headspaceing. It's too critical to make a big mistake, but see what he says. Go from there.