http://www.ronspomeroutdoors.c...ock-wrong-cartridge/

An excerpt from Spomer's article. He re-worked this either from or for the print article I read last fall. He's quite a good writer & certainly can have a little fun with his mistakes...

"Even more danger results when the wrong bullet diameter (caliber) is fired. I once, in a fit of distraction and stupidity, stuck a 7mm-08 Remington in a Dakota #10 rifle chambered for a .25-06 Remington. It went bang, no hole appeared in the paper target, and the chronograph displayed 400 fps more velocity than it had for two previous rounds. When I opened the action, the primer fell out. The head was black with soot, and when my befuddled brain finally read and comprehended the 7mm-08 Rem. stamped in the brass head, I about jumped off the bench.

Fortunately the .284-inch Hornady SST bullet I’d fired was soft enough to squeeze down the .257-inch bore without splitting the barrel. And the massive Dakota falling breech block was strong enough to contain the pressures. There is no belt on the 7mm-08 Rem., but it and the .25-06 are made from the same .30-06 parent case. The body taper alone is sufficient to hold them securely enough for a firing pin to work. The scary thing about this is that the .308 Winchester, .338 Federal and .358 Winchester are also built on that same case. I doubt any barrel would stay in one piece while those substantially larger diameter bullets tried wriggling down a .257-inch hole."

Good to know that sometimes luck is on a guy's side!

friar

It's amazing that it seems that "most" of the wrong ammo fired in a rifle doesn't turn the guns into shrapnel. I've heard of three instances of 338 Win being chambered in a 300 Wby and fired without bursting anything, but the strangest one that I personally saw the effect of was many years ago (50) in Anchorage. A Sako 7mag was brought into the gunsmith with the action locked up. The bolt would NOT open. After some difficulty the barrel was removed and on the face of the bolt was a very thin piece of brass that when pealed off the caliber could be read, 308 Winchester. I have no idea how the smaller base of the 308 was held against the bolt face of the magnum, but it did fire. The pressures had to be enormous as there was brass extruded every where there was space. The action held and the barrel was not split.

That's a great article and I enjoy Spomer's work. He's one of the better ones that show up in the PA Outdoor News on occasion.

Ron's a good dude. It's good to see that high profile experienced shooters can have an off day too. In my opinion he's just a regular guy like us that made it big, and good for him.

A ruptured case with the same Caliber bullet would have lower pressure than if did in the correct Chamber. The bad yielding actually reduces the Max pressure. More room in effect. However the gas handling of a ruptured case would be exciting.

People fire 308 in 3006 a lot.


The bullet being drawn would increase pressure