I have read that a 7.62 x 39 Russian will chamber in a rifle chambered for 22/250 with nasty results if fired. I assume therefore that a 6mm PPC will too, but was wondering if anyone could confirm that for me

Cheers,

Ferret

It will go in there for sure. So will a .22 Hornet, .223, etc. But they will be such a sloppy fit it would be like putting a Volkswagon in a box car.

I don't think it will be a loose fit at all. By my calcs the 6mm projectile might engage the
throat, giving enough resistance to fire the round.

I was just wondering if someone could put my mind at ease.

Cheers,

Ferret

ferret

There are countless examples of an incorrect cartridge being chambered and fired, sometimes with no harm, but other times with lots of harm.

Nothing is fool proof and there are plenty of fools out there to prove it.

Visualize something like a 458 AMERICAN being fired in a 8mm Rem Mag chamber!!

Ray

I actually witnessed an 8x57 ball cartridge fired in an Interarms MkX 30-06 rifle. The guy who owned the rifle held it upside down across his knees and I pounded the bolt open with a 2x4, formed a SHORT necked 06 case with a non leaking primer about .3 dia. The rifle was checked for headspace, bulged chamber/barrel, nodda, next trip out it shot just like it always did.

I have a friend who chambered and fired a handloaded 308 Win. in his Ruger 77 chambered in 25-06. He told me that the bolt closed a little hard, making him think it was time to full length resize. The bolt locked up, the retaining clip for the extractor, blew part way out, the bolt stop was opened and frozen in place. It was a Shilen SS sporter bbl. and it showed no external or, internal damage. He was wearing good glasses and got only a few brass particles in his cheek. I had to pull the barrel to get the bolt out and other than the retaining clip mentioned earlier there was no other visible damage. The boltstop was held open by a piece of the brass cartridge head. I have heard a lot of people bad mouth Rugers for being "Cast" actions but in this case it proved to be plenty strong. I sure would like to have recovered the 308 bullet after it went through that 257 barrel. He sent the rifle back to Ruger, after a phone call explaining exactly what happened, and Ruger gave him a new rifle.

'Round about 55 years ago when I was somewhat younger (and relatively new to guns) I got a DCM Springfield '03. Went to the local sporting goods store and bought a bunch of loose rounds at 10-cents per each which were displayed in an upside down Stetson on the counter top. The sign said "Military Surplus .30-06". I didn't check every cartridge head stamp,as I didn't know I should.

Took them down to the San Benito River (a dry river in the summer) and walked the river bed shooting at targets of opportunity. At one point stood in one place and shot 20 or 30 rounds. Decided to pick up the brass, thinking it might be handy to reload after removing the primer crimps.

Some looked pretty odd...like a VERY short .30-06, while others looked fine. In looking them over, then discovered the headstamps were all varieties. The short ones appeared to be foreign (later turned out they were German).

Yeh, discussions with more knowledgeable friends revealed they were 8x57 rounds!! My Springfield digested them without even a burp.

So, the fellow above who said sometimes the results of firing the wrong cartridge are nothing much, while sometimes they can be disastrous, is probably right on the money.

Just out of curiosity though, what is the point in asking a question (which presupposses not knowing the answer), then disagreeing with a person who takes the time and trouble to post an answer? Seems to me that would really limit the number of responses. If one already has measurements which answer the question, then why ask it?

I was going to go downstairs and try to chamber a 6 PPC dummy round in one of my .22-250's, but have decided not to bother. As to trying to fire a 6-PPC round in there to see if it is possible...not in this life-time.

Y'all take care now....

Alberta Canuck,

Thank you for your reply. I believe the sort of thing you had happen to you (firing 8x57 ammo through a 30-06) happens far more than we hear of.

To answer your point, regarding asking a question and disagreeing with Jim C's answer, I have laid out both rounds on CAD and I think it is very close to being possible to fire the 6mm PPC in the 22/250 (Jim suggested it would be a loose fit like a VW in a box car.)

I have been on the SAAMI web site looking at all the dangerous combinations, and this is not one that is highlighted, but the 22/250 & 7.62x39 is, hence the question the (7.62x39 and PPC being related).

I have a 22/250 but don't have any 6mm PPC rounds to prove it myself. I have tried a primed empty 22/250 case in my 6.5x55 Swede, and although the primer didn't ignite, it was very close.

I was hoping someone just might be able to confirm my theory that if you were at the range with a 22/250 and a 6mm PPC and mixed up the ammo, disaster could result.

Thanks to everyone who has responded. As I said, I think this problem in general might be far more common than we might think.

Cheers,

Ferret

Ferret: "To answer your point, regarding asking a question and disagreeing with Jim C's answer, I have laid out both rounds on CAD and I think it is very close to being possible to fire the 6mm PPC in the 22/250 (Jim suggested it would be a loose fit like a VW in a box car.)"

Ferret, my point was unspoken so perhaps it wasn't clear enough for some. I thought it was obvious that some such "accidental chamberings" would be dangerous in the extreme.

I was saying that many combonations may be mischambered and some may even be fired but all of them would be "loose" fits. That very looseness is why it would be dangerous in the extreme to fire them, it would be impossible for the smaller case to contain the gas.

It may surprise some but, as P.O. Ackley found years ago and is proven again by some of the instances above, firing an oversized bullet down a bore is not always, in itself, dangerous. Under the right circumstances, copper jacketed lead bullets WILL swage down and through a smaller bore without rifle damage.

Thus, while a 6mm PPC might be fired in a .22-250 or a .250-3000 could fire in a .244 Rem with little or no damage, it still wouldn't be a smart thing to do. I can't imagine what kind of idiot would even do it, even "accidentally"!

With your explanation, your question is a very reasonable one. It just might have attracted more answers, and more complete answers if the explanation had been included with the original question.

Don't want to keep beating that dead horse, so instead I will mention that any answer you get may somewhat depend on the kind of action the rifle at hand has. With a Mauser style extractor, many cartridges can be fired in chambers much too large for safety as they are held against the bolt face by the extractor when the round is chambered from the magazine.

You likely already know that and are referring to push feed actions. I presume that is the case, anyway.

If no one else here answers you directly pertaining to the question in a push-feed action, shoot me a PM and I will go down to my shop, try a dummy 6 PPC round loaded with just a primer (no powder) in a couple of .22-250s, and see if either pops the cap.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim C. <><:
Thus, while a 6mm PPC might be fired in a .22-250 or a .250-3000 could fire in a .244 Rem with little or no damage, it still wouldn't be a smart thing to do. I can't imagine what kind of idiot would even do it, even "accidentally"!

Oh, surely you can. If you have ever volunteered as a Range Officer at your local club during pre-deer season "sight-in days", you've probably witnessed many of those accidents just waiting to happen. We get about one per hunting season at our 1,000-member club...about 1/3 of which are by club members themselves!!

Usually, they are the result of some guy or gal (or more commonly two shooters together) bringing several rifles to the range at the same time, to be shot from the same bench. So, of course they do a very unwise thing, and put several boxes of different cartridges on their bench. Then in the give and take of kibbitzing, shooting, etc., their concentration breaks and they eventually get something like a .308 Winchester round in a .257 Weatherby Mag rifle.

Every time more than one "caliber" of cartridge is on the bench at the same time, such an accident is waiting for a chance to occur.

Take my word for it, that .308/,257 Wby combo will fire, and it will blow the magazine box and extractor off the action and a big chunk of wood off the left side of the stock near the front receiver ring. I've seen that very combination do that two of the last four years at our range.

The answer, of course, is not a big long list identifying which possible dangerous combinations exist, but a firm self-discipine to never have two different cartridges on the bench at the same time. That is also now a fully enforced rule at our range.

Violation more than once in the same day can get a shooter invited to leave. The other shooters don't seem to like flying action pieces potentially coming their way.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

The answer, of course, is not a big long list identifying which possible dangerous combinations exist, but a firm self-discipine to never have two different cartridges on the bench at the same time. That is also now a fully enforced rule at our range.

Alberta,

I think you are 100% correct. One rifle on the bench at a time.

Half way round the world, the same thing
happens here. Two mates, two or more rifles and a stack of ammo on the same bench...you just cannot do it.

I haven't been to a range here where one rifle at a time is enforced, but I know the range officers just see this happening all the time.

Cheers,

Ferret.

Alberta - "Oh, surely you can."

By accepting your examples, I stand corrected!

I and everyone I shoot with follow your rules for knowing what we are shooting and having no others at hand. But, I guess nothing is fool-proof to a sufficently determined fool.

Good luck at your range!