I was out shooting my recently finished 338 RUM. 250gr remington a frames shot well. Next I shot my reloads, well reload. 1 shot and now the bolt is stuck and that was the min load. It will lift and lower easy but not pull out. Gun is a rem 700. How to I fix it? Do I tap the bolt back or do I drive it out with a piece of metal down the barrel?

Thanks
skog

YOU HAVE TO GET IT OPEN, try rotating the bolt open and bounce the recoil pad end of the stock on someting solid it may be enough to get the case and bolt to move.
if you have a cleaning rod or doll rod try taping the case and bolt from the muzzle end.
Dave

Well I got it. I opened the bolt and stuck a metal rod down barrel. A couple of blows and the bolt opened. The brass show no signs of high pressure either. So it is a mystery as to why it stuck right now.

skog

Check the length of the brass. I have seen brass stick in chambers when it gets too long.

Can be right aggravating.

Mike is probably correct that the brass may have been too long. You may also want to check the outside chamfer on the mouth. Sometimes if it is rough/uenven it will cause the case to stick with the heat build up from firing. I habitually trim and chamfer all brass before reloading.

it was virgin brass. I have a thread going in the reloading forum on this.

Another possibility is a rough chamber. May need to be polished.

The chamber was polished @ 600 grit to remove tool marks in the body of the case, and the body of the case shows no frosting. there are still tool marks on the shoulder and in the neck as polishing this out would change headspace. Do we think one of my reloads is to fault or just a coincedcide?

could it be that with a low load of slow burning powder that you had a detonation??

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
could it be that with a low load of slow burning powder that you had a detonation??

That was my first impression. It seldom happens, but it can.

How do the primers look?

If the bolt lifts OK but you have to then knock the bolt back.....it is usually a problem with primary extraction.

Primary extraction is the distance the bolt moves back while lifting the handle.

Rem 700s can demonstrate poor primary extraction because the bolt handle is not attached correctly and/or the extraction cam is badly galled. The locking lugs on a Rem 700 are wider than M70 or M98 and this further reduces primary extraction.

Adding to the problem can be case rim thickness and extractor dimensions. This can mean the bolt moves some distance before the extractor engages the case rim

Actions like Wby Mark V, Sako 75/85 etc lose primary extraction because of the 60 degree bolt lift. Although they work well because they are well made.

Primers look good. no flow or cratering, still tight in the pocket.
I will check the primary extraction.

thanks skog

If the bolt handle lifts OK, but you have to knock the bolt back, then it is most likely a problem with a stuck case.

With the bolt handle in the full up position, the lugs are clear and the only thing keeping the bolt from coming back is the case, which is stuck. Now all you have to do is determine what stuck the case.

To my knowlegde there are a lot of theories about, but not much science behind the causes of "detonation", but from what I've read on the subject, if "detonation" occured, it probably would have resulted in something more serious than a stuck case. But I may be wrong.

One of the first signs of a "too hot of a round" is when you stick a bolt. And you wind up with a sticky bolt from having the over pressured case jam the bolt against the lugs essentially locking it in place.

A "too highly polished chamber" can stick a case. Especially one with minimum taper. Excess pressure in a minimum tapered, highly polished chamber will stick a case without adversely affecting bolt lift.

Anyway, based on what you've said, I would suspect the load, or, components more than a bolt problem.