A guy brings the gun into the shop today for repair. It is chambered in .280 Rem and had not been fired for many years. His dad's gun. Said he shot it, and it failed to chamber the second round. Well, it was a good thing because there is a bullet lodged in the bore about 2 inches past the gas port. Another is lodged in the throat. So, we are figuring he may have fired some old ammo and had a squib on the first shot that lodged in the bore but had enough pressure behind it to cycle. Then, the second round jammed in the throat due to unburned powder and prevented going into battery.

The quandary we have is trying to go about how to clear this mess. Any useful suggestions appreciated.

Bob

My approach to this would be to tackle the two as different problems. The one in the throat probably isn't stuck bad, but is problematic to get to the first one.

I'd take a case, drill the back and put a 1/4" O.D. piece of metal tubing in it. Shim with tape outside to fit, and shim inside with anything (like a plastic or wood plug) you can drill a small hole in to center the bit. Use that as a guide to drill into the bullet base with a 1/8" or so bit, and then thread in a screw into the back of the bullet, and use that to pull it back. Shouldn't be too stuck.

The second round is going to be harder to get out with the gas port to leak out oil or anything you use to hydraulically press the bullet out. So, my approach would be to shoot the bullet out. I've done that successfully several times. Load a very light load of powder and no bullet (say 5 grains of 4198) into a case, and fire it at about a 45 degree angle upwards. Important to do that, you want the powder to slump a bit, but be against the back of the case. Do not put a wad or anything to hold the powder back against the primer. If you fire straight up or use a wad to hold the powder back, it will cause a pressure wave front that can ring the barrel. If the powder slumps, it will not make that pressure wave. If the first one doesn't do it, increase a grain at a time until it comes out.

Firing it out doesn't work all the time. When it doesn't it bulges the barrel. I'd say pull the barrel and tap it out with the fattest rod that will fit into the bore. Put some Kroil oil in the bore both ends. Once you get it moving the oil will make it slide easier.

It will only bulge the barrel if you use a fast powder, or too much. Starting low with a slow,even pressured powder (like 4198) won't generate enough pressure to bulge a barrel as long as you don't create a shock wave.

However, if you do try a rod, make absolutely certain you taper the end that touches the bullet, so there's not a sharp end, and I'd recommend pressing it instead of tapping it. Almost every barrel I've seen that someone tapped the bullet out with a rod show rifling damage. Even a brass rod will whip around and crush the rifling if hammered on. I wouldn't have believed that if I hadn't seen it, more than once.

It is a 742.

Not worth the time or effort.

I'd use a steel rod that's long enough and use a hydraulic shop press to push both out.

Well P dog, it's his dad's gun and he feels like shit right now. His dad has passed on and the gun is a memory. That makes it important to the customer and us. He wants it fixed and that's what we are going to attempt to do.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
It is a 742.

Not worth the time or effort.

I can't speak personally, but 'Woodies' were very popular with sambar 'hound hunters' until semi-autos were restricted here in 1996. My son has a 7600 pump in 35 Whelen and likes it very much for hunting in our thick forest.

Lots of them in use in the woods of the north east. People seem to like the rem 740 family of rifles.

the stuck due to crude in the barrel one should come out fairly easily - with a "ball extractor" or whatever the muzzle loader guys use - the other one, i'd kroil both sides, and use an oak (would prefer bouis d'arc (bodart for Texans) and tap tap tap it out -- the bullet is already engraved with the rifling and should ease out .. alum or brass/bronze would be fine, just break the edges on the face

I do hope this is obvious, but make very sure there's just two bullets stuck in there.

Multiple bullets that have smacked into each other become a whole different kettle of fish.

Bob, You can likely squirt some Kroil into the bore through the gas port. You have to remove the allen screw and the ball first. Then take a 1/4 inch steel rod through the muzzle and tap both (all) the bullets out through the chamber end. If you want to send the barrel up here, I owe you enough favors to do it for you.

Bill

Bob
I made a device to push stuck bullets out of barrels. is a copy of one that Spearchucker made. Uses grease under pressure. I can send a couple of photos to you if you want. It works really well altho its knd of mess but will save a barrel.

A lot of great ideas. Thanks guys. Keep'em coming. I like the hydraulic method that Speerchucker developed. The issue here is two bullets and a gas port.

I think we are going to try two approaches for the one in the breech. It's been soaking in Kroil now for a few days. Approach one is to attempt to "mortar" it out with inertia by dropping it forcefully on a hardwood board placed on our concrete floor. If that fails, we plan to use the suggested screw method like a ball puller. We're pretty confident we can get that one out easily.

After clearing that one, we'll determine if the other bullet is the only one remaining. If so, the bore will be cleaned ahead of the bullet and oiled. Then we'll take a 1/4 in steel rod wrapped with split soda straws to protect the bore. The rod will be marked and then tapped with a ball pein hammer. If the bullet moves with light to moderate force, we will continue. If there is much resistance, we are going to take it to a neighbor business and push it out with the hydraulic press.

Sounds like a plan. Let us know the results.

Thanks Bill. If this doesn't work, we'll be calling you!

quote:

Originally posted by Clemson:
Bob, You can likely squirt some Kroil into the bore through the gas port. You have to remove the allen screw and the ball first. Then take a 1/4 inch steel rod through the muzzle and tap both (all) the bullets out through the chamber end. If you want to send the barrel up here, I owe you enough favors to do it for you.

Bill

I didn't mention that there is no apparent barrel swelling. That leads me to believe we're only dealing with that one stuck in the barrel proper. But we once got a .38 revolver with 5 rounds stacked up in the tube and no swelling.

742's are guns that do not tolerate running dry and/or dirty. If you keep the chambers clean and oil the bolt and rails regularly, they will run reliably a long time. If you don't, they will tear off case rims, stick cases, crack bolt heads and create chatter marks on the rails.

In my experience, if a jacket bullet is truly stuck, tapping or driving it with a rod and hammer will not work. It just wants to get bigger. In the past I have made bore or chamber drill bushings to drill the middle out. Then it will collapse and allow the hammer/rod method to work.Haven't used chuckers grease method, but the the hyd press method looks promising. Just make sure the rod(s) are bore-riding and segmented so you dont have too much stick out at the end you are pushing from. It will bend and kink much easier then you think! The closer the rod is to bore diameter, the less likely it can deflect and dig into the barrel. Use O-1 or W-1 , not 1018 or brass. Might have to push an inch or so and then replace the rod with a longer one. There is a reason why removing stuck bullets is a T&M job.
For the one lodged in the throat. you might try compressed air through the gas port also.

I use brass rods.

I have them in various diameters for my bullet making lathe.

Works with gentle tapping.

once the chamber end is clear, I used a pipe clamp as a press, near bore size steel rod chamfered end. May need multiple length rods. This was on a revolver barrel. no impact/shock.