fired a 338 through a 300 ultra

[chef viktor]

I messed up, i had a round in my hard case and it was a 338. I did not have my reading glasses. Also even more stupid i was shooting without eye protection. Lesson learned!! I was shooting a 300 ultra mag. I inserted the 338 and pulled the trigger. Basicaly it blew up when i pulled the trigger. The lead did go out and actually hit paper! The problem is 80 percent of the front brass is wedged in the lower end of the barrell. I took it to the gun smith and he refused to work on it because of liability. He had to send it to the factory for pressure test and to remove the brass. Has anyone heard of somthing stupid like this before? Is there opinios on weather my rifle is going to be good or do you think i basicaly ruined a beautiful rifle. Any information appreciated, hope it will be possitive. Stupid chef Viktor

 

[Murphy]

Oops!

Oops!

Viktor,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I hope you're O.K.

That's is actually the most common cause of rifle damage/destruction, firing the wrong caliber in the gun. Was this a 338 Ultra or a 338 Win mag?

You didn't say who the maker was, I'll asume Remington since it was an RUM caliber, so I'll speak to that. I will tell you from past involvement with these types of situations, (no I haven't done it) that if you send it back to Remington (or any manufacturer) they will most likely charge you for inspecting the rifle and to determine that it is not covered under warranty, and then they will not repair it. It is probably a lost cause. I can't say for sure if it is salvagable or not without seeing it but, but not likely.

How badly is it damaged? Can you open the bolt? Did it break the stock, blow the magazine out, etc? Did any gas/parts come out the rear of the bolt?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get details. Good...ah...better shootin'.

Murphy

 

[Snowwolfe]

Sorry to hear about the mishap but glad you did not get injured.
One question, How in the world did you squeeze a .338 bullet into a .308 barrel?

 

[Murphy]

338 vs 300

338 vs 300

Snowwolfe,

You know, I think the 338 Ultra will chamber in a 300 Ultra. It is a little shorter and with certain bullets, it could very well chamber. What a bite! I made the assumption that he had put a 338 WM in the chamber, it is shorter and the bolt will surely close on a 338 WM. That is a problem waiting to happen anyway. See, I told ya the Ultras were too big! Ha!

This really sux anyway and I'm sure he doesn't need me making jokes, truth is it is very easy to do when you have more than caliber of ammo on the bench. I hope things work out for him.

I have had several of these brought to me to "get the bolt open" and after the bolt was hammered open and cleaned up, everything worked out fine. Sometimes things just stay together. I've seen 7-08 fired in 260, 30-06 fired in 280 Rem, a 9.3x62 fired in a 358 NM, a 338 WM fired in a 375 H&H(!?)
Some of these were not pretty and in all cases the shooter didn't know how "that round" got in the box. I shoot a lot of different calibers and have to be careful not to screw up when I'm at the range.

I hope things work out for viktor.

Murphy

 

[AlleninAlaska]

I could see possibly mixing up a 338 RUM with a 300 RUM if not wearing glasses to see properly with. But I cannot see mixing up a 338 WM with a 300 RUM. The 338 WM has a belt on it.

Glad you are ok and nothing damaged other than the rifle.

 

[chef viktor]

338 thru a 300 ultra

338 thru a 300 ultra

The barrel appears to be fine. The question i have is if the factory will not work on the rifle how can i remove the stuck brass. No parts came flying out just lots of gas and powder. I fired a 338 federal cartridge thru a 300 remington ultra mag. It did fit and it did go off but brass got stuck. I looked at barrell and it seems ok. Is there anyone in Anchorage who will work on that if the factory wont? The gun smith yesterday told me ffor liability he would not. Like i said it looks all ok but i guess in this case looks can be deceiving! I can only hope factory will fix it and send it back. Viktor

 

[mauserboy]

Oops

Oops

Viktor,

Maybe you should take up another hobby, like golf. It is not just what you can see that will tell you if your rifle is still okay. You could have the rifle magna-fluxed. This is a process that is normally used in the automotive field to reveal fractures in metal that are not normally visible to the human eye. Most gunsmiths will not work on your gun because of the liability. Too many possibilities for failure. Had a customer a while back who did the same basic thing in a Ruger Model 77, a 7mm Mag. No one would work on it. He sent it to Ruger and whether you want to believe it or not, they replaced the gun. That is Ruger, though. Good luck

 

[Murphy]

Wow!

Wow!

MB,

Great to hear that about Ruger. I've seen less service from the big green.

Viktor,

Come on, a 338 Federal is quite small and not even close to a huge 300 Ultra.
WOW!

You had a case of exteeme excess headspace, not one of excess pressure. I can't tell you the gun is ok but I would say it is most likely serviceable. If there is no obvious damage to the gun, you could probably repair it. The magna flux is a good idea. Call Remington (this is a m700, right) and ask them about it. Tell them what you did and see what they say. Can't hurt. good luck and better shootin' next time.

Where did you find a 338 Federal ammo?

Murphy

 

[JDE]

Per your description I agree the the other gentleman's assesment. Get a ruptured case extractor from some place like this http://www.ch4d.com/catalog/brass/rup_case_extract.htm (this is a random site I grabbed as an example)

Lube chamber well, extract, have chamber and bore scoped by a good smith. Not sure if any gunsmiths in Alaska are setup for it but there should be a pressure test cartridge made for your calibre that would validate the rifle as safe and capable.

P.S. the example I gave uses the bolt to supply extraction force. There should also be varieties available which use a ramrod down the bore allowing you to drift the casing out with a small hammer. Regardless, if you perform your own extraction I still strongly recommend having the bore and chamber scoped by a reputable gunsmith.