Mustang Gregg Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 A feller brought me his nearly-new Ruger KM-77 that's chambered in .243 Win. He said he thought he'd put the wrong ammo in it. His story went like this---- He was coyote hunting---- He saw a coyote and hurriedly loaded the rifle--- He said the bolt closed REALLY hard---- He never pulled the trigger (DAMN GLAD OF THAT)---- Then he tried to unload it---- It wouldn't extract the one in the chamber. So he brought it over for me to fix. I removed the bolt and found a factory loaded 7.62 X 54R stuck in the chamber. It took some real effort to get it removed. I wonder what would've happened if he'd fired it? Mustang Gregg
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 A feller brought me his nearly-new Ruger KM-77 that's chambered in .243 Win. He said he thought he'd put the wrong ammo in it. His story went like this---- He was coyote hunting---- He saw a coyote and hurriedly loaded the rifle--- He said the bolt closed REALLY hard---- He never pulled the trigger (DAMN GLAD OF THAT)---- Then he tried to unload it---- It wouldn't extract the one in the chamber. So he brought it over for me to fix. I removed the bolt and found a factory loaded 7.62 X 54R stuck in the chamber. It took some real effort to get it removed. I wonder what would've happened if he'd fired it? Mustang Gregg is all I can say!!! GG ~
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 I reckon the score woulda been Coyotes - 1 Ruger Shooter - 0
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 I would call this a huge bullet that your customer just dodged. I'm pretty confident the gun would have come apart. The only question is how much of your friend would have been taken apart with it. This is a moment to be grateful for a lesson learned without serious consequences.
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 That is scary. Didn't realize those two cases were so close in size. 7.62x54r is only .003" larger at the shoulder and only .015" larger at the base, if the dimensions given at wikipedia are correct. .015" is about the thickness of a business card, not too much. Goes to show that even a little bit can be bad. Of course that doesn't even compare to that big .30 cal bullet trying to get down a .243 barrel. don't know if the barrel would have split and burst nice or if the whole thing would have turned into a grenade. Either way, that feller should be happy he still has all his fingers, hands, eyes, and every other part of him that could have been destroyed. Like I said, scary. Good reminder to all of us, if something doesn't feel quite right, stop and see why.
Jack Houston # 35508 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 If he was huttin' with a .243 why did he have any 762x54 Ruski ammo with him????
Phantom, SASS #54973 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 Just remember, if the round don't chamber easily...just shove the bolt real hard...that should do the trick!
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 Just remember, if the round don't chamber easily...just shove the bolt real hard...that should do the trick! Always carry a small hammer and some WD-40 with ya while hunting.
Pack Saddle Slim, SASS #73122 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 If he was huttin' with a .243 why did he have any 762x54 Ruski ammo with him???? Exactly! We all hear about how we should only have the correct ammo with us, but how many of us find ourselves driving down the ol' ranch road or someplace similar with a bunch of odd ammo rattling around in the console? Probably a stark reminder that we need to clean out our pickups occasionally.
Fordyce Beals Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 I wonder what would've happened if he'd fired it? I shot some rounds across a canyon at rocks with my home built 30/06 F.N. model 98 and when I bent over to pick up the brass one case looked funny, it was a 8x57 case fire formed to the longer 30/06 chamber. The .323 bullet went down the .308 bore with my noticing nothing out of the ordinary. A check with the headspace gauges showed it was still in tolerance and it still shot to 1/2 minutes of angle. Note to self - keep ammunition separated. YMMV "Lucky" Fordyce
Zachariah Smith 70528 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Several years ago master gunsmith P. O. Ackley did some experiments just like this and the rifles held up just fine. The bullets were swaged down to bore size and no damage occurred.. This not to suggest anyone try this, but he did with no problems. He also tested Japanese rifles and except for those made at the end of WWII they proved to be some of the strongest of any rifles made at the time.
BLACKFOOT SASS #11947 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 "This thing won't fit!! I'll need a hammer!" Balckfoot
Doc Windshadow Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 a chunk of pipe as a cheater bar to close that reluctant bolt... is a more elegant solution than a hammer tsk tsk
Cypress Sun Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Just remember, if the round don't chamber easily...just shove the bolt real hard...that should do the trick! If that doesn't work, lets add a bolt assist.
Jack Houston # 35508 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Reminded me of back in 2002, I had just moved to East Texas and hadn't started reloading yet. I used to buy Cowboy ammo from a guy in Houston, went to the Tyler Gun SHow and found a big bag marked 45 long colt. Went to a match that weekend, had 36 misses!!!!On Monday I was looking at the cases and saw the cases were all marked 44 SP!!! No wonder I wasn't hitting anything!
Nichols Creek, SASS #77627 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Reminded me of back in 2002, I had just moved to East Texas and hadn't started reloading yet. I used to buy Cowboy ammo from a guy in Houston, went to the Tyler Gun SHow and found a big bag marked 45 long colt. Went to a match that weekend, had 36 misses!!!!On Monday I was looking at the cases and saw the cases were all marked 44 SP!!! No wonder I wasn't hitting anything! Been there done that my ownself....
Stump Water Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Several years ago master gunsmith P. O. Ackley did some experiments just like this and the rifles held up just fine. The bullets were swaged down to bore size and no damage occurred.. This not to suggest anyone try this, but he did with no problems. He also tested Japanese rifles and except for those made at the end of WWII they proved to be some of the strongest of any rifles made at the time. Yep. And a couple of years back (on another forum) I read a fellow's account of shooting a 308 Win round thru his 270 Win. He was sighting in both rifles for hunting season and mixed up the ammo. No harm to the gun (Remington 700 IIRC) and one straight walled 308 case.
Capt. Morgan Rum, SASS #6859 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Hey hold my beer............watch this
Phantom, SASS #54973 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Hey hold my beer............watch this
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Just remember, if the round don't chamber easily...just shove the bolt real hard...that should do the trick! Always carry a small hammer and some WD-40 with ya while hunting. Words of wisdom..... G (who knows y'all are kidding....maybe ) G ~
Gary Norsk Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Now I find this hard to believe, How did the bolt face take in the big rim? 7.62X39 might be the one you were thinking of being rimless and all. Gary
Mustang Gregg Posted February 8, 2011 Author Posted February 8, 2011 Yes, it was a 7.62 X 54R cartridge. The bolt was open when I got the rifle from him. I never tried to force it back into place, since it had to come apart. The rim of the case was SNAFU. The extractor and bolt face looked okay under a magnafying glass. MG Now I find this hard to believe, How did the bolt face take in the big rim? 7.62X39 might be the one you were thinking of being rimless and all. Gary
Gary Norsk Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Yes, it was a 7.62 X 54R cartridge. The bolt was open when I got the rifle from him. I never tried to force it back into place, since it had to come apart. The rim of the case was SNAFU. The extractor and bolt face looked okay under a magnafying glass. MG OK it must be the 7.62X 54R but am quite sure the bolt was never closed on that one. Fellow GF Gary
Texas John Ringo, SASS #10138 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 On a similar note: One of best friends a couple of years ago was sighting in his Browning A-Bolt. .270 Win, using loose ammo out of a coffee can. Shot it several, don't know how many, grabbed a round, loaded it in gun and shot. Sounded strange, tried to open the bolt, was stuck, used a hammer handle and got it open. A round was welded to the bolt face, broke it loose. It was straight walled. Checked it out, it was a .308 Win., fire formed, it had head spaced on the bullet. Round hit the target. Sent the rifle back to Browning, they replaced the bolt and sent it back to him, said it was good to shoot. He didn't trust it and sold it anyway.
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 OK it must be the 7.62X 54R but am quite sure the bolt was never closed on that one. Fellow GF Gary If Gregg says it was a 7.62x54, it was.
Gold Canyon Kid #43974 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Rugers are pretty tough. A few years ago a friend was practicing with his old model Vaquero. He had to take it to a gunsmith as it was no longer working and he thought the problem was a squib bullet caught between the cylinder and the barrel which he could not remove. The gunsmith managed to remove 5 bullets from the barrel. Comments about his loads aren't necessary!!
Buck D. Law, SASS #62183 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Always carry a small hammer and some WD-40 with ya while hunting. ...and a punch.
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