Thread: bolt failure P14

6.5/06 and .30/06 run in the same pressure range. X-rays wont reveal as much as conventional crack testing. If there was some major flaw (inclusion of foreign matter, etc) in the steel an x-ray would probably pick it up, but a major problem would usually be picked up in the proof testing which is in the order of 75,000 psi.

I am not a gunsmith.
I dont work on guns for a living.

However I do do crack repair on a weekly basis, some non critical some extremely critical.

Having used penitrant dyes, mag particle testing and sending stuff away for xray reguarly I can say penitrant dyes would be a total waste of time and produce a unclear result on something like a bolt.....where the dyes are good is where you can see a crack and are looking for other cracks or the end of it on say a big housing or something like that....large non critical parts =good.

Mag particle testing with an experienced operator would pick it up tho most would be used to dealing with much larger parts so some could be missed.

Xray "should" pick up anything.....if the guy or girl looking at it knows their game.

If you are paying for it then tell them of the failure and what to look for.

Its your vision/life.

Glad your OK - you sure are a lucky man.

Originally Posted by Jaco Goosen

Glad your OK - you sure are a lucky man.

heck yeah man so lucky my dad wasnt picking body up off the paddock. even the extractor was blown to pieces only have the rear piece left the band that goes around the bolt was wrapped around the action. action is to bent to use. have a timmny trigger and a handful of bits left.

@mucko, you win the NZHS award for most improved looks for 2019 though

Jokes aside, glad you kept your sight, that's a fucking biggie

Originally Posted by mucko

heck yeah man so lucky my dad wasnt picking body up off the paddock. even the extractor was blown to pieces only have the rear piece left the band that goes around the bolt was wrapped around the action. action is to bent to use. have a timmny trigger and a handful of bits left.

Man well what ever survived has to go on the next build.....as all the jinxed bits got fecked on that last round so only the good luck bits are left?

@mucko. Glad it was no worse mate. Couple of questions. Forgive me please if you have considered these points, which is probable.
Trim length of cases compared to chamber length; was there sufficient clearance?
Seating depth of ogive relative to lands? I.E. Avoid jam.
Hot primers?
Heavy walled brass?
Basic stuff, I know, and most likely you had those things already sorted. The other engineering issues are something I am not expert in so cant comment on those.
All the best for fast recovery.

Crikey , bloody mess mate , buy yourself another rifle for Christmas .

Sneeze Mike that's bloody close. At least you get Christmas with your family. Get well soon mate and enjoy your break.

Originally Posted by Tommy

@mucko, you win the NZHS award for most improved looks for 2019 though

Jokes aside, glad you kept your sight, that's a fucking biggie

Wife reckons its a improvement

Originally Posted by Woody

@mucko. Glad it was no worse mate. Couple of questions. Forgive me please if you have considered these points, which is probable.
Trim length of cases compared to chamber length; was there sufficient clearance?
Seating depth of ogive relative to lands? I.E. Avoid jam.
Hot primers?
Heavy walled brass?
Basic stuff, I know, and most likely you had those things already sorted. The other engineering issues are something I am not expert in so cant comment on those.
All the best for fast recovery.

case length was fine,
huge jump to the lands about 200 thou mag box restricted coal to around book value.
federal mag primers
norma brass, had some loose primer pockets, never had tight fitting cases never had one hard to close.
checked burn rate to confirm correct powder.
metal were recoil lugs broke were a different colour to the fracture through the gas port suggesting a out fatigue pattern.
if i did something wrong i havent found it yet.
i surmise that when the bolt let go the ass blew out of the case, i dont have much of the brass base left, i haven't found evidence through reloading diary and my systems that i overloaded or produced a round outside the specs of the adi manual, pressure would of been around 58,000psi and .8gr below max book load.

hope you and the boss are have a nice Christmas

Originally Posted by Boaraxa

Crikey , bloody mess mate , buy yourself another rifle for Christmas .

i have a few spare ones for now. lol

Originally Posted by Gapped axe

Sneeze Mike that's bloody close. At least you get Christmas with your family. Get well soon mate and enjoy your break.

cheers mate, it could of gone so much worse then what i got away with. black eye already fading but still got to be careful not to strain the eye.

@mucko. Fair enough. Just one thought. Seems more likely to me that case failed by head separation before the bolt. When you mentioned loose primer pockets I thought to myself that cases may be on the way out. Suggest you see if you have any cases left. Take into a dark room and look into them using a tiny light.Look for a dark groove up little from the web. I had one give way on extraction a few years ago. When I checked others I found several more. Resizing off the shoulder instead of off the belt is the only way to control this. The long chamber in that rifle was stretching brand new Norma brass about 12thou at shoulder, which transferred brass from above the web. Incipient Case head separation is sometimes hard to detect especially in belted magnums but I understand can in wordt case scenario create the situation like yours.

Originally Posted by Woody

@mucko. Fair enough. Just one thought. Seems more likely to me that case failed by head separation before the bolt. When you mentioned loose primer pockets I thought to myself that cases may be on the way out. Suggest you see if you have any cases left. Take into a dark room and look into them using a tiny light.Look for a dark groove up little from the web. I had one give way on extraction a few years ago. When I checked others I found several more. Resizing off the shoulder instead of off the belt is the only way to control this. The long chamber in that rifle was stretching brand new Norma brass about 12thou at shoulder, which transferred brass from above the web. Incipient Case head separation is sometimes hard to detect especially in belted magnums but I understand can in wordt case scenario create the situation like yours.

the cases were alway full length resized cases only done about 5 rounds each and nothing hot. im going to pull all the projectiles and bin the cases but will check them first.