Got my "PING" going for all the wrong reasons.

Lost...again

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First of all I would just like to say its good to be back.
Since I last posted I had a few heart problems and its been a slow slog but Im back on my feet now.
I have only just started shooting again within the last month from a bench with a 22, and that was hard to hold still, but perseverance pays off and I finally took the 305 out on Friday.
I worked up some loads and triple checked everything. Not too many, 5 loads of 5 rds each ( still had the 1.5 challenge in mind ).
All rounds were good, Ive done this many times before and don't take chances. All rds were on the light side and coal was spot on for all.
I used one magazine for all.
The gun was stripped polished and relubed the previous day, all safety checks were good.
The first four loads of 5 went down range smooth as silk and my wobbly old hands were keeping the holes on paper at 100yd which is very encouraging :)

Then came the final load.
Dropped the mag and loaded the last 5 rds, Picked up the 5 cases from the last load. ALL brass accounted for and nothing amiss.

Sat down at bench, inserted mag and let the handle fly...............KABOOMMMMMMM
I knew straight away that one was a flyer :).
When the smoke cleared there were four rounds on the bench and a nice new hole where the mag base plate hit before it bounced across the shed . The mag was still in place but had a definite bulge at the bottom and a near full length split wit the spring hanging out the bottom.
The charging handle was locked back .
Im NOT an expert, but Im familiar with this gun and am aware of the potential dangers.
I think I may have had an out of battery discharge, and the ONLY reason I can think of is a particularly soft primer, which is just down to me and not the gun.
The Archangel stock is awesomely strong and probably prevented a lot worse scenario. The solid steel heavy cheap Chinese scope mount absorbed a lot of the blast and saved the scope. Only a couple of bits of casing got me in the forearm when I let the handle go.
Now for the pictures you all want eh LOL



Pile of bits

Got to love the blast proof scopemount

Brass everywhere

including here

and here

I think I need a new bolt :)))




And there you have it, sh*t does happen, but it could have been worse, im still above ground :))
Ive put nearly 500 Federal Large Rifle primers through her without a problem and as far as I can make out I found a real soft one, unless you can think of any other cause that I missed :)
All input gratefully accepted.
And for your peace of mind the gun bits are covered in crap AFTER the whoopsy.
No damage to the receiver at all and I have had the magnifying glass on it.
Just glad it wasn't in the Boyds stock or I would still be picking splinters LOL
Stay safe eh

PS Im looking for a bolt LMFAO, and as far as the PING goes, my ears are still ringing cos I hadn't put my ears on yet :)
 
Thanks for all the kind words.
The firing pin was the first thing I checked and it is faultless.
Just looking at the remaining four rounds and the second round has bent like a banana, 3 rd round is 12 thou shorter than when I put it in and the 4th round is 7 thou shorter last round is still 2.800.
Quite a bang eh LOL
 
you put federal primered ammo in a m14? are you nuts? they are known to be one of if not the softest primers on the market.. this could have been avoided easily...
 
you put federal primered ammo in a m14? are you nuts? they are known to be one of if not the softest primers on the market.. this could have been avoided easily...

it's well known here that I shoot nothing but federal blue box powershok 150gr in all my m14 type rifles and in a few thousand rounds, not a hiccup. I buy it by the case.
federal American eagle red box on the other hand...... I won't put anywhere near my m14 type rifles.

sounds like a high primer or temporarily stuck firing pin but we can all guess till the stars fall from the sky LOL
good thing yer okay and yer rifle's safety mechanisms did exactly what they should have and blown straight down.
 
Meh ........... I still had a great day out at the range :)

Just want to make absolutely clear to all, my confidence in the " POS Norc " has not been dented.
This was down to ME, not the gun. The gun did exactly what it was supposed to do and directed the energy down the mag well away from me. Gotta love that safety feature.
Going to fix her up and have at it again, tho I might steer away from the Federal primers LOL.
Having said that, this is the first problem I've had and I'm inclined to think I didn't seat one deep enough. 1 in 500+...it was me not the primer.

Life's far too short to take it seriously..............so take a chance and have fun eh.
Just don't hurt anyone on the way :)

Might end up getting one of those fancy USGI bolts yet LMFAO...unless anybody wants to sell a Norc bolt :)
 
Glad your alright. I've had good succsess with CCI200 and BR2 Primers. Budget Shooter Supply also has some Milspec primers in stock. Those would give you the best protection against an out of battery discharge.
 
When I first got into reloading for my Norc I did research on appropriate primers, bullet weights etc. and found that Winchester primers are harder than some others and are commonly used for semi-autos for that reason.
I made sure I got those because the idea of avoiding a slam fire because of softer primers was high priority lol.
 
It's good to hear your alright. The rifle can be fixed no biggie. It's great to have all this input from guys is regards to reloading the beast . I'm definitely going to stay away from Fed primers and uniform all my pockets.
 
Holy Fawk Batman,.......you survived a potential eye remover at the least or a throat carotid/jugular shrapnel life taker at the worst. Glad to hear you are alright and you are getting over your heart incident. I'm still off work myself after a heart attack, doing well and still shooting.
Thanks for posting this episode Lost, it's a great reminder to myself in particular and everyone in general to keep those GD shooting glasses on always,..Always!!!!

If it's misting out or sweat is running in my eye's, I been known to momentarily remove mine for a clearer sight picture for my old eyes, but this could happen at any freaking time.

Again good shooting and good luck rebuilding the Nork! RTS
 
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