.308 winchester fired in .308 norma magnum rifle

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mdblough

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Hi All. My brorther recently took my Dad's .308 norma magnum out for some target shooting. He mistakenly purchased .308 Winchester, and tried to fire a round in the magnum rifle. The round fired, but bullet jammed in the barrel. We were able to extract the bullet, but I am wondering if there may be internal damage to the rifle now and if it will still be safe to use. Could the exploded round have damaged/fractured the chamber so the next round that goes through could split the gun?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated, as I am hesitant to try firing the rifle again.
 
The rifle is probably OK. Should be inspected by a competent 'smith.
The bullet stopped in the barrel? Did the cartridge case rupture? Was there a violent release of gas at the breech?

Saw a M70 7mm Magnum that had a .308 fired in it. Rifle was ruined.
 
My son fired a 6.5x55 in my .308 NM with no ill effects to gun or shooter.Had to remove a piece of brass neck stuck in the chamber.He learned his lesson.Harold
 
Does your brother have a PAL? Cartridge designation is one of the first things taught...

I doubt the rifle is now dangerous to fire with correct ammo. Clean the barrel and chamber thoroughly and try it...
 
Why would the lead get stuck .I would have thought it would have went threw the barrel without getting stuck.I am not up on the ,N M 308 ...need a little insight. .Thanks Dutch
 
Get the correct ammo, give it to your brother and get him to test it ... just stand back a bit from him :p


Not sure this falls under the "mistake anyone could make" category. I'm sure you had the firm brotherly talk with him to make sure he fully understands the difference and to always check what the barrel and head stamp says.

Glad everyone is OK. Get it checked out.
 
Going off a little into the technicalities of this mishap, I'm guessing this would have to be a rifle with controlled feed action? I can imagine that, in a push feed system, the 308 Win case in a 308 Norma chamber would not have sat firmly against the bolt face for the firing pin to strike the primer.
 
5point9straight6 said:
Going off a little into the technicalities of this mishap, I'm guessing this would have to be a rifle with controlled feed action? I can imagine that, in a push feed system, the 308 Win case in a 308 Norma chamber would not have sat firmly against the bolt face for the firing pin to strike the primer.
Click to expand...

X2, given the difference in case dimensions, surprising it fired. Gotta wonder if the bullet even got a square start down the barrel ?

Grizz
 
In addition, the primer would have sat so far off-center from the firing pin that the latter might not even have punched down on the anvil enough the ignite the primer. Even in a controlled feed system, chances of everything conspiring to fire the round would be low. Un-luck of the draw, I guess.
 
So we should all shoot push feeds?... Lol

Personally, I fail to understand why someone would shoot and own a .308 lm and not have reloads on hand.... Certainly not over the counter medecine to begin with....
 
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