Case separation on first firing

This is a great idea. I have a collet puller and will give it a go. I hope they'll still fit the magazine.

I would dump the powder and size the neck before putting the powder and bullet back in the case. Going to need all the neck tension you can get on the short amount of bullet that’s left in the neck with the typical weatherby freebore.
 
This is a great idea. I have a collet puller and will give it a go. I hope they'll still fit the magazine.

Not having handles a Blaser R8, your bolt is obviously holding onto the recoil shoulders of the chamber, but is it backing out .060"? to do so???

This may create an unsafe condition??????
 
Not having handles a Blaser R8, your bolt is obviously holding onto the recoil shoulders of the chamber, but is it backing out .060"? to do so???

This may create an unsafe condition??????

This is what I suspect. It might be why the case is leaving its headstamp mark on the bolt face, beacause the case is travelling so far and then slamming into the bolt face. Another potential issue is that there's less material there to hold the lugs than on a factory Blaser cut.

So on second thought now, using this barrel in any way probably just isn't worth it.
 
This is what I suspect. It might be why the case is leaving its headstamp mark on the bolt face, beacause the case is travelling so far and then slamming into the bolt face. Another potential issue is that there's less material there to hold the lugs than on a factory Blaser cut.

So on second thought now, using this barrel in any way probably just isn't worth it.

One of the reasons I never did pick up one of those beautiful rifles was because so many of them had issues right from the factory, including several catastrophic failures, one of which I had a look at in Prince George over 30? years ago.

I was an observer and didn't get to put my hands on the rifle as it was being photgraphed and involved in a litigation with the manufacturer. The fellow eventually came to some sort of settlement with the manufacturer but it didn't get rid of the scar on the right side of his face.

Propliner, if I were in your position with such a rifle, I wouldn't shoot it anymore in its present configuration.

If the barrel maker has a bad rep and you knew this beforehand?????

Send it to someone like Weber & Markin, 1691 Powick Rd # 4, Kelowna, BC, Canada, British Columbia

(250) 762-7575

Chris knows these rifles well and he might be able to set that barrel back enough to fix the issue or he may just suggest a new barrel, because it might just be cheaper and he may not trust the present one.
 
You could also fire form factory loads if you have a bullet puller. Pull the projectiles out of the case mouth until you get a decent amount of jam into the lands. If you pull the bullets all the way, you may as well measure the charge weight and subtract a grain so the added resistance of jamming doesn't equate to too much added pressure.

I would not reply on bullet jam to hold a case back when the firing pin hits... it is much better to size the neck up larger, then size the case to create a 'false' shoulder that will hold the case back... a firing pin can not move that forward... a firing pin can move a case onto the jammed bullet.
 
I would side with "guntech" on that issue - between the bullet slipping in the neck and the rifling engraving on the bullet - I am not sure that is "solid" enough to hold against a firing pin strike - but I believe the "false shoulder" thing has done so, many times, for me. I prefer not to use the bullet to hold the case back against the bolt face, for fire forming.
 
None of that would be ''safe'' if his bolt isn't forward completely.

The Blaser R8 bolt action rifle is basically a straight pull type and doesn't have rotating lugs that lock into place. Instead, they have interchangeable bolt heads with circular collars, with several different grasping surfaces all the way around, which are forced down and only engage when the bolt is fully closed.

The reason the bolt is holding now, is because the chamber depth is allowing his cartridge to come forward enough to allow the circle of locking surfaces to open out enough to engage the rear face, which is .060 to wide, when the cartridge is fired.

It's actually driving the bolt face back .060 in every time he fires it, which is why he's getting separation in the center of the cartridge case. If the bolt were properly locked in position, this wouldn't be happening and he would just get a bit of normal stretch.

I'm not sure about this, but I don't believe the rifle would fire if the bolt were in the forced back position.

The thing is again, I don't know if this would also cause a dangerous situation even it if would because at least .060 of the newly formed case wouldn't be supported in front of the belt.
 
Squishy bolt, poor lock up, or the barrel is not seated far enough back into the receiver? ALL create a dangerous rifle. Unless you are 110% confident in your gunsmithing skills? I would recommend that you have someone who is VERY familiar with this rifle, take a very close look at it!
 
None of that would be ''safe'' if his bolt isn't forward completely.

The Blaser R8 bolt action rifle is basically a straight pull type and doesn't have rotating lugs that lock into place. Instead, they have interchangeable bolt heads with circular collars, with several different grasping surfaces all the way around, which are forced down and only engage when the bolt is fully closed.

The reason the bolt is holding now, is because the chamber depth is allowing his cartridge to come forward enough to allow the circle of locking surfaces to open out enough to engage the rear face, which is .060 to wide, when the cartridge is fired.

It's actually driving the bolt face back .060 in every time he fires it, which is why he's getting separation in the center of the cartridge case. If the bolt were properly locked in position, this wouldn't be happening and he would just get a bit of normal stretch.

I'm not sure about this, but I don't believe the rifle would fire if the bolt were in the forced back position.

The thing is again, I don't know if this would also cause a dangerous situation even it if would because at least .060 of the newly formed case wouldn't be supported in front of the belt.

Bearhunter, I think you might have misread the post where propliner was talking about how the headspace measured up with the gauges. It is .006" over the nogo, not .060".
 
I would not reply on bullet jam to hold a case back when the firing pin hits... it is much better to size the neck up larger, then size the case to create a 'false' shoulder that will hold the case back... a firing pin can not move that forward... a firing pin can move a case onto the jammed bullet.
We literally do this all the time, but you do you.
 
I would side with "guntech" on that issue - between the bullet slipping in the neck and the rifling engraving on the bullet - I am not sure that is "solid" enough to hold against a firing pin strike - but I believe the "false shoulder" thing has done so, many times, for me. I prefer not to use the bullet to hold the case back against the bolt face, for fire forming.
I am.
 
Bearhunter, I think you might have misread the post where propliner was talking about how the headspace measured up with the gauges. It is .006" over the nogo, not .060".

I didn't misread it, but thanx for pointing it out to some here.

When the bolt is in its furthest forward position, the headspace is fine. Headspace is not the fly in the ointment in this situation.

Imagine a normal turn bolt rifle with .060 of set back in the lug recesses of the action, without the pressure of the bolt spring holding the lugs against their faces.

This is the situation going on with Propliners rifle. His bolt, because of its design will stay in the full forward position until the trigger is pulled and the cartridge ignites, then the bolt is instantly pushed back .060 in the receiver because the lug recess shoulders are pushed back that far to make contact, instead of the .006 measured.

This is why his cartridge cases are separating, they aren't being held in place by anything at either end and Bernouli's Principal, where pressure is applied to all surfaces equally takes over and the brass flows both ways.

During normal fireforming this wouldn't be an issue.

The lug face recess ring channel, which is in the barrel is cut to wide and allows the bolt to be pushed back way to far under ignition.
 
Update:

I just received word from the manufacturer that he is building me a new barrel. This is the best-case scenario, of course. Thanks to all who helped me to prove my case.

That being said, can a barrel maker send me a barrel from the US or do I need an importer? Also, what about shipping this one back to him?
 
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I think he can send you a barrel under warranty ... he may have to do some US paperwork ... you will find out shortly. I hope he doesn't take forever and does it right...
 
To wrap this up, I finally received my new barrel after almost 3 months. I haven't fired it yet but it seems to lock up tight like factory barrels. I'll head to the range next week.

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