Bulging Brass

[AZDAVE]

It looks like someone either tried to rechamber to a AI as @CoElkHunter mentioned or it was a 308 that was rechambered to 06 by someone just running the reamer in by hand vs the correct way in a lathe.

I would just pull the barrel and have a 9.3x62 barrel put on. I have a reamer for 9.3x62 you can borrow.

 

[mdwest]

It looks like someone either tried to rechamber to a AI as @CoElkHunter mentioned or it was a 308 that was rechambered to 06 by someone just running the reamer in by hand vs the correct way in a lathe.

I would just pull the barrel and have a 9.3x62 barrel put on. I have a reamer for 9.3x62 you can borrow.

Thanks! I think rather than a rebore to 9.3 as intended, just finding a 9.3x62 barrel is the better way to go at this point..

I am going to take the rifle by McClelland Gunshop in Dallas (they do quite a bit of work on DG rifles for various local DSC members) and have one of the smiths I know at least take a look at it and tell me what he thinks.. but at the end of the day, Im not sure it matters what the root cause is.. It was always going to get converted anyway.. I just might have to take a different path to get to the intended destination..

 

[Inline6]

It looks like someone either tried to rechamber to a AI as @CoElkHunter mentioned or it was a 308 that was rechambered to 06 by someone just running the reamer in by hand vs the correct way in a lathe.

I would just pull the barrel and have a 9.3x62 barrel put on. I have a reamer for 9.3x62 you can borrow.

By hand would be hard to jack it up that bad, maybe if they ran it with a drill?

 

[AZDAVE]

@Inline6 you are probably correct, but I have faith in bubba's ability to Jack things up.

@mdwest sounds like a good plan, I have a McGowan, pac-nor, and schilen barrel on 3 different 9.3's. All shoot very well. When you get yours done give me a call, I have load data for 250-320gr bullets that I can share to give you a starting point to develop load.

 

[fourfive8]

I would lean toward the idea that it started life as something shorter than a 30-06 (maybe 308). Then an attempt was made to change it to 30-06. But the taper or dimensions of the two reamers (cartridges) were different enough where the 2nd reamer didn't clean up the old chamber completely. No matter the history- it's toast. I'd either start over with a cartridge that will clean up the entire mess or set back the existing barrel, if possible, far enough to clean up the entire mess. Or start over completely with a new barrel and ream for a cartridge of choice that fits both the magazine and bolt face.

 

[mdwest]

I would lean toward the idea that it started life as something shorter than a 30-06 (maybe 308). Then an attempt was made to change it to 30-06. But the taper or dimensions of the two reamers (cartridges) were different enough where the 2nd reamer didn't clean up the old chamber completely. No matter the history- it's toast. I'd either start over with a cartridge that will clean up the entire mess or set back the existing barrel, if possible, far enough to clean up the entire mess. Or start over completely with a new barrel and ream for a cartridge of choice that fits both the magazine and bolt face.

The gunsmith agrees with you...

I took it by McClelland today.. They were willing to give setting the barrel back a try to see if they could re-ream to 30-06.. but advised that was an iffy proposition at best.. they didn't have a lot of confidence that they could work it out..

Option 2 that they provided was going with a bigger dimension 30 (300 WM, etc)... but that was going to be an expensive proposition as it would require not just re-chambering, but also re-facing the bolt, etc.. which led us to Option 3..

Trash the barrel.. buy a decent barrel in whatever caliber wanted (9.3x62).. and go from there (most likely option to succeed, and also the most affordable option)..

Im now on the hunt for a 9.3x62 barrel

 

[rdog]

The gunsmith agrees with you...

I took it by McClelland today.. They were willing to give setting the barrel back a try to see if they could re-ream to 30-06.. but advised that was an iffy proposition at best.. they didn't have a lot of confidence that they could work it out..

Option 2 that they provided was going with a bigger dimension 30 (300 WM, etc)... but that was going to be an expensive proposition as it would require not just re-chambering, but also re-facing the bolt, etc.. which led us to Option 3..

Trash the barrel.. buy a decent barrel in whatever caliber wanted (9.3x62).. and go from there (most likely option to succeed, and also the most affordable option)..

Im now on the hunt for a 9.3x62 barrel

Loather Walther do a pre fit 9.3x62 bbl for a M98 i have one on a Parker Hale action that was orig a 30/06 & it shoots very well.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi,

Go for a Lothar Walther pre fit 9,3x62 barrel!!!

 

[mdwest]

With the pre-fit barrels is it a matter of just ranking the old one off and then putting the new one on? Or do they need a final reaming for head spacing?

Every barrel I have ever bought prior (shilen, green mountain, Douglass, etc) were all short-chambered…

Pre-fit seems to imply that it’s already fully chambered and ready to go? (Not sure how that would work?)

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I found a sporter'd M98 in 30-06 on the cheap that I picked up intending on either doing a barrel swap or a JES rebore job on to turn it into a 9.3x62... But took it to the range yesterday to put a few rounds through it and see how it performed before making a final decision (thought I might just keep it a 30-06 and spend the $$ on sprucing it up a bit rather than on barrel/bore work)...

I put about 10 rounds of federal blue box (150 gr) down range with it and then shifted to a couple of rounds of Hornady "whitetail" 150gr before I noticed a problem...

While it groups well (the cheap federal stuff was putting about 1.25" groups together and the Hornday cheap stuff put 2 rounds about 1" apart before I stopped shooting).. it feeds well (zero problems), extracts well (zero problems), etc..

The brass is coming out consistently distorted (see below).. a short distance down from the neck the brass bulges a slight bit, but only around 50% of the case (the bulge line isnt on the other side).. and there is a distinct bulge at the foot near the rim that does go all the way around the brass...

It would appear the gun has a bad chamber? (now I know why it was sold for a song I suppose)... but with the consistent and reasonably accurate groups with cheap ammo, Im wondering if something else is going on that Im not seeing/understanding?

If the chamber is indeed bad, that pretty much solidifies the deal.. I'll ship it off to JES for a rebore and rechamber to 9.3x62 (I'd thought about 35 Whelen as well.. but if the -06 chamber is bad, I dont think reboring to .35 whelen would help unless they did quite a bit of work to cut a couple of MM off the current chamber, re-tap the threads, and then re-bored the chamber as well (I think it might be a good bit more work than just going 9.3x62)...

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas about what might be going on (other than a really poorly cut 30-06 chamber)?


View attachment 490843View attachment 490844

@mdwest
Definitely looks and sounds like a bad chamber job. A Whelen reamer wouldn't clean it out but a 9.3x62 might just check with the rebore people. Failing that a 300WM would clean it up.
May have to cut a few threads of to rechamber to Whelen or 9.3 but still worth the effort.
Compare the prices of a profit barrel to a rebore.
Bob

 

[rdog]

With the pre-fit barrels is it a matter of just ranking the old one off and then putting the new one on? Or do they need a final reaming for head spacing?

Every barrel I have ever bought prior (shilen, green mountain, Douglass, etc) were all short-chambered…

Pre-fit seems to imply that it’s already fully chambered and ready to go? (Not sure how that would work?)

Chamber is a little deeper, may need some machined off shoulder & crush face on M89, to head space, have fitted 3 Lother Walther 1 8x57 no machining req 1 x9.3x62 about .005 inch off & 1 30/06 .007 inch off. all on Parker Hales, no chamber reamer required just action wrench & bbl vice & head space gauges .

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I hadnt thought about a 300 WM.. that might could work.. With head spacing off the belt of a 300 WM, and the slightly larger chamber of a 300WM.. That might be the best overall solution (although I may still just scrap the rebore idea, call shilen and order a 9.3x62 barrel.. and be done with it.. Im pretty sure the barrel on the gun currently isn't anything special..

@mdwest
Never head space off the belt as belt dimensions vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and chamber to chamber. You are better of sizing all cases on the dutum/ shoulder line including rimmed. This helps avoid case separations
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Wish we could find either .308 Norma or ANY .338WM brass here? If you do find it, you have to take out a small loan to buy it. LOL

@CoElkHunter
Just by 458 brass and neck it down or 300WM and neck it up easy as.

 

[CoElkHunter]

@CoElkHunter
Just by 458 brass and neck it down or 300WM and neck it up easy as.

Well, it’s getting colder here now and the .458 brass bush in the yard has stopped producing brass. I’m still getting lots of blackberries though? LOL

 

[mdwest]

Well, it’s getting colder here now and the .458 brass bush in the yard has stopped producing brass. I’m still getting lots of blackberries though? LOL

The brassberry bush here has produced about 250 pieces of 458 WM brass (I knew I built a 416 Taylor and decided to help out )

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The brassberry bush here has produced about 250 pieces of 458 WM brass (I knew I built a 416 Taylor and decided to help out )

@mdwest
@CoElkHunter must be a shit house gardener mate. I may have to give him a few 243 tomato stakes to hold his brass bush out of the frost. He may get a bit better yield.
Ha ha ha ha ha
Bob

 

[Nevada Mike]

Wish we could find either .308 Norma or ANY .338WM brass here? If you do find it, you have to take out a small loan to buy it. LOL

I found .308 Norma Magnum brass from two members here recently. Have about 120 cases and am rebarreling a LH M70 Classic.