A warning for 300WSM owners!

steve1589 · January 11, 2008, 09:43 AM

A 308 Winchester will fire in a 300WSM chamber. The cartridge will burst and has the potential of causing injury. I have a customer that has two identical Remington 700's. One is chambered for 308Winchester and the other one is 300WSM. He got them mixed up and fired a 308 win in the 300WSM. I was skeptical until I pulled the bolt out and looked at the bolt face. When the cartridge burst it transferred the headstamp lettering to the boltface. It read 308 Win. It did not hurt the rifle or the shooter. I heard of another case yesterday from a gunsmith buddy of mine. The rifle was a Model 70 Winchester chambered for 300WSM. That rifle didn't fare as well. It wrecked the extractor, blew the floorplate off and broke the stock. The shooter has a face full of burnt powder and case fragments.

steveno · January 11, 2008, 05:52 PM

paying a little more attention to detail would have prevented from happening in the first place

brickeyee · January 12, 2008, 02:11 PM

One gun at the line, one kind of ammunition at the line.
Basic safety.

Harry Bonar · January 13, 2008, 09:07 PM

Sir:
Yes, there are many cartridges that will fire in the wrong chamber. As has been pointed out - use the right cartridge in the right rifle - and - the barrel on a conversion rifle must be stamped with the correct cartridge its chambered for. To avoid this is a lack of attention and cannot be excused!

Yet, Ackley found that given neck clearance and proper headspace that larger caliber bullets would fire through undersize bores given the right neck clearance.
This was done ONLY as an experient - don't EVER try it.
Harry B.

Martyn4802 · January 14, 2008, 07:50 AM

Look, we're all responsible for what we do. Putting the wrong round in a rifle is not being responsible. Yet, being human, we all make mistakes. Fortunately, in this case, the price of learning responsibility wasn't fatal.

Martyn

January 11, 2008, 09:43 AM	#1
steve1589 Member Join Date: December 12, 2005 Posts: 55	A warning for 300WSM owners! A 308 Winchester will fire in a 300WSM chamber. The cartridge will burst and has the potential of causing injury. I have a customer that has two identical Remington 700's. One is chambered for 308Winchester and the other one is 300WSM. He got them mixed up and fired a 308 win in the 300WSM. I was skeptical until I pulled the bolt out and looked at the bolt face. When the cartridge burst it transferred the headstamp lettering to the boltface. It read 308 Win. It did not hurt the rifle or the shooter. I heard of another case yesterday from a gunsmith buddy of mine. The rifle was a Model 70 Winchester chambered for 300WSM. That rifle didn't fare as well. It wrecked the extractor, blew the floorplate off and broke the stock. The shooter has a face full of burnt powder and case fragments.

January 13, 2008, 09:07 PM	#4
Harry Bonar Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2004 Location: In the Vincent, Ohio general area. Posts: 1,804	wrong catridge Sir: Yes, there are many cartridges that will fire in the wrong chamber. As has been pointed out - use the right cartridge in the right rifle - and - the barrel on a conversion rifle must be stamped with the correct cartridge its chambered for. To avoid this is a lack of attention and cannot be excused! Yet, Ackley found that given neck clearance and proper headspace that larger caliber bullets would fire through undersize bores given the right neck clearance. This was done ONLY as an experient - don't EVER try it. Harry B.

January 14, 2008, 07:50 AM	#5
Martyn4802 Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2007 Location: Grayling, Michigan Posts: 737	Look, we're all responsible for what we do. Putting the wrong round in a rifle is not being responsible. Yet, being human, we all make mistakes. Fortunately, in this case, the price of learning responsibility wasn't fatal. Martyn __________________ US Army Retired NRA Benefactor Life Member JPFO

January 11, 2008, 05:52 PM	#2
steveno Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2004 Location: Minden , Nebraska Posts: 1,407	paying a little more attention to detail would have prevented from happening in the first place

January 12, 2008, 02:11 PM	#3
brickeyee Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2004 Posts: 3,351	One gun at the line, one kind of ammunition at the line. Basic safety.