Problem with Win. Modle 70 Chamber

[keppler]

My cousin bought a new Winchester Model 70 Super Grade in .338 Win. Mag. about 4 years ago. New.. the rifle was a real bear to sight in and finally found some acceptable ammo. It is very hard to eject a spent cartidge from the gun. I mean hard enough that you have to take your hand and beat on the bolt handle to force it open. It lifts easy but you can't pull it to the rear at all.

On the spent cartidge ...just in front of the belt... is a place where the brass seems to have rubbed off, like the casing has swelled. It's all the way around the brass and about 1/8" wide. Kinda like a 1/8" band all the way around the brass. Just a shiny band really, but I'm thinking the brass is swelling and the band is the result of it being too tight.

Would this indicate a bad chamber cut or something else?

The rifle was shipped back to Winchester not long after it was purchased and they said it was within their specs and sent it back recomending useing Federal Premium ammunition. It was doing this at the time.

Any ideas?

[AlleninAlaska]

I built a little wildcat cartridge called the 416/350 Rem mag about 13 years ago and it was doing the same thing. The bolt would lift real easily but it would not pull too the rear without a lot of force. This was built on one of the older Ruger roundtop receivers. What it turned out to be was the chamber was ringed. Solved that problem by having the barrel set back and rechambered to 416 Taylor.

[CountryGunsmith]

Have you mic'ed the fired case ahead of the belt to see if it is fact swelled?

I'm thinking the best fix is to set the barrel back and rechamber. Or, rebarrel completely and you have the option of chambering a different caliber entirely.

[keppler]

Thanks for the information. I was thinking the same thing. It is a good looking rifle with some real nice wood and would be worth rebarreling. It's not my rifle but thats what I would do with it if it was mine.

Who makes a good hunting barrel for this rifle? Not some match grade heavy barrel but a nice one like whats on it now?

I was very dissapointed in Winchester for not fixxing the gun when it was returned to them. I can't believe beating on a bolt handle to get the bolt open is considered to be in their specs.

[CountryGunsmith]

That barrel could probably be pulled, the shoulder set back, and reinstalled.

If you want to rebarrel, most any barrelmaker would do for a good sporter barrel. Douglas, Shaw, Shilen, etc.

[4 eyed six shooter]

You might call and talk with the service manager at Winchester and explain the problem. if he says he wants it sent back, you might still be able to get it fixed free of charge.
Good shooting, John K

[stash247]

Sure sounds like a "jugged " chamber, to me.
To explain, consider the chamber basicly a cylinder; truly, it needs a bit of taper, smaller at the front, to extract easily. If any part of the chamber is larger, by even a tenth of a thousanth, than the rest, behind it, the case, once fired, is mechanically locked in. You must "resize" it, in this case with the bolt, to extract it.
"Within spec"
is a corporate BS term- if it won't easily extract, you have a chamber problem.
Were it my rifle, I'd send it back, with a note explaining the problem, and a couple of fired cases.
If they won't/ can't fix it, set the barrel back, or, have it set back, and re-chamber on the shoulder, not the rim- the rifle will shoot better, with no loss in ammo choices.