Tikka Broken Bolt? Factory Ammo Blowup

[JPeters218]

So I was shooting my new Tikka T3X .308, had been shooting Lax Ammo 168 a max reman’s. They shot great. But we had an older box of Winchester Supreme 168 silver tips. Ive always been skeptical of shooting older ammo, but this stuff looked brand new. The first day I shot 3 rounds of it, sub 1” group. Shot it again today, first 7 rounds shot great. Sub 1” again. The 8th Shot total of it, 5th of the string, I got a big puff of gas back In my face. The case was stuck in the chamber, and the bolt looked to be missing some pieces.
So used a rod and pushed the case back out. The side was blown out of the case. None of the precious shots had any ejector marks, bolt lift was all easy. This one just decided to blow up.

I’m not exactly sure what’s missing/ broken. I couldn’t find any pieces laying around. Bolt doesn’t close, safety and trigger don’t work.

**Update**. After finding the pieces in the action, everything seems to function fine. Minus the pieces of the bolt being taken off still

Anyone have any ideas what went wrong? I’ll get ahold of Winchester and tikka tomorrow but I wanted to get a better understanding of the situation first.


Quick summary of the gun. Tikka t3x stainless .308win. Cut and threaded at 17”. Shooting suppressed with Banish 30. First time shooting it was 2 weeks ago, 51 rounds (40 Amax’s, 3 silver tips, 8 older speer’s). Second time shooting it (this time) 49 rounds (40 a Max’s, 9 silver tips. The last 5 rounds through the gun were silver tips. Barrel wasn’t super hot. (I shot a 10 round string of a max’s earlier that went right around an inch. No pressure signs before it blew up.

 

[sndmn11]

Your extractor is missing. Not being able to close the bolt makes me wonder if it is still in the action somewhere.

Tikka and Sako - extractor and ejector kit

Tikka and Sako - extractor and ejector kit

lumleyarms.us

 

[Dioni A]

Your missing the extractor on your bolt. I bet it's still in the action blocking the bolt

 

[JPeters218]

I’ll inspect it closer in a bit. It’s not in the magazine, and wasn’t on the bench or the ground that I could find. I need remove the cheek rest to get the bolt out and I don’t have my impact on me at the moment to get the screws out

 

[SDHNTR]

Holy smokes. Glad you’re ok. That ammo is not even that old!

 

[JPeters218]

They both look like they’re in good shape to me

 

[Justin Crossley]

It looks to me like that piece of brass had a flaw in it, and the gas coming out the side knocked the extractor off the bolt. I don't see any other pressure signs besides the split case.

I would have a competent gunsmith inspect everything before shooting it again though.

 

[Darryle]

Those primers look flattened to me and I can see ejector marks as well. I would contact Winchester and let them handle this.

 

[axeforce6]

I’ve seen crimps in Winchester brass a few times. Generally it’s around the shoulder. It’s a weak point. If you ever see that don’t shoot them and call the manufacturer. That brass just looks bad. Primer doesn’t scream excess pressure.

 

[sndmn11]

They both look like they’re in good shape to me

Where were they?

 

[Darryle]

Primer doesn’t scream excess pressure.

It does show excessive pressure though

 

[JPeters218]

Where were they?

I honestly don’t know. Not real familiar with the parts of a bolt. I attached a picture above of what I found

 

[sndmn11]

I honestly don’t know. Not real familiar with the parts of a bolt. I attached a picture above of what I found

Where did you find them? That is the extractor and extractor plunger.

 

[MattB]

I honestly don’t know. Not real familiar with the parts of a bolt. I attached a picture above of what I found

You have them in your hand, but you don’t know how they got there?

 

[Ucsdryder]

It does show excessive pressure though

View attachment 553912

I don’t see any issues. Primers look fine, no crater, not flat. If you see ejector marks you have a better eye than me!


I think it’s a brass issue with that piece as well. Keep us updated!

Oh and don’t shoot it until a smith looks at it!

 

[JPeters218]

You have them in your hand, but you don’t know how they got there?

I was saying I didn’t know which parts they were specifically

 

[JPeters218]

Where did you find them? That is the extractor and extractor plunger.

They were on the right side pushed all the way forward to the right of the chamber

 

[sndmn11]

They were on the right side pushed all the way forward to the right of the chamber

Perfect! Is that why you couldn't close the bolt?

 

[SDHNTR]

It does show excessive pressure though

View attachment 553912

I’m not calling that excessive. No cratering. Still some rounded edge to primer. In the absence of a stiff bolt and any ejector mark, that flattening alone isn’t stopping me.

 

[JPeters218]

So now that the pieces are removed from the action, everything seems to function fine. Bolt closes, trigger and safety both work normally. to my eyes, everything that I can see looks perfectly fine. I will have my gunsmith look at it tho. Im going to get ahold of Winchester tomorrow before I take it anywhere and see what they have to say.

Here is another picture of the primers. And again, no heavy bolt lift or anything to make me suspect there would be a problem. All was going well until it didn’t.