280- 308 mishap

long-gunner

My bad, last fall i lent a rifle to a fellow hunter , because he did not want to use his in the rain.
i lent him my 280, gave him several rounds for the days hunt.
when he returned he stated that in his excitement he mixed his 308 rounds and the 280 round up and dicharged a 308.. he turned the spent round over so i know it happened.
we cleaned the rifle and are unable to see any cracks, or disfigureing. the gun smith said over the phone that if it did not blow up its fine... any thoughts???

perry shooter

IMHO it might not have "BLOWN IT UP" but it sure as H**L did not do it any good . You need to find your self some new friends "he did not want to get his rifle wet but though so little of you and your rifle he fired the wrong ammo in it"[:(!][:(][V] I would tell him he just bought it for the cost of a new replacement.

Tailgunner1954

Well, in addition to what PS said, your bud fired a 308Win round in your 7mm-06 chamber, and gave you the "rimless 47-70" case as proof of his stupidity.
You might want to not just call the smith, but take the rifle in for a complete inspection.
As far as wrecking it goes, it's entirly possible that your rifle is fine, due to the pressure drop caused by the oversize chamber, and inspite of the pressure surge caused by swadging the 308 bullet down to .784 (worst ones have happened, IE rechambering a 6.5x50 Jap to 30-06 and firing it with factory 30-06 ammo)

bpost

I would send it to the factory or a top gun smith for a good inspection. My WAG is if the case did not fail then the pressures were not dangerous to steel, but you never know.

How much copper was left in the barrel after he shot it?

Did he hit what he was shooting at?

Any "buddy" that is not willing to take his gun into the rain, but will take yours is no buddy I would have IMNSHO.

sandwarrior

long-gunner,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry your first post here was a tale of woe. We're usually pretty happy around here.

I'm thinking due to the rapid dissipation of pressure it probably didn't do any damage to the rifle. It certainly didn't do it any good though that's for sure. You could take it to a gunsmith and ask that he do some form of NDT (non-destructive testing) to ensure no cracks. Eddy current would probably be the best, but dye-pen would work too.

I would find out: What was he thinking carrying .308 and .280 together? When he plans to buy an 'all weather' rifle? When he plans on paying you for the NDT you may need to do on your rifle? If you don't mind having a doctor check his 'headspace and timing' before he ever borrows a rifle from you again?[}:)][:D]

Good luck with this.

RCrosby

Not that the answer would tell us for sure one way or the other, but what kind of rifle is it?

moonshine

How in the he!! did he chamber a 308 in a 280

sandwarrior

moonshine,

The .280 and .308 bases/case heads are the same. At the same distance of the .308's case head to the shoulder down the .280's case, the .280 is actually a smidge larger. And due to the almost 1/2" shorter shoulder the .308 bullet can fit into the neck. Fortunately, there is a lot of room left over so there is places for the pressure to go.

I know what you're thinking because I thought it as well and that was how did you mix up rounds that are 1/2" different in length???

fathead

no worries... i sold the gun, all the best to the sucker who bought it..

PA Shootist

Kind of makes one want to buy your used guns, eh? I do hope the "sucker" who bought your rifle was informed of the mishap, so he could take appropriate precautions?[V]

bpost

Selling a firearm that you know has been exposed to possibly damaging use without telling the buyer shows a lack of character IMNSHO. [V]

You very well deserve the friends you have. [xx(]

JustC

Bad Form[V]