my mate ballsed up , opinions on damage

[Scots_stalker]

my mate was on the phone last night, telling me he was out zeroing in his 308, he started at the target at about 20 yards , firing 3 shots , didnt even hit the paper, he moved closer and fired another 3

only then did he realize he had been firing 243 bullets,



opinions on any damage caused

 

[Grant.N]

He was lucky no damage was caused to himself never mind the rifle !

 

[White Hart]

1 - he phoned you and told you?

2 - he's still your friend?

Te he he, he's a lucky boy! Like you say now's the time to assess the damage, hope it isn't too bad the boys going to suffer enough with all the ribbing!

 

[Akeld]

Get it bore scoped, surprised he didn't notice a difference when firing

 

[unlacedgecko]

I've got no experience of this or similar, but thinking from a logical view point, I don't think there would be any damage. The round obviously fit the chamber well enough for the primer to be in the correct position to be hit by the firing pin and function, so one would assume no damage there...

The bore is designed to fire a .308 bullet, I can't imagine that using a smaller bullet would do any damage. If in doubt tell him to have a look at it with a bore scope.

I remember raring of certain free bullet killers which were .38 cal barrels with .32 cal chambers. They fired .32 cal bullets. The barrel was ported, allowing muzzle to skin contac with the target if possible/necessary. Apparently the logic is to ensure that the pistol is inherently inaccurate, reducing the chance of it being used on people...

 

[ABOLT]

Where did the bullet heads end up ?

 

[Buckaroo8]

Is this meant to be in the "Jokes and Funnies" section?

 

[Buckaroo8]

opinions on any damage caused

Yeah, two dead horses in the field behind, a new Lexus with a hole in the engine a mile and a half away, a broken window and a wounded limousin bullock....

 

[bobjs]

View attachment 30019 View attachment 30020 I am almost sure he should have noticed that the bolt would have been hard to close,

the shoulder on a 243 is at differant angles to that of the 308 thus the above problem.

bob.

 

[widows son]

my mate was on the phone last night, telling me he was out zeroing in his 308, he started at the target at about 20 yards , firing 3 shots , didnt even hit the paper, he moved closer and fired another 3

only then did he realize he had been firing 243 bullets,



opinions on any damage caused

You want to delete this thread in isn't funny it is tragic ,a mate I'd disown such I fool .

It states on the barrel .308
It also states on the brass .308

Does he not read .

Starting his zero at 20 yds I'd love to see how much ammunition he goes through zeroing a weapon .

Damage caused to his reputation or yours huge to the barrel mmmmm little none or lots only a barrel scope can check the rifling for any damage . The mark one eye ball wont do the job, well his wont he cant even see the writing on the barrel or the brass .

 

[Johno100]

He sounds as smart as a muzzle loader I know of who complained the balls keep falling out of his M/L revolver , turned out he was using .36 in a .44 !!!

 

[Scots_stalker]

hey. dont shoot the messenger lol

 

[6.5rem700]

i had an old gamkeeper friend who couldent zero his CZ 243, when i had a look at it ,his mag was filled with 22.250 and his T8 mod had a figure of 8 hole in the end
instead of a normal neat one hole, i dont know how well it grouped before this but it doesnt group that well now
all i can think of is he has 2 CZ in both calibers is he picked up the wrong mag ,but even then he still refilled it as he had put a box through it when he rang me

 

[bewsher500]

the usual "shockhorror" mongers quick to discipline your friend and take away his guns
Because in the history of firearms no-one has ever done this before!!!
sure it happens more that you think! people just don't tell you!

It is one of the reasons I don't own any rifles that share common cases or action lengths. with the exception of my Sako Quad which has cartridge specific magazines that won't chamber with the wrong barrel

At least he had the decency and thought process to own up and ask a legitimate question.
Shame few chose to answer it

Very unlikely to have damaged either the chamber or barrel
He has effectively fireformed the case to 308, the bullets will have been travelling very slowly due to the low pressure

look here for graphic demonstration of a smaller calibre bullet down a larger bore.
​Note the sound

30-06 down a 338-06 tube

 

[Hunting Solutions]

the usual "shockhorror" mongers quick to discipline your friend and take away his guns
Because in the history of firearms no-one has ever done this before!!!
sure it happens more that you think! people just don't tell you!

It is one of the reasons I don't own any rifles that share common cases or action lengths. with the exception of my Sako Quad which has cartridge specific magazines that won't chamber with the wrong barrel

At least he had the decency and thought process to own up and ask a legitimate question.
Shame few chose to answer it

Very unlikely to have damaged either the chamber or barrel
He has effectively fireformed the case to 308, the bullets will have been travelling very slowly due to the low pressure

look here for graphic demonstration of a smaller calibre bullet down a larger bore.
​Note the sound

30-06 down a 338-06 tube

​This.

 

[Brithunter]

Chances are that despite needing a good cleaning there will be no damage.

​Sadly there are too many who do such things.

 

[Richard Parsons]

Mentoring advised.

 

[finnbear270]

Have a chuckle, lesson learned, don't fret about the barrel steel, bullets are soft,unless there was any grit or other foreign material on them no worries, And for the record,most of us have done something we are not proud of!Me included.

 

[Virbius]

Agree with Bewsher's post.
When I was at school I heard a story of a boys' fathers friend who mixed 20 bore with 12 with disastrous consequences. I am now anal about checking correct ammunition with correct firearm, just as I ensure I take the right magazine and bolt with the right rifle as I also shoot .308 and .243.
Hope your friend is OK!

 

[Sinistral]

my mate was on the phone last night, telling me he was out zeroing in his 308, he started at the target at about 20 yards , firing 3 shots , didnt even hit the paper, he moved closer and fired another 3

only then did he realize he had been firing 243 bullets,



opinions on any damage caused

Why is it that whenever this sort of thread is posted the theorists or the damnation brigade leap aboard it? This happens because everyone standardises on the 2 most common deer calibres out of idleness. They're available in all sorts of rifles, and every other stalker you know has one. If they start with a .243 the next upgrade is usually a .308

Well I fess up to firing to .243 ammo out of my .308 in a chronographing session on the BSRC range @ Stansted some years ago. Nothing happened, and there was no reading on the skyscreens 5 metres out which were registering my .222. Tried it a second time too. Still nothing. Applied some sharp thought, and realised that the idiot in control was at fault.

As you'd expect the .243 case neck was fireformed to .308. The bullet didn't pass through the sensors. It either cartwheeled a few metres downrange, or just f**rted out of the muzzle into the dust between. When you think about it, unless a bullet engages the rifling it cannot fly true. What you have is no more than a smoothbore musket firing a sub-calibre ball of trivial mass at 'squib' level pressure which any 100yd range will contain.

There was no harm done .... no damage to rifling or kit. Since then I've switched to different coloured MTM boxes dedicated to each calibre. The motive for this is because it's a jog to memory so is more convenient, and I want to avoid feeling such an amateur tit in future.