Hi,
I was shooting at the range shooting a 1903A3 (30-06) with Lyman 311041 and 13 gr Red Dot shooting a steel plate and after several shots I felt some gas/particles on my face (was wearing glasses!) which was definitely not normal. The bolt was stuck closed.
We used a rubber mallet to pound the bolt open and eject the spent case, two picture of which are attached.
I have never seen a case head deformed like this before... The primer pocket is now .290 at it's widest and .283 at it's narrowest. A normal primer pocket is about .225! The case has a bulge at the base also where it is apparently unsupported in the 03A3 chamber. The case head is .541 at it's widest, compared to .a normal case at 470.
The primer was blown out of the case and flattened but of course was trapped by the bolt. It fell out when the bolt was opened. The front of the case looks completely normal.
I know that the previous bullet was not stuck in the barrel as it rang the plate. The shot that did this also rang the plate, about 6" at 100 yds!
There was no damage to the shooter or firearm... My question is: What happened???
John