Which one can handle the most pressure.

[6mm Remington]

I'd hate to see them ruin perfectly good actions, but I would like to see someone or a company with integrity and knowledge take several rifles that we all love and commonly use and take them to the maximum to see what each one will handle and when it will finally give up the ghost. I would want them all chambered in the same caliber, something popular like the 30-06 and test them so we the consumer can see what happens. The testing would use the same exact cases, brass, primers, bullets, powders, and charges as they work up in each rifle. This would cost some money because you are going to ruin or over-stress these things, but I just think for some reason I'd really like to know how they stack up against each other, and what PSI they could handle. I think it would be very interesting to see what happens.

30-06 - 180 gr. Partition - Winchester brass - Federal 210 primer - powder to be determined

rifles:
Winchester Model 70
Remington Model 700
Ruger Hawkeye
Weatherby MKV
Sako
Tikka
Montana Rifle Company
Ruger #1 - not a bolt action, but a popular rifle & I think it would be neat to throw it in with the rest.

Any popular rifles that I am missing that should be thrown in the group to be tested? Any one else like to see such a comparison?

 

[JD338]

You will never see it because of liability.
The modern bolt actions withstand loads of 70K+ psi but running at these pressures is a ticking time bomb.

I know some guys will push the limits of their favorite cartridge and they are living on the edge.
If a fella needs more, get a bigger cartridge (engine) to reach the desired goals.
I'm not picking on you, just making a blanket statement in general.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Brass lets go at ~85K psi. Modern actions surrender to the inevitable at ~160Kpsi. JD338 is correct that liability issues stifle the "proofing" of actions today. Another problem is that stress fractures are cumulative, so continued exposure to excessive pressure eventually leads to metal fatigue and catastrophic failure. The inclusion of a gas port in modern actions works to ensure against explosive response to such pressure events. This is the reason barrels will give way before the actions give way in most instances.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

https://youtu.be/e4AqMl1A4aQ

 

[6mm Remington]

You will never see it because of liability.
The modern bolt actions withstand loads of 70K+ psi but running at these pressures is a ticking time bomb.

I know some guys will push the limits of their favorite cartridge and they are living on the edge.
If a fella needs more, get a bigger cartridge (engine) to reach the desired goals.
I'm not picking on you, just making a blanket statement in general.

JD338

Nope Jim don't feel you are picking on me. It's not that I'm wanting to run extreme pressures, this is just for pure knowledge as I'd like to see how the different makes of rifles handle the pressure and what happens when it becomes too much. I'd like this test just to see how the actions do and what is the strongest one. You hear Weatherby say the MKV is the strongest and this one isn't. Are one of the Cast actions like the Ruger Hawkeye or the Montana Rifle Company action be able to handle what the others do. That's all Jim, I just want to see how they do and if anyone has ever tested them like that.

 

[Divernhunter]

Toss in a Savage bolt action for testing.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Ridge Runner 665, thank you for posting that video!
It would be interesting to know, if the barrels that catastrophically burst (Browning, Remington), were Hammer Forged or Button Rifled?

Also, on most of the other rifles, you see a bulge and dust appear, around the same location (just in front of the Rear Sight on the Zoli and Sako and behind the Rear Sight on the Blaser)!
I assume, this may be the location of the barrel obstruction?

To the best of my knowledge, industry wide, the Remington 700 action is acknowledged as the strongest commercial action available.
FYI, whilst I have several Rem 700's, I have one in .338 Lapua Mag, a chambering that has a standard maximum operating pressure, of 69,000 PSI!
I run this rifle to the maximum (250grn bullets @ 3040fps, with Maximum Safe Working Loads), and this particular rifle seems to handle this with out any indication of problems.

Doh!
Homer

 

[FOTIS]

Homer Do not forget the 9 lug Weatherbies!!!!


They have seen 200K plus psi without ill effects!

 

[WYcoyote]

 

[6mm Remington]

You win! Very cool photo.

 

[SJB358]

You win! Very cool photo.

With all the flames and smoke I thought someone had touched off my 20.5" barrel 35 Newton... :lol: