Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

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Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by EV85 » 18 Dec 2016, 8:40 am

Hello all,

I couldn't see a introduction section, so apologies if I missed it.

But wondering if I can seek some feedback/advice on a situation after I picked up a new Lithgow LA102 308W.

Basically I have picked up this new rifle and my friend who has been shooting for some 15 years asked to come over so he can take a look
and in this process asks if it ok to put a empty cartridge down to feel the trigger and cycle the action.

As the bolt has gone in behind the empty cartridge it has jammed, the bolt is on safety and after a period of time finally we were able to pull the bolt back and eject the cartridge.

My question is, would this process damaged any part of the gun, I know without seeing/inspecting the gun it's hard to answer, but before taking it to a gunsmith I thought I'd would ask for feedback here.

Thank you
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by BBJ » 18 Dec 2016, 5:24 pm

Welcome mate.

About the jammed case. It happens. Once in a blue moon you can get one that's stuck like a real bastard. Usually happens with brass that's been fireformed in a different rifle with a larger cut chamber or sometimes just factory brass that's a bit on the large size.

99.9% of the time it just means pulling it out with the bolt, or if it's really stuck you can feed a cleaning rod down the muzzle and tap from that end while someone pulls on the bolt to dislodge it.

From what you've said I'd be seriously surprised if you'd damaged anything. Personally I wouldn't bother taking it to a smith yet, just take it to the range next time and see how you go. Probably fine.

Where was the brass from? Are you going to be shooting factory ammo or reloading?
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by Bills Shed » 18 Dec 2016, 5:31 pm

^^^^^what he said.
Unless the brass was fired in your chamber or it was full length sized prior to chambering it is just easier just not to tempt fate.
Let us know how it shoots and Welcome.

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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by No1Mk3 » 18 Dec 2016, 5:46 pm

G'day EV85,
Welcome aboard, just inspect the lip of the extractor for visible signs of damage such as burring or chipping. Very unlikely to occur after one incident, but worth looking. As others have said, be very cautious placing brass fired from other rifles in yours, stick to new or full length resized cartridges or cases for testing. Cheers.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by Oldbloke » 18 Dec 2016, 6:37 pm

I assume you have removed all of the rust protection/grease from barrel and chamber.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by EV85 » 18 Dec 2016, 9:08 pm

BBJ wrote:Welcome mate.

About the jammed case. It happens. Once in a blue moon you can get one that's stuck like a real bastard. Usually happens with brass that's been fireformed in a different rifle with a larger cut chamber or something just factory brass that's a bit on the large size.

99.9% of the time it just means pulling it out with the bolt, or if it's really stuck you can feed a cleaning rod down the muzzle and tap from that end while someone pulls on the bolt to dislodge it.

From what you've said I'd be seriously surprised if you'd damaged anything. Personally I wouldn't bother taking it to a smith yet, just take it to the range next time and see how you go. Probably fine.

Where was the brass from? Are you going to be shooting factory ammo or reloading?


Thank you for your help, to answer...it was brass once fired in a 77 Ruger Scout, factory load Federal which was 130G. For the immediate future I'll be using factory ammo the same and ADI 168G factory loads.

Oldbloke wrote:I assume you have removed all of the rust protection/grease from barrel and chamber.


When this happened no I had not, however I did add some oil to action before as it was so dry.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by bigfellascott » 19 Dec 2016, 8:38 am

Yep you can't chamber used brass from another firearm unless you fully resize it first or you get what happened to you. just bump it out with a cleaning rod and you'll be fine.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by Wm.Traynor » 19 Dec 2016, 8:56 am

EV85 wrote:When this happened no I had not, however I did add some oil to action before as it was so dry.


IMO, oil in the action can play some funny tricks. For instance, it could find its way on to the bedding area and spoil the accuracy. It could transfer to the cartridges in the magazine with the possibility of increased backthrust on the bolt lugs. If you are very sparing it's OK.

The bolt lugs would benefit from moly grease as would the cocking cam. If you take the bolt apart, squirt G96 on the firing pin.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by EV85 » 19 Dec 2016, 7:39 pm

Thank you for everyone's replies, sure has given some direction :thumbsup:
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by Medic » 27 Aug 2018, 8:38 am

I just bought a Lithgow 308, I have had in 28 rounds, full length resized, broken 2 extractors with the same issue. Stuck cases I think were the culprit! Looks like the chambers may need rehoning. Reading this sounds like it’s more than just me. There’s a big dirty scratch down one of the cases. This shouldn’t be happening. I put 8000 rounds of the same load down 3 different rifles and never had an issue. The brass is once fired OSA with full length resize, I’m waiting to hear back from Lithgow today, but I’m pissed. I missed out on some scrub bulls because of it!
Last edited by Medic on 28 Aug 2018, 6:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in new barrell

Post by TheDude » 27 Aug 2018, 8:59 am

Bloke at the range a couple of weeks back had issues with his la102. Ejected cases had a couple of scratches down the length of the neck. Some needed to be tapped out with a cleaning rod
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by Bustacap » 06 Apr 2019, 3:03 pm

I too had the same problem. I had to bash open the bolt after every shot. Forget rapid fire. Even though my brass was full length resized, and tumbler cleaned, the lithgow hated it. The brass was ex military ADI that had been working just fine in my Omark. I then purchased some brand new never fired brass and found the action to cycle as smooth as silk after every shot. This is still something that i am keeping my eye on however.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by SCJ429 » 07 Apr 2019, 11:04 am

I find that Tikka chambers are fairly tight for a factory chamber, Lithgows are likely to be similar. This is a good thing until you try feeding brass from a rifle with sloppy chamber dimensions. Most military rifles have sloppy chambers so they will fire ammo covered in crap. Not saying this is the problem experienced by the OP but something to keep in mind.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by SCJ429 » 07 Apr 2019, 11:08 am

Don't use ex military brass in your tight chamber, even after full lenght resizing the brass will spring back and give you trouble.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by straightshooter » 07 Apr 2019, 12:19 pm

SCJ429 wrote:Don't use ex military brass in your tight chamber, even after full lenght resizing the brass will spring back and give you trouble.


If the ex military brass was fired in a military or ex military chamber then a small base FLS die is required.
Normal FLS dies don't adequately deal with case expansion near the web.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by SCJ429 » 07 Apr 2019, 10:15 pm

I was given some Lapua 308 brass shot out of an Accuracy International rifle which would stick in the chamber of a Remington Sendaro. I sized them with a Redding small base body die but they just kept springing back. Ended up throwing them away.
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by Diamond Jim » 08 Apr 2019, 1:19 am

Totally agree that - if it is an EMPTY case - just use a cleaning rod to tap it out.
Do not - repeat not - "bash open the bolt". That is a real risk of breaking your extractor and some serious expense getting it repaired. I've seen it happen on an Anschutz rifle and it wasn't cheap to fix. Definitely use a rod to tap out a spent case.
If it is a live cartridge, and it is safe to do so and the bolt is fully closed, fire it in a safe direction and then use a rod to tap it out. Don't try and tap out a live cartridge and please don't bash on the bolt.
If you have a live round stuck and you can't fire it safely then visit your local gunsmith
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by SCJ429 » 09 Apr 2019, 10:11 pm

I have seen a gunsmith use a mallet to open the bolt, if you have a stuck bolt how would you open it without damaging anything?
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by duncan61 » 09 Apr 2019, 10:43 pm

Tapping the handle up with a soft mallet is fine to release the spring tension just don't tap the bolt back to try to remove stuck brass.Agree live ammo shoot it off and use a rod If I do not put a smear of grease on the bolt rail of my .243 it makes extraction hard
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Re: Jammed Cartridge in barrel of new Lithgow LA102 308W

Post by bigfellascott » 10 Apr 2019, 3:38 am

You'd reckon ol mate would have had this sorted by now seeing as it's been about 3yrs since the original post! :lol:
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