Hey all, unfortunate story here. May not be a big deal to remedy:

About a decade ago my best friend received a handful of guns when his grandfather died. Among them a beautiful .270 Weatherby Mag. Know that my buddy is not a huge gun enthusiast. Somewhat the opposite now. I was with him when he went to fire it for the first time. I didn't know what type of rifle it was, and he  bought the ammo. Turned out to be .270 WIN. The rifle fired one shot. Buddy got some burns to his face but nothing serious. The bolt has been jammed for the better part of nine years. I've urged him to take it to a gunsmith ever since and he can't stand to even look at it.

I'm assuming since it fired that the .270 Win is smaller in case diameter than the Weatherby mag, but close enough in length to seat and fire. The case would then be ruptured inside the chamber and blocking the bolt somehow.

Presuming this, will a gunsmith have to wrench the bolt off? Will it be risky regardless? Will a gunsmith be willing to do the work?

Obviously the individual gunsmith is the best person to answer these questions, but I would like to have a good understanding before I offer to take the gun in for my friend.

Thanks all. Cheers

It should be able to be worked on, the case very likely ruptured.  I'm surprised it was even able to hang onto the case and fire, with the different case head.

Right. I'll ask to have any case shards saved and I'll post a photo of the primer. I'm curious how centered the primer strike was.

Any other thoughts as to what it will take to free the bolt? Any bore damage possible? Sorry I can't say exactly what round was used. Likely just a winchester white box special FMJ

Grab the thing and stick the barrel in a vise between 2 pieces of wood, clamp away with the receiver upside down. Grab a rubber mallet and swat the handle good and stoutly, follow through. Should come open. I've done the same thing, well similar. Same cal but one non-magnum in a magnum rifle. The case did rupture near the neck and fire formed to fit the chamber the rest of the way down to just above the extraction groove where it just didn't expand at all. Mine was a Browning rifle.

Did the chamber need to be reamed or was it all right?

I would have him fill the bore with Kroil, let it sit for about 48 hours with the rifle tilted at an angle so the Kroil can flow in and around that case.  Then, stick a brass jag on a cleaning rod, insert through the muzzle, unlock the bolt, and start hitting the rod with somewhat heavy, but sharp strikes.  You may want to file the tip off of the jag so that it is not doing any damage through the case and into the bolt face.

Open the bolt, smack the stock on the ground, win. Maybe. Worked for me.

Kroil is a great thing...like PB blaster, but better. PB blaster would probably also work and you can find it at the auto parts store. I'd take the action out of the stock if you try penetrating oil. It is hard on wood.

Happens all the time when people put 9mm through .40s.