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Went and shot my Ruger Precision 17 a couple weeks ago just to make sure it was still dialed in and to group some different ammo. All rounds loaded from the attached mag. First 2 shots landed right where I aimed. Went to load my third round and somehow jamed up the round so I just ejected the round and tossed it in the dirt and proceeded to load a round from the mag and everything seemed smooth and normal. Pull the trigger and boom. Sprayed me pretty good on the hand, face and the person sitting on the bench next to me. Pretty good cut to my thumb that proceeded to bleed pretty good.

After the initial WTF and a bandaid on the thumb I start inspection. Rifle was jammed part way closed and cartridge stuck in the chamber. After a couple soft taps with a mallet on the bolt handle the bolt opened and out pops the rim of the cartridge that was torn off. With no rod small enough to try to get the stuck cartridge out that rifle is done for the day.

Now at home with my bore light I can see the bullet is still in the barrel about 1/2 way down. I get the bullet out but can't get the cartridge out. Off to the gunsmith. He looked over everything and extracted the cartridge. He headspaced it and gun was gtg. In his opinion the round was was over pressure. What do you say? 20220425_154649.jpg 20220425_154633.jpg
 
Glad everyone, and your rifle is OK.
What manufacture and specs on the ammo? Current production? Have you inspected any of the unfired rounds from this box of ammo, and the spent cases from the first two rounds fired as they should have?

I think that I recall some issues with brass on some earlier production 17 HMR ammo. I've had some old Hornady 17 HMR that had split necks IIRC, but never anything like you experienced.
 
Glad everyone, and your rifle is OK.
What manufacture and specs on the ammo? Current production? Have you inspected any of the unfired rounds from this box of ammo, and the spent cases from the first two rounds fired as they should have?

I think that I recall some issues with brass on some earlier production 17 HMR ammo. I've had some old Hornady 17 HMR that had split necks IIRC, but never anything like you experienced.
Federal 17 grain with the black poly tip. If I had to guess I purchased it last year or Christmas time 2020. The first two shells looked fine as did the rest of the sleeve on visual inspection.
 
I agree with the gunsmith. It was a bit too hot. If it wasn't a bolt gun I'd question being out of battery. Otherwise the neck split leads me to blame it on an overcharge.
 
Federal 17 grain with the black poly tip. If I had to guess I purchased it last year or Christmas time 2020. The first two shells looked fine as did the rest of the sleeve on visual inspection.
Thanks. Most of the issues I've heard of, or experienced on the 17 HMR was ammo produced earlier in the cartridge's history. I still have one HMR rifle, but rarely shoot it anymore so I don't have much experience with more recent ammo.

I would contact Federal with the remaining ammo you have from that lot and see if they are aware of any issues and what they are willing to do on it. Maybe a bad lot that was overcharged, or bad brass? I personally wouldn't fire anymore of that ammo until I talked with Federal.

With ammo supply/demand being what it has been the last 2 years, and prices reflecting the situation, I'm sure ammo manufacturers are pushing the limits to get product out, which could lead to unfortunate situations such as you experienced.
 
Glad the damage to you and firearm was not worse! I've probably witnessed 12 case head separations in 17HMR rifles....mostly bolt guns but also in 4 different semi autos. And also several squib loads that resulted in ruined rifles after firing another round into a stuck bullet. Its not limited to one brand of ammo either.
I don't question your gunsmith, but the fact that the bullet did not exit suggests to me that the load was not over pressured... prob not enough propellant and the stuck bullet creates enough back pressure to separate the head.
I believe the real problem is the poor quality of most 17HMR ammo that operates at very high pressure for a rimfire. JMHO.
 
I can add to the Federal 17hmr debacle. I had horrible results with Federal 17hmr loads. I chrono'd them at one point and they were all over the place. Deviations as wide as 200-300fps. If I hadn't bought a ton of the Federal stuff, I'd likely never shoot it. CCI 20 grain FMJs were some of the best and had the least deviation.

Glad to hear that you and your rifle are ok. I'd say toss the Federal stuff and stick with CCI.
 
"I believe the real problem is the poor quality of most 17HMR ammo that operates at very high pressure for a rimfire. JMHO."

My extensive tests of all brands of 17HMR available (8-10 years ago when I acquired one) supports this theory. Having five different rifles here on the same day confirmed that the ammunition is not very refined. I too had some split necks in my tests, unexplained radical flyers from groups, and misfires. No head separations, but with all else present, such would not have surprised me.

At that time it was "common knowledge" that all HMR ammo came from two different sources, regardless of how packaged. Dismantling rounds from various brands ALMOST confirmed this (powder type and amount, bullet styles, etc.). Winchester offerings were the exception, with their powder entirely different in appearance from other loadings (ball instead of flake). Winchester also was the ammunition that my rifle preferred for accuracy, and chrono readings were less erratic. The owners of the other four rifles that were here on that day had never tried the Winchester stuff, and a couple of them switched brands after trying it.

But it still was pretty inconsistent (just less so than all the other stuff). As a hunting round with no extra attention as might be afforded a target cartridge, we can expect little improvement from the manufacturers.

Finally, as to a forward brass section stuck in the chamber after a head separation, a removal trick is to run a brass brush (slightly oversize for the interior of the brass) into the stuck section and then reverse direction on the brush. The "hairs" will grip the walls and/or mouth of the case for easy removal.
 
Finally, as to a forward brass section stuck in the chamber after a head separation, a removal trick is to run a brass brush (slightly oversize for the interior of the brass) into the stuck section and then reverse direction on the brush. The "hairs" will grip the walls and/or mouth of the case for easy removal.
I did try. I do believe the smith had to make a cast to get it out.
 
Finally, as to a forward brass section stuck in the chamber after a head separation, a removal trick is to run a brass brush (slightly oversize for the interior of the brass) into the stuck section and then reverse direction on the brush. The "hairs" will grip the walls and/or mouth of the case for easy removal.
The trick I learned is to turn a tap (cuts internal threads) into the case, then push out with a rod. That's the old 303 British rifle repair. :)
 
Didn't even think to try a tap or easy out. Still glad I took it in for a look by a second set of eyes though.
 
Went and shot my Ruger Precision 17 a couple weeks ago just to make sure it was still dialed in and to group some different ammo. All rounds loaded from the attached mag. First 2 shots landed right where I aimed. Went to load my third round and somehow jamed up the round so I just ejected the round and tossed it in the dirt and proceeded to load a round from the mag and everything seemed smooth and normal. Pull the trigger and boom. Sprayed me pretty good on the hand, face and the person sitting on the bench next to me. Pretty good cut to my thumb that proceeded to bleed pretty good.

After the initial WTF and a bandaid on the thumb I start inspection. Rifle was jammed part way closed and cartridge stuck in the chamber. After a couple soft taps with a mallet on the bolt handle the bolt opened and out pops the rim of the cartridge that was torn off. With no rod small enough to try to get the stuck cartridge out that rifle is done for the day.

Now at home with my bore light I can see the bullet is still in the barrel about 1/2 way down. I get the bullet out but can't get the cartridge out. Off to the gunsmith. He looked over everything and extracted the cartridge. He headspaced it and gun was gtg. In his opinion the round was was over pressure. What do you say?View attachment 1193836View attachment 1193837
When you tried to chamber the third round and ended up ejecting it , if the neck was cracked it may have left the bullet or the plastic tip in the barrel.
I had the same problem once. the next round would not chamber correctly so I ejected it. The next round was hard to chamber, and when I pulled the bolt back the nose was deformed. There was a bullet stuck just into the rifleing. I found the ejected case and the neck was cracked. With no neck tension , when I pulled the bolt back it left the bullet stuck in the chamber. DR
 
When you tried to chamber the third round and ended up ejecting it , if the neck was cracked it may have left the bullet or the plastic tip in the barrel.
I had the same problem once. the next round would not chamber correctly so I ejected it. The next round was hard to chamber, and when I pulled the bolt back the nose was deformed. There was a bullet stuck just into the rifleing. I found the ejected case and the neck was cracked. With no neck tension , when I pulled the bolt back it left the bullet stuck in the chamber. DR
Best theory yet (and backed up by previous experience).
 
I agree with the gunsmith. It was a bit too hot. If it wasn't a bolt gun I'd question being out of battery. Otherwise the neck split leads me to blame it on an overcharge.
I don't understand how a bolt gun that has been fully closed before firing could end up in that position. There were out of battery discharges in early 17 autos that split the necks like that. I'm wondering if the bolt was not fully closed and it fired out of battery.
 

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