Case head separation on a .22LR

[jjfitch]

It was Remington Golden Bullet 100pk plastic box.

See post #16!

Coincidence.....!!??

 

[Jims Custom Stocks]

I had this happen to me with a Ruger MK III. My theory is that this was because the round didn't seat all the way in the chamber due to a batch if CCI standard velocity that had too much wax on the bullets. I think that was that there is enough of a tolerance in all the parts to allow the firing pin to strike the rim with just barely enough force to set the round off. I've had other instances of the cartridge from this batch not seating where the round didn't go off when the hammer dropped. The blast of the cartridge rupturing blew out to the right so no harm was done to hands or shooting glasses. I only had this happen one time in the thousands of rounds I've put through the pistol and haven't had it happen with any other batch or brand of ammo. Keep your chamber clean.

 

[ma96782]

Out of battery discharge from a modified Ruger 10/22 (chambered in 17 Mach 2).






Stuff like THIS.....certainly is troubling.

Traced it to bad ammo (1st production run) and/or a dirty chamber. Note to self: Clean more often and buy fresh ammo.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Bottom Gun]

I had that happen twice with Winchester Power Points in the plastic box. Mine were both very loud though. I'm convinced mine were a result of powder over-charges. My guns were definitely not out of battery both times it happened.

 

[Wrayman]

Customers came in to my gun shop all the time with complaints about their 22's. I would ask what ammo they were using and it was always promo quality like the big box stores carry. My take on it is that they run the loading machines so fast that occasionally the powder from one ends up in the next round. I quit buying the cheap stuff 30 years ago. Since then no "squibs" or extra hot rounds that blow out the case or send a lot of crap into your face. The problems (feeding included) always went away when I gave the customer a box of CCI MiniMags.

 

[WillametteWill]

It was Remington Golden Bullet 100pk plastic box.

That was going to be my guess. Of all 22 ammo over the past few years that I have issue with it's mostly been those. Split cases, burning powder on my hands compared with other rounds not uncommon. Just shooting them in my bolt guns now.

 

[Wrayman]

Another issue becomes evident if you try the discount ammo in a quality gun with a tight chamber. Many rounds will not go in, even by pressing hard. Combining one of these with a hot charge and lousy brass makes you appreciate eye protection.

 

[JCKelly]

Probably not the case here, but never ever store your ammunition around the kitty litter.
Ammonia from urine will crack brass.
Me, I wondered why my revolver seemed to be spitting. Hard to eject the empties, too.
Whoops. Like the shoemaker's barefoot children. I'm a metallurgist who should know better

The Brits first learned this in India, 1860's - 1870's, bringing the Light of Western Civilization along with .577 Sniders. Whose ammo they stored in the horse barn during monsoon season. Whoops, it cracked.

 

[CKStephens]

I had this happen to me in two different Ruger 10/.22s. Weeks apart using Winchester M22 ammunition. Both instances, round seamed hot. Very loud and debris coming back at me and smoke coming down through the trigger assembly. First time it ejected the case. Second time the base of the case came off and the shell remained in the chamber.

 

[jch1511]

Contact Remington for help, they will replace ammo and pay for firearm damage. They seem to be going though some QC issues lately.

 

[Jims Custom Stocks]

I was shooting my Ruger Mk II the other day and it made the strangest faint noise. I've not heard anything like it before when shooting. I opened the action and a little brass disk and the front half of my extractor fell out. Upon further inspection I noted the forward portion of the case was still in the chamber. My trigger finger and left hand index finger had two parallel soot streaks on them. What happened was a case head separation (that little disk is the case head) and the resultant leaking gas blew down along both side of the trigger leaving the soot staining on my hands. Everything seems in order other than needing a new extractor ... which is on the way.

The remaining case and head when put together almost look like a .22 Short … but I assure you it was a Long Rifle round. The back half of the extractor was nowhere to be found.

This is a new one on me. I've had bottle neck rifle cartridges separate and I've had a few blown pistol cases over the years, but this is the first time anything like this has happened to me with a .22LR. Anybody else see this before? What really puzzles me is that the bullet was clear of the barrel, so a fair amount of pressure was present in the bore, but there was hardly any noise at all.

View attachment 751413

I had this happen on my Ruger MK3. Some of the CCI standard velocity rounds I was shooting at the time had too much wax on the bullets and the round wasn't seating all the way in the chamber sometimes. Most times the gun wouldn't go off, but this one time there was enough of a primer strike that the round went off and I got the same exact results you have shown. The round didn't seat all the way but stuck out just enough for a light primer strike. Felt the blast on my trigger finger but no harm done otherwise. I don't think its a problem with the gun, just a matter of the tolerances being just right for this to occur. If the firing pin was made shorter you might get misfires. Fired thousands of rounds since in practice and competition and never had this occur again. My fellow shooting buddies always put a drop of gun oil on the bullet on the first round in a magazine, I started doing this also and have had less jams and misfires from all brands of ammo.

 

[ageingstudent]

I had this happen to me in two different Ruger 10/.22s. Weeks apart using Winchester M22 ammunition. Both instances, round seamed hot. Very loud and debris coming back at me and smoke coming down through the trigger assembly. First time it ejected the case. Second time the base of the case came off and the shell remained in the chamber.

Old thread but there was a recall on that m22 a few years ago IIRC...? IIRC I had some but I didn't hit the lot# lottery.