Has this ever happened to you?

[TCFAN]

I was shooting a Interarms model 22 ATD today which is a copy of a Browning 22 auto that ejects out the bottom. I had 3 of these that the head of the case split open all from the same box of 50.They make a big bang when it happens.
Just wondering if any one else has had this happen to them.....Terry

[MT Gianni]

Never had it happen, nor have I seen spent brass like that. What are your thoughts? It looks like it is firing before fully chambered, or the chamber is dirty enough to not allow full seating. In either case the firing pin should not be ready until the cartridge is seated.

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

I agree with MT Gianni, there is a considerable bulge between the rim and the crack, the round clearly didn't chamber fully.

[oneokie]

Dirty chamber, sticking firing pin.

[TCFAN]

The rifle had been striped down and completely cleaned about 200 rounds ago.First box of 50 today shot good with out any problems. The second box of 50 had the above problems. The first two were not to bad but this one in the photo sounded like it fired with the bolt about half open. It was very loud about like a 38 special in a short barrel revolver.

In over 50 years of shooting this is a first for me........Terry

[Bad Water Bill]

I not only saw it happen I fired the OLD single shot rifle. I blamed the rifle and took EVERY part out and still did not find the problem.

Old 22 L R ammo had the boolits oxidized so bad the boolits could enter the chamber but not as far as they should. Put the gun back together and fed it a steady diet of new ammo and everything is good again.

Check them boolits and look for frosting or grey matter. A micrometer will work as well.

[TXGunNut]

I'd recommend another very thorough cleaning. Some of today's promotional ammo is very dirty. 22LR is actually a fairly high-pressure round and case failures are serious business. I'm suspecting a fouled chamber and/or bore and a rifle that somehow fires before the bolt is completely forward. I've quit using Federal Lightning because it was so dirty and had so many primer failures. Kind of a shame, for some reason my 10-22 liked it.

[TCLouis]

22 RF does many strange and weird things

[captaint]

I saw that once, lately, while shooting a Ruger MKII. It was OLD Federal ammo. I just blamed the age of the
ammo and threw the rest in the "do not use" pile. I'll have to take it to the local police, for disposal. Mike

[DLCTEX]

I had that happen with an old Stevens Favorite that was worn to the extent that the extractor dropped under the rim and was then lifted by the block and fired the round just as I looked up as the action was closing. I got brass particles in my chin and nose, but none in my eyes. I was trying it out before buying it, which I didn't but now regret. It was $40 in 1968.

[backroad]

How old is that ammo.I found a box of that or close, in old tool shed on our farm had a tag from a store that closed when i was 7 or 8. I am almost 51

[Bad Water Bill]

Look at the boolits. If they are not EXACTLY like a new box DUMP them.

Even tho prices are out of reason remember the old saying.

IF IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT.

A trip to the emergency room is way more expensive than a CASE of 22 LRs

Yes I have found a couple K that were stashed many years ago.

[429421Cowboy]

I wonder if it would happen with different ammo? Just an idea.

I posted a thread awhile back about a Savage auto .22 i was working on that did the same thing to me, it was firing before the bolt fully closed and the case looked almost the same. Blasted the bolt knob off and back into my shooting glasses, alot of gas and carbon everywhere in the action, wish i would have kept the brass! You are right too, it had a distinct sound that was much louder than a typical round, and blew gas everywhere. Glad you are ok, even if you have to fix the rifle its better than going to the hospital! .22 auto's are a dime a dozen but you are only issued one eye for each side of your body and ten fingers to last your whole life!

[popper]

10:1 the case is too large near the case head. I've never seen rings around the case on 22LR like your pic. Had trouble with an older M60 that wouldn't chamber for a tight chamber, my M60 ran the stuff fine. My brass is usually a lot dirtier than your pic so it's not a dirty gun. You might have the disconnecter checked to make sure it's not worn and allowing firing OOB. Also make sure the FP isn't stuck, but I doubt it.

[DIRT Farmer]

Not the question of the origonal poster but I pick up the live rounds at the range and have had a few coffee cans of range pickup 22s given to me. I pull the lead and recycle the brass. 4 22s will make a 38 wc.
I did try firing a few old 22s that had been sitting on the dash of a junk pickup several years. After the second case rim split in a bolt gun the rest were broken down

[Bad Water Bill]

Blame tight chambers,dirty actions etc all you want.

I have tried to load many hundred OLD 22 L R rounds that could only be chambered if you would have used a BFH on them.

Tried them in revolvers and rifles as well.

A old time range master and I broke several hundred down as they would not chamber in any weapon.

Fortunately when we tried to shoot the first couple the brass did not split only bulged similar to the base of the picture.

Please be careful they might ONLY be 22s but they can still take out an eye or worse. We were lucky but you might not be so lucky.

[TCFAN]

The box in question is at least 10yrs old. I bought that box in bass pro outlet store in Springfield Mo. Over the years I have bought a lot of 22's in there and have had zero problems till I fired the rounds from this box.

I just now fired 10 rounds thru that same rifle off the front porch using the same ammo except it is only a year or two old. No problems at all,the rifle worked fine.I think the problem is a bad lot of ammo. The stuff that I had the problem with looked fine and except for the 3 rounds that split the rest shot OK. ......................Terry

[desi23]

I would say the problem is the ammo. I have had a lot of problems with Remington 22's and found a lot of others who did too. I had the same type of case failure in a Ruger MK II on the first mag fired at the range (the gun was cleaned before the range trip). Later had the same type of failure in a 10-22 and in my Browning 22 auto. Since then I will not use newer Remington 22's in any semi auto. I have also had lots of misfires with that brand. I suspect there is a quality control problem, starting sometime after they went from the old 'U' headstamp to the 'REM' headstamp in the late 80's.

[MT Gianni]

I guess i am too tight to rattle. I was given some old 22 lr that had oxidized. I put WD40 on a rag, wiped the 50 cartridges down and fired them. No issues at all. Visually they did not seem to be larger than the case. That is the first thing I would check.

[blackthorn]

You might want to pull the bullets on a few, dump the powder and look inside the case. Years ago I got hold of some .22 RF and had several split cases. On pulling down a few unfired ones and looking inside it became clear that they had priming compound "splashed" around inside above the rim (where it sould have been). Some were normal but when I got a bad one the "crack" on firing was very noticable.