It's a .22, what could go wrong?

[Pressman]

I have a 25 ft range in my basement where I normally shoot sub sonic and quiet cartridges. Sorting through the 22 collection this morning I found a partial box of these 60 gr Aguila's that I bought 20 years ago.
Since I was shooting the 22 Western Field single shot I grabbed 3 rounds to try for the fun of it. I had already fired over a dozen CCI rounds with no issues. The first two were OK, the third filled my face with crap, mostly just missing my eyes.

I shoot open sights with out glasses as I can see them better. Looks like I need to dig around to find the prescription shooting glasses I had made back in my Bullseye days, 30 years ago. This was too close for comfort.

I had never experienced a ruptured case on a rimfire, nor do I know of anyone who has had it happen.

Ken

[OldBearHair]

What is the noise level and fps on those 60 grainers? In all my years I never saw a single one of those.

[Dimner]

Are those the ones that are primed only and no powder? I don't know how that could happen either, but could your firing pin have punctured the brass? How deep are the pin marks on the other rounds.

[gpidaho]

Mom said you'd put an eye out if you kept shooting guns in the basement. Glad you didn't! Gp

[PNW_Steve]

..................Looks like I need to dig around to find the prescription shooting glasses I had made back in my Bullseye days, 30 years ago..................

Ken

I can't speak to your issue but I am curious how you found an optometrist that understood shooting needs. I have been asking for shooting glasses for 20 years and have gotten nothing but a deer in the headlights look.

My current glasses( Bi-focals) focus too close on the bottom and too far away on the top. If I put my glasses on, I cannot see the front sight.

I spent time trying to explain a proper sight picture and what I needed to be able to see. He didn't get it and I wound up with glasses that I cannot wear when shooting.

Any tips would be appreciated.

[Drm50]

Back in 80s Outdoor Sports HQ was selling Charles Daily 22lr. House brand I think. We pulled it from shelves because of ruptured cases. This happened in several different guns. Had one guy had to go ER that was using a brand new Marlin BA rifle.

[Paper Puncher]

PNW-Steve

Google "Bullseye Shooting for the Eyecare Professional" written by Norman H Wong, OD

He has written quite a few articles on glasses and shooting.

[Bazoo]

I've experienced a ruptured case with Remington golden bullets out of a worn Remington 552. It fired slightly out of battery and swelled the case head fore of the rim so that it looks like a second rim. It sounded funny but didn't injure myself or the other shooter. I still have it as well as a picture floating around somewhere on the net.

[Pressman]

This case split on the opposite side, away from the firing pin indentation. That was my first thought.

I have a pair of yellow Bausch & Lomb yellow lens shooting glasses that I had the lens replaced to limit the focus distance to the front sight on a 45 at arms length. It's very close to the same distance with a rifle.

[C. Latch]

Brass can age-harden and it's possible that brass that was fine - maybe barely within proper hardness specs when loaded - could age out of the proper hardness range.

Many years ago I stored a large quantity of .223 reloads. Maybe 15+ years later I found a remaining box of that ammo and had several cracked case mouths when I shot it. I attributed this to age-hardening of brass that was already work-hardened.

That's my best guess as to why your .22 cases cracked.

[Drm50]

I’ve seen 22s rupture that you can’t blame on the ammo. The old single shots, like Favorites with bad extractors would rupture or swell case every shot.

[NSB]

I used to shoot a massive amount of .22lr ammo from back in the mid eighties on through to around 2005. I shot around 35,000 rounds a year during those years. I've tried a lot of different ammo over the years. Back around 1990 or 1991 IIRC, I got a case of some ammo made in Mexico. Might have been the brand you're shooting. It came in a blue box. About 10% did what yours did. I ended up digging a hole and burying it. Not be be a hard *** or anything, but you know better than to be shooting without glasses at the close ranges you're shooting inside. You shouldn't even be doing it outside. The message here is very clear.....ammo can do that and you can lose an eye if it happens. I'm glad you're OK, but for Pete's sake, get some shooting glasses. Also, thanks for taking the time and sharing your story. It very well may save someone else an nasty injury. One other thought, do you have adequate ventilation inside? Riimfire ammo will leave a lot of dust residue and lots of people don't realize what a safety risk that is also. Be careful.

[Martin Luber]

....and that dust has a high lead content....from priming as well as the bull...ok, ok, boolit. Sounds like your chamber is oversized and just maybe that brass was brittle but, l have had high speed restrikes let go with a pinprick hole in the rim. If there is a place, like an open magwell, for the gas to go then you just get smoke around the action. If not, it goes in your face. I would rechamber std velo 22s and they would usually go. If HS ammo doesn't go the first time , guess where it goes?

[1066]

I can't speak to your issue but I am curious how you found an optometrist that understood shooting needs. I have been asking for shooting glasses for 20 years and have gotten nothing but a deer in the headlights look.

My current glasses( Bi-focals) focus too close on the bottom and too far away on the top. If I put my glasses on, I cannot see the front sight.

I spent time trying to explain a proper sight picture and what I needed to be able to see. He didn't get it and I wound up with glasses that I cannot wear when shooting.

Any tips would be appreciated.

I have the same problem with precision pistol shooting and really didn't want to shell out an arm and a leg for a fancy pair of shooting specs - So I designed and 3d printed my own. I found the right lens in some cheap "off the peg" reading glasses and ground it to fit the printed holder.

[Minerat]

On shooting glasses call around to eye doctors (opthamoligest) not an optometrist they can probably help.

[tazman]

If you see your sights better without prescription glasses, do what I do and just use regular safety glasses that have no prescription.
I found I could see my sights clearly and the target well enough to vastly improve my groups with a handgun and open sights on a rifle simply by using regular safety glasses.
When next I change my glasses prescription, I am going to get a set with my normal prescription in my non dominant eye and a plain glass lens with no prescription for my dominant eye.
That way I will be able to see both the sights and the target clearly like I used to be able to when much younger.

[Gaseous Maximus]

I bought a case of wild cat 22 L.R. One of them ruptured at the firing pin indent in my Chinese copy of a Bruno, and blew out my right side extractor. In my S&W, 22A one blew off the head completely. I shot the remainder of the 5000 in my Ruger MK1,which is one tough gun. No more trouble, other than about 10% failure to fire.

[Texas by God]

In 50 years of shooting, I’ve seen two blown case incidents- both with CCI Stinger ammo. The Browning BL-22 had to be disassembled but wasn’t hurt, the Remington 597 blew the extractor somewhere across the High Plains. I had to send it back to Remington because they wouldn’t sell the parts to an individual. Both rifles are still going strong.

[hockeynick39]

I can't speak to your issue but I am curious how you found an optometrist that understood shooting needs. I have been asking for shooting glasses for 20 years and have gotten nothing but a deer in the headlights look.

My current glasses( Bi-focals) focus too close on the bottom and too far away on the top. If I put my glasses on, I cannot see the front sight.

I spent time trying to explain a proper sight picture and what I needed to be able to see. He didn't get it and I wound up with glasses that I cannot wear when shooting.

Any tips would be appreciated.

PNW Steve, go find a pair of Wiley-X or Oakley ballistic glasses. Tell your optometrist that you want the prescription for your normal vision single plane and send that to either Wiley-X or Oakley at the time of purchase. They can also make them into photo-greying lenses as well. My insurance covers the frames and most of the cost of the other items. Good luck and stay safe.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Had some oversized Remington Thunderbolts. 1/20 or so wouldn't chamber. No problem, we just cleared them and shot on, until one went off out of battery. Blew out the back of the case. Got a puff of smoke, but no injury.