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View Full Version : Reason for Split Case in a Rimfire?



Punisher422
08-09-2011, 08:40 AM
I was shooting some Remington .22 Target bullets last night and had some issues. The first round sounded similar to a dud, so after I made sure the barrel was clear I shot another round. This one sounded much louder than the previous one and I discovered that the case had split at the top after ejecting. The third round fired fine.

I have never heard of a case splitting with rimfire ammo. Is this common and I'm just discovering it or is it pretty rare? Is this just a bad batch of Remington ammo? I was firing a Henry Golden Boy, and stopped after those three because I didn't want to risk damaging my Golden Boy if the ammo was bad.

I'm having issues posting pics, but the hull in question has a small chunk missing from the top of it.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_177304e412a62dfbc1.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=1732)

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_177304e412aa6e5c09.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=1733)

.22-10-45
08-15-2011, 12:41 PM
Hello, Punisher422. Looks like the brass was work-hardned & not annealed. Rem. probably thought not needed on a non-reloadable case! I would be concerned about where that missing piece of brass went..did it stick to bullet..or was it left somewhere in bore..to be run over by next one? I think I would be looking closely into that bore.

Punisher422
08-15-2011, 03:20 PM
I'll break down my Golden Boy and make sure that piece of brass isn't anywhere it isn't supposed to be. I had never heard of .22 rimfires reaching brass splitting psi, but I guess it's possible when the brass is weak to begin with.

CATS
08-15-2011, 08:49 PM
Is you chamber a .22LR? .22LR cases can split if fired in a .22Mag chamber.

3006guns
08-16-2011, 08:22 AM
I had problems with some Remington .22's years ago....an entire case of them. When fired in my 514, they simply wouldn't extract. Examining the case (punched out with a rod) showed the rim had ballooned out and the extractor was riding over the "bump". My first thought was a headspace problem, but how do you have that with the mild pressures of a .22? That, plus the gun was still almost new and never had problems before.

After firing a few more, it finally dawned on me that the brass was either thin or very soft causing it to flow into the extractor cut in the breech. I returned the whole case for a refund and haven't bought Remington .22 ammo since.

leadman
08-19-2011, 10:40 PM
I also have had recent problems with Remington 22s. Had a rim split and many misfires. I won't buy it now.
At one time many years ago it was all I shot, especially in my left hand 581 and it was very accurate. Now it is the worst rimfire aside from Armscor that I have shot. Now use CCI mini-mags when I want to get serious.