Ruptured 22LR case

[P2Vaircrewman]

I had taken my grand kid out plinking with a Ruger 10 22 I have had since 1979. We were shooting Winchester white box ammo and having to clear numerous double feeds. My grand daughter was shooting from a bench and I was standing to the left of the bench when when I felt something hit my forearm. I turned to look and she had pulled back from the gun and had this puzzled look on her face. I checked the gun and found a ruptured case wedged between the bolt and barrel. Checked the bore and we continued shooting.
When I got home I cleaned the barrel and put a full magazine in it and with it on safe I began cycling the bolt by hand and had several double feeds. Clearing the last double feed and the case comes out with no bullet, it stayed in the chamber. I turned it muzzle up to see if it would fall out but it didn't so I used my air compressor blow gun to blow from the muzzle and it came out.
Several months ago when I bought the ammo I noticed every bullet was loose enough in the case to be able to spin it in the case and wobble it back and forth. I sent an email to Winchester about it but never received a reply.
Now what I believed happened is a bullet pulled from the case when clearing the double feed and she fire the next round with the bullet still in the barrel and cause an over pressure and ruptured the case.
Needless to say the remaining rounds will be deep sixed. Has anyone ever seen anything like this before.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYsQkifu52s&list=UU1HYt2PfX-UobG-YiOkpf_Q&index=1

[jsbhike]

The bullet spin isn't unusual. Google .22 lr bullet loose in case.

My guess is it fired the cartridge without the bolt fully closed. Not sure if a 10/22 can drop the hammer with the bolt back (Atchisson Ceiner conversion bolts can) or if it popped the primer during feeding.

[Uni-Vibe]

What you're calling double feeds is more likely extraction failure. Scrub the chamber well with Hoppe's and a brass brush.

[Bimmer]

When I got home I cleaned the barrel and put a full magazine in it and with it on safe I began cycling the bolt by hand and had several double feeds.

First, invest in some snap-caps... They're cheap.

Second, AFAIK, Winchester rimfire is crap. Their 17HMR is famously bad. I wouldn't ever buy Winchester .22lr...

[flenna]

I am surprised at the lack of response from Winchester on this. I had a pack of Federal .22LR that had a few squib rounds in it, including one that stuck in the barrel. I emailed Federal about the problem and they responded quickly. They sent me a shipping label and had the box picked up at my house and also sent me a refund to buy a new box of ammo. I would have thought Winchester would have similar service.

[P2Vaircrewman]

First, invest in some snap-caps... They're cheap.

Second, AFAIK, Winchester rimfire is crap. Their 17HMR is famously bad. I wouldn't ever buy Winchester .22lr...

I was using live rounds because they were what was causing the problem and I was trying to figure out why by inspecting them for damage after ejection. It was on safe and pointed in a safe direction.

[jsbhike]

I was using live rounds because they were what was causing the problem and I was trying to figure out why by inspecting them for damage after ejection. It was on safe and pointed in a safe direction.

Safe direction works, but the primer in a rimfire is getting smacked around a lot during the feed cycle so there is a chance of it detonating from that. Similar in concept to free floating firing pins detonating center fire primers.

[dpb1776]

I had that happen on an M&P 15-22 a year or so ago, can't remember the ammo. I had shot the gun a good bit previously but had not given it a good cleaning. plus it had sat for awhile. I pulled it down and noticed the chamber was a mess, so a thorough cleaning and have never had anymore problems.

[kerplode]

It is possible for a 10/22 to fire slightly out of battery. I regularly decock mine before storage by holding the bolt slightly (~1/4") out of battery then pulling the trigger. Old habit from back in the day...

Also, as was pointed out, test cycling at home with live rounds is dangerous.

I've fired a lot of bulk Win 22lr out of my 10/22s and 22/45s and haven't had any specific issues. Could def be a bad lot or something.

I would suggest giving the chamber a good scrubbing and trying again. Maybe take a couple different brands to the range as well see if any others do it. Also, since this rifle is 40 years old, I would also suggest replacing the extractor, extractor spring, and recoil spring assembly.

[T2C]

Google Winchester .22lr ammunition recall. Some lots of bulk pack .22lr were recalled a few years back and if you are shooting ammunition you have had in storage for a few years some of yours may be subject to the recall.