Problems with federal .22LR

[4F4Nam]

A few years ago I had bought some incorrectly boxed .223 the boxes were labeled 7.62 x 39 took them home loaded up my SKS chambered the first round and fired unusual report recoil and the bolt not coming back not to mention bullet not hitting the target at all. Had to knock the bolt open the case had completely ruptured (still have it somewhere ) rifle and shooter unhurt called Academy sports to tell them they asked if I or the gun was hurt I said no they told me to bring in the remaining ammo said they thought they had all of it I had bought several boxes. They gave me a gift card for $100.00 for my trouble and replaced the ammo. learned a lesson always check the head stamp of every round even if it is factory they make mistakes too.

Randy;
I'm glad you were not hurt, BUT, are we to believe that an experienced gun man could not tell the difference between 7.62X39 and .223 ammo before they loaded into their rifle? My God man!

Ed

[randy langford]

Ed
I wasn't nearly as experienced with guns or ammo back then and never handled any 223 or 7.62x39 before then. the rounds loaded fine and the first one chambered ok. I most certainly learned a lesson that day and am not afraid to admit a mistake if it keeps one person from following in my footsteps. My lord and savior Jesus Christ was sure watching out for me that day I am thankful for that and a strong built SKS.

[dryheat]

He should have the reciept as he bought it on saturday. Hope it didn't hurt the rifle but satill he was very luckey.

It can't hurt the rifle.

[CHW2021]

Recently there have been several posts on different forums regarding Federal .22 ammo showing or stating a similar failure. There may be a problem batch of ammo; have the shooter report the lot # to the maker/dealer.

I do agree with the above post re. chamber dimensions, there are indeed differences in .22 chambers for match rifles (that I can not recall exactly at the moment) and with the other reports of a slight case bulge ahead of the rim in other posts; the ammo could well be the issue.

[Art]

This malfunction is usually, but not always caused by the firing pin penetrating the rim of the cartridge. This can be caused by a very heavy firing pin strike, case(s) with thin brass, a short chamber for the particular round chambered, a cartridge case at the long (maybe too long) end of spec, or some combination of the above. .22 Magnums are even more susceptible to this problem.

Dryheat is right, by the way. This problem won't damage the rifle but in some cases it can damage the shooter. Wear those glasses boys.

[Johnny in Texas]

I have this happen with various .22 ammo in dirty semi-auto rifles it does not take much lead in the chamber to cause this problem. It could be the ammo as well or just a tight chamber and this ammo.

[MK111]

I might sound a little harsh here but anyway. You state he has "several" cases blow the heads almost off and he kept shooting. Then I would say he has no business owning a gun let alone owning a gun and ammo.

[dave]

Biggest warning sign is custom barrel and Ruger 10/22. Could be a tight chamber and firing out of battery. Not really the falt of the ammo, except it didn't seat in
the tight chamber that is made for target style ammo. If the shooter put it together, did he headspace it? Had he shot it before that day? Bulk ammo will very in sound
as the velocity can vary over 100fms. Bulk ammo also is harder to seat in a tight chamber. Most use a Bentz chamber reamer for 10/22's custom barrels. Most custom
barrels come short chamberd so you can set the headspace. More details on the rifle are neaded to realy determen the problem.

You are looking for the complicated, 'maybe' type answer when there has been problems with over (and under) loaded ammo for years. When I was a teen a buddy damn near lost an eye shooting a Marlin 39 lever with Monarch Ammo (hardware store brand, cheap) tiny bit of brass slide right down the bolt into his eye. I was shooting the same and had one go off (Win 62) no brass to rear but blast went down and jambed cartridge carrier to-gether. Had to take rifle apart to get action open. There has been several recalls on 22 ammo in the last few years, Wildcat comes to mind, and my sons experience with it!

[n64atlas]

You are looking for the complicated, 'maybe' type answer when there has been problems with over (and under) loaded ammo for years. When I was a teen a buddy damn near lost an eye shooting a Marlin 39 lever with Monarch Ammo (hardware store brand, cheap) tiny bit of brass slide right down the bolt into his eye. I was shooting the same and had one go off (Win 62) no brass to rear but blast went down and jambed cartridge carrier to-gether. Had to take rifle apart to get action open. There has been several recalls on 22 ammo in the last few years, Wildcat comes to mind, and my sons experience with it!

So you can tell what happened from a small discripsion on the internet. Looks like your a better gunsmith than I am. Couldn't posably have been another problem, like firing out of battery. Had to be a whole box of bad ammo that did this. Gee I guess I haven't learned anything in 27 years as a Gunsmith. Looks like I no longer have to have a customer bring in a firearm, just have them go on the internet and make a two line statement of the problem and all is solved. No pics of anything needed. No discription of the rifle except it was a 10/22. Unknown what modifications were done to it. It's automaticly the amm that caused it.

[joem]

The fired case was still in the chamber. The case head was flat and the F could hardly be seen as well as a split at the rim. The man only fired three rounds and quit. If I see him again I'll ask what federal said.