Was shooting last week with my S&W M&P 22 handgun. Ammo was Remington 22LR hollow points(from a "Bucket of Bullets" I purchased several months ago). After approx 175 rounds downrange, when I pulled the trigger, it sort of went bang. However, I also felt some of the products of combustion hit me in the face and smoke coming out of the rear of my slide. Clearly something had gone wrong. Retrieved the spent shell which is pictured below. I immediately field stripped and inspected the gun. No apparent damage. Shot about 30 rounds of a different brand afterwards with no issues. Then called it a night.
Btw, good thing I was wearing my safety glasses over my prescription eyeglasses.

Any idea what may have caused this? I assume bad ammo. Or, could it have been some sort of missfeed on the part of the gun? Appreciate any feedback.

After shooting thousands of 22LR I've never seen this happen. Over the years I've gone through easily 20K rounds and, aside from a misfire, never this problem.

This exact thing happened to me ONE time in thousands of rounds of .22 in many different rifles and a few pistols. I just chalked it up to an ammo problem.

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MSP - Retired

I also have had this happen one time. Probably 15 years ago with one of the Remington golden bullets. Shooting in my old Stevens favorite. Had some blow back in my face and when I opened the action the entire rim fell out. It left the entire sidewall of the case stuck in the barrel. So I had to get it out with a cleaning rod and and patches. This was the only time it ever happens in thousands and thousands of rounds.

I had this happen one time also, in a 552 speedmaster. Only time in my life

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SWCA # 2887

During the extrusion process sometimes thin spots can result. Pressure seeks the weakest point. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

In 80s Charles Daily was selling 22s from Philipines under their
name. These cartridges blew out rims at rate of 5/50. They
blew out in Marlin bolt actions, Ruger 10/22, Rem bolts & auto
And many popular handguns. Took them off the shelf and replaced customers with American brands. I still have a few boxes.
Other than that I have seen blow out from Stevens Favorite and
similar rifles. They always seemed to blow out in extractor area.
So cause was worn and sloppy extractor, not supporting the case,
not the ammo.

Thin case,excessive primer,or slightly out of battery discharge....that's all that I can think of.

Glad to read you weren't injured or the gun damaged.

It must have happened quite a bit more frequently in the past; S & W didn't recess their .22 LR cylinders until the 1930s, but it was specifically to prevent problems resulting from exactly this type of case head failure.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Usually this is a result of a slightly Out of Battery firing event and it is one of the "weak points" with rimfire ammunition. As I understand it it's a result of a combination of factors that have to be "lined up perfectly". First, you need a "thin" spot in the rim of the assembled ammunition. Next, that thin spot has to line up pretty near perfectly with the Extractor of the firearm. Finally, that extractor has to have a rather firm spring pressure and in a Bolt Action firearm the bolt must be moving somewhat quickly. Specifically what happens is the extractor hits that thin spot in the case firmly enough to provide enough energy to cause the priming compound to ignite.

Something very similar happened at the range last week, when my brother in law was shooting a Ruger 10/22. The round sounded very muffled, and smoke came from the back of the chamber. The case didn't eject, but I popped it out easily with my pocket knife. It was split open lengthwise. We checked to make sure the barrel was clear, then resumed shooting. I didn't notice what brand of ammo he was shooting. I don't recall ever seeing that in 40+ years and countless thousands of .22 shells, but didn't think it was any big deal. I just figured it was a defective case.

I had exactly the same thing happen a couple months ago with some Armscor 22LR in my M&P 22. Your pictures look just like mine. The round had a bulge all the way around, 1/32-1/16 inch or so, and my thought was an out-of-battery discharge. Seems impossible, but maybe it can happen.

Scary, and since we've been using GECO round nose 22LR there have been no repeats. Ventura Munitions, from whom I bought the Armscor, said they had sold over 250,000 such rounds with no reports of a failure like this. I sent the ammo back to them for evaluation, but never heard anything more about it.

It definitely affected my confidence in that weapon, but we're still using it.

Also had that issue with Armscor in a 10/22 and a Remington 597. No problems in a K22, various bolt rifles or Rossi pump, which tends to support the out of battery theory. After the experience with the semi-auto rifles, I didn't experiment with my semi-auto pistols.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

Funny thing two weeks ago I had the bucket ammo
Split a shell side open with my browning Buckmark after
Ejected on my table thought that was different rare

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D.

I had this happen first time using Remington ammo in my 15-22. Took my extractor along with it. I know it's difficult to be picky nowadays with .22lr but I avoid this stuff completely.

Look closely at the top photo. There is a distinct line around the case ahead of the rim that corresponds to the end of the chamber. This is an out-of-battery discharge with the usual result that the case blew out in the un-supported area. Could be a dirty chamber, debris from the prior discharge in the chamber, mis-alignment between bolt and chamber (not likely), or simply an over-sensitive or slightly oversize cartridge. Considering the nature of rimfire cartridges it is amazing this is so infrequent when shooting semi-automatic guns! Clean the gun and get along with life.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

Ive had it happen three times over my shooting career, but I don't remember the brand. This is the reason we wear safety glasses.

One of the guys at my club lost the extractor on an antique single shot rifle when this happened to him. In his case, it was hard to tell if it was an ammunition problem, or a rifle problem.

Just from reading the above 16 posts, this appears to be common with .22 LR ammo.

For your viewing pleasure, here's 3 of 4 obd's that I've had with my Ruger 10/22's. Whenever it happened I just cleaned the bolt face, breech face, and scrubbed the chamber real good.

No issues with My M&P 22c or 22A-1. Actually I've never had this issue with any pistol.