Case Blowed out !

[125JHP]

So I was shooting a few different brands of 22's in my revolver, everything seemed ok but I did sense one round seemed to spit something out the sides of the cylinder.

This is not a normal occurrence for this gun as it lines up perfectly with the bore so I thought maybe the bullet was cockeyed or something and just shaved a little lead. When I opened the cylinder to eject the cases I immediately noticed one of the heads was much bigger than the rest and completely filled the chamber recess. When I turned the cylinder the entire case rim fell into my hand. This was a major name brand (more notorious for the number of mis-fires & duds in a golden box) which decapitated itself and the rest of the case stayed in the chamber until I got home.

I've never seen a 22 blow it's base off, has anyone else had a similar experience? What caused it? an overcharge?

 

[k53]

I've had one or two do that. Well at least split right at the head anyways.. different guns also, so I'm guessing it was the ammo. Not sure of the brand... we were shorting all different brands those days

 

[DWalt]

Some years ago, I bought a carton of Federal .22LR. Most every round produced a split around the periphery of the rim. No damage caused however. I contacted Federal, and they replaced it. No reason given, but I have to believe it was something metallurgical.

 

[chief38]

I had a Winchester Wildcat (shot from a S&W M18 - scratched up my face pretty good) do that about two years ago. Apparantly there was a .22 Wildcat recall for that particular lot that I was not aware of. A call to Winchester was all it took and they sent a call tag for all 5 bricks I had purchased of the bad lot number and shipped me 5 new bricks along with a letter of apology. They offered to pay for any Dr. bills and to have the M18 checked out by a GS, but neither was necessary as the cuts were minor and I check the M18 thoroughly myself before shooting it again. Hey, it happens - but thankfully all is fine!

Chief38

 

[Alk8944]

So I was shooting a few different 22's in one of my revolvers, everything seemed ok but I did sense one round seemed to spit something out the sides of the cylinder.

I've never seen a 22 blow it's base off, has anyone else had a similar experience? What caused it? an overcharge?

It was once much more common than now. This is why .22 revolvers have recessed chambers, and have had for over 80 years.

 

[desi2358]

I have had similar failures several times with one particular brand over the last few years and will not buy any of their rimfire ammo any more. I shot their ammo for years without trouble and will still buy and use old stock with the U headstamp but if I find any of the newer stuff in my stock it will be restricted to revolvers (had two extractors blown out of rifles by case head failures).

Case head failures were common in the old days when copper cases were the norm for 22's but became uncommon after the stronger brass case became the norm. In the 50's some ammo makers even bragged about the stronger case being a safety feature. I would suspect that either there is a problem with the brass or it's heat treatment or some rounds are overpressure. If you ever visit the rimfirecentral forum there has been a lot of discussion on this topic.

 

[M29since14]

It was once much more common than now. This is why .22 revolvers have recessed chambers, and have had for over 80 years.

What I was thinking. I am surprised this surprised.