10/22 Out of Battery magazine explosion

[roadrage_64]

Had an unfortunate incident last night at the shooting range. My niece was shooting my fathers old 10/22 (bought new in 1974 and seen very little use and very well maintianed). When she fired the third shot out of the magazine, the sound was a lot louder than normal and as I turned to look, I saw her drop the gun, which then bounced off the bench and landed on the cement, barrel first. Of course mine and everybody else's concern was for her well being. She had a lot of gun power residue all over her hand, but after we put ice on it and got her calmed down, everything was ok, and she promised the range office that she would come back and shoot again with a big smile on her face.

Once the panic was over and she was back to her normal self, we started to try to figure out what happened. Everyone pretty much agrees that it was an Out of Battery discharge. The magazine was blown to bits and we found the bottom of the shell casing (never found the rest of it though).
After speaking to the range officers, it was their opinion that this was most likely ammuntion related (Winchester Expert HV bulk).

After looking at the gun, it appears to have held up well, but not being anything close to an expert, I'd like to have it inspected. My question is: Should I take this to a gunsmith, or should I contact Ruger and send it to them for inspection?

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[HAWKEYE#28]

Call the Service mgr(ONLY) at the Newport, NH plant and explain what you have experienced.

 

[mohavesam]

Maybe a blocked barrel? Cause for the third round to expend all the gas energy back and blow the bolt out of battery enough to direct the blast down into the magazine and bust it apart.

Check the target for the preceding rounds and the barrel for the slightest ring or mark where a bullet piece could have lodged.

I've never heard of a 10/22 fring pin being able to release out of battery. But I've also never seen a mag disintegrate such as yours.

?

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Not wholly uncommon, but unusual.

Had this happen to me with a buddy's Marlin autoloader a long time ago. My glasses shielded my eyes from the blow-back particles and the rifle wasn't hurt, either.

Glad the little lady's OK.

 

[dacaur]

Wow, mine was a winchester Xpert HV too.... Glad she was ok....

 

[roadrage_64]

Thanks everyone for the info. I tried calling Ruger today, but got a message saying that they were closed due to unforeseen circumstances. I assume this is because of Presidents day.

I took a much closer look at the gun today and discovered that the rest of the brass casing is in the chamber and that even with the chamber closed, there is still a gap of about 1/4" and that the trigger still works. I'm starting to wonder now if there is a bigger issue.

 

[Snake45]

I suspect the problem lies with the Winchester XPert ammo. This is at least the second case I've heard of of an OOB kB! with it, and having had one lot of it that refused to fully chamber in a number of my guns, I can easily see how kB!s could happen with it.

Report the lot number of the ammo to Winchester.

If your bore is clear, and you get the rest of the case out of the chamber, and assuming the extractor wasn't also blown out of the bolt, I think your rifle will probably be okay.

Winchester owes you a magazine.

 

[dacaur]

I would say it was ammo related, not gun related too.... I suspected the ammo from the start on mine.... The winchester expert hv are the ONLY rounds I have seen that sometimes wont chamber easily.... Before my OOB event I had about 20 or so rounds from the same box that simply jammed partway in the chamber, I would push them in carefully and shoot them.... worked fine till the last time..... Whats really crazy is that was the last round in the last clip of the day... my wife and daughter were already waiting in the jeep.... probably the only reason no-one got any brass shrapnel....

I had already thrown out my box except the top flap when it happened so coudlnt get the lot number or anything ... when I buy bulk ammo I load it into old CCI 100 round cases....

 

[Snake45]

The BAD lot number that I had is 2CC13L or 2CG13L--hard to tell for sure what the third letter is. Would love to know what your lot number is. (Another lot number, bought at the same time at the same Walmart, gave no problems at all.)

Here's a more detailed account of my experience with the ammo, written at the time:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=283000

 

[Pinecone]

roadrage_64, Just a passing thought from a retired AF Medic. Did the little lady receive any medical care, a Tetanus shot, etc?....................Dick :idea:

 

[dacaur]

why would they give her a tetanus shot?

 

[roadrage_64]

Now that I had a little time, I took the trigger group out, removed the stock etc.. Found a piece of the magazine blocking the bolt from closing and now it seems to work much better. Called Ruger today and they want to see it. The guy on the phone said it would likely be covered, I just have to pay for 1 way shipping. Just need to get a box from the LGS to ship it in.

Found the original box of ammo, still have a few left. These were bought at Walmart last summer and the lot number is 1CE21M. I'll still contact them on Thursday to see what they have to say. Now that I think back, I was shooting some of these out of my old Glenfield 2C last summer and there were a handful that didn't chamber right, and a couple that sounded weak.

Talked to my brother today and asked how the "Bug" was doing. Suprisingly she still want's to go out shooting, but not if we take that gun again. She only want's to shoot the Walther P22 and the MKIII and 22/45's.

Dacaur, they didn't give her a tetanus shot, never even thought about it, but after seeing you post, I asked my brother about it and she just had one last summer.

I do appreciate everyone's input here. This seems to be a very helpful and outstanding community to be a part of. I'll keep everyone updated on what happens with this.

 

[Snake45]

Thanks for the lot number report. I've passed it on on two other forums where this is being discussed.