Ruger 77/17 explodes

[ArmedinAZ]

Why doesn't someone man up and just call this guy a liar....dancing all around it. Blown casing, exploded mag, cracked stock. So he faked a kaboom to get a new stock? Seriously?

 

[WMB30]

I'll wait for the facts before I call anyone a liar.

Bill

 

[Snake45]

Why doesn't someone man up and just call this guy a liar....dancing all around it. Blown casing, exploded mag, cracked stock. So he faked a kaboom to get a new stock? Seriously?

That sounds like an outrageous accusation to me. :evil:

 

[ArmedinAZ]

Me too. There's an underlying current in this thread that this guy is being dishonest or misleading. He made the cardinal sin of going back to his dealer with his gun problem, I can see where he might not have all the evidence at his fingertips to produce on demand.

 

[Kevin]

I never thought the guy (woman? Yes, a woman posted the pictures to Google+ one Barbara Matul) was a liar.

We aren't getting the whole story. For example, the Google+ account looks like it was set up just for these pictures.

So, I'm not sure if perhaps this person just cannot express themselves fully in a written format, or perhaps they don't know very much about firearms etc.

But I never said they were being dishonest on purpose. That thought never even crossed my mind.

 

[mishtub]

Thanks for the pictures, Lew. In picture #8 it looks like the rim is swelled a little on the empty at the top of the picture .

Let us know how things work out.

 

[BlkHawk73]

All that really confuses me is that Ruger returned the gun in this condition. NEVER have heard of them doing anything like this with even a slight bit of damage let alone a blow out like this.
Looks very clearly it's an ammo issue, case neck split and base blowout... Nothing Ruger did other than build a gun strong enough to keep as intact as it did.

 

[rugermatic]

Looks very clearly it's an ammo issue, case neck split and base blowout... Nothing Ruger did other than build a gun strong enough to keep as intact as it did.

this^

The pics of ammo cases looked like they had spots of corrosion, possibly weakening the integrity of the case.

 

[Precision32]

Looking at the spent ammo in the photos it clear that this incident is the cause of two issues.

The brass is weak or overly brittle, as evident by the split necks and the blown rim. 17 HMR is known to have problems with split necks due to brittle brass. I would suspect this is at the root of Ruger's not offering to do anything with the rifle.

With that being said, this rifle has problems. Look at photo 11/20 and 13/20. In both photos you can see the case is swollen in front of the rim. The bolt handle may or may not been completely down, but the bolt would still have been fully at battery. I doubt this was an Out of Battery Discharge. I'd bet money on it being a combination of excess headspace and brittle brass. Who's at fault? Ruger or the ammo maker?

While the bolt face is machined like the one on the 10-22, headspace would be measured in a different way. The bolt of the 10-22 is held forward by the recoil spring. The 77-17 is held in place by the bolt handle. ANY slop between the bolt handle and the receiver when the bolt is pushed completely forward has to be added to the measured headspace of the bolts rim cut.

As to there "being more to the story." I'm sure there is, that's why Lew came to the forum trying to find answers. I've talked to the gentleman on the phone and find absolutely no reason to doubt a thing he has posted to this forum.

 

[Sub sailor]

After reading all of this thread, my gut feeling is that the gun dealer may have fibbed in saying they returned the gun to Ruger, kept the gun and tried to get payment for half of a replacement gun. Then knowing full well that Ruger would provide a replacement for the gun, they would have sold the replacement gun for full price to someone else. That is why there is no paperwork from Ruger, because it was never sent to them by the dealer! I think the dealer is trying to pull a fast one on this guy. He should contact Ruger Customer Service directly!

 

[ArmedinAZ]

Your conspiracy math doesn't work out very well. A Ruger at 1/2 MSRP is below dealer cost, and NOBODY buys a 77/17 at full MSRP, more like 25% off. A crooked guy isn't going to pull a scam like you envision for a couple of bucks.

The OP said this: " I am sorry there were paperwork in the box folded in a new owners manual, it listed what was in the box and it did say the gun was unsafe to fire." So the crooked dealer forged it?

Besides, the OP said early on his dealer is good to him.

 

[transalp1961]

I would like to share my ONE bad experience with a local gunshop. Years ago, I purchased a Stoeger Luger 22 semi-auto pistol from my local gunshop. I had problems (ejection issues) shortly after purchasing the gun. I took it back to the gunshop and he sent it back to Stoeger. A month or so later, the pistol came back. He said they went over the pistol and resolved the issues. I took it home and it had the same problems. I promptly took it back and he said he did not know why it would have the same problem. He sent it back again. Several months later, he said it was back. He never provided me any paperwork indicated what was repaired or even if it was ever sent back to Stoeger. This time, I asked him to fire the pistol before I took it home. We went out back of gun shop, where he had a small range set up. It immediately jammed when fired. The shop owner said "thats all he can do" and i would have to live with the problems. I could not believe his comment. I went home and contacted Stoeger (this was pre-internet days). They did not have any record of him sending it back for repair. I took it to another local gunshop, who sent it back for repair. About a month later, they received the pistol back. This time, it worked like a champ! I promptly traded it to the last gunshop that returned it for repair. In the end, I could not believe the owner of the first gunshop lied to me! I never set foot in his shop again. I hope you are not having a similiar experience with your gunshop.

 

[JimHnSTL]

I would be hounding the ammo mfr!
There is no way that kind of damage happens with factory ammo. Do you still have the rest of the ammo and the lot number involved? If the wrong powder got used there could be a whole bunch of accidents waiting to happen. I also can not beleive Ruger is not replacing the rifle, something is not quite right here with the story.

 

[Dan in MI]

My 2 cents.

1- The dealer may be a filter for info in both directions -- By pass the dealer and talk to Ruger direct (double check serial numbers from previous repair paperwork and the gun)

2- Get on the phone with ammo mfr too

Get the middle man out of the picture. talk direct to all involved.

 

[JimHnSTL]

My 2 cents.

1- The dealer may be a filter for info in both directions -- By pass the dealer and talk to Ruger direct (double check serial numbers from previous repair paperwork and the gun)

2- Get on the phone with ammo mfr too

Get the middle man out of the picture. talk direct to all involved.

This!

 

[lewgroth]

I have an update, I got a new 77/17 from Ruger, Everyone that I showed the rifle to said it was the rifle not the ammo, I also found 13 spent cases from another lot of ammo with cracked cases. I was told cracked cases would be from worn chamber or excessive head clearance. The gun had less then 200 rounds through it so it would not be a worn chamber unless it was built wrong. Of course Ruger wouldn't take the blame. The new rifle is for sale and I also have a 20 ga. Red label for sale. Make an offer, let see how much you guys think Rugers are worth.

 

[gmartinnc]

If we are having a auction, most people will what to see some pictures. Neither gun will bring up to it's potential without them.

 

[jungleman]

I have read through all the posts on this subject. I have two 77/22 wmr's and one 77/22 lr. If I am reading this right, there is no way that that kind of damage could occur to the rifle if the bolt was closed. It must have fired out of battery. I think that the 77/xx's are built strong enough to survive any condition except firing out of battery. Now should it have fired out of battery, NO. I would check that.
I have personally seen a new Henry .22 pump rifle fire out of battery. On this Henry once you are ready to fire and decide not to, you pull the hammer back to half cock, this is the safety. Once you put the hammer into half cock position the bolt unlocks letting it slide back. If you cock the hammer it is still out of battery and will fire. You must push the forearm forward and lock the bolt before fireing. I personally emailed Henry and they told me that this is the way it was engineered.
It was not my rifle but I saw it first hand.
I did have an old Ward's bolt action .22 fire out of battery on me and burnt my face with gunpowder years ago. Something to check with an empty cartridge on all of your rifles.

 

[Snake45]

It must have fired out of battery. I think that the 77/xx's are built strong enough to survive any condition except firing out of battery.

Now explain to us how a 77/22 can fire "out of battery."

 

[lewgroth]

I have a 77/17 and I dont think it did fire out of battery, I blieve it had way to much head space, I showed it to two gunsmiths and they both agreed. I didn't have the rifle to show them but I showed them the fired cases. Thanks for asking. Lew