My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

[Lafayette]

Fellow shooters,

I have a semi-custom Ruger 10/22 that has recently given me problems.

The rifle has a stock receiver with Ruger internals (bolt, spring etc), KIDD 2 stage trigger and an Adams and Bennett barrel.

Prior to blowing these two cases I have shot nearly a thousand rounds through the rifle without having such a failure. I have however experience failures to return to battery with several magazines and ammunitions. None have caused anything like this and certainly not 30 rounds apart...

This is the first and second time I have experienced chamber detonation – same rifle, same ammo. The first time it wasn’t too bad. The round blew, the bolt held open. There was some smoke but the bullet cleared the barrel. After speaking with the range officer and finding the blown case I decided I had enough for one day so I went home and cleaned the rifle (I wouldn’t say it was the best cleaning I have ever given a rifle but it was thorough).

I examined the case as well. To me it appeared that the round wasn’t fully chambered and it blew just ahead of the rim. After discussing it with a friend I chalked the failure up to a dirty chamber and failure to seat. (i.e I figured the round didn’t seat properly because the chamber was dirty)

Two weeks later I head back to the range with a ‘clean’ rifle.

Approximately 30 rounds later i experienced a second chamber detonation. This one was much more violent than the first. In fact, three pieces of brass planted themselves into my shirt at the forearm and elbow.

Thank god for flannel and that im a righty. It was nasty.

This time the bullet lodged in the barrel. I saved the brass, bullet and shrapnel for further examination.

Again the round appears to have blown just ahead of the rim.

I’m hoping to gain some insight from you guys as to what the problem may be. The ammunition used was <span style="text-decoration: underline">Federal AutoMatch</span>. Same case. Its what the gun loves. I have several hundred rounds of it down the tube without such a failure (although I do get occasional FTF/FTRTB). Please point me in the right direction before I have to hand it to a smith for a bill an hour.

Thanks,

Lafayette

 

[Lafayette]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

 

[wfjames22]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

I will be interested to see what the consensus is on this situation, as I had the same exact thing happen using Federal AutoMatch in my Tactical Solutions M4 upper. I had probably run 600-700rds through it before the incident without any issues and Ive run probably 200rds since just fine.

 

[cmh2007]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

is your recoil spring getting weak by any chance? also is your chamber dirty enough to prevent a round from feeding properly. is this the only ammo that it does this on?

 

[mavrick]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

Shooting supressed? it the Automatch a hyper veloicty round?

I have a extra power recoil spring if you want to try that but if you are running the stock bolt handle it might be a pain to change out. I went with Rimfire tech bolt handle that comes with a stock spring rate and a extra power that I am not using I run sub sonic stuff.

Dustin

 

[IronMaidenFan]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

Could this be due to a bad batch of ammo? Have you subsequently tried different ammo to see if the problem reoccurs?

 

[sinister]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

Happens all the time with the 10-22 -- the rifle will fire out-of-battery. Usually happens while you're shooting fast and don't notice the bolt's not fully closing.

First, stop using Federal (or any other American-made ammunition, really -- especially bulk-packs).

As the chamber gets dirty the rounds will not fully seat. The rifle will still function without the bolt fully forward (and rupture a .22 case at the rim, as in your case). It's a good idea to keep spare extractors, plungers, and springs on-hand.

If you're lucky the bullet will go out the barrel -- if not you'll have one in the tube and risk a bulge on the inside (been there - done that).

Euro .22s with good lube for semi-automatic feeding and functioning (Lapua, SK, and Wolf) are ideal, but pricey. They literally feel slippery due to their silicon lubes.

CCI Standard Velocity is good but they still have harder wax bullet lubes.

You have the option of reaming your chamber a little wider, which may help functioning at the cost of accuracy.

 

[Lafayette]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: seaaggie</div><div class="ubbcode-body">is your recoil spring getting weak by any chance?...is this the only ammo that it does this on? </div></div>

I don’t have a pull weight to tell you how many pounds its holding at – it doesn’t feel weak. Not sure though.
Yes, this is the only ammo that has done this – I have shot several other brands and weights to include CCI, Remington, Federal, Winchester and Wolf.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mavrick</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Shooting supressed? it the Automatch a hyper veloicty round? </div></div>

Un-supressed. Advertised at 1200fps – I clocked mine at 1185FPS

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: IronMaidenFan</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Could this be due to a bad batch of ammo? Have you subsequently tried different ammo to see if the problem reoccurs? </div></div>

I guess it could be a bad batch, I store my ammo in a temperature and humidity controlled room. What got me jittery was the fact that they were separated by only 30 rounds. I haven’t shot the rifle since the second detonation.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sinister</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Happens all the time with the 10-22 -- the rifle will fire out-of-battery. Usually happens while you're shooting fast and don't notice the bolt's not fully closing.
First, stop using Federal (or any other American-made ammunition, really -- especially bulk-packs). </div></div>

Its very tough for me to get foreign ammo (more so than others) – maybe lubing the ammo will help- ive been reading about that for a while now. Truth is I really want to shoot Auto Match (although I will probably stop) because it shoots so damn well, its avilable near me and its cheap!

Heres a pic of the Auto Match at 25 and 50 yds..

 

[MarinePMI]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

I think I would contact Federal with the lot number of the ammo, and explain to them the issue (politely, without accusation). Generally speaking, if they have had other reports of this, they will ask you to send the ammo back and usually reimburse you (ship ammo back to you or give you a voucher/coupon).

BTW, have you done any other mods to your 10/22 (re-staked the firing pin, radius'ed the bolt etc.)?

 

[thickstrings]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

The truncated cone bullets may have left a carbon ring in the chamber and may not feed well, could be head space, dirty mag, bad ammo or a combination of all....from the looks of those blown cases,they sure wern't seated..10/22's head space on the bolt, so if something stopped the bolt from fully closing,like a round that fed crooked, piece of crap,....bam! If you want to send it to a good 10/22 guy...http://www.ct-precision.com/or buy a Kidd bolt?

 

[sinister]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

It's a common 10-22 problem, especially with solid-lubed bullets. You get fouling or build-up in the throat and chamber and rounds may not fully seat.

While I love Federal Champion and AutoMatch those ruined a $200 Kidd precision match barrel. The trigger was a Kidd and the bolt had been completely worked over by Randy at CPC.

With an empty rifle hold the bolt back slightly and pull the trigger -- the hammer will drop even if the bolt isn't completely locked and in-battery.

A remedy and preventative action may be to simply run a bore-snake through the barrel every few hundred rounds to clean up the chamber and throat.

Federal will do right with you -- e-mail them (with the ammo lot number and your photos) through their contact e-address on the Federal/ATK site. It usually takes at least a week to get a response.

 

[Lafayette]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sinister</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's a common 10-22 problem, especially with solid-lubed bullets. You get fouling or build-up in the throat and chamber and rounds may not fully seat.

While I love Federal Champion and AutoMatch those ruined a $200 Kidd precision match barrel. The trigger was a Kidd and the bolt had been completely worked over by Randy at CPC.

With an empty rifle hold the bolt back slightly and pull the trigger -- the hammer will drop even if the bolt isn't completely locked and in-battery.

A remedy and preventative action may be to simply run a bore-snake through the barrel every few hundred rounds to clean up the chamber and throat.

Federal will do right with you -- e-mail them (with the ammo lot number and your photos) through their contact e-address on the Federal/ATK site. It usually takes at least a week to get a response. </div></div>

I cant belive the rifle will fire out of battery but sure enough it will. When this happened i wasnt shooting fast at all - rather slowly. The bolt must not have come all the way foward, for what ever reason, and the round didnt seat properly. I dont see how that is Federals fault.

Im wondering whether <span style="text-decoration: underline">increasing recoil spring strengh</span>, <span style="text-decoration: underline">lubing bullets </span>and <span style="text-decoration: underline">systematically cleaning the chamber </span>will be enough to ensure smooth sailing.

I will try and get a hold on some SK, Lapua, Wolf as well.

On a seperate note - as mentioned above - this is why eye protection is so important. Those pieces of shrapnel hit my clothed arm, if my arm was bare it would have been nasty but repairable, taking those pieces of brass to the eye would be irreparable.

Thank you for the the advice.

 

[oldrifleman]

Re: My 10/22 BLOWS... Literally

Auto match is one of the worst offenders in the area of Lube. Many will actually apply their own lube on these if Automatch is the round the rifle really likes. See if you can find some SK or Wolf match ammo, price is not too bad and I have had very good luck with it in my rifles (not 10-22s, as I don't own any , yet). YMMV Steven