Winchester 22 LR Ruptured Case

[Bazoo]

Last year I was shooting my Ruger Single Six and I had a ruptured case. I had fired a cylinder or two of this ammo, and when the ruptured case happened it sounded "funny". I noticed smoke coming from the frame at the hammer opening. I stopped and checked out what was going on and found a ruptured case.

This ammo is not really that old, maybe 10-12 years. I've fired about half the box, and those didn't have any issues. I don't have but one box.

The inside flap has this code:

RCLR5FY
E129752
K1919

 

[Bazoo]

Here's one of the unfired cartridges.

 

[ericuda]

I'd say a random case out of 10s of thousands. For sure something to watch for though. All a guy needs is a bullet not exiting.

 

[JTHunter]

Bazoo - that almost looks like either "metal fatigue" a bad pressing when the case was made. That crack extends almost to the middle of the bottom of the shell as well as up the side.
If the bullet did exit your barrel (you HAVE checked, right?), it is unlikely to be a problem.

 

[Bazoo]

Bazoo - that almost looks like either "metal fatigue" a bad pressing when the case was made. That crack extends almost to the middle of the bottom of the shell as well as up the side.
If the bullet did exit your barrel (you HAVE checked, right?), it is unlikely to be a problem.

Thanks. Yes, I checked the bore for clear at the time before I continued firing.

I was pretty surprised that it happened with my Single Six, because it's chambered on the tighter side.

 

[tark]

I think JTHunter nailed it. It certainly is not an oversized chamber, there would be visible swelling of the case. I wouldn't worry about shooting the rest of that box. If another round does this, pitch the rest of the box, and get a second mortgage on your house. That way you will have enough money to buy some more ammo.

 

[Sistema1927]

You said Single-Six, and the first thing that came to mind was a .22 LR being fired in the .22 magnum cylinder. Not saying that was your problem, but that is what came to mind.

 

[Bazoo]

You said Single-Six, and the first thing that came to mind was a .22 LR being fired in the .22 magnum cylinder. Not saying that was your problem, but that is what came to mind.

I do have a magnum cylinder, but it hasn’t changed spots on the shelf in years, much less seen the light of day for a range trip.

 

[Walkalong]

Rookie.....

 

[Riomouse911]

Brittle brass, probably a combo of the case material being weak and age.

My son had an older .22 WMR CCI Maxi Mag case rupture and pelt him with powder particles that escaped out of the rear of my Henry lever rifle. (Glasses!)

Stay safe.

 

[Reinz]

It’s something I personally would ignore unless it became repetitive.

Especially shooting in a Ruger revolver.

Just be sure that no one is standing beside you in line with the cylinder gap.

 

[Bazoo]

Rookie.....
View attachment 1191063

What's the story on that one? Nice photography too.

 

[tark]

You said Single-Six, and the first thing that came to mind was a .22 LR being fired in the .22 magnum cylinder. Not saying that was your problem, but that is what came to mind.

Been there, done that. The fired case was visibly swollen and ruptured. The OP's pics show no evidence of that.

 

[Walkalong]

Yea, the OP's case just looks like a brittle piece of brass, it happens with centerfire as well.

 

[Leon tP]

I wouldn't worry about it but I would also think about contacting Winchester with those pictures and the lot number, you might get free replacement ammo from them.

 

[PzGren]

I find the crimp very pronounced in a fired case. I would check case length and if the case head may have been past the chamber.

 

[jmorris]

What's the story on that one? Nice photography too.

Looks like one that went off half way outside of a chamber. They look like this if they go off by themselves.

 

[bbqncigars]

I had similar problems with the last two boxes of Super X I bought a few years ago. Winchester couldn't be bothered to reply to my email w/pics and lot #. No more Winchester rimfire for me.

 

[lightman]

Wow, never had that happen! Nice pictures!

 

[Appalachiannative]

Never seen this with rimfire. First handgun I ever shot when I was a kid was grandpas old .32 snubby smith not sure which model and three out of six cases split down the side. My old man blamed old corroded ammo

 

[ms6852]

Had one rupture on me while firing my 10/22. Years upon years of shooting 22 and finally one fired. Got sprayed with powder on my face. Glad I was wearing glasses . A lot of power behind that small bullet.

 

[Bazoo]

I'm considering shooting the rest of the box to see if any of the other cases have issues.

 

[230RN]

I find the crimp very pronounced in a fired case. I would check case length and if the case head may have been past the chamber.

I noticed that, too. I have no explanation for that. Normally that mouth edge is opened up to allow the heel of the bullet out of the case.

My first thought was also the wrong cylinder, but OP states that was not possible.

My second thought was two bullets (or junk) somehow crammed into the case (typical of monday morning startup problems in almost any production environment) but that does not explain the lack of the crimp opening up. the excessive pressure might crack just the back of a faulty case.

Out of curiosity, have you fired many shorts out of that cylinder? I see the faint possibility that the chamber is just dirty enough up front to hold a faulty case / load together, but the clean back part open enough to let the brass go.

The crack continuing along the head is probably because once a crack starts, it tends to continue. That's why they drill stress relief holes at the ends of cracks to keep them from going any further:

Other advice above was to (A) not shoot any more of that lot and (B) send the case (or photo) and lot number to Winchester. Do this regardless of any hope of a response or free ammo. After all, the ammo is several years old, You might also check recall notices for the ammo

It could just simply be a matter of it happening every 7,894,384,629th .22 round they make.

Terry, 230N

REFs

See Hatcher, p.233, Hatcher, p.207

 

[doubleh]

I think it was simply the quality of the brass, I won't go into where most if not all of it comes from.

I have had two blow out the side wall in all my years of shooting The first was in a 10/22 that I had switched to dry lube which I found to not be lubing well at all after the fact. The results was a slightly out of battery firing that split the case part way around the base. I went back to good ol' oil and have never had another with that gun. I also had one in a Savage MK II. I blamed it on sub-standard brass because the bolt was closed so I couldn't have been out of battery. Neither caused any damage but I had to push the bullet out of the barrel with both. Each made a hissing sound with a lot of smoke exiting the action but no damage at all. It's startling when it happens but 22 guns are stout enough to withstand it. Use this to remember to always wear safety glasses when shooting any gun.

 

[hps1]

I find the crimp very pronounced in a fired case. I would check case length and if the case head may have been past the chamber.

230RN
Out of curiosity, have you fired many shorts out of that cylinder? I see the faint possibility that the chamber is just dirty enough up front to hold a faulty case / load together, but the clean back part open enough to let the brass go.

The appearance of a crimp on that case was the first thing I noticed about your cracked case. Have you checked the length of that case compared to other fired LR cases? Another thought is that you mentioned that your Ruger has a tight chamber; wonder if there is a ring of powder or lead residue built up in your chamber(s) that might prevent the mouth of case to expand enough to release the bullet?

Years ago a competitor in our monthly DCM matches was blowing primers w/handloads in his Garand. He stated that this was his standard load. I maintained our club's M1's so carried a pretty fair kit of tools to maintain them. Included were 308 and 30-06 case/headspace gauges. Dropping a couple of his fired cases in the gauge quickly revealed that he was not trimming his cases to proper length. The long cases were not being allowed to expand to release the bullets, causing excessive pressures.