.22 blow by?

A

alaskabushman

New member
So, my sisters boyfriend took apart his friend Ruger Mark I .22 pistol. Guess what? He couldn't get it back together. Multiple attempts and several youtube videos later he contacted me.

"Hey man, you know how to put a standard Ruger pistol back together?"

"Yeeeah, but I generally avoid taking them apart if I can..."

"I've realized that's probably smart..."

"let me take it home and I'll see what I can do."

He had the sear apart and everything. Thankfully he left the trigger group alone.

Long story short, I compared it to my own Mark II and was able to get it put back together in about 10 minutes.

My question is this:

While I was test firing the pistol for function (using Winchester hollowpoint bulk ammo) I was almost through the magazine when I felt a primer pop, but didnt see any new hole in the target. I stopped and checked, case was not ejected but the bullet was not in the case. I had two rounds left but I pulled out the mag and put the gun away. I had my MkII along, and since it was loaded I finished it off. Taking a look down the barrel of the MkI (double checking to see it was in fact unloaded)...sure enough, there was a bullet stuck in the bore. After popping it out with a cleaning rod, this is what I was greeted with...

SAM_0582_zpsqkz2seuw.jpg


SAM_0584_zps4saylarw.jpg


So what the heck happened? Some kind of gas blow-by or something? Like I said it just sounded like a primer pop, not a full report.

Ideas?
 
Maybe due to the round being a squib load, the gouge in the bullet could have been caused by the slow moving bullet scraping by the extractor or something??
 
That's a new one for me. Is it possible that you did that groove when pushing it out? Anything left in the barrel or chamber?
 
I wonder if there wasn't a defect at the case neck that caused the combusted powder to fire cut the side of the projectile.
 
Maybe due to the round being a squib load, the gouge in the bullet could have been caused by the slow moving bullet scraping by the extractor or something??
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:confused:
How would a bullet, teaveling down the bore at any speed, have a groove cut by the extractor?
Could it have been a defective bullet before it was fired ?
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Thinking that is a good possibility. If the groove was already in the bullet, it is possible that powder leaked out of the case before loading. Or the gasses from what ever powder was left escaped through the groove causing the squib.
 
I was thinking since the gun was disassembled, maybe something was sticking out where it shouldn't during reassembly and scraped the bullet during its travel from magazine to barrel.
The extractor was just the first thing that came to mind.
But if the bullet was already damaged before firing, that's probably a more likely explanation.
Lots of .22 rounds are manufactured some better than others.
Whatever the cause, if it's now assembled correctly, just toss the bad round and carry on.
Check the rounds before loading them in the mag.
If you get another one like that, then you will know what's what.
 
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I'm going to guess the bullet had a defect(gouge down the side) that was covered by the plating process. When fired, the gas vented through the gouge leaving too little to push the bullet out the muzzle.
 
I'm going to guess the bullet had a defect(gouge down the side) that was covered by the plating process. When fired, the gas vented through the gouge leaving too little to push the bullet out the muzzle.
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That's the most logical assumption.
 
No, I'm pretty sure it was NOT the extractor, I had fired a couple magazines through before this even occurred. Plus, it doesn't really have a "scratch" look, is looks melted.

Damage before it was loaded is possible, but again it looked melted and lead is visible, so the plating process would have covered a defect like this.

I'm going to guess the bullet had a defect(gouge down the side) that was covered by the plating process. When fired, the gas vented through the gouge leaving too little to push the bullet out the muzzle.
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I like this answer and seems to be entirely possible, but then my question would be, why was there no report? It felt like a squib load. (which it may have been)

This gun jams a lot with this ammo, so I wondered if maybe as it fed, it rammed into the top of the chamber and broke the seal on the ammo. Then when it was fired, the gas found the weak spot and burned the groove in the side, while still building up enough pressure to get the bullet out of the case. This would not have the same report as if it were pushing a bullet. (pull a .22 bullet and pack the case with a paper towel on top of the powder. fire this and you'll see what I mean, the burning powder on its own does not make much noise)
 
I'm going to guess the bullet had a defect
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I agree the bullet was defective from the start.

No doubt the W-W imitation Power Point bulk ammo is cheap
stuff whether it is packed 235, 333, or 525!
I have found several of them (in different boxes) that were missing
most of the nose. They looked like someone had taken a pair of dykes
to them and just clipped off the nose, leaving a 45% angled cut.
Just did not save them.

After the OP's photo, I'll have to start examining mine closer as I load them.
Thanks for sharing the info.

JT
 
my question would be, why was there no report? It felt like a squib load.
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If, and it seems to be a consensus opinion, the bullet was defective the gasses escaped through the groove without building enough pressure to create a report, or push the bullet out of the barrel. That blast of hot gas could have also resulted in the "melting" appearance in the groove.
 
If, and it seems to be a consensus opinion, the bullet was defective the gasses escaped through the groove without building enough pressure to create a report, or push the bullet out of the barrel. That blast of hot gas could have also resulted in the "melting" appearance in the groove.
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I'm leaning this way too unless the bullet was loaded backwards in the first place. It almost looks like the burn thru on the front of the bullet came from the inside.
There is so much screwed up with this that it just might remain a "Who dune it"
 
I'm leaning this way too unless the bullet was loaded backwards in the first place. It almost looks like the burn thru on the front of the bullet came from the inside.
There is so much screwed up with this that it just might remain a "Who dune it"
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A 22 bullet can't be loaded backwards since it's larger than the ID of the case.
 
For sure

A 22 bullet can't be loaded backwards since it's larger than the ID of the case
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Unless the crimp occurred somewhere near where the bullet is tapering. I tried to copy and enlarge the photo but it got blurry. I don't see any marks from the lands either. There are too many little clues for me to make any sense out of them.
 
Unless the crimp occurred somewhere near where the bullet is tapering. I tried to copy and enlarge the photo but it got blurry. I don't see any marks from the lands either. There are too many little clues for me to make any sense out of them.
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It never would have stayed inside the case.

A 22 LR bullet has a "heel" that fits inside, and the bulk of the bullet is too large to enter the case at all, being the same diameter as the outside of the case.
 
"A 22 LR bullet has a "heel" that fits inside, and the bulk of the bullet is too large to enter the case at all, being the same diameter as the outside of the case."

Correct. Additionally, forcing the bullet into the case would/should have made the diameter of the case too large to even chamber.
 
Wrinkled bullet.

Those bullets are swaged ("stamped") at high speed from small pieces of lead wire, before having the crimp groove, knurling, etc. rolled into them.
Occasionally, bullets slip through the inspection process that weren't properly formed, or didn't have enough lead to fill out the swaging die. And, generally speaking, not enough lead means big wrinkles and crevices.


Or... damaged during processing.


At least you caught it.
Plenty of people would have gone right back to yanking on the bang switch.
 
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