Craziest malfunction ever=squib+out of battery

A

Apple a Day

New member
I just had the craziest malfunction. I knew I'd had an out of battery firing with my problem child Ruger Charger but when I inspected the exploded shell there's no firing pin mark on it. When I got home I checked the barrel. Sure enough, there was a round stuck in the barrel. See pic. It seems like the round got stuck, the bolt slammed back from the over pressure, and set off the next round out of battery. This gun is cursed!
Sorry for the cruddy pic quality but you can tell the difference between a normal spent shell with firing pin mark and the blown out brass
 

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Interesting!
Please come back and tell us when/if you figure out why the bullet got stuck in the barrel and why that gun is acting so odd.

I think it's good for us to occasionally be reminded that this sport we're involved in isn't stamp collecting...once in a while it can be...exciting and we should be prepared for that. Thanks for posting.
 
Out of battery firing means the case was not fully supported.
A case that's not fully supported will rupture before peak pressure is reached.
A cartridge that cannot reach adequate pressure may leave a bullet in the barrel.

My theory, based on .22 LR auto-loaders in general, and 10/22 operation in particular:

The cartridge that detonated was partially fed into the chamber, but slipped and got 'pinched' and squished between the bolt face and something else (feed ramp, feed lips, whatever). The bullet was 'bending' out of the cartridge as the case was bent down at an angle by the bolt coming forward.
When the rim was finally squished, the priming compound was initiated and the cartridge disassembled itself.
The little bit of pressure generated before the case ruptured sent the bullet far enough into the bore to lodge it solidly.

Note the damage at the rim edge.
 
I dunno. If I hadn't seen the flash and debris I'd have said that it felt like it double-fired.
One thing is for sure, I'm only using that Ely subsonic ammo in manual actions from now on.
I've put a lot of rounds both suppressed and unsuppressed through this thing. It's gotten persnickety the last year or two. Maybe time to strip it and hacksaw the receiver, rebuild from scratch
 
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