Marlin 22 39A backfire or bad ammo concerns

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kcjones33

Inactive
New to forum and just purchased first pistols, G48 and P365. Was at the range and took my 1975 Marlin 22 39A. Never have had any issue, but late in the day had a situation where the bullet blew powder out the back in the face of the shooter and did not release from the barrel. Gun seemed fine after dislodging. I am a little concerned to shoot again, anyone have an idea what may of gone wrong. Ammo is only about 1 year old, but I suspect bad ammo.

Thank You for any comments
Kevin
 

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Case failure. (Random failure. I do not consider Armscor to be "bad" ammo.)

Or... There was a bullet lodged in the bore. Case failure is the same end result, but not the failed case's fault.

Check the bore.

If it's clear, carry on and don't worry about the failure.
 
Change Ammo

Case failure. (Random failure. I do not consider Armscor to be "bad" ammo.)
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It's only in later years that I have seen case failures in .22LR and although rare, I've seen it happen in cheaper ammo. When these failures happen, they give off a distinctive sound and feel. I am not saying that Armscor is bad ammo as I have never shot any. Regardless, if it can happen once, it's likely to happen again and you will always wonder just when. In one case, I've seen the entire base separate from the case itself.

Be Safe !!!
 
About twenty years ago I got a brick of cheap ammo and half the shells in there were doing that. I forgot the name of the ammo, but I remember it was made in Mexico and came in blue box.
 
Please share your thoughts about the G48 on the "semi auto" section in Hogan's alley please.
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He said he's new and told what handguns he had. He then proceeded to discuss an issue with a Marlin 39A rifle and the ammo he was using. That doesn't belong in the handgun section. You need to reread the post.
 
Thank you all. I did check the barrel as I too was concerned that was the issue and it is clear. I will just watch if it happens again and get new ammo as it appears to be random failure. I will comment on the G48.

Thanks Again
Kevin
 
That doesn't belong in the handgun section. You need to reread the post.
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Unless I didn't understand the nomenclature, the G48 is a Glock semi-automatic pistol, so an invitation to discuss it in the semi-automatic pistol section would be correct.


I've had one bullet stuck in the bore in several decades of shooting. If the stuck bullet was easy to push out, it seems unlikely that it caused damage. If it was really stuck in there or had one or more fired into it, I'd look out for any problems, like leading in that part of the barrel in the next session.
 
Unless I didn't understand the nomenclature, the G48 is a Glock semi-automatic pistol, so an invitation to discuss it in the semi-automatic pistol section would be correct.
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Not really, he only mentioned he owned that gun, but his post was about problem ammo with a 39A rimfire rifle. He probably should have just not mentioned he owned the handgun and then went on to talk about the rifle. It really came down to a problem with rimfire ammo in his Marlin 39A rifle.
 
Lighten up folks, please!

We're in General, and while the pistols weren't the main question, they were mentioned, so asking to discuss them further, in the pistol forum, isn't even really off topic (posts must be firearm related).

Case failure with rimfire ammo can happen, as a random event with anyone's ammo. Had a Remington round blow the extractor out of my 10/22 about 35 years ago. never had anyone's ammo do that, before, or since. Sometimes, the stars line up and things go bad. Rare, but it sometimes happens.

Check the gun for damage, and the bore is clear. If it all looks good, it probably is.
 
Look like it's possible that you had an OOB (out of battery detonation). You might have a carbon ring in the chamber, that fails to seat the round properly. Try rotating a chamber brush with a drill and carbon remover mixture.
 
I had a round of match grade 22 do that to me in a Remington 40X back in 1973 though the rupture was more along the rim edge. Inspected the rifle, cleaned up the powder an brass bits on the receiver and shot the rifle with the same lot of ammo until we ran out, at least 3 months, with no more problems.
 
related case failure, stevens favorite single shot rifle in my youth would burst the rim on HV .22 ammo most of the time, but was ok with standard speed .22 ammo. two or three times and I was cured from using HV .22 ammo.
 
eastbank -

I had the same issue when I was a kid, with my little (youth rifle) Stevens rolling block in 22lr.
 
Many years ago I bought a Colt Colteer .22 single shot rifle just because It looked nice and felt good when I handled it. I figured it would make a nice knockabout rifle for my car when I went out in the hills. I took it to the range and the first shot sprayed gas in my face. Hmmm? Tried one more in case the first one was a fluke. Nope, it did it again. I took it back to my LGS which also had a gunsmith on hand and he determined the headspacing was way out of spec. He refunded my money and sent the gun back to Colt. Never did hear how that came out. It let go at the edge of the rim on that gun but the damage to the case was nowhere near what the OP's rifle did.
Paul B.
 
Have a take/down 53 39a. After cleaning/ servicing its receiver. I can see how this shell base rupture could happen. Pretty cheesy looking firing pin & associate parts Marlin installed. Hopefully my rifle won't develop this problem anytime soon.

As far as a explanation. Rusty chamber? Off shore metric 3rd World made ammo.
 
Well, that's a new one on me - never before seen case head failure in a 22. Hope never to see one again!

My only experience with case head failures was with a W-W brand case in 45acp...a "flap" blew open in the case right above the rim. Thankfully, plenty smoke but no harm...

Bayou
 
As far as a explanation. Rusty chamber? Off shore metric 3rd World made ammo.
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In my opinion, ArmsCor rimfire ammo is higher quality than most domestic production.

I've seen more .22 LR case failures with Remington, specifically, than any other brand.
...Which is, of course, "Domestic inch 1st World made ammo."
Federal bulk pack garbage is a close second.
 
I would call the failure of the case 'catastrophic'. And I would check the bolt face to determine if hot high pressure metal cutting gas has cut the bolt face.

F. Guffey
 
Try a different ammo in your gun. You could have just had a bad case or the batch of ammo could be bad. If it does it with another brand or two you may have a gun problem.

Rimfire ammo can have that problem and thats why RF was limited to smaller, weaker rounds when it was developed. The case has to be soft enough for the firing pin to crush the edge but strong enough not to blow out.

I have had many Winchester 22 mag cases split in my Marlin bolt gun but never had a CCI or Armscor 22 mag round split. I think the Winchester cases are a little on the brittle side. I have read about others having the same problem with that same ammo.
 
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