10/22T Problem - Case Blowouts *** Update Post 39 - Problem Identified***

BigUglyMan

BigUglyMan

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Afternoon folks. I've got a problem with my 10/22T. Actually, I've never had this problem myself but since I left most of my rifles with my parents my brother has taken to plinking with my 10/22 and has now had 3 case blowouts. The first happened in the summer. He told me about it and when I visited at Christmas I saw the case head (it's the one on the left in the first photo). My initial thought was that the chamber was dirty and that it didn't fully chamber yet fired. Yesterday I got another call that the rifle had done this for a second and third time and that a bullet had lodged in the barrel about 1" from the muzzle!

I bought the rifle used from a fellow CGNer about 6 years ago and have shot it very little. I doubt I have a box of ammo through it (in fact, I know I haven't got a box through it). I can't remember the brand of the first failure but the most recent ones were Winchester T22. As you can see from the attached photo the case backed out of the chamber significantly and ruptured quite dramatically. The Old Man for a face full of brass and powder (thank goodness for shooting glasses).

Anyone have any ideas as to what caused this? Weak or broken recoil spring? Something funky with the bolt? Keep in mind that I haven't had a chance to take the rifle apart and see if there's anything hinky going on.

I appreciate any input and suggestions.

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shadowstang said:
does the bullet seat all the way into the chamber ? i would start by cleaning the chamber ! maybe some build up
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I'm sure I will get flamed for this but I will put a bore brush onto my cordless drill to clean out the chamber. Since the brush is made of copper I have never had any issues damaging the steel barrel, chamber, or rifling.
 
by the looks of the brass in your photos you are shooting shorts and longs i have 3 10/22s and have never had a case ruptue .but i have never used shorts or longs maybe this has something to do with cases rupturing
 
The case in the middle isn't a short, it's missing some brass from the rupture.
Obviously it's firing while still out of battery. Like mentioned above, check to see if a round chambers easily, if not, chamber cleaning/polishing could resolve.
 
gunrunner100 said:
It appears that the case ruptured on recoil of the bolt. Was there any modding to the spring or bolt face?
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The seller didn't say anything about any fooling with the spring. I haven't seen the rifle since the incident but I figured that if anyone else had seen something like this I would hear quickly enough. I've considered picking up a new handle and spring assembly just in case. It's frustrating when things like this happen and you're not around to try to troubleshoot. When the first case ruptured I figured that it had fired out of battery but this most recent one lost a lot of length (like guns4mywife said, the last one looks like a short - that ain't right at all) and made a hell of a mess. They took the barrel off to push the stuck bullet out and didn't report anything amiss.

Now I know how those poor buggers on the phone feel when you call with a problem and they have to diagnose it blind!
 
Ok, ok... Clean the hell out of it and try again.

The shortened case.... there might well be crap built up at the front of the chamber, keeping the round from seating properly.

Clean it and try again, sez I. Also, you can guarantee your brother hasn't been shooting it more than you have? Or at least more than you know...?

Upon rereading your post, I think you better get them to stop shooting your rifle or get them to take it to a 'smith. From a loose barrel to the standard of care people give rifles that aren't theirs, you have a kettle of fish. I bet you 5 cents the barrel's loose AND it's hardly ever been cleaned by yer bro. Leading to this problem. :)
 
wcat said:
The case in the middle isn't a short, it's missing some brass from the rupture.
Obviously it's firing while still out of battery. Like mentioned above, check to see if a round chambers easily, if not, chamber cleaning/polishing could resolve.
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I disagree.... Those two ruptured cases are a short and a long....the mouth crimp is clearly visible on both
 
Had the problem with T22 also stopped using them right away, emailed winchester and they never responded, as said above stop shooting it until you can check it over or have a smith look it over, then maybe switch ammo
 
It would appear that the rounds were fired without the bolt being fully closed. Does the 10/22T have a tighter chamber than a standard rifle? If so, it may well be ammunition sensitive; certain makes may not be chambering freely. Assuming that the chamber is clean, it would be worth testing the rifle with some higher grade ammunition, and see if this makes a difference.
 
Wrong Way said:
I disagree.... Those two ruptured cases are a short and a long....the mouth crimp is clearly visible on both
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Disagree all you want, but those cases, and the loaded round, are all 22LR, not Shorts. I would know, it's my rifle and my ammo and I don't own a single round of 22 Short. Never have.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Disagree all you want, but those cases, and the loaded round, are all 22LR, not Shorts. I would know, it's my rifle and my ammo and I don't own a single round of 22 Short. Never have.
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please explain to me then how the case on the right (obviously a different brand....no mid case crimp) is shorter than the loaded round especially considering both the bullet crimp and the case base (visible in the hole) are clearly visible? Where'd the rest of he case go?

as far as the middle one....please explain the variance in the location of the mid-case crimp compared to the loaded one, and again: the end of the case is as it came from he factory with the visible crimp....so where did the extra brass go?
 
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