Bad Ammo?

S

squirrelshooter

CGN Regular
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Location
Near Sudbury, Ont.
Yesterday I was shooting in my backyard, I had several targets out at 25yds and was quickly cycling through the targets, 2 rounds apiece. The first 10rd mag was empty and I swapped it for another and the 4th round blew up in the action. Luckily I had my glasses on, I wasn't wearing muffs, and my ears rang for about 1/2 an hour afterwards. It appears that the rim blew off the shell, and drove the bullet and the rest of the casing halfway down the barrel. The rifle is a Remington 597 HB in a archangel stock, and I was shooting Federal Champion (from the 525 box). I wonder if it was the fault of the ammo? The gun wasn't very hot, but it was very dirty. Maybe ^&*% buildup in the breech? I disassembled both my 597's and gave them a good cleaning, there doesn't seem to be any damage, and the rifle functioned fine afterwards. I'm glad I had the safety glasses on, something spat out of the gun and got me on the side of the nose. My girlfriends son shoots lefty, it's a good thing it didn't happen to him. What do you figure caused this?
 
I half-expected you to say it was Remington ammo you were using. It's notoriously crappy stuff, and a good friend of mine had a blow-up with that in a bolt action! I personally don't like bulk-pack .22lr ammo, but that shouldn't happen either way. I'm no gunsmith, and a faithful gun cleaner, so I've never had an issue I could blame on a dirty rifle...BUT, what you're describing could be an out-of-battery discharge. (Remington discontinued their 17HMR version of the 597 for this reason) I Googled; "Remington 597 shooting out of battery" and found all kinds of info about it, maybe worth a look. Popular opinion seems to be that if enough crud builds-up in the chamber/bolt/extractor, the round can't seat fully. If the firing pin can still function, a portion of the brass (around the rim, or even further up) can be exposed to high pressure without being fully surrounded by the chamber/bolt face. The brass is very thin, and all that gas will find the path of least resistance. I read many people saying that if this happens, you should call the ammo manufacturer with the lot #, they may suggest you not use it if there have been others with the same problem documented.

As an aside~I passed on a rifle I REALLY wanted, a Marlin 717. A semi-auto chambered in 17M2. Why? That rifle has a reputation for firing OOB and the results were rather dramatic. Mags blew out, stocks broke, nasty stuff. 17M2 is a necked-down .22lr so really...comparable pressures. I spoke to some "authorities" on the subject over on RFC and they told me that if I decide to buy one, clean the chamber every 100 rounds. Hmmm...don't think so.

My opinion;
1. call the ammo manufacturer with a lot# on the ammo, don't use any more of it until you hear what they have to say
2. REALLY clean the rifle well, special attention to the bore/chamber and bolt face
 
Very glad you had eye ware. Muffs next time. Had the same thing with mini mags, not complete separation but gas came back. Had a case rupture in a 308 NM and had unburnt powder imbibed in my nose for 6 mt. I bled like a stuck pig. Glasses saved my eyes!! I now am an advocate for glasses all the time.
 
Out of battery seems like the logical answer, I was kind of running it dirty until I had an issue, just to get an idea what I might get away with. I was close to 3000 rounds when this happened, I expected problems cycling long before this became an issue. The same box of ammo has run perfect through my Remington 521T bolt gun. I will be very vigilant with the glasses from here on in.
 
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