ruger 10/22 blows up at the range

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lone ranger said:
I found this on the Ruger Forum. seems there is a problem with the design of the 10/22, and this has happened multiple times.

" Most semi-autos are equipped with some sort of disconnect that prevents the gun from firing unless the bolt is fully forward (full battery). 10/22s do NOT have any sort of full battery disconnect. So ... here's what can happen: You are shooting and by some freak condition, you pull the trigger before the bolt has reached full battery. When the round fires, most of the cartridge is not in the chamber so the case ruptures and basically blows up outside the chamber. A second scenario can also happen .... some bulk grade ammo has "fat" bullets that refuse to fully chamber. This leaves the base of the cartridge outside of the chamber when it blows up."

well..the heck with Ruger. I will never buy another 10/22. NOT INTERSTED IN THIS HAPPENING AGAIN
you get some overcharged crap ammo and with this flaw with the rifle.......... BOOM !

50% ammo issue
50% gun issue
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I did a test. Using feeler gauges and 22LR with the bullets pulled. So how open the bolt could be and round still can fire in a 10/22. I'll see if I can find the results.

So up to 0.0224 ( about 1/2 a MM ) i had primer strike hard enough to ingnite. This was a fairly newer built Ruger.

Just did a test with my 1022.. I used feeler gauges to space out the bolt. I could get the hammer to drop past 0.115" of gap. But .022" to .0224" I had ignition.

Every firing pin can be different and I was getting light strikes up to .045 of gap. So out of battery can happen with a 1022.
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The optic damage is from the drop and not the boom.

Back in the days of 10$ bulk ammo and 25rd mags wasn't uncommon for us to fire off 2 bricks from our 1022s. It's more of an ammo issue than a gun.
 
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lone ranger said:
the only damage to the rifle is the split stock behind the Tang, and the chips in the metal of the magwell, and the blown apart mag.
I brought my red dot reflex sight home with me ,and I just looked at it, the glass is cracked ,all across.
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Both cases completely natural for someone launching a gun up in the air and having it land on the ground. Especially with an open reflector optic that you had. I've seen the exact same damage on my vortex venom when it was dropped from the truck bed to the ground. The optic is solid, my Glock has one I often the face of the optic against my holster to rack the slide, however the top brim of this type of optic offers no protection. This problem was solved by Trijicon, you'll notice the difference in design if you look up an RMR.
As for the stock, its on a 22, ruger doesn't build the stock to face 300 win mag type recoil, its strong enough for a 22, whcih is unfortunately not strong enough when its launched sideways to the ground.
I suspect it landed sideways on the ground for first impact, and then came to rest smacking the optic when it fell flat on the ejection port side (where the big crack on it is)

Parts of metal depending on what it was are normal, my 22 runs 'dirty' which implies tiny specs of unburnt carbon and brass dust is pretty standard on a 22. Larger metal flakes however would be from something damaged inside.

As for the mag blowing out, that can happen from the drop, its also possible that the ruptured case/out of battery discharge blew it out. the 10/22 mags don't need a lot of pressure to disengage a mag, its just the little tapered lug on the forward end of the trigger group.


lone ranger said:
" Most semi-autos are equipped with some sort of disconnect that prevents the gun from firing unless the bolt is fully forward (full battery). 10/22s do NOT have any sort of full battery disconnect. So ... here's what can happen: You are shooting and by some freak condition, you pull the trigger before the bolt has reached full battery. When the round fires, most of the cartridge is not in the chamber so the case ruptures and basically blows up outside the chamber.
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Every single semi auto 22 in existence runs on the same principle. All PCCs also run the same way, its standard for blowback operated rifles.
The only reason you can get a out of battery discharge is if your firing pin is stuck forward, or you modified the trigger disconnector, or it never engaged in the first place (dirty action)
Pump action shotguns will also do the same thing.

Only thing stopping this in a bolt action is the last rotation of the bolt and and the lever action is the lever being returned into position.
Semi auto centerfires generally have a rotating bolt that cams over and locks into the barrel (seeing an AR function would simplify everything I just said)

I have built countless custom 10/22 platformed rifles on aftermarket or ruger receivers, and quite frankly, what you're describing has never happened as such. The one out of battery discharge we had was from a failed firing pin spring that caused a slam fire as the round was being fed, and that bolt had well over 30,000 rounds.

I know I'm disagreeing with you quite a bit, but I'm only trying to provide a more accurate picture of what may have happened.
 
4n2t0 said:
Agreed, something doesn't sound right. I believe lone ranger 100%, but I can't piece it together in my pea-sized brain. The amount of damage and force that was generated doesn't seem right for the situation.
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I could see someone being startled by a ruptured case or a round going off out of battery... and dropping the rifle... but a "bad" 22lr round causing this much damage to a blow back semi?!?
 
OP, I am glad you are ok. Regardless of what happened this is a good reminder to always wear safety glasses for that one in a million scenario.

As I was reading this I was also having a hard time comprehending that amount of damage from a .22lr round. Since there was no pictures I was starting to wonder if we were being duped and I was waiting for a photoshopped pic of Bugs bunny with his finger in your barrel!….lol.

With no real scientifically based knowledge I would have to agree that something happened and startled you and natural reflexes took over. If an overcharged round caused this, that is unreal!
 
I had a similar experience with a .223
Caused by the bolt not being completely closed
 

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Longstud said:
Its a blow back design and the only way that could happen is with a barrel obstruction in my opinion. Unless you looked and seen the previous round put a hole in the target then your just assuming the barrels was clear. It does happen unfortunately and glad you were not seriously injured. I have built quite a number of custom 10/22 platform guns and the only misshap Ive had is the bolt not completely closing and blowing the rim off and spraying gas out the action. If the stock split and the mag was blown up, thats a barrel obstruction. I am happy you were not injured.
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As a Cadet shooting at a provincial match on the floor of Cote de Neige armoury, I had a .22LR blow a hook shaped failure at the extractor slot of a No.7. Issue rifle and issue CIL ammunition. That is the only case failure I remember having.
 
lone ranger said:
this has happened multiple times according to the folks on the Ruger forum.
i have NO interest in owning a gun that can possibly do this Again.
Its just happened way to many times to others. The proof is out there.

yes, there is Ammo issues out there. the gun will fire out of battery, its a recipe for disaster, and I checked all the boxes' yesterday.
Its never 1 thing, its a strange combination and every once in a while it Bites you.
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The gun been around 50 plus years, so yes when the gun is as popular as it is, there will be many reports.

Any semi auto can do this. So tell Ruger to ban this gun for children safety.
 
lone ranger said:
not a scratch on the housing. perfect shape.
It was a Hot round firing out of battery possibly setting off the other rounds in the mag, is what I''m guessing to be so violent.
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Or it was the oh ####, overreaction of being startled and tossing it. Because hot brass and stuff is flying.

You can put a 10/22 on a bench and even with stingers or other HV ammo use a string to pull the trigger and that gun isn't going to go flying like you said.
 
lone ranger said:
you going let your grand kids shoot one ? honest question. this would be very dramatic to have this happen to a young 1st time shooter...it was horrible for me and I'm a grown man.
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Kids have been for over 50 years.

How many times you let kids shoot centerfire, with reloads? Greater chance of gun blowing up and causing more damage than a out of battery 22.

I had many 762 blow up in my face, from cook offs. Nature of being a machine gunner in the army.
 
45C said:
I had a similar experience with a .223
Caused by the bolt not being completely closed
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I am another to testify. It honestly sounds exactly like the same experience I had with a semi 223. It was an out of battery detonation. It happened in a gun that was in theory impossible to happen to. I don't think I had experienced anything like this in the 40 + years of shooting. It was really violent and scary AF. Gun was destroyed, made a huge hole in my shooting table from the violently ejecting magazine. I felt very fortunate to walk away with no injuries or death. Gunsmith who built the rifle blamed the ammo. After being repaired by said gunsmith, the gun catastrophically failed again. It was100% the gun and something to do with gas system not properly cycling/closing the bolt. I replaced the barrel and gas assembly myself and its fine now.
 
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