ruger 10/22 blows up at the range
- Thread starter lone ranger
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Nova Scotia
It happens, but this is the nature of blow back 22s. Weak springs, at the end of the chamber reamers life cycle, creating tighter chambers. Ruger quality been #### for the last 15 years. It can happen, but it is not like every 10/22 is blowing up every day, and gun is so dangerous.
Look at how many reloading incidents happen, vs 22 blowing up. And many people are letting their kids shoot guns that if an accident happens, cause way more trauma than what a 22 would do.
Why PPE is so important.
- Location
- Nova Scotia
You had a bad exp. And it's expect to hate it.
I had many 10/22, and various barrels, many fraken built and in 20 plus years. I've yet to experience a earth shattering 22 KB. Even with mag dumping and 1000rd without cleaning outings.
And if we polled that how many 10/22 KB in a year on this site, I'm sure it be under a dozen. So not enough to be like the gun is crap and keep it away from kids.
#### happens sometimes when all holes lines up ( swiss cheese model ) but this rifle has been made for soo long and people still shoots it. 1 thing to remember is quality is not what it used to be. Did you clean the rifle when you bought it ? I mean a deep clean , complete dissasembly and inspection ? The manufacturing oil still present can stick to the firing pin , gum the action etc. my brand new 10/22 had issues at first , the divot in the receiver where the recoil spring attaches was offset and preventing the bolt to go compleately rearward. Had to fix it with a dremel. Its been long known that you should do a deep clean on a new firearm and i think its advised in the owners manual
ojo de aguila
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
I'm glad you weren't seriously injured and I don't blame you for wanting to dump the gun after that. There's a couple kicking around here that are over 40 years old. Maybe it was a good run of them, they've been used a lot and by my kids as well. Well before the ban they liked the 25 round mags loaded up for gopher shooting but not much for mag dumps, just lazy loaders. Lot's of cheap shells as well, just kept clean and oiled. I'll still use them but will keep a tighter eye on wear points so thanks for posting.
That sucks real bad, but thankfully I have the benefit of being able to unemotionally evaluating the evidence here. I will keep my 10/22 and avoid Blazer. I will continue to wear eye pro and remember that firearms are inherently dangerous in spite of all the best efforts of manufacturers and shooters.
Sue everybody! The manufacturers of the rifle, the magazine, the ammunition, the sled, the glasses, the muffs, and the range operator - they're all responsible for what happened. The alternative is unthinkable, too terrible to contemplate!
FatCatsDad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Literally millions an millions of these guns out there.
Is it a design flaw or operator error.
I've owned dozens in various configurations and NEVER had an issue.
Just sounds like an excited shooter making operational mistakes.
This is reminding me with the reporter that got PTSD after firing an AR15
I just asked innocently whether the manufacturer of either the firearm or ammunition *might* be willing to help out. No actual mention of litigation explicit or implied. Some manufacturers really stand by their customer service. Now, I will admit that I haven't had any experience with claiming warranty on any firearms products, and so I just asked out of ignorance.
Not that I am affronted/taken aback by this response but I do notice that there is a tendency to reply to questions with exaggerated comments that imply that a poster's motives are somewhat suspect/unreasonable. I can see why some Newbies are a bit put off. I've been around for decades and have witnessed many such exchanges and have accepted it. It is a bit of a shame that we can't converse in a more civil manner. But hey, if some people think that others are silly or unreasonable or butthurt over such-and-such an issue, so be it.
Sh!t happens, not only with lower quality components. It may happen more often with lower quality components but it happens all the way from the worst to the best.
Anything mechanical in nature can "break"
As often as not, it's the actions of the operator, but not always. Wear, defective components, manufacturing errors, it happens.
This is a bit off topic, but it definitely applies to the incident posted by the OP.
I have a Tikka T3X, chambered for the 223rem. Beautiful rifle, extremely accurate with just about any load, commercial or custom.
I wear glasses, because I need them to see, an added bonus is the protection they offer from such things as dust, wind and flying fragments.
I was shooting some 90s dated, IVI 5.56 Nato down range and the last round fired that day had an odd sound. Recoil on this rifle is minimal at worst, so nothing unusual, other than sound.
when I tried to extract the cartridge, nothing came out of the chamber when the bolt was retracted.
Very unusual for a rifle that has performed flawlessly for years.
I pulled the bolt and the reason for non extraction was obvious, the extractor, plunger and spring were missing.
I ran a cleaning rod into the bore, from the muzzle and a complete round, missing the primer dropped out easily.
The round looked new, but the primer pocket was empty, other than a bit of carbon, and there wasn't a flash hole.
The folks at IVI make multiple millions of these rounds for the military and police. For the most part, this sort of issue is never encountered, but the very odd time it happens.
The rifle was fine otherwise and had a tiny blood spot over my eyebrow, which had a tiny shard of the primer metal under it.
I even found the extractor on the floor, about five feet away from my bench, the plunger and spring were missing.
I had a couple of boxes of that ammo left from the crate, and pulled the bullets, dumped the powder and looked at the flash holes. All were fine.
Anomalies are not a rule of thumb.
The Ruger 10-22 platform is not one I personally like, but it works and it works well for its intended purposes and that of most people who love them.
I've shot hundreds of thousands of Blaser 22lr ammunition and other than a few failures to ignite, it shoots very well, and is consistently accurate in the 22lr chambered rifles I shoot it through.
I don't hunt with it, but I do a lot of plinking with it. It's great for shooting cans, or at reactive targets, such as the flipping metal flag types.
OP, if that 10-22 is repairable, it would be a good basis for a "build" into a more capable platform.
Get back on that horse and ride it.
brownbear53
CGN Regular
- Location
- Vancouver, BC
OP blames the 10/22 because he has decided that it was the guns fault. In his defense, maybe he is right.
Although he can definitely send me a PM about the safe disposal of said 10/22
I legit would take it, between my 3 drawers of scrap/take off 10/22 components I'm sure anything broken, if any could be fixed.
Although he can definitely send me a PM about the safe disposal of said 10/22
I legit would take it, between my 3 drawers of scrap/take off 10/22 components I'm sure anything broken, if any could be fixed.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
About 30 yrs ago the New Zealand range authorities banned all Lee Enfields from long range target shooting competition on the same grounds. In their minds, former service rifles had no verifiable firing history and therefore conversions were unsafe from the outset. I chuckle now, because the purpose built target rifles everyone had to adopt must have just as many or more rounds through them as the No.1s and No.4s. But that was someone's decision, and in a small place that defers to authority, there was no amount of negotiating for reconsideration. Sigh. In a way, I am glad Canadians as a race are more independent-minded than the citizens of some other countries.
I have experienced, and have seen .22 rifles where there have been case head separations. That is, the head has blown off the case, or the rim is blown out. If the head blows right off, the balance of the case will be left in the chamber. Loose breeching or an incompletely seated round are the usual causes. Apart from a lost extractor (which can happen in a 10/22), I've never seen damage to the firearm. The Stevens/Savage "gill guns" were designed to give released gases an escape route.
I have seen centerfire case head failures which resulted in magazines being blown out or bulged, and broken stocks. In centerfire rifles. A LOT more energy and gas release.
I am sorry, but I just cannot believe that a .22 case failure could result in the rifle being blown out of a sled, striking the shooter and falling to the ground.
I have seen centerfire case head failures which resulted in magazines being blown out or bulged, and broken stocks. In centerfire rifles. A LOT more energy and gas release.
I am sorry, but I just cannot believe that a .22 case failure could result in the rifle being blown out of a sled, striking the shooter and falling to the ground.
Being the smartazz that I am , I too was wondering the same thing.
Just thank full that I am not reading about something more serious about this event.
Has the Op reached out to Ruger and Blazer with this situation?
Again, I am glad to hear that the owner/shooter of the 10-22 is not seriously injured physically or worse.
Rob
Seems weird.
IF I HAD A GUESS.
Im guessing the rifle "blowing" out of the sled might have just been the OP startle reaction. The crack on the stock and damage to the optic are from dropping it out of the sled (yes glass can crack without extensive damage to exterior of optic. The mag blowing up is likely from the out of battery detonation of the ammo.
Why I am guessing this?!
I have personally seen a 22lr out of battery detonation of ammo, it was due to a NEW SHOOTER/SHOOTER ERROR. It was a new shooter, who had a double feed and did not know how to correct it in an older 22lr bolt gun. Instead of inspecting the area and rectifying the feed issue, the new shooter (before I could step in) decided to pull the action back and just rack the action harder... Very hard... Hitting the double fed round on the rim of the RIMFIRE cartridge. Detonating that round. The projectile actually stayed in place and the case opened up like it had wings. We both had felt the spray of the unburnt powder on our faces, we both had eye pro and no one was hurt. the rifle DID NOT MOVE AT ALL. It was a pop that startled both of us but that was it.
That rifle was cleaned, inspected and continues to shoot fine to this day with no issues.
IF I HAD A GUESS.
Im guessing the rifle "blowing" out of the sled might have just been the OP startle reaction. The crack on the stock and damage to the optic are from dropping it out of the sled (yes glass can crack without extensive damage to exterior of optic. The mag blowing up is likely from the out of battery detonation of the ammo.
Why I am guessing this?!
I have personally seen a 22lr out of battery detonation of ammo, it was due to a NEW SHOOTER/SHOOTER ERROR. It was a new shooter, who had a double feed and did not know how to correct it in an older 22lr bolt gun. Instead of inspecting the area and rectifying the feed issue, the new shooter (before I could step in) decided to pull the action back and just rack the action harder... Very hard... Hitting the double fed round on the rim of the RIMFIRE cartridge. Detonating that round. The projectile actually stayed in place and the case opened up like it had wings. We both had felt the spray of the unburnt powder on our faces, we both had eye pro and no one was hurt. the rifle DID NOT MOVE AT ALL. It was a pop that startled both of us but that was it.
That rifle was cleaned, inspected and continues to shoot fine to this day with no issues.
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