Frenchieboy Posted October 22, 2011 Report Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) It was a great afternoon weatherwise today so I thought i would go for a walk around one of my permissions with my little "Hummer". The last time I used it was last Sunday and all was fine - When I got home and removed the bolt and magazine and locked the rifle away in the cabinet as normal. I thought no more of it when I got it out today as I only clean the bore if it starts opening up the groups. I got to the permission and had my usual chat to the farmer then I got the rifle out of the car and put the bolt and magazine in place. When I got into the first field I loaded the magazine and went to load it. The bold felt "stiff" on the very last 1/4 of an inch or so - It just didn't "feel right", so I removed the bolt and caught the round that I had just tried to load. On inspection of the round the head of the bullet had been pressed back into the case so I had a look down the bore. Somehow or other the head of a bullet had got lodged in the barrel just beyond the breech so I had to get a cleaning rod out of the car and push the bullet head back out of the bore. I gave the bore a pull through with a lightly oiled mop and tried again. This time the rifle loaded fine and felt "right" and all was well. I ended up with 3 rabbits for 3 shots! The only thing that concerns me is how the bullet head got lodged just up from the chamber. I do recall having what I thought was a missfire on the last shot of last Sunday but thought nothing of it at the time as the bullet got lost in the grass when I ejected it. All I can say is "thank god I knew my rifle well enough to realise that something wasn't right when I loaded it" and that I had the sence to check the bore or I might not have been sitting here typing this right now. It certainly made me think of what might have happened if I had fired the rifle without checking it when it "just didn't feel right"! Edit: Maybe I should add that I was using Federal Ammunition (V-Max 17g) and have never had any problems with the rifle or this ammunition before. Edited October 22, 2011 by Frenchieboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted October 22, 2011 Report Share Posted October 22, 2011 Same thing happened to me, check your remaining rounds. I bet a pound to a penny many have micro fractures where the neck is. There was a batch of dodgy ammo a while back, I bought several boxes and whilst most of the rounds fired without a problem, I suffered one mis-fire or part ignition which lodged a bullet down the barrel causing the problem you describe. It was a right ****** to shift too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshLamb Posted October 22, 2011 Report Share Posted October 22, 2011 Do you not check the bore/barrel is clear before you load it anyway? :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted October 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) Do you not check the bore/barrel is clear before you load it anyway? :blink: Yes I do WelshLamb for for some unknown reason I failed to do so today! I normally have a quick look down the barrel just before I slip the rifle and go out to my car. I know for certain that I will not make that silly mistake again! In reply to you Mick, I hadn't thought of that, I am shooting tomorrow so i will check the batch of ammo in a minute while it is still on my mind! Thanks for pointing that out! Just checked the remainder of that batch of ammunition and found 3 in one box with a fracture right down the neck of the brass cases. Edited October 22, 2011 by Frenchieboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 I had exactly the same problem Monday night. Last two boxes of Remington ammo from a pack of 500. Box from last I had a delayed fire... Pulled the trigger and there was a fizz, followed by the normal bang - still got the rabbit thankfully. And then the last shot of the night from the last box it just went click. So I waited a while, then unloaded and the head was lodged just past the chamber. So rodded it as soon as I got home. All rather annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Looks like experience forethought and a degree of luck saved Frenchies day. An experience, that given the other posts regarding similar problems; we should all try to learn from this. webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 The main thing is that you spotted it and you're ok! I had a round do that in my combi gun a while back. Took three attempts at firing the primer then ejected the case and found that the bullet was gone. Must have gone off the first time with that little energy that I didn't notice. The bullet was seated neatly in the barrel! One thing I do generally do is look down the barrel when I remove the gun from it's slip. I always worry that there may be something in the slip that could have got wedged. I never have found anything but it doesn't take a minute to look. It's also worth taking a misfire a bit more seriously. I'm surprised you overlooked it when the shot was taken but we all slip up now and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Do you not check the bore/barrel is clear before you load it anyway? :blink: I ALWAYS do when I leave a shoot, but to be fair, not always before I use it again! (HMR) Several have posted about this subject before, it has never happened to me but I have certainly had the odd round that just didn't sound right, and on at least one occasion one that just didn't perform right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 In reply to njc110381, I normally do take much more care and concern when I put my guns back in the slip but the last time I was using it was with 3 friends while we were enjoying a session zeroing and paper punching which involved a lot of "banter" but I am not going to make any excuses and all I can say is that I was distracted and (Rather sillily and carelessly) broke one of the cardinal rules and failed to check my gun properly. I always say that there is no substitue for gun safety and this has really driven that home to me. It is easy enough for others to say that I should have done this or I should have done that! I know the proceedure only too well, and believe me it is a proceedure that I will not be skimping on ever again. This incident trully frightened the ar$e off me with the thought of what might have happened if I had not realised that something didn't feel right and I had continued to try to fire the rifle! It also goes to show that even experienced rifle users can "slip up" or loose concentration now and then but I can assure you that I have learned a very valuable lesson from this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Elvis Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Lucky!! I ALWAYS do when I leave a shoot, but to be fair, not always before I use it again! (HMR) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds chimp Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 its threads like this that really help new and old shooters to make sure they double check things. Well down Frenchie for being big and honest enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redditch Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Just bought a CZ452 in 22mag, and am now awaiting the number from the gunshop (They have to get it from the importer ), so I can apply for a variation on my ticket. I always check a barrel before assembling or loading it, just basic training really, make it a habit that you do every time, and who knows, it might just save your life. Likewise, if you get a misfire, it might just be a hang fire, so wait 10-15 minutes before ejecting the round, as it might still go off on the slow cook Watch this to see what happens when that happens lol http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=RHdg3yeU2iY Edited October 23, 2011 by Redditch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixhills 69 Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Im sure i read a post on here only the other day were a member was asking about the Necks on his Hmr ammo. He Mentioned about the necks being cracked it just goes to show he was onyto something. I always remove the bolt and look up the barrel after a days shooting mainly to see how much dirt is up there and to see if there and if any damage Glad i do. Nice work Frenchieboy could of been nasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Close call, been there and done similar with the .22. Although it felt ok on chambering i got a nasty feeling that the apparent miss i just experianced wasn't a miss, drew back the bolt and ejected the new round and found a bullet head lodged in the barrel from my apparent flukey miss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Just a quick update on the post where I said that I had found another 3 more bullets that had a fracture down the neck from the same box of 50: I had a "meet up" today with 3 experienced members of our rifle club where we were checking the zeroing of all of our rifles and having a "target shooting session"! I showed them the 3 bullets with fractures running down the necks and decided to try them. The first gave a "delayed shot" - The firing pin was heard to hit the rim but the shot did not go off for another three quarters of a second. Fortunately I had held the rifle on aim and the bullet hit exactly where I had aimed. A close inspection of the ejected case showed that there was now a clear split running down over half of the length of the case. The second gave the result of a "missfire". The rifle was left pointing towards a very safe backstop for a couple of minutes and then the bolt was slid back (with everyone present standing well behind the firing position). The bolt ejected the case which had no head left in it but on closer examination all of the powder was still in the case. The bolt was removed and the barrel checked only to find that the head had been left lodged in the chamber and had to be removed by tapping it out with a cleaning rod. As for the third round with a fracture on the neck - I just was not prepared to take another chance and it was disposed of in a water sump in the quarry that had a depth of at least 20 feet after the head had been removed from the case! All the rest of the rounds (Those that showed no signs of fractures) fired OK and were perfectly accurate with no signs of any fractures in the empty cases after being fired. I don't know if this is happening with other makes of ammunition but I quite like that accuracy of Federals. It sounds obvious to me that if I want to continue using Federals in my 17HMR in the interest of safety I am going to have to check each round for fractures before I allow them anywhere near to my rifle. Edited to correct spelling errors! Edited October 23, 2011 by Frenchieboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Frenchie Are the cracks clearly visible with the naked eye prior to chambering the round? If so, it may be worthwhile PW members checking all of their .17 HMR amunition and reporting their results on here? webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Frenchie Are the cracks clearly visible with the naked eye prior to chambering the round? If so, it may be worthwhile PW members checking all of their .17 HMR amunition and reporting their results on here? webber Yes! In each case the crack was clearly visible to the naked eye and ran in a straight line down the full neck of the bullet! As I have said, I do not know if this fault is restricted to just one particular batch or if it is a general fault, I have never thought of checking before! My advice would be that other members check a box or two in order to try to find if this is restricted to one particular batch or not! Other members findings would be most welcome and I will be checking my ammunition and keeping any that show signs of fractures to attempt to find if it is a general safety concern, and if so can the issue be addressed before there is an "accident"! Edit: If I do find any more I will try to get a detailed photo in order to show the problem and what to look for! Edited October 23, 2011 by Frenchieboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 I'll have a check. It seems it's not just federals though, as mine are Remington. (all from hornady factory at the end of the day though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Just been through 3 boxes of Remington and 2 of Hornady and apart from a bit of discolouration I cant find any defects. Will see if I get any more hiccups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishermanpaddy Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 What would have happened if you have been unlucky enough to follow through with the shot? I mean I know that it could have been potentially catastrophic but would the fact that the bullets were tight against one another possibly have saved the situation and let the two of them pass out of the barrell? I have no experience with HMR's so this could appear as a stupid question to some of the more seasoned members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 What would have happened if you have been unlucky enough to follow through with the shot? I mean I know that it could have been potentially catastrophic but would the fact that the bullets were tight against one another possibly have saved the situation and let the two of them pass out of the barrell? I have no experience with HMR's so this could appear as a stupid question to some of the more seasoned members. It is difficult/impossible to say exactly what would have happened. Best case scenario is yes, a well dodgy shot and clear the barrel. Worst case is the breech/barrel area lets go, and so does everything close (this would be very unlikely with a HMR). Everything you can imagine in between is possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 As I mentioned, there was a bad batch a while back. Many are still in circulation. The fail rate on my boxes was much higher, on average 5-8% of every box had split necks, as all the hmr ammo comes from the same source I would imagine the problem isn't brand specific. Checking the round is the best way to go prior to a pest control session, you will not see the damage at night when reloading but the cracks are clearly visible to the naked eye in daylight. I returned all mine and demanded a full refund or replacement by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobby63 Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 I also had this problem while zeroing the new scopes and was using Hornady Blue tips V-max, Had taken a few shots and reloaded then decided to confirm hit on target so I pulled back the bolt to remove the round and to my shock the bullet head was left in the barrel chamber and I also had to remove by knocking out with a cleaning rod ! Is it the dirt from previous rounds or over sized bullet heads ? No other problems with the rest 300 rounds.So the warning is ! if you load a live round either fire it or be vigilant when unloading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted October 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2011 It appears that this is getting more of a common problem, either that or that it is being noticed more nowadays. There is a thread started up on The Stalking Directory about exactly the same thing and one of the posts on there tells of a rifle that blew and nearly took a bloke's eye out. With this in mind is it not time that this situation was really looked into. Here's a link to the thread in question: (I hope that this is allowed, if not maybe the mods could remove the link) http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?30702-17HMR-split-cases Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie-fox Posted October 29, 2011 Report Share Posted October 29, 2011 hi just thort i would add my bit...i was out a few weeks ago shooting magpies with my 17hmr...managed to get about 30 or so yards from a couple of them,lined one up for the shot,safe backstop pulled the trigger i noticed a louder bang than normal and not the useual crack...off flew the magpie... checked the case sure enough a big split around the kneck of the case...seemed to be a cloud of smoke as well when i fired the shot.. rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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