We got a brand new Sako 22 rifle with a full length silencer, installed in the factory.

I was shooting some ammo through it, when shooting the Eley SPORT ammo with the green label, I had one misfire.

I rotated the round, and tried again.

It misfired.

I rotated again.

This time it fired, but the bullet stayed in the barrel!!

I got the bullet out, and it seems that there was no powder in the case - at least that what I have to assume.

From the same box, I had another squib load. I could actually see the bullet going down range, hitting the ground about 20 yards ahead.

The funny part is that we have never had a single instance of a bullet getting stuck like this in a 22.

British anti- conspiracy.

I have had many rounds that have refused to fire on the first or second firing, but when they fired afterwards, they went off like any other round.

Others have refused to fire no matter how many times one tries.

The worst lot I have ever found were Russian made with steel cases.

Most won't fire in any rifle at all.

the centripetal priming on rimfires sometimes leaves voids but i have noticed a definite drop in the quality of ely in the lately i'm finding that the federal stuff is better

I have had bullets stuck in the barrel 3 times over many, many years, all very different occasions, with different rifles. It does happen, almost always with lower quality ammo. More frequently with the stuff marketed as "subsonic" or some such. I avoid that.

My late friend had just restored an old "boy's rifle". Lots of work on his part, a labor of love. He fired once, but did not see a bullet hit, shooting at a tin can. He did not realize the bullet was stuck in the barrel and fired again. The barrel (made of soft steel, what you would expect in a cheap rifle) was ruined. My friend's careful work was for naught.

My recommendation is to always check for a bullet hole or hit after every shot. If you set out to do that deliberately, it will soon become something that you do by instinct, taking almost no time.


Priming & powder charging are mechanical processes, repeated thousands & thousands of times, all automated. Frequent checking & adjustment & testing is expensive. That is what you pay for when you buy expensive target ammo.

I shoot old single shot target rifles by preference. Some designs are more likely to experience misfires than others. The Winchester design has built-in problems.

As a kid I inherited a Remington Model 24 (Browning patent autoloader) that was my grandfathers. A friend also had a Model 24 about the same age. Both had "rings" about halfway down the barrel where a stuck bullet had been struck by a subsequent bullet. Despite this, they shot okay. Many years later I picked up yet another Model 24 from the estate of my wife's cousin. Lo and behold, it had a similar ring. I'm not sure what it was about this model, but among dozens of other old .22 rimfires I've never run across one with a "ringed" barrel from a stuck bullet. Perhaps it is much more common in autoloaders which lend themselves to rapid repeat fire.

Well, here is another very weird happening too.

I am not sure how to describe it, but I will try.

Every now and then, one round - from different make, and type, regardless - would have a sort of secondary bang coming from the action, with smoke coming out by the bolt!!??

The bullet goes out, and lands among the rest of them on the target, but there is a definite sort of explosion coming out of the action.

Very weird, and I have never experienced anything like it before??!

Is there a detectable flash that accompanies this secondary bang? There might not be because of the design of the bolt.

My guess with Saeed's experience is that some powder does not burn with each shot but accumulates in the chamber. Sooner or later the unburned powder ignites, but the bullet has left the barrel or nearly so.

I ask because I have a not-too-dissimilar experience. Mine has only happened with Fiocchi SM-200 Match Shorts, with copper cases. Twice, we have heard a loud bang, accompanied with a flash of light & flame squirting out of the chamber at the forward edge top of the breech block (it moves on a vertical plane).

On opening the action by dropping the breech block lever, the remains of a cartridge case was extracted. The top 1/3 of the rim & case head had disappeared. But the bullet remained crimped in the mouth of the cartridge case.

I pulled the bullets from 5 cases thinking I might see something unusual in the cases. I used a shell holder made for 22 rimfire in a press and raised the press ram until the bullet emerged through the hole for the die. Then I held the bullet with pliers and used the press operating lever to pull the case away. 4 worked as planned. Attempt #5 pulled the case in half, with the upper part of the case remaining attached to the bullet.

Shoot enough and strange things happen.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Every now and then, one round - from different make, and type, regardless - would have a sort of secondary bang coming from the action, with smoke coming out by the bolt!!??

The bullet goes out, and lands among the rest of them on the target, but there is a definite sort of explosion coming out of the action.

Saeed,

Does the spent case show signs that it was pierced by the firing pin(s)?

George

Only had that happen once in 66 years of .22 shooting.
Remington semi auto (Model 572???) and Remington .22 LR Golden bullet.
Bullet fired out (there was a hole in the target). As the action opened and the case was ejecting, there was a loud secondary explosion. It was at dusk and the flames shot out about 10". It sure got my attention.
I tend to support the already mentioned theory of unburned powder buildup igniting. The rifle was one I just purchased and I hadn't given it my usual new-purchase-cleanup.

Is there no physical feel or sound difference when a bullet does not exit the barrel? I have never had it happen to me, but I have had a few 22LR cases split just in front of the rim. That you can hear and feel!
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I have had many rounds that have refused to fire on the first or second firing, but when they fired afterwards, they went off like any other round.

Apologies for dragging up an old thread, but could this occur due to primer 'settling' away from the usual 12 o'clock firing pin position?

http://www.geoffrey-kolbe.com/...uracy/firing_pin.htm

Firing pins do not always hit at 12 o’clock.

Some do at 9.