What should I do with a misfired round?

[bewsher500]

I am sorry, but they are still digging up entire rounds from WW2!! and brass/copper and bronze from the Bronze age!
How the feck do you expect copper, lead and Brass to "rot away" I do hope that is a joke (but I suspect not)

As for hang fire "proper drill" its common sense not some period of time dictated by the EU/Military! is 30 seconds OK but 29 not! lets not chastise the guy for not meeting military operating procedure,

As for rounds not receiving velocity when discharged out of a barrel....WRONG, SO WRONG!

before the days of HSE and cotton wool clad nanny state, my father and I wondered what would happen to a misfired .22 round when incinerated. (sure this will get the pulses of the key board warriors racing!)

We tossed them into the centre of an oil drum full of burning material and retired behind the barn wall.
They all went off with quite a crack 2 of the 3 piercing the oil drum. the 3rd went down into the ash.

(now before the public execution begins, A) no, not proud of it, B) yes, aware of how far the .22 round can go, C)no, there was no significant danger as the property is at least 5 miles from anywhere else and the incinerator was in a court yard)

point being, a .22 subsonic round has just enough energy to go through an oil drum both side from a rifle. it has similar energy without the rifle and none of the support of a thick brass case.

 

[2130martin]

That's where I get all my spare brass from
I can quite often be seen after dark going round all the kiddies sand pits in the area, sometimes I build a castle or two just to say thanks if I get quite a few

all heart you!!

 

[User00003]

I can't help feeling that discarding a live round is irresponsible, however unlikely it is to be found again.

As already stated, if you know a friendly reloader get them to pull the bullet and empty the powder. A drop of oil on the inside of the primer and then it is 100% safe with 100% peace of mind that no one is going to dig up your round and hand it in to the police (complete with your fingerprints ).

Failing that, give it to your RFD who I'm sure will be happy to dispose of it for you.

Could the admin/site benefit from a section on the forum called 'best practice' split into subcategories around stalking techniques, safety, troubleshooting, etc.? that way people, esp. beginners could easily find what they were looking for?

just a thought.

edit. I would suggest for say a particular subject, it's posted normally, then everyone feeds in their thoughts, and the final agreed upon best practice is summarised and moved to the front of the post by admin.

 

[bogtrotter]

Agree with most thats been said, but if its irresponsible to bury a single round what about the millions of rounds buried
by the army, I know of an area that was a range during WW11 when the military left they buried everything
can still pick up 303 ammunition there today where it has found its way to the surface,though after this time lapse it would not be usable.

Remember building grouse butts there a few years back butts were built of turf, when removing turfs to build the butts you could have filled the back of a pickup truck with the ammunition found.

 

[Vipa]

though after this time lapse it would not be usable.

You'd be surprised!

 

[2130martin]

Agree with most thats been said, but if its irresponsible to bury a single round what about the millions of rounds buried
by the army, I know of an area that was a range during WW11 when the military left they buried everything
can still pick up 303 ammunition there today where it has found its way to the surface,though after this time lapse it would not be usable.

Remember building grouse butts there a few years back butts were built of turf, when removing turfs to build the butts you could have filled the back of a pickup truck with the ammunition found.

All the more reason not to bury it,because you never know who or what is going to unearth it in the future....:?:

 

[DazT]

Yep it could be dug up by "time team" in a 1000 years and be worth a fortune

 

[2130martin]

Yep it could be dug up by "time team" in a 1000 years and be worth a fortune

bugger that,will keep it under me bed if its worth something...

 

[DazT]

You would have to live for a 1000 years to see the benefit mate!!!

 

[2130martin]

You would have to live for a 1000 years to see the benefit mate!!!

I am 999,not long to go now!!!

 

[User00003]

I am 999,not long to go now!!!

..famous last words! LOL

 

[matt_hooks]

The nearest thing I can find to the situation discussed.



Obviously the cases are very warm, and so a little weaker than they might otherwise be. I'd not want to be holding a round that went off uncontained, but it shows that the cases are somewhat stronger than some think.

Of course, following proper misfire drills minimises the risk. After sixty seconds or so the risk of a round going off due to a hangfire is minimal. There is no other reason the round will go off unless you manage to hit the primer. The risk is very negligible.

An uncontained round that fires will propel the case away much faster than the bullet in most cases. It's not because the case is lighter (I think my .243 cases are actually somewhat heavier than the 87gr bullets I load) but possibly because the pressure has a larger area to work upon and so propels it further/faster, something like a rocket. The velocity of either part is very small. You have an effective barrel of whatever the seating depth of the bullet is. A centrefire rifle relies on the pressure acting on the base of the bullet over the length of the barrel, so 22" or so depending on model. This is how it reaches the velocities and energy levels we know. In an unconstrained environment the vast majority of the energy is lost to air, with only a tiny amount going in to propelling the bullet and case.

I wouldn't be happy using a kinetic hammer to pull a bullet from a misfire, I'd use either a pair of pliers or the inverted case method. The risk of the round going off is negligible.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't follow proper procedures, of course I would.

 

[Uncle Buck]

That's where I get all my spare brass from
I can quite often be seen after dark going round all the kiddies sand pits in the area, sometimes I build a castle or two just to say thanks if I get quite a few

Hope you remember to recover the pit when your finished Eddi as domestic cats like to play in sand pits also (after dark)

Remember your Marigolds better safe than sorry !!

PS, I'd be intersted in some 243's & 308's if you can put any my way thanks !

Atb Buck.

 

[2130martin]

Hope you remember to recover the pit when your finished Eddi as domestic cats like to play in sand pits also (after dark)

Remamber your Marigolds better safe than sorry !!

PS, I'd be interseted in some 243's & 308's if you can put any my way !



Atb Buck.

Just stick em in the post,2nd class??

 

[Uncle Buck]

Just stick em in the post,2nd class??

Hope your referring to the case's and not the marigolds Martin !!

Atb Buck.

PS. Brithunter SOUND ADVICE.

 

[2130martin]

Hope your referring to the case's and not the marigolds Martin !!

Atb Buck.

 

[MrMickeyD]

Thanks for the advise regarding a hangfire - seems very sensible. Not had a problem like this and sure if i had i would have dealt with it in the way you describe BH, glad i now know the "right" way to deal with it.

Like the "best practice section" idea too

M

 

[Brithunter]

Ahhh thinking back as it was a looooooooooooooong time ago I did the RCO training now. I should really have said at LEAST 30 seconds................................. before opening the breech!



Misfires with modern primers are fairly uncommon but still do happen. I have had them on occasions.

Sometimes it's an indication that something is amiss with the rifle .............................. yes shock horror. With some modern mechanisms it's possible to not get the breech closed propely and the safety features inbuilt stop the pin or striker hitting the primer with any force or at all. Or it could be something as simple as dirt or debris or even a slight burr.

Once one has dealt with the immediate safety issue of a misfire then one can look to see what may have caused it. Too many just discard the round or put it aside .............................. out of sight out of mind and never think anymore of it.

 

[matt_hooks]

Brit, I've had a couple of misfires in my time. From my training I tend to group them in to three rough categories.

There are those where the primer shows no sign of a strike, which indicates a mechanical issue with the firing mechanism. Often, as you say, either a piece of grit in the mech that either stops the bolt closing properly, or stops the firing pin from falling on the primer. I would be happy to rechamber a round in this category after working out what has prevented the firing pin from striking the primer.

Then there are those that show a light strike on the primer. These are probably the most difficult to diagnose, as it could be any of the reasons above, but it could also be a problem with the round, maybe a primer seated too deep in a stretched primer pocket, or excessive head space where the shoulder has been bumped back accidentally in reloading, or a primer fault. I'd hesitate to re-chamber a round in this category unless a mechanical cause for the light strike can be found.

The third type is where the firing pin has made a clean strike, and the primer has failed to ignite, indicating either a contaminated primer, maybe oil in the case, or a primer that hasn't been properly filled with priming compound. Either way these rounds are never chambered, they are put aside and stripped down at the loading bench to recover the bullet and discover the fault with the primer.

Of course those categories don't include "squib" rounds where the primer ignites but the sound isn't right. That's another cause for concern as it can indicate a light load that might have left a bullet in the barrel.

I guess a lesson I learnt in my flying training is apposite. When something unexpected happens, sit on your hands. Do nothing, but think. Once you have thought, take the necessary action.

 

[Si]

How many times have you seen someone have a misfire at the range and immediately open the bolt and peer inside to see what happened?