Always always always check !

[jall55]

Evening guys

I have had over 30 years experience and nearly had a major accident this weekend.

I think it is worth posting the details so that even if one person has a similar situation they will think and check

I was out with my .17 HMR. I shot a squirrel - a moment later another appeared so i reloaded and squeezed the trigger - nothing - no fizz / bang - just a click.

Believing i had a mis-fire i left the rifle pointing in a safe direction and after 2 minutes opened the bolt - to discover- an empty case.

I believed this to be the one from the first shot - so ejected this and cycled another

The second squirrel still sat looking so i took aim and again squeezed the trigger.

What followed was the most shock i have ever suffered as the gun made a massive bang and blew out the magazine.

After 5 minutes and the panic has subsided i thought the last round must have had a fault

I recovered this and also scouted on the floor for the magazine and found the previous case. It was still full of powder !

What happened is the head / bullet of the cartridge had come off in the chamber and got pushed down the barrel

I really was lucky and if i had suffered a "misfire" in a shotgun i certainly would have checked the barrel - if i had heard a fizz or small bang i would have checked the barrel - all i would say is if something unexpected is felt/heard/happens - CHECK the barrel before cycling another round or squeezing that trigger !

Please share - and yes i know i should have done but as stated if one person reads this and remembers it if the situation arises i can handle the ridicule because i count myself so lucky to be able to share this with no injuries at all.

 

[Namman]

Evening guys

I have had over 30 years experience and nearly had a major accident this weekend.

I think it is worth posting the details so that even if one person has a similar situation they will think and check

I was out with my .17 HMR. I shot a squirrel - a moment later another appeared so i reloaded and squeezed the trigger - nothing - no fizz / bang - just a click.

Believing i had a mis-fire i left the rifle pointing in a safe direction and after 2 minutes opened the bolt - to discover- an empty case.

I believed this to be the one from the first shot - so ejected this and cycled another

The second squirrel still sat looking so i took aim and again squeezed the trigger.

What followed was the most shock i have ever suffered as the gun made a massive bang and blew out the magazine.

After 5 minutes and the panic has subsided i thought the last round must have had a fault

I recovered this and also scouted on the floor for the magazine and found the previous case. It was still full of powder !

What happened is the head / bullet of the cartridge had come off in the chamber and got pushed down the barrel

I really was lucky and if i had suffered a "misfire" in a shotgun i certainly would have checked the barrel - if i had heard a fizz or small bang i would have checked the barrel - all i would say is if something unexpected is felt/heard/happens - CHECK the barrel before cycling another round or squeezing that trigger !

Please share - and yes i know i should have done but as stated if one person reads this and remembers it if the situation arises i can handle the ridicule because i count myself so lucky to be able to share this with no injuries at all.

You should always make sure the bullet has not stuck in the barrel after a click.
I have seen several rifles blown up this way mostly, by far .17HMR

 

[Sakoodin1]

That’s the very same reason (without the third shot being fired) that I cut my cz 17hmr up and bought a .17 hornet!!!! Shame as they are a cracking little r/f but to dangerous in my mind and I’ve seen a lot of actions blow out on them since

 

[The Singing Stalker]

With an hmr , in the event of misfire imagined or not, remove bolt and check for daylight. No daylight, no shoot.
really really important.

been there done that.

 

[Namman]

Evening guys

I have had over 30 years experience and nearly had a major accident this weekend.

I think it is worth posting the details so that even if one person has a similar situation they will think and check

I was out with my .17 HMR. I shot a squirrel - a moment later another appeared so i reloaded and squeezed the trigger - nothing - no fizz / bang - just a click.

Believing i had a mis-fire i left the rifle pointing in a safe direction and after 2 minutes opened the bolt - to discover- an empty case.

I believed this to be the one from the first shot - so ejected this and cycled another

The second squirrel still sat looking so i took aim and again squeezed the trigger.

What followed was the most shock i have ever suffered as the gun made a massive bang and blew out the magazine.

After 5 minutes and the panic has subsided i thought the last round must have had a fault

I recovered this and also scouted on the floor for the magazine and found the previous case. It was still full of powder !

What happened is the head / bullet of the cartridge had come off in the chamber and got pushed down the barrel

I really was lucky and if i had suffered a "misfire" in a shotgun i certainly would have checked the barrel - if i had heard a fizz or small bang i would have checked the barrel - all i would say is if something unexpected is felt/heard/happens - CHECK the barrel before cycling another round or squeezing that trigger !

Please share - and yes i know i should have done but as stated if one person reads this and remembers it if the situation arises i can handle the ridicule because i count myself so lucky to be able to share this with no injuries at all.

When we sell a .17HMR at our range we warn all buyers about this and also suggest they buy a cleaning rod, to be carried when out in the field!

 

[Alantoo]

Sorry to hear of your experience. The warning can’t be repeated too many times.

Your description is pretty well identical to what happened at at the range with a .17HMR one evening. The bits of magazine went some distance.

Alan

 

[Samhuntvic]

Can somebody explain to me why this happens and can the fault be remedied at the manufacturing end?
Grant.

 

[fineyoungbuck]

Glad your ok and thanks for heads up.

 

[8x57]

Can somebody explain to me why this happens and can the fault be remedied at the manufacturing end?
Grant.

It happens because the hmr case starts off with a .22 neck in order to be of sufficient size to charge it with powder and is then swaged down to take the .17 bullet after powder charging. Due to annealing issues cracks often occur where the neck is swaged down and these allow the ingress of moisture that contaminates the powder load.

How many times have we heard very similar stories reported on this site, I've lost track.

 

[Samhuntvic]

So what happens then I presume is that the contaminated powder just fizzes enough to push the bullet into the barrel and stick it there. Am I right or is it more complicated?
Grant.

 

[8x57]

Yes basically its as simple as that.

 

[Daddy The Skunk]

Gents Im with you on all the safety advise. Having shot about 2K of 17HMR with zero issues I do wonder about things. This issue posted seems from the bullet sticking in the throat the problem is why? Was it incredibly fouled? Or dimensions and the projectile stuck at the lead of rifling. jall555 I am happy you were not hurt. My experience with Soviet era com bloc ammo enhances my wonder at why things don't work. Some Polish 7.62x25 blew the mag out of a CZ52 and a few other rounds helped it hit dirt. Neck cracks in Turk 7.92x57, 7.62x54 that was so far out of dimension King Kong would be unable to close the bolt. Last some Korean M-2 Ball KA-71-72 that blew back down and out the case head, that cost me a stock on the M-1 Garand and a extractor on the US 1917. I got lucky and wasn't hurt either.

 

[Daddy The Skunk]

Evening guys

I have had over 30 years experience and nearly had a major accident this weekend.

I think it is worth posting the details so that even if one person has a similar situation they will think and check

I was out with my .17 HMR. I shot a squirrel - a moment later another appeared so i reloaded and squeezed the trigger - nothing - no fizz / bang - just a click.

Believing i had a mis-fire i left the rifle pointing in a safe direction and after 2 minutes opened the bolt - to discover- an empty case.

I believed this to be the one from the first shot - so ejected this and cycled another

The second squirrel still sat looking so i took aim and again squeezed the trigger.

What followed was the most shock i have ever suffered as the gun made a massive bang and blew out the magazine.

After 5 minutes and the panic has subsided i thought the last round must have had a fault

I recovered this and also scouted on the floor for the magazine and found the previous case. It was still full of powder !

What happened is the head / bullet of the cartridge had come off in the chamber and got pushed down the barrel

I really was lucky and if i had suffered a "misfire" in a shotgun i certainly would have checked the barrel - if i had heard a fizz or small bang i would have checked the barrel - all i would say is if something unexpected is felt/heard/happens - CHECK the barrel before cycling another round or squeezing that trigger !

Please share - and yes i know i should have done but as stated if one person reads this and remembers it if the situation arises i can handle the ridicule because i count myself so lucky to be able to share this with no injuries at all.

Do you have the case that lost the projectile? If you do I would pour out all powder and see if the priming compound fired as intended by re chambering and pulling the trigger again. If nothing else it might help solve the mystery.

 

[finnbear270]

Some of that stuff can suffer from damp ingress, hence the poor powder burn.

 

[long_range_rob]

Micro splits in the neck allow water vapour in which causes the powder to clump in one big lump. The priming compound ignites and gives enough oomph to the bullet to get it as far as the rifling but no further. Check your unfired ammunition with a magnifying glass and you will see cases with split necks.

 

[jall55]

Do you have the case that lost the projectile? If you do I would pour out all powder and see if the priming compound fired as intended by re chambering and pulling the trigger again. If nothing else it might help solve the mystery.

Morning
Yes i do - the case is just about full of powder as stated above by long range rob its sort of clumped together.
I am talking to the manufacturer about the issue
I wont use the rifle again as i know it saved my life or saved me from serious injury really.
Maybe a .17 hornet or .204 - thoughts ?
Squirrels / crows up to 100 yards

 

[Foxyboy43]

Near miss indeed. There has been much discussion again about the quality of ammunition for this great round most recently on the following thread:-

17HMR Terminal Performance

Sound advice indeed but split cases in the box are a bit of an undeniable counter to Mr H’s broadcast that it must be your gun! That said and despite splits before or after firing the 17 gns are a very accurate round. As an aside I tried a box of 15gns lead free and found that if a mouse sneezed...

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

I really do think that sooner or later there will be a serious injury caused by a case similar to this one and the finger will be pointed at the shooter (for not following standard misfire procedure) AND eventually the manufacturer (for continuing to provide ammunition with a history of split cases before and after firing). All too often it is the case that it is less costly for manufacturers to not make expensive changes and compensate potential litigants rather than permanently fix the problem - this is precisely how the 17 HMR issue is starting to shape up.
IMHO It really is high time the industry addressed this WIDELY KNOWN important safety issue BEFORE serious inury occurs.
It will be interesting to hear the outcome of the discussions with the manufacturer, unless of course a “no disclosure” is part of the outcome!

 

[8x57]

Do you have the case that lost the projectile? If you do I would pour out all powder and see if the priming compound fired as intended by re chambering and pulling the trigger again. If nothing else it might help solve the mystery.

I'm sorry but I don't follow the logic. If the squib load has sent the bullet into the barrel then surely the priming compound has done its job. It cannot be fired for a second time.

 

[8x57]

Near miss indeed. There has been much discussion again about the quality of ammunition for this great round most recently on the following thread:-

17HMR Terminal Performance

Sound advice indeed but split cases in the box are a bit of an undeniable counter to Mr H’s broadcast that it must be your gun! That said and despite splits before or after firing the 17 gns are a very accurate round. As an aside I tried a box of 15gns lead free and found that if a mouse sneezed...

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

I really do think that sooner or later there will be a serious injury caused by a case similar to this one and the finger will be pointed at the shooter (for not following standard misfire procedure) AND eventually the manufacturer (for continuing to provide ammunition with a history of split cases before and after firing). All too often it is the case that it is less costly for manufacturers to not make expensive changes and compensate potential litigants rather than permanently fix the problem - this is precisely how the 17 HMR issue is starting to shape up.
IMHO It really is high time the industry addressed this WIDELY KNOWN important safety issue BEFORE serious inury occurs.
It will be interesting to hear the outcome of the discussions with the manufacturer, unless of course a “no disclosure” is part of the outcome!

It may appear to some to be a simple matter to resolve but not being a metallurgist I wouldn't have a clue.
I suppose the problem is in making the case sufficiently ductile to be able swage it down after charging while not annealing it excessively that it will not grip the bullet. It must be a very fine balancing act that occasionally they don't get absolutely spot on.

 

[Mr. Gain]

When we sell a .17HMR at our range we warn all buyers about this and also suggest they buy a cleaning rod, to be carried when out in the field!

Absolutely right. And .17 HMR is the only cartridge I have ever had to do this with. Like many, I sold my HMR for this reason.
Nevertheless, I suspect most handloaders have at some point created this very situation by missing a powder charge. I came very close to making the OP's mistake myself two years ago... with a .308. When the rifle went "click" instead of bang, for some reason I thought I'd simply forgotten to eject the previous round, so I chambered another. Fortunately, something in my subconscious made me pause just long enough before touching the trigger for me to re-engage my brain and check. I'm not telling this story to pat myself on the back, only as a cautionary tale. It was a stupid mistake that could easily have resulted in a serious injury in the field and a wrecked rifle, instead of a short pause while I went back to the 4x4 for a cleaning rod and gave myself a good talking to.
Always, always, always check, indeed!