Another .17 HMR incident : HSE Informed

[sikamalc]

Yesterday lunchtime I had a call from a shooting mate who is also a SDF member. He was out sighting in his CZ American using Hornady ammo and suffered a barrel blockage, result was a badly twisted bolt and a 2" piece of the stock from behind the bolt shattered off, so another ruined .17 HMR. Very luckily he was unhurt.

I am unclear of the exact events but clearly the prev round was a mis fire and the bullet lodged in the barrel far enough up for the next round to be chambered and fired.

I have done a quick search on the net "Faulty .17 HMR ammunition" and it brings up reams of stuff.

I am also aware of the posts on SDF.

Clearly this is an ongoing and serious problem which is not being resolved so I have written to the HSE and asked them to investigate.

Its not really their issue, however if any Gamekeeper or Pest control officer who uses a .17 HMR as a part of their job suffered the above then it could be reported as a Dangerous Occurance and if the shooter was injured it might also be reportable as a RIDDOR if it was a seven day injury.

I await the HSE's response.

D

Had a good friend who had exactly the same thing happen to him with his .17HMR and I think the same ammo. Blew the rifle to bits and burnt his eye, although fortunately not badly.
The ammo manufactuerer accepted responsibility and paid out without quibble for a new rifle and scope. Mind you loosing ones eyesight would have been a costly pay out.

I think I will stick to my trusty 22 rimmy.

 

[Danny rem mag]

Hi Malcolm, do you think I have a case for any kind of refund on gun repair then? As I said the rifle has been sent to Edgar bros, who are the importers. I don't know if they would help out with contacting CCI. How did your friend go about it? Ps I'll be in contact soon re dsc 2. Regards Danny

 

[NorthDorset]

Misfire drill, misfire drill, misfire drill!

I'm seeing split necks in my latest batch of .17 (after firing ) but I'm still yet to see anything worse.

 

[Sauer90]

I have had numerous issues with this rimfire ammunition, so much so that I sold my Sako in the end and moved on to a CF 17.

 

[Tom D]

Is this making the case for the 17 Hornet?

I like the idea of a .17 - always have (and started when as a teenager we moved house and in the new house was a complete collection of Gun and Ammo from the 1960's and lots of articles about the new .17 in cartridges such as .17 Javalena - they got thrown out when I went off to University) - and have been thinking about getting a .17 rimfire for a while. But these ammo issues do put me off.

I have an HMR and now the .20 vartarg as well, the HMR hasn't left the cabinet since the vartarg arrived, the small centerfires like the .17 fireball and .20 vartarg and others are so cheap to reload (£40p) that the HMR just doesn't seem worth it.

 

[sikamalc]

Hi Malcolm, do you think I have a case for any kind of refund on gun repair then? As I said the rifle has been sent to Edgar bros, who are the importers. I don't know if they would help out with contacting CCI. How did your friend go about it? Ps I'll be in contact soon re dsc 2. Regards Danny

Danny,

My friend went back through the shop where the ammo and I believe the rifle was purchased. However to be fair the manager of the gun room was also a good friend of his. If I remember rightly they contacted the ammo supplier and took it from there.

You certainly have a case to answer. Did you take any photos of the damage to the rifle? I would contact Edgar Brothers and ask for some photos to be taken and then approach the ammo supplier and make a case. Yours is not the first case, and I would hope would be the last. But as my friend had exactly the same issue as yourself and that was over a year ago, I do believe that this will not be the last.

If you care to call me or PM meI will give you his number and you may speak with him about his case.

 

[Mr. Gain]

I'm seeing split necks in my latest batch of .17 (after firing ) but I'm still yet to see anything worse.

Have you inspected the necks of unfired rounds in good light? Often the cracks are barely visible but once you know what you're looking for they become easier to spot. I suspect that if rounds with cracked necks are of relatively recent manufacture or have been stored in the proverbial "cool dry place" squibs are less frequent than if they have been stored for a long time and/or in conditions of increased humidity.

But, as you say, good misfire drills are vital... and it's also a good idea to keep a cleaning rod in the car to dislodge any stuck bullets without the need for a premature trip home.

Can I ask which brand/load you're using?

 

[North Cornwall Deer]

I just herd of a chap local to me who had his ruger all weather, blow up on him. Blow the bolt out some how, I don't know the details. I have the same rifle and not had a problem. Though I don't like how a lot of the case split at the necks when fired.

 

[sikamalc]

Just to clarify here guys. It appears to be the ammunition at fault not the rifles in all the cases I have heard of, and in particular to my friends case, who by the way is a member of this site.

 

[joe soapy]

Is it the ammo?, I have looked at my pile of empties and cant find any with splits.. hornrady v max
be interesting to measure the necks of spent brass to check for slack chamber

I get 4.85 on an unfired and 4.88/9 on a fired case

 

[Mr. Gain]

If it helps, here are a few split necks from my "collection":

View attachment 44971

Hornady "blue-tip" and Remington.

Not a pretty sight.

 

[Muir]

I don't see why people are still messing with the 17HMR. This has been a problem for years and it isn't getting any better by all accounts.~Muir

 

[NorthDorset]

On the whole Muir I like the .17 HMR and it fills the gap nicely for me. It's laser flat out to 120m and has no recoil. I like the thumb hole laminate stock on my CZ and the LEI .17 Moderator is a dream and the same diameter as the bull barrel.
It's a very attractive and deadly accurate package.

I've not had any issues apart from split necks. Might feel differently if I lose half a hand some time.

 

[The deer man]

Is it the ammo?, I have looked at my pile of empties and cant find any with splits.. hornrady v max
be interesting to measure the necks of spent brass to check for slack chamber

I get 4.85 on an unfired and 4.88/9 on a fired case

That's thin compared to Winchester who make their own ammo not the CCI stuff that seems to have all the problems. My Winchester measure 0.011 and no problems since they moved away from CCI.

 

[The deer man]

I don't see why people are still messing with the 17HMR. This has been a problem for years and it isn't getting any better by all accounts.~Muir

But isn't it? As you said Winchester now making their own ammo and since I've been using it over the last year and a bit . . . no problems. Maybe people should stop using the CCI manufactured stuff.

 

[NorthDorset]

My open box is Remington.

 

[Timbo61]

Plenty of warnings on the boxes of 17hmr in both 17 and 20 gr that I have in front of me. Both Hornady and CCI.
Interesting that only the CCI box states not to be used in semi autos. No mention of this on Hornady boxes, but they do have a message on their website to the same effect.

edit; In light of this thread, I have just checked over 3 boxes of 17hmr and found no split necks thankfully.
I did however find one unloaded cartridge in the new unopened box of CCI. Obviously quality control is a bit slack there too

 

[jb7x57]

Just been told of a ruger m77 blown up as well, mag blown out stock damaged but but shooter is ok

 

[Muir]

Oddly, 17HMR is the only rimfire ammo available to us in the largest retail stores -if you discount one shop that had some Eley Club. It is everywhere and they can't sell the stuff. People here have caught onto the fact that the ammo itself is junk. The scarcest is 22WMR and when you find it it is twice the cost of HMR. It remains a wonder to me that with shelves overflowing with HMR, the ammo makers staunchly refuse to shut it down and make 22LR.~Muir

 

[Dilligaf]

I have had one round miss fire, I was lucky to be on the range that day and did not put the next round in, I did have to find a rod to get the head out though as it had stuck in the barrel.

I now use Winchester rounds, as I was asked to return 250 Hornadyto the shop for exchange, I chose to use the Winchester from then on.