Exploding Round

[ronaldrwl]

I went shooting at Green Mountain today (I was the only one there). This was the second time shooting my new P22 with some old ammo my uncle gave me. I don't know how old this stuf is, 10,20,30,40 years. The second shot exploded. My face was pelted. I packed the P22 away until I got home to examine it. There wasn't anything unusual. What do you think it was?

[275RLTW]

The P-22's are notorious for not liking non-jacketed ammo. The lead builds up rather fast in the barrel and can cause another round to "explode" when contacting it. Since pressure can escape foward, there doesn't seem to be a the same reaction as a shot fired into a completely obstructed barrel. This would cause some of the 2nd shot to splatter you and not continue downrange. I would check the barrel fao any lead build-up and have a gunsmith check everything out before shooting it again.

[ronaldrwl]

Thanks for the info. The gun is brand new. Only shot a few rounds in it.

[sniper7]

maybe the ammo. could have been that the round didn't fully seat in the chamber so part of it was exposed, the firing pin still hit the rim and bam!

I would just invest in some new .22 ammo...whole lot cheaper to do that. my p22 really likes the federal bulk packs from wal-mart.

[SA Friday]

What did the brass look like? Did it eject or stay stuck in the chamber? If it was stuck in the chamber, was it still fully seated in the chamber or bulged in the back?

[ronaldrwl]

It did not eject and looked normal