Anyone had this happen ?

keryou1960 · Post by **keryou1960** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:13 am

I'm at the range yesterday shooting my MK3 Comp. 6 7/8" slabside. At about the 200 + rd. mark I am shooting at a quick pace when I experience an Explosion with significant blow back, Something hits my glasses and I have lots powder residue on my hands. The pistol was hot hot like usual because I have 11 mags and a Ultimate clip loader . I was shooting Federal Auto Match 325 rd. box ammo. After field stripping I notice my Extractor is broken off and missing (Probably what hit my glasses) a casing with no rim in the chamber and the LCI is damaged and pushed out ahead of the pivot pin with the first two letters of the word LOADED missing! Was it a bad round, Did it cook a round because of the Hot barrel/chamber ? I haven't a clue. I will add that I have probably sent over 300,000 rds. of .22 cal. down range and have never had this happen.
I have installed the following Mods. Volquartsen target trigger, sear , mk2 hammer w/lightening hole filled to eliminate possibility of light strikes , Clark Custom hammer pin/bushing. It's fairly new But, I have approx. 10,000 rds. through Her without a hiccup. I need your Help on this one guys.

boomer47 · Post by **boomer47** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:08 pm

Sounds like the chamber was dirty after that many rounds and did not let the case fully seat.
The Ruger MK's will fire with the bolt retracted a tad which will leave the rear of the case unsupported and will blow the case just as happened to you.
Happened to me but I only lost the entire plastic part of the LCI which Ruger replaced by mail.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:32 pm

Welcome to Guntalk-Online! Sorry about your latest experience.

What you had there was an out-of-battery detonation. Basically the cartridge case wasn't fully inserted in the chamber when it detonated and the case ruptured. It happens from time to time but is not all that common. You're about the fourth one I've heard about in the last two years. Basically the cartridge case would have look like this (if it had stayed together) -

Instead what you ended up with was a case separation like this one.

The results of the lower one is exactly like you described. I know you have a case stuck in the chamber, but did the bullet exit the barrel?

A dirty/fouled chamber, an improperly tight fit with the LCI, or a damaged disconnector would be the likely suspects. What ammo were you shooting? (I hope it wasn't Remington's) Is the piece of brass case still stuck in the chamber? Like in the lower picture, how much of the case was lost to the detonation? You can take the piece, if you still have it and match it up like the second photo does to see how much case was lost. The missing parts can be replaced by you, rather than sending it in to Ruger. If you did send it in then you would want to replace all the custom parts with the originals.

Look at the disconnector. Is is smoothly shaped on the top edge, or does it look dented like this one?

If the disconnector is damaged then a trip to Ruger is necessary, as these are controlled parts and they won't send you a new one.

Once you get the case out of the chamber, you can inspect it for any leading or excessive powder residue. Drop check some rounds into the chamber to see if they fit smoothly.

If no lead or disconnector damage then the next likely suspect would be the metal tab on the LCI. Unfortunately you won't be able to check that out since it was blown from the pistol.

I'm curious to hear what you discover after inspecting your pistol.

R,
Bullseye

KAZ · Post by **KAZ** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:39 pm

I occasionally get sloppy about wearing my shooting glasses, and then I read something like this incident which reminds me that it not to much trouble. Bullseye, why the "I hope it wasn't Remington's"? I shoot a lot of Remington Target Green in my 41s,boxes of Golden bulk in my Buck Mark and P22, and Rem Subsonic in my CZ. Anything I should be aware of? Regards

keryou1960 · Post by **keryou1960** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:03 pm

The disconnector was not damaged, Casing came right out when I ran a barrel brush into chamber. The casing was missing the whole end rim and all. I completely disassembled the pistol Inspected/Cleaned and replaced broken Extractor with a Volquartsen Edge Extractor I had purchased to put in my 10/22. The ammo was federal auto match bulk 325. I had already removed the LCI metal tab (Per BULLSEYE'S instructions) prior to this event. It was just a dust cover. Now it's completely removed.
Update ! Took Her to the range today and ran a 550 rd. box of Federal 36 gr. through Her without any hiccups.
Question , Is it ok to run without LCI, Just an open slot ? Also thanks for the replys I really appreciate the feed back. Be safe and always wear eye protection.

recumbent · Post by **recumbent** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:12 pm

yes i run without the lci all the time just an open slot.

I have a MKIII upper on a mkII lower and use a MKII bolt so just the open slot works fine.

I have also removed the LCI from my MKIII hunter no problems!!

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:38 pm

Well, that remove two of the possible causes for the early detonation. No problems with the disconnector or the LCI caused the premature detonation. That just leaves some crud build up in the chamber. You've likely corrected that situation with the bore brush.

No problems running your pistol with the open slot in the receiver.

R,
Bullseye

jjfunk · Post by **jjfunk** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:37 pm

Is it possible that this was one of the "early" model LCI's that didn't have the "flex" mechanism like the new ones, and got jammed up and hit the rim?

JJ

Post by **Bullseye** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:03 pm

The original poster had removed the metal tab on the LCI before this incident occurred which effectively eliminated this indicator device as a cause of the problem.

So far it looks like a dirty chamber was the root cause of the failure.

R,
Bullseye