Extra Powder Accidentally ???

[Die Judicii]

I can only put the following down to "Extra Powder by Accident"
Quite some years back I was shooting bunnies with a .22rf and had a round that didn't fire.
I re cocked and squeezed again.
That time it not only fired,,, but when it went off it actually had a decent kick (for a RF anyway),,, and was quite loud compared to the average .22
By memory, I think it was Remington ammo I was using.

Last night I experienced a similar happening,, only this time it was Federal .308 130 Grain Speer HP factory.
It didn't misfire and went off first time,,,,,,,, but WOW,,, it kicked like a .375,,,,,,,,,, and the noise echoed for ages.
It was so violent, I actually ran my hand down the barrel in the darkness half expecting to feel a split barrel.

What possible explanation would most people put this down to ???

The only thing I can assume is that although it is factory ammo,,, it somehow got a bit extra powder during manufacture.

[bigpete]

Was it winchester by chance ?
Last week a mate had 3 winchester loads suffer case head separation while shooting. Apparently was pretty scary. Was a 243

[animalpest]

Was it winchester by chance ?
Last week a mate had 3 winchester loads suffer case head separation while shooting. Apparently was pretty scary. Was a 243

he said it was Federal. Was yours reloads BP?

[JohnV]

In the first instance you may have had a squib load that lodged a bullet in the barrel probably luckily close to the muzzle and then you chambered another round and fired it pushing the lodged round out with the next shot . Dangerous but in a rimfire may not have damaged the barrel .
In the 308 it does sound like a faulty load . It's not the first time Federal have had issues with over pressure ammunition .
It's real hard to guess what may have caused such recoil , did you accidentally get mud stuck in the muzzle did a stick find it's way into the barrel ? One would think if there was any barrel obstruction that would cause such recoil then some barrel damage like a bulge would occur . Inspect the barrel and see if anything looks wrong in any spot along the bore . If the barrel looks perfect on the inside and outside then I would suspect an over pressure round . When ever you have a misfire treat it as a hang fire barrel in safe direction and don't open the bolt for a few minutes then eject the case and look for the projectile in the case if it's not there look down the barrel before continuing to shoot .

[bigpete]

Was it winchester by chance ?
Last week a mate had 3 winchester loads suffer case head separation while shooting. Apparently was pretty scary. Was a 243

he said it was Federal. Was yours reloads BP?

As i said,it was a mate,and it was winchester ammo

[JohnV]

If the gun has never had any problems before then the case head separations are probably faulty cases . The brass could have fine cracks or contamination in the brass etc. I would not use any remaining ammo and take it back with the ruptured cases to show them .

[straightshooter]

I can only put the following down to "Extra Powder by Accident"
Quite some years back I was shooting bunnies with a .22rf and had a round that didn't fire.
I re cocked and squeezed again.
That time it not only fired,,, but when it went off it actually had a decent kick (for a RF anyway),,, and was quite loud compared to the average .22
By memory, I think it was Remington ammo I was using.

Last night I experienced a similar happening,, only this time it was Federal .308 130 Grain Speer HP factory.
It didn't misfire and went off first time,,,,,,,, but WOW,,, it kicked like a .375,,,,,,,,,, and the noise echoed for ages.
It was so violent, I actually ran my hand down the barrel in the darkness half expecting to feel a split barrel.

What possible explanation would most people put this down to ???

The only thing I can assume is that although it is factory ammo,,, it somehow got a bit extra powder during manufacture.

If all other possibilities are eliminated then the following might offer an explanation.
Some 15 or 20 years ago there was a batch of Federal 308 ammo that had powder break down issues. Speculation has it that the brass was not completely dry when filled or the powder itself was at fault.
They can be identified by the external corrosion on the brass and or verdigris emitting from from between the bullet and case mouth.
The ammo I had would not fire but in your case it is possible that the powder breakdown is just at a point where the deterrent coating on the powder has broken down sufficiently for it to now behave like a much faster burning powder.
I had 500 rounds of this batch and when I complained to the agent/importer/distributor they fobbed me off and didn't want to know about it.
No more Federal anything for me, not even primers.
So the upshot may be that your ammo is dangerous to use.
I am curious, if you complain whether you get any better treatment from the importer.

[rc42]

Quality and consistency of all types of factory ammo seems to have nose dived in the last year or so.
Perhaps the manufacturers running machines 24x7 at their maximum throughput rates and skimping on the QA processes to reduce rejections has something to do with this.

Just recently I got some newer CCI Std 22LR ammo and it groups all over the place compared to the same product from a few years ago.

[bladeracer]

Is it a common bullet that comes in different weights? I find the Speer 7mm 145gn and 162gn HotCore look almost identical when they're loaded. Some of the VMax's, ELDM's and SST's are the same. I have had odd bullets turn up in boxes from the factory that they shouldn't be in. It's possible it was a heavier bullet seated on a charge for a lighter bullet.
Or it could indeed be over-charged, but I think it would have to be significant to be so noticeable in recoil. Or the powder is incorrect or has degraded in some way.

I would probably put all the cartridges over a scale and weed out any that are more than few grains different.

Did it blow the primer or lock up the action? Did the bullet go where you expected it to?

I can only put the following down to "Extra Powder by Accident"
Quite some years back I was shooting bunnies with a .22rf and had a round that didn't fire.
I re cocked and squeezed again.
That time it not only fired,,, but when it went off it actually had a decent kick (for a RF anyway),,, and was quite loud compared to the average .22
By memory, I think it was Remington ammo I was using.

Last night I experienced a similar happening,, only this time it was Federal .308 130 Grain Speer HP factory.
It didn't misfire and went off first time,,,,,,,, but WOW,,, it kicked like a .375,,,,,,,,,, and the noise echoed for ages.
It was so violent, I actually ran my hand down the barrel in the darkness half expecting to feel a split barrel.

What possible explanation would most people put this down to ???

The only thing I can assume is that although it is factory ammo,,, it somehow got a bit extra powder during manufacture.

[Die Judicii]

Thanks to all for the replies.

First up I there may be a mistake,, I have two lots that are identical in every way except one lot is Federal and the other is American Eagle.

The actual rounds that I used last night I had stored in a plastic ammo box because I hate the night condensation getting into factory cardboard packets.
Whether they were American Eagle by brand or Federal I now have no way of telling.

However,,, I believe they would all come from the same factory.

Overall,, I can definitely rule out Fouled barrels,, Dirt in barrels,, Sticks in barrels,, and Old ammo degraded from moisture.

There is no visible signs of damage to inside the barrel or outside.

The cases are identical (naked eye) with no sign of cracks, or flattened primers to indicate which case was the offending one.

The other possible cause/s mentioned ie: moisture in the shell when made,,, I have no way of telling.

And yes Blade,, the projectiles poi was exactly where intended.
However,, thinking back, I was amazed that it killed so effectively given that only 130gr JHP was not my ideal choice on a mud encrusted boars shoulder.
And,,,,, the range of 350 meters would not have helped either for the little pill.

In the first outing, I was set up for pigs with 185gr SP projectiles, and shot the dog.
In the last outing I was set up for dogs with the 130gr JHP's, and shot the boar.

[JohnV]

American Eagle ammunition is made by a company called ATK .
Federal brand seem to have their own manufacturing plants .
If nothing is damaged and the projectile went on target then it must have been just too much powder or wrong type of powder .
In the manufacturing of ammo when they change a transfer press to another cartridge sometimes they forget to bleed out all the powder from the charging system and when it starts up again a few cases get the wrong powder . There could be a few possible reasons . If you have any ammo left pull the projectiles and weigh the charges and inspect the powder to see if it all looks the same . It's hard to believe that if one round was way over pressure that the effects of that are not showing on the primer .
Take another look at all the primers with a magnifying glass .

[Blr243]

Speer 130 hp have a great reputation as been very effective on game tons of people are shooting stacks of boars and horses with them . You could say they punch above their weight. Cheap too

[GQshayne]

Just a suggestion as a POSSIBILITY (other members be nice! LOL)

You had a faulty primer, which went off at second firing. Perhaps this faulty primer caused a secondary explosion due to improper ignition.

[animalpest]

As the 130gr Speer slows down it may likely hold together better at the longer range.

A similar bullet was used for aerial shooting goats at up to 120 per hour very successfully when goats were worth nothing.

Why those rounds were different is a mystery to me but could have been any one of the reasons already described.

[Die Judicii]

Many thanks.
I'll continue trialing them and with a tad more confidence in their ability.

[JohnV]

Yeah continue trialing them until the next bad one blows your gun up . At least stop using the suspect batch.

[Die Judicii]

Yeah continue trialing them until the next bad one blows your gun up . At least stop using the suspect batch.

I've already used two and a half boxes out of the same purchase with only the one ( 1 ) round being an odd ball.

[CRF]

That's why you shoot smoke poles, every shot is handloaded at the muzzle!

[Marlin44]

Speer 130 hp have a great reputation as been very effective on game tons of people are shooting stacks of boars and horses with them . You could say they punch above their weight. Cheap too

Get them while you still can - this round is to be discontinued