Ouch ![]()
I’m a member of one of ruger’s forums and have learned their customer service is one of the best in the business. You might still have some recourse if you contact them.
Does double feed mean part of the first round (the case neck?) was left stuck in the chamber and the 2nd round went inside of it far enough to let the hammer hit the firing pin? I can’t see it going enough into battery to fire if two rounds were stacked back to back? I honestly don’t know exactly what double feed means.
Or did the bullet point from the 2nd round hit the primer of the 1st round? If so, it would seem this would have happened during the semi-automatic reload vs. waiting for you to pull the trigger initiating a hammer strike
You can see my dilemma; I have been trying to figure it all out. All I know is the magazine was blown off hard and there was a round that struck the target, the casing is still stuck in the chamber. The bolt housing and the magazine housing are bulging out. So, there was an explosion in the housing while there was a round in the chamber.
Was the brass new?
I’m just brainstorming, but I wonder if the barrel was mislabeled from the factory and has a .223 chamber rather than the labeled 5.56. You said you were shooting 80 grain bullets that if they were in a .223 chamber would amplify the shorter leade increasing the pressure even more than a 55 or 62 grain bullet.
Stick with me
, the 6th round was loud. Perhaps the (I’m guessing) over pressure damaged the BCG such that when you chambered the regular round the lugs did not fully rotate into a locked position with the barrel. It did rotate enough to to get partially into battery so the hammer did strike the firing pin. The cartridge not being fully locked in left you with an unsupported chamber. When fully in battery only the solid base of the cartridge case should be hanging out of the chamber, but if part of the sidewall is hanging out, then BOOM! It blew the base off the cartridge case and the rest is history.
Just a Wild Ass Guess …
A round that does not fully get chambered will end up expanding the brass that was not chambered where this piece of brass is still in the chamber. When later trying to remove the brass parts from it did not come out.
The round in the chamber went off and struck the target.
The bolt and housing were destroyed.
There was an explosion in the housing while a round was in the chamber.
No, i hand loaded them one at a time. Testing and weighing each piece of brass. Measured starting load powder for the 80-grain round. Gauged each round for a total of 10 rounds.
After a long amount of time, I contacted Ruger and asked them about it. My gunsmith came up that it double fed and fired with a round in the chamber. I sent it to Ruger, and they said that they will replace my rifle for a Washington State qualified rifle. I am going for a .357 Magnum lever action. It took a while to find out what happened and everyone keeps asking me if I got hurt. Miraculously I did not get hurt, only my feelings got hurt. I just had to share this with y’all. I always say be safe and there is a reason for that, people can get hurt. So, be safe out there.
Not a bad outcome!