My Savage 17hmr blew up today!!!!

Wow, looks like things could have gone much worse judging by the pictures 6mm posted! Lucky it mostly just blew out through the bottom clip and didn't explode any worse than it did. Or maybe that is a design/safety thing?

And thanks for the link to the other forum, very interesting. I just went through every round that was left in the box of 50 I had been shooting at the time. There are about 30 rounds left and I did a visual inspection and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. No cracks or bulges that I could see. I guess at this point I'll just have to wait and see what the Savage tech guys have to say.
 
I have a Savage 93 17 HMR and was shooting Hornady 17 V-max in it had a shell that didn''t feed right and bolt didn't lock. Worked action and thought the shell ejected, but what happened was the brass pulled off and lead stayed in barrel. Went to work bolt new cartridge hit the lead and luckily I didn't force it. I could have closed it with a little extra pressure,but checked chamber and realized what had happened. I had to take a cleaning rod to push lead out, which was stuck really tight. This leads me to think it is the Hornady Ammo that was the problem after your blew up. I haven't had any problems since.
 


Originally Posted By: bigtruckerI have a Savage 93 17 HMR and was shooting Hornady 17 V-max in it had a shell that didn''t feed right and bolt didn't lock. Worked action and thought the shell ejected, but what happened was the brass pulled off and lead stayed in barrel. Went to work bolt new cartridge hit the lead and luckily I didn't force it. I could have closed it with a little extra pressure,but checked chamber and realized what had happened. I had to take a cleaning rod to push lead out, which was stuck really tight. This leads me to think it is the Hornady Ammo that was the problem after your blew up. I haven't had any problems since.



That sounds like a very reasonable and logical explanation of what could have happened with WeaselCircus' rifle.
The damage to his rifle is not in the barrel, but to the action.



 
I thought I would give a quick update on my blown 17hmr from a month or so back.

I just got the rifle back from Savage and they completely fixed it up at zero charge to me. They put a new stock on it, reamed the chamber, replaced a number of parts, etc., and got it back into basically brand-new condition. I haven't had a chance to test it out yet, but I'm assuming/hopeful it will have the same very good accuracy it did before the malfunction.

The service notes they attached with the gun didn't have any notes about potential causes of the failure, so I called in and spoke with a service tech. He stated that there really wasn't any way for them to tell what had happened. He did ask what ammo I had been using and said that it could have been a too tight chamber, but again no way to know for sure. So bottom line is that I'm very impressed with Savages service, but I do wish I could conclusively know what happened.
 
This spring I had a bullet stick in the barrel of my 93 right at the breech / beginning of the rifling.
I got lucky and avoided a disaster as when I tried to chamber another round it would not chamber all the way. Made the rifle safe and pulled the bolt and could not see down the barrel. Got my cleaning rod out and after a couple of taps it popped right out.
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I am so glad it didn't go any farther down the barrel than it did or I would of been in deep do-do
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You can Bet your butt I payed more attention that it went bang when I pulled the trigger after that.
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DAB
 
I had a similar close call to DAB's. I fired a .223 round from my T/C Contender super 16 and instead of going bang, it went "whup". I was thinking that it sounded kind of funny and I looked in the spotting scope trying to see where on the paper it hit. Couldn't see the hole, but you know how that is when you've got multiple holes already on paper. . .

I chambered another round, but for some reason it was still bugging me so I walked down range to my target to look closely for the hole. Then it caught my eye. Laying on the dirt path was a bright, shiny .223 BTHP. Exactly what I was shooting. The bullet had gone only about 10 yards.

Man did a chill go up my spine. I had nearly commtitted cardinal sin: Pulling the trigger when I should have had good reason to suspect that the barrel could be obstructed.

My best guess is that either I missed charging one of my handloads with powder or it got only a partial charge somehow or weak ignition from the primer. I'll never know for sure, but I'm thankful that I got a [beeep] good lesson the easy way instead of the hard way. If you think something didn't go right, NEVER fire another round until you check the barrel and firearm thoroughly.

You guys who were using this as an opportunity to bash Savage should think about it for a second. First it might have been the Savage that saved the OP. Secondly, would you have done anything different by inspecting the chamber before firing another round?

Grouse
 
The split neck problem is also on 17hm2. I found split necks on brand new ammo. Obviously when they neck down cases to 17 is puts stress on the neck area. I kind of want a 17 hmr but these stories are a little scary.

Unbelievable all the damage to teh gun and no one got hurt.
 
Originally Posted By: TripleDeuce660.....Obviously when they neck down cases to 17 is puts stress on the neck area......

Really? Could you explain that statement, please? What already formed cartridges literally get necked down to 17 HMR and 17M2? Or could it be that both cartridges are made from drawn and extruded brass ingots?
 
My cousin and I were hunting rabbits one day with our 22's he was chambering a round and it went off before he had the chamber closed all the way split the brass and he got a frag in the face the rifle was on safety and the trigger had not gone off it was excessive pressure during the chambering that set the rimfire off as if it had been hit by the hammer. In your case it Blew out the magazine it couldnt have been fully chambered either.
 
Steve, that has been bothering me too. I am thinking that perhaps the bolt tried to close, did not feed correctly, and perhaps the case head was pinched as he pushed the bolt the remaining distance. That could set the round off, blow the magazine out (luckily not detonating the rounds within), send a slug or other material downbore, and make life VERY interesting had he tried to shoot again with a fresh magazine.

I am so glad nobody was injured, but as others stated, this goes to show that the .22 and .17 are not toy calibers. There is a LOT of pressure in those teensie cases. My Savage 110 (was a .270 before I reincarnated it as a 30-06) has a small hole on the upper receiver for venting gasses that might make it past the bolt face to the side and away from the shooter; I wonder if that .17 HMR has the same hole. If not, perhaps it should?
 
Of course, I also don't know if Savage uses the same bolt on the rimfires as they do on centerfires, what with the way the lugs lock and all...
 
Originally Posted By: Winny FanOriginally Posted By: TripleDeuce660.....Obviously when they neck down cases to 17 is puts stress on the neck area......

Really? Could you explain that statement, please? What already formed cartridges literally get necked down to 17 HMR and 17M2? Or could it be that both cartridges are made from drawn and extruded brass ingots?

From the research I did on this a few years ago ran across this explanation on the case splitting on the 17HMR. Was trying to decide if I wanted to keep my 597 or not. Decided to get rid of it and went to a CZ452 and then Ruger 96/17. After reading the below comment knew why I was still finding split cases with the other two rifles.

When they make the cases they draw the case out to a .22mag case that has a straight wall. Then the priming compound is put in the rim of the case. The case is spun to put the primer evenly in the rim. After the priming is complete the case mouth is reduced to the .17 calibre to hold the bullet. The reduction process, however, puts stress on the neck of the case. They obviously cannot anneal the neck of the case to relieve the stress because of the compound in the rim, so from time to time you will get a case that cracks. Some batches may produce more splits than others. The chamber pressure on .17 ammo is so low that it does not hurt the chamber on the rifle. They have tried to anneal the cases more before it's formed to .17, but this did not eliminate the cracks altogether.
 
I had the same thing happen this weekend with the same Savage 17. What did you do about the situation and did Savage stand behind the rifle? My issue was identical to your with exception, I had 4 rounds in the clip. The The rest was the same. I had the casing stuck in the barrel, the shouldered part or primer part of the casing was stuck to, or imbedded into the bolt and the lower metal around the mag was bend downward. I received a face full of powder (I think it was powder anyway. Just curious how it all turned out for you??
 
WC,

Glad you made it out alive and thanks for the posts on your issue.

It seems that there are some serious Quality Control issues with 17 hmr ammo (I've had a lot of misfires with Winchester Supreme out of my Savage) and/or the Savage 17 hmr rifles. There are just too many posts about these types of problems. I'll be getting rid my Savage & 17 hmr ammo. It's not that fun to shoot.

Stay safe!
 

Jim28, did you use the same ammo WeaselCircus did, Hornady 17 gr. V-Max? If not, then it is beginning to sound more like a Savage problem.

Just a side note, I have used several of those in a Marlin HMR with no problems - yet anyways.

 
It's the ammo for sure, been hearing about it happining in CZs and savages both, a friend of mine thought it was his savage so he bought a cz and it ended up happening again, both happened with different ammo. Mine went with the 20 grainers. I'm gonna try and stick with the 17gr TNT.
 
Originally Posted By: DABThis spring I had a bullet stick in the barrel of my 93 right at the breech / beginning of the rifling.
I got lucky and avoided a disaster as when I tried to chamber another round it would not chamber all the way. Made the rifle safe and pulled the bolt and could not see down the barrel. Got my cleaning rod out and after a couple of taps it popped right out.
scared.gif
I am so glad it didn't go any farther down the barrel than it did or I would of been in deep do-do
scared.gif



You can Bet your butt I payed more attention that it went bang when I pulled the trigger after that.
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DAB

Had another one do it at the range just the other day.This time I figured out what went wrong. Primer fires, powder does not burn for some reason bullet is forced out of the case by the primer firing. Both times has been with Winchester 17 Gr Supreme ammo.
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DAB
 
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