indiucky
Grandmaster
I have a routine where I fire roughly 250 rounds of .22 per week (all double action) out of my farm/truck/beater Smith and Wesson Model 18-2...Some of you may remember this pound puppy I rescued last year when I had my illness...(Snorko got to hold it once and he held it with such grace and reverence. He and I both have a thing for "pound puppies" with S&W on the frame)The revolver is the same age as me (51) and like myself is scarred, ugly, and yet refined in a sort of redneck fashion...I love her...By far my favorite weapon...I got it right before I got my reversal surgery and when I got it marks the furthest I went from the house while wearing my little belly bag.....70 miles round trip all the way up to Austin.. I had busted open a box of Federal auto match when I decided to shoot up the .22 ammo that had been on my ammo belt for at least two years...Before that this .22 ammo was a mix of ammo I had kept in a tray where all my loose .22 ammo goes...Some of this ammo probably goes back to my teens!!!!!
I decided to go ahead and shoot it up and replace the ammo in the belt with something fresher...As I began shooting (rapidly) I noticed I began to get a couple of failure to fires...My first thought was "This K 22 Combat Masterpiece has had thousands of rounds shot through it this past year alone, it spent the first 45 years of it's life under the seat of a farmers truck...Maybe something is wrong with the gun????" Then I realized how dumb that sounded..."Yeah right...A Smith revolver only 50 years old and beat all to hell not working.....LOL..." I checked the cartridge heads and they were fine...No weak strikes.....I decided to keep shooting but in the back of my mind I thought WWHCKFD? (What would Honorable Colonel Kirk freeman do?) And then out loud I said "Well he sure as Hell wouldn't be doing double taps...Slow it down until you burn through this ammo..." No sooner than I thought that and began slowly shooting I heard a, "PPFFFTTTTT..." And no "ding."
"What the heck????"
I popped open the revolver...Emptied her and checked the bore...About 2 inches in a Remington .22 bullet ca 1980's was lodged in the weapon...I set the revolver down on the bench and went inside for my cleaning rod and popped her out...I got through the rest of the old ammo without incident...And followed it up with 100 rounds of new Federal ammo.....Many of us have old ammo laying around...I have a zip lock bag of .38 specials/.357 magnums that have been through the wash in a Bianchi speed strip...Every now and again I take this ammo up to the farm to shoot it up as I have no more confidence in it after a run though the washer...I have never had a failure to fire from it but I still don't trust it...
So what is the lesson here??? I don't know...Just always be careful, especially with old ammo....Always obey the four rules and use common sense...When shooting up old ammo be extra careful...No double taps or rapid fire...You don't run full tilt when you are taking the garbage out right? Shooting up this ammo was nothing more than getting rid of some old garbage..No need to go full speed.....If I wouldn't have taken a minute to reflect after having some dud rounds, my favorite revolver would have a bulged barrel and I may have (I don't think I could have been hurt) lost confidence in a revolver that means the world to me....
When H.C. Kirk Freeman lectures on gun safety it's not because he is an old maid or is trying to be a nag....He understands that firearms are basically hand held devices with controlled explosions taking place within....Four simple rules seem like a small price to pay for such joy, power, and beauty...
IMHO...
I decided to go ahead and shoot it up and replace the ammo in the belt with something fresher...As I began shooting (rapidly) I noticed I began to get a couple of failure to fires...My first thought was "This K 22 Combat Masterpiece has had thousands of rounds shot through it this past year alone, it spent the first 45 years of it's life under the seat of a farmers truck...Maybe something is wrong with the gun????" Then I realized how dumb that sounded..."Yeah right...A Smith revolver only 50 years old and beat all to hell not working.....LOL..." I checked the cartridge heads and they were fine...No weak strikes.....I decided to keep shooting but in the back of my mind I thought WWHCKFD? (What would Honorable Colonel Kirk freeman do?) And then out loud I said "Well he sure as Hell wouldn't be doing double taps...Slow it down until you burn through this ammo..." No sooner than I thought that and began slowly shooting I heard a, "PPFFFTTTTT..." And no "ding."
"What the heck????"
I popped open the revolver...Emptied her and checked the bore...About 2 inches in a Remington .22 bullet ca 1980's was lodged in the weapon...I set the revolver down on the bench and went inside for my cleaning rod and popped her out...I got through the rest of the old ammo without incident...And followed it up with 100 rounds of new Federal ammo.....Many of us have old ammo laying around...I have a zip lock bag of .38 specials/.357 magnums that have been through the wash in a Bianchi speed strip...Every now and again I take this ammo up to the farm to shoot it up as I have no more confidence in it after a run though the washer...I have never had a failure to fire from it but I still don't trust it...
So what is the lesson here??? I don't know...Just always be careful, especially with old ammo....Always obey the four rules and use common sense...When shooting up old ammo be extra careful...No double taps or rapid fire...You don't run full tilt when you are taking the garbage out right? Shooting up this ammo was nothing more than getting rid of some old garbage..No need to go full speed.....If I wouldn't have taken a minute to reflect after having some dud rounds, my favorite revolver would have a bulged barrel and I may have (I don't think I could have been hurt) lost confidence in a revolver that means the world to me....
When H.C. Kirk Freeman lectures on gun safety it's not because he is an old maid or is trying to be a nag....He understands that firearms are basically hand held devices with controlled explosions taking place within....Four simple rules seem like a small price to pay for such joy, power, and beauty...
IMHO...
Last edited: