Flames Coming Out of Ejection Port

[Auburn1992]

Yesterday I went shooting up at my new property. I decided to only bring my Walther G22 so I wouldn't disturb the neighbors.

Anyways, I bought a brick of Winchester Super X .22 ammo (500 ct.) at Walmart and began shooting it. About 30-40 rounds in, I noticed sparks coming out of the ejection port and started feeling them on my arms. This went on for about 10 more rounds.

After this, a flame started to shoot out of the ejection port, not just sparks. I would notice a little orange thing when shooting, and was wondering if it was an extra cartridge ejecting, I then held it a ways out, and noticed it was a flame. It looked like starting a lighter, that type of flame, but it was all orange... Anyone know what happened? Is this common?

 

[taliv]

that's when you know you're having fun.


i'd get that fixed though

 

[Slamfire]

All blowback and gas operated semi automatic weapons open up when there is still residual pressure in the barrel. The designers of the weapon delibrately designed the weapon to work this way, and tested it to make sure the residual pressure is below the burst strength of the case. Typically the pressure is less than 600 psia.

And why? Helps keeps things moving.

The ammunition you were using obviously blew unburnt powder particles on you.

If it bothers you, find a different brand.

 

[Roadkill]

Most all semi .22s operate on a recoil system. The primer is struck, the powder explodes, the weight of the bolt with spring tension holds until the pressure builds that kicks bolt to rear and case is ejected. There is no gas system or locking lugs. Sounds to me the recoil is driving the bolt back before all the powder is ignited causing the flash of gas escaping into the ejection port. 90% of semi auto .22s with ftf/fte problems are caused by low powered cartridges that lack the power to operate the system. If you keep on shooting those .22s you have you might end up with some unwanted and badly designed body art.

 

[Wildfire]

Ammo.

Hey There:
This is just my opinion. I am not up on that gun But, I would say the ammo may be on the hot side. The srping is not strong enough to hold it in the chamber long enough for complete burn. A stiffer spring would. But you may end up with a fine line between being able to eject and not.
try some cooler ammo. Maybe even some sub-sonic like CCI green tag once and see if it stops. I almost bet it does.

 

[Auburn1992]

bump

 

[Telperion]

Auburn, the other posters have explained it to you: the G22 has a blowback action and begins to extract rounds even while the powder is still burning. You should try different ammo, or else contact Walther about getting a new action spring.

 

[Auburn1992]

Could it cause any damage if I don't replace the spring?

 

[RecoilRob]

No damage, but having the ejection port RIGHT under your eye makes it seem worse than it is.
Mine blows powder and gas back into my eyes....so I always wear the eye protection. Another brand of ammo might not bother you so much. Try them!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

A couple of points:

The powder is burned by the time the bullet is fully engaged in the rifling. Unburned powder grains are not due to fast opening, but simply due to not enough pressure for an ideal burn.

Residual gas remains in the barrel after firing -- look at a video clip of an M1A2 tank firing. You will see a "worm" of smoke emerge from the muzzle after the shot is fired. This is gas remaining in the barrel, and is being expelled by the bore evacuator. This gas is highly flammable, and could ingite when the breech is opened -- with disasterous results. The flame you are seeing after several shots is residual gas, igniting with contact with oxygen as the case clears the chamber.

It's quite normal.

 

[taliv]

doesn't happen on my G22 though

 

[Z-Michigan]

I have a G22 and run similar inexpensive ammo (Remington Thunderjunk or Tarnished Yellow Bullets, Federal bulk from Walmart which is considerably better). I do feel hot dirt hitting my right arm sometimes when shooting. I have never seen any flames coming out with it, and people shooting with me would probably mention that. Is it clean? Any chance the spring is weakened, not installed right, or otherwise off?

 

[Auburn1992]

Yes it is very clean

 

[GunDoctor]

sounds like a secondary powder flash. You should see the ones on an M60.