Bought a new M&P 15-22 a few years ago, the newer one with the magpul rail. It has been flawless until my last trip to the range when it started having a failure to fees issue. I have shot maybe 500 rounds of various ammo through it. Every thing from CCI target to Federal automatch and just about any thing in between.

All the sudden it started getting a failure to feed about 90% of the time. What will happen is the bolt picks up a round and gets it halfway into the chamber and then stops. something is stopping it from going forward unless I manually push the bolt forward with my finger.  I thought maybe she was getting dirty so I did a real through cleaning with chlorinated brake cleaner and a stiff bristle brush as well as the usual bore brush. I cleaned her real good, oiled her up and it is doing the exact same thing.  I did  take the gun apart and inspect every thing carefully and I can not find any thing wrong.  

I did notice however, that when I get a failure to feed, if i depress the mag release button and drop the mag, the bolt will now go home and she will fire normally.  So it feels like the magazine is either catching on the bolt, or something on the bolt is catching on the magazine. I tried 4 different factory S&W magazines and all exhibit the same behavior.  I also tried 5 different brands of ammo and all have the same issue.   I don't think this is a bent extractor because it extracts the empty brass just fine. I am leaning on it being a bent hook. I don't know the name of the part but it's that hook that sticks out the barrel and goes under the bolt. Would this be bent and would that cause my issue? Oh yeah does anyone know what that hook does? I was playing with the gun earlier and not able to figure that out. sorry for asking a dumb question I know someone here knows the answer but I searched and could not find it.  I have no M&P 15-22 to compare it with.....

My gun is stock apart from a modified trigger group as well as an aftermarket grip and stock. I don't think those would cause my issue but I am open to any suggestions. Thank you in advance for any help.

The curved piece you mentioned is the ejector.   The S&W 15-22 uses a collar which slides onto a barrel stub and the ejector is flat piece of steel connected to the side of collar.   The design used is similar to what is used by Tactical Solutions in their dedicated 22 LR upper.  The biggest difference is the TS design is to be mounted to a mil spec AR-15 lower whereas the S&W 15-22 is designed to be a 22 LR and is physically smaller and not interchangeable with AR-15 upper or lower receivers.

The S&W 15-22 uses an extractor that is held in place by a spring and detent.  In many situations a blow back rimfire will function without an extractor so it is not very likely it is the extractor or ejector.   If you can post pictures of the, bolt, bolt face and barrel chamber area it might help to diagnose the issue.  All 15-22 parts are proprietary so the best option might be to contact Smith & Wesson customer service.


You’ve tried four different magazines and still encountered malfunctions.  With the poor quality of rimfire ammunition I would suspect issues with the selected ammo affecting reliability.  If I encounter feeding or extracting problems with blow back semi auto rimfires I polish the chamber and feed ramp.   I use flitz on a barrel mop attached to a short cleaning rod attached to a hand drill.   You can also try buzzing the chamber with a brass barrel brush soaked in gun oil attached to a hand drill.   Just be careful and don’t get into the rifling.  Without knowing which ammo you’ve used it’s hard to make further recommendations.

The ammo I tried was Federal Automatch, CCI Target, Aguila sss, Winchester Super-X, Remington Viper and some random rounds I had laying around.  I have the same issue with all the ammo.

I'll get some pics and report back when I am home.  Thanks for the reply.

The gold standard for reliability with 22 LR rimfire semi autos is CCI Mini Mag.   The CCI Target might be sub sonic which produces less recoil impulse.   In my experience Winchester Super X can be problematic in semi autos.  Remington Viper is a light weight high velocity cartridge.  In my experience with Federal, Winchester and Remington 22 LR ammo the last few years has been very disappointing with very poor quality control.   Some lots of Federal Auto Match are decent and some lots are absolute trash.


I shoot mostly Agula Super Extra High Velocity 38 grain HP or 40 grain plated RN.   I get near CCI Mini Mag performance at a cheaper price which is locally available.   The Aguila SSS is a long heavy lead 60 grain bullet and was not reliable for me in several semi auto 22’s.   In my experience 500 rounds is not a very high round count in a S&W 15-22.

I’d suggest trying some CCI Mini Mags, CCI Tactical plated or CCI Blazer and see if reliability improves.   I've had good reliability with CCI Standard velocity 40 grain lead with great accuracy but some new semi autos will need a stronger recoil impulse.   If you can’t find CCI locally you might try Aguila Super Extra plated high velocity ammo.  

One common issue with 22 LR semi autos is lower temperatures can affect reliability.  On warm sunny days a 22 LR semi auto might run 100% with certain ammo.  Take the same ammo and firearm and shoot it at colder temperatures and you experience malfunctions.   Most ammo produce less pressure in colder temperatures which translates into lower velocity with a slower cycling bolt.   I normally run my 22 semi autos well lubricated with CLP which is suitable in any temperature where I’ll be shooting 22’s.  

You didn’t mention if you are using lube on your 15-22 bolt but I would recommend lube, especially on newer rimfire semi autos.

Maybe try dropping a .22 round or case into the chamber to check if it needs cleaning?