Posted: 6/24/2007 4:35:07 AM EDT
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I have a Ruger Competition Target with the slabside barrel. A month or so ago I took it to the range, with an assortment of different fancy 22lr target ammo, to try and determine which one it preferred. I had a few malfunctions, all were failure to chamber, [round would only go about halfway into the chamber]. Well, I just blew it off as due to the use of these different target grade brands of ammo, as this pistol always ran and functioned fine with CCI Green Tag, or anything else for that matter. Recently, I bought a brick of Remington Thunderbolts that were on sale, for cheap target practice. Yesterday at the range, I started right out having the same kind of malfunctions right away,[rounds only chambered halfway], about two malfunctions per magazine. At home, I field stripped the pistol, and instead of using a brush, followed by patch's in a slotted tip, as I usually would do, I used a jag and a solvent soaked patch. The first patch out of the bore brought three, half inch long strips of lead out. I wish I knew if that lead was in the chamber, or in the rifling of the barrel. Any ways, it took thirty or so patch's, pushed by a jag, down that barrel for it to be cleaned. Has anyone else had this kind of a lead problem in a .22LR semi-auto pistol? |
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That is one reason I stayed away from the Ruger Comp. .22s. Friends does the same thing, VERY picky about the ammo and leads up 10x faster then my MKIIs ever did. The tighter chamber causes the chambering issue with cheap ammo as it tends to be a bit out of spec and with .22, OOS means a bit oversize most of the time. You tried out some pricy exotic ammo which was probably very soft non plated lead terget stuff, your bore was probably already a bit leaded and this stuff smeared and stuck to it. You do have to clean a .22 BBL, especially using the pricy stuff, it'll lead much more then the typical brass plated $12.00 a box stuff. Clean it out well and use the proper solvent and an AR bore brush [longer and will pull more lead] or use an .22 bore snake which is what I do, a few swipes with the proper solvent after letting it sit and work does wonders. Good luck, try the mid grade .22 stuff and see how it works for you, the Fed is what my friend usually buys anymore after FTF galore with the cheaper stuff. Oh BTW, the lead was in the bore, the chamber usually gets a smear of lead where the bullet strikes the top as it's feeding into it. Once bought a .45 cheap because it acted up, all that was wrong was that he was using swaged bullets and it built up a blob on the top of the chamber and would jam up the round, cleaned it off and worked like a charm. |
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I had a similiar problem in my S&W M22A shooting Winchester bulk ammo. At ten yards the groups opened up to ridiculous 3"+ groups when my son shot it. I was blown away when it did the same for me!!! At home I found an obstruction in the barrel, I pushed an AR .223 rod through it (which required considerable force!) and a real long chunk came out!!! Weighed in at 12 grains on the reloading scale! I tried it again in the 22A with the same results, then used the ammo in a MArlin rifle where it performed fine. Never had that before or afterwards again, it still has me puzzled! |
| Thanks for the tip about the AR bore brush guys, it makes sense to me that it would work good. Out of all the different brands of target ammo I tried that day, Winchester T-22 shot the best, and was by far the least expensive. Now I have to test the CCI Green Tag, against the Winchester T-22, for accuracy and reliability, and also which one will lead the least. |
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You already know what went wrong..... Here's a video showing what happens with thunderbolts... :( www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjbsuJhr_zE edit: now with clicky goodness. |
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warhorse1, I'm going to save you a lot of headaches!!!! For pratice ammo in the slab side, try these two types. Federal Champion 22LR 36gr plated HP #745 525rd Value Pack(read in the $12). Note: If you can find the older 550 packs, buy them instead. The older lots where a bit more consitent. Winchester Dynapoint 22LR 40gr Plated Lead HP #: 866708 in the 500 round value packs (read in the $15 range). With this one, you may find that it can be used for both practice, and even match use. |
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I think some barrels are rougher than others. I have owned better than two dozen MK1/MKII pistols. Most were in the 70's while stationed in Alaska. Airman in the barracks would need money right before payday and I would buy the pistols for as little as $30. Standards sold new for $78 and Target pistols were $90 something at the BX. Back to the leading. I owned only one the leaded as you describe. Early MKII stainless KMK512. Currently own a Slab, Stainless Govt, KMK512 and a stainless standard. None of these have ever leaded with any kind of ammo. They range from 6 to 12 years old. Go figure. Regards, GLG20 |
Funny you mentioned this today. I was looking at both those suggestions of yours at Wally World this afternoon. I bought a 100 round box of CCI Mini Mag because I know this pistol used to love CCI Green Tag Competition ammo. Tommorow, I will do a function check with this ammo. I have had this pistol for 15 years, shot it very little, but never had this problem till trying that fancy smancy target ammo, Eley, Dynamit Nobel, etc., then shooting that apparentley junk Remington "Thunderbolt". |
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Something else to check on for the FTE/FTF problem. Take the bolt out and look at the bolt face under the extractor. You can't see it in the pistol. I had a bad problem with one of my MkIIs. The ejected round would eject and would jam against the next round trying to feed. It turned out to be a small piece of carbon on the bolt face. It caused the round to be pushed over a little so the extractor didn't get a good bite on it. Several friends of mine and dad's were having this problem now and then, and scraping the carbon off worked every time. Several friends also had this happen on their 10/22s- same problem and same solution. You also need to use a chamber brush. I usually clean the chamber between strings during competition. Run a patch through the bore between matches, or every 100 rounds or so. A competition pistol will need better cleaning than a non-comp pistol due to closer tolerances. Accuracy will also suffer if it's not kept very clean. HTH, Jim |
| My neighbor gave me an almost full brick of the Remington Thunderbolts after they seriously leaded up his P22 pistol. I was spotting for him and noticed the bullets keyholing into the target and stopped him so i cold take a look down the barrel to find it leaded badly. It may just be the ammo is a little soft for the barrel. |
I have some ammo from the CMP that will gum up my pistol badly, really quick too. It has a lot of wax(?) on the ammo and I think it is actually designed to be used in bolt action rifles. In an auto-loader it is too dirty. Check function with different ammo. Mine will shoot anything, except the CMP stuff, with no problems. Winchester Super-X is accurate enough that I use it for bullseye, and I use the Federal bulk ammo for falling plate matches. Some friends with other pistols like S&W and Brownings have trouble with some ammo, but the Ruger shooters usually have no problems with any ammo. Jim |
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I tried several different brands of ammo. I ended up using the Federal Bulk ammo for falling plates. It isn't super accurate but plenty good enough for 25 yards. I tried Mini-Mags and CCI pistol comp ammo, but the Winchester Super-X groups as well as they do and is cheaper, so I use it for bullseye. I use the Super-X for plates too if that's all I have in the bag. I may buy a case of it and use it for everything. Jim |
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Whether I shot CCI, Federal or Aguila, I'd get alot of lead and powder fouling in both my 1981 MKII and my newer Slabside Target model. I just got into the habit of running a brush thru them and cleaning the extractor pocket after every match. I kept the bolt and ejection port area lubed good with a light synthetic spay. Once I started cleaning it I had very few malfunctions. Remember, that with the low velocity target ammo, you are suseptable to limp wristing. |
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Had/have the same problem with my Beretta M87 Target with one difference, that being that the hammer will drop and occasionally fire a round that hasn't been completely chambered because of fouling.(like 0.20" from being completely chambered) Nothing like a molten brass shower to get your attention. Thunderbolt ammo was the culprit, I guess, as CCI and other target vintages seem to function just fine. The piece will begin to foul and miss-fire after about 50 rds, with the unfired rounds showing very light firing pin hits. A simple cleaning appears to quickly solve the problem. Had assumed my situation was unique to my Beretta, but with the exception of firing out of battery, I guess it isn't. |
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Having the same problem with a slabside and having 2 other MKIIs to compare with, I decided it was not so much the ammo as the bore itself, as the other two didn't share the same problem. So upon cleaning, I used a stainless .22 rifle brush and went to town until signs of leading were gone. I figured the stainless brush would tend to burnish any rough spots in the barrel. Then, using the same brush dry, I added flitz and resumed the same stroking action, guessing that would polish what I had burnished. After a few shooting/cleaning sessions, the problem seemed to have been resolved, with hundreds of rounds of anything and no signs of leading. I noticed no problems of any accuracy degradation, at least at 50 feet, only the front AND rear sights coming loose had to be corrected next. I'm not saying to try it but it worked for me.  |