10/22 troubles

[East_TN_Patriot]

I took my Ruger 10/22 to the range today and had a ton of FTE and stovepipe malfunctions, which surprised me. I'm hoping some folks with more experience with the 10/22 than I have can offer some ideas of what I can do to correct the problem. I noticed that the problem was a lot worse when I was shooting standard velocity rounds. Out of 10 rounds, I would have 3 or 4 malfunctions. When shooting high-velocity rounds, it would happen about once per mag. As far as the mags go, it did it with all of them, which are a mixture from old mags to brand new mags. All of this leads me to think that there is something causing the bolt to not fully move to the rear, which was made worse by the standard velocity rounds. Any ideas?

[jonlisha]

Is the gun oiled well with light clp oil? You might also try looking for weaker aftermarket springs or you can cut and stretch your springs, stove pipes either mean ejector problems or a dirty gun, you might also check your ejector spring if it has one

[mikegideon]

You shoudn't have to modify a 10/22 to make it run. With that said, there are some fans of the VQ extractor. Plenty of 10/22 fans on here that shoot them a lot more than me. Mine has been modified, but not because it wasn't working.

[East_TN_Patriot]

jonlisha: Actually, dirty may be the problem. I got this from a buddy of mine who is notorious for not cleaning his firearms. I learned that the hard way when I bought a nice AR off of him, took it to the range for the first time, and it seized up solid. When my buddy and I finally got it apart, the bolt was so caked up with carbon, it was seized up. We worked for over an hour with solvent, a brush, and a pocket knife trying to scrape all of the crud off of it. I'll try that first before I do anything else with it. I lubed it up before I took it out, but didn't clean it (I should have known better).

[Caster]

It amazing, but clean guns tend to work much better.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Here is the first things to check.

The hammer spring is retained on the strut by a "C" clip. Make sure the open end of the "C" clip is facing up when it is installed in the gun. If it is facing down it will cause the strut to bind against the trigger housing, slowing the action speed enough that the empty will not clear the ejection port. Most 10/22 malfunctions can be attributed to this, especially if it is a bone stock 10/22.

Check to make sure none of the scope rail mounting screws are protruding through and slowing the bolt down. It is rare with newer models but some of the older models had this problem.

Next would be to replace the extractor if the gun isn't new. I will often replace the xtractor before a single shot is fired to prevent problems.

To help with the standard velocity or subsonic ammo chamfer the rear of the bolt. I do this to all of my 10/22's and they will cycle anytthing that I shoot. If you do this make sure you install a bolt buffer to protect the receiver. When you chamfer the rear of the bolt it increases the bolt speed with high velocity ammo. The increased bolt speed causes additional forces be applied ot the bolt retainer pin and can cause the hole where the pin goes to become egg shaped.

And finally, I would try some different ammo. Some 10/22's, for whatever reason, don't like certain kinds of ammo. I have one that would shoot everything 100% of the time except anything made by Federal.

If you have any questions at all feel free to ask. I have been building and modifying 10/22's for over 15 years and have probably experienced nearly every problem a 10/22 can have over the years.

Dolomite

[mikegideon]

Told ya somebody that knew more than me would show up

[graycrait]

If it is a stock 10/22:

1. Clean it as you noted.

2. Make sure the extractor is OK as others noted

3. Make sure that the extractor is centered in the barrel slot for the extractor. If the barrel is loose sometimes this can be a problem.

4. Depending on age it may need a recoil spring

5. Bolt face can get caked in the "edges" where the rim sits easily, especially with some types of ammo.

6. I have one 10/22 that has to have the chambered cleaned more than I would like

7. Make sure the barrel is tight.

8. Make sure the bolt pin at the rear of the receiver has not dropped out. Sometimes the stock steel pin will fall out unnoticed when the stock has been taken off. How would I know that? A poly buffer usually solves that, plus makes you feel like you did something good for the gun on the cheap.

There are probably other things but an expert should step in to this thread soon.

[I_Like_Pie]

The hammer spring is retained on the strut by a "C" clip. Make sure the open end of the "C" clip is facing up when it is installed in the gun. If it is facing down it will cause the strut to bind against the trigger housing, slowing the action speed enough that the empty will not clear the ejection port. Most 10/22 malfunctions can be attributed to this, especially if it is a bone stock 10/22.

Beat me to it.

Clean it....check for above. If that doesn't fix it....it is the extractor. There really isn't anything else that goes wrong with these things unless there are some poorly modified parts on it.

[Dolomite_supafly]

And if all else fails give me a PM. You are more than welcome to come out to my place. I would be glad to take a look at it and see if there are any glaring issues with it.

Dolomite

[Guest Broomhead]

The hammer spring is retained on the strut by a "C" clip. Make sure the open end of the "C" clip is facing up when it is installed in the gun. If it is facing down it will cause the strut to bind against the trigger housing, slowing the action speed enough that the empty will not clear the ejection port. Most 10/22 malfunctions can be attributed to this, especially if it is a bone stock 10/22.

This is not necessarily true. I, as well as many others on RimFireCentral.com have debunked it for the most. Mine is facing down on both of my 10/22s, and I get 1-2 FTEs per 200-300rds. Both rifles will also function flawlessly with the cheap Eagle mags that everyone hates.

Everything else that has been said is spot-on though.

I would also take some sandpaper/scotchbrite pad to the inside of the receiver to remove and paint or high spots. then, use a dry lube on the bolt and receiver. I prefer a spry-on silicone, others use Rem-Oil with Teflon.

Check to make sure that the bolt release and the mags are not rubbing/catching on the bolt when it cycles.

Clean the chamber really good, but leave the barrel seasoned unless accuracy starts to drop off. My two barrels

haven't been cleaned in over 800rds. They are both exceptionally accurate for stock barrels.

Check you extractor like others have said. You may need to remove it to clean all of the gunk out from under it. Also check the extractor slot beside the chamber of the barrel, it may need to be cleaned out too.

One last thing, you may need to clean out your mag(s) as well. They can get gunk built up and not want function properly.

[tnhawk]

As others have said, a good cleaning is probably all that it needs. I fired a lot of rounds before mine required a disassembly and cleaning. Afterward it performed like a new rifle.

[Garufa]

All it needs is cleaning. Pay special attention to the recess on the barrel where the extractor rests when the bolt is closed. It is fairly deep and quickly gets full of crud. Use a toothpick to get up in there.

[Guest monkeyhumper]

10/22 talk makes me very sad.

I loved mine, but had to sell it around 10 years ago. I wish I still had that sucker. It'd shoot jelly beans if you crammed em in the magazine just right. I never could get it to malfunction.

Hmm... Tax return coming soon.........

Sent from my Etch a Sketch

[East_TN_Patriot]

All it needs is cleaning. Pay special attention to the recess on the barrel where the extractor rests when the bolt is closed. It is fairly deep and quickly gets full of crud. Use a toothpick to get up in there.

I think that may have been part of the problem. The entire area around the barrel was totally caked with carbon and powder residue. The area around the extractor was pretty gunked up as well. I'm betting that the extractor just couldn't get a good grip on the case rim.

That was the first time I took it apart to that degree and it looks like a very simple design. I didn't see any sign that parts were damaged or altered, so I suspect that the thing just needed to be cleaned really well.

[DWARREN123]

A couple of items, clean the gun and lube. Make sure it operates properly by hand. Check the area around the chamber for firing pin indentations, this will mess up operation.

You can bevel the rear edge of the bolt, where it rides over the hammer to make smoother operation, if you are very mechanical.

Also check the v-block that holds the barrel to the receiver to make sure the barrel is aligned correctly.

RimFire Central may have some answers for you. WWW.RIMFIRECENTRAL.COM

[Dolomite_supafly]

10/22's are safe to dry fire. They will not have any indentions around the chamber from excessive dry firing.

Dolomite

[Guest m&pc9]

If you were using Remington Thunderbolt ammo. It could be the problem.

I bought some and it would not work in any of my semi-auto 22s. It would FTF 20% of the time.

[Erik88]

I'd buy the VQ extractor if I were you. It's a nice improvement and it's cheap.

[East_TN_Patriot]

If you were using Remington Thunderbolt ammo. It could be the problem.

I bought some and it would not work in any of my semi-auto 22s. It would FTF 20% of the time.

I was using Federal Champion standard velocity ammo that someone gave me. He used to use it when he shot competition. Then I was using some other Federal high velocity ammo, which did a lot better. I'm planning on installing some Volquartsen parts in it, so I'm sure the troubles will be corrected in short order. However, after all the crud I cleaned out of the thing, I'm pretty certain that was the problem. That's what I get for trusting someone else to keep their firearms as clean as I do.

[dats82]

I am having some FTE on mine, so thanks for all the info. I will be referring to this when I finally get around to messing with it.

[Oh Shoot]

If you were using Remington Thunderbolt ammo. It could be the problem.

I bought some and it would not work in any of my semi-auto 22s. It would FTF 20% of the time.

My 10/22s like Thunderbolts just fine. The ones that go off anyway.

- OS

[mikegideon]

My 10/22s like Thunderbolts just fine. The ones that go off anyway.

- OS

VQ hammer, eh?

[Oh Shoot]

VQ hammer, eh?

Yeah, but Thunderbolts were somewhat problematic with no-fires before I put the VQs in.

Not nearly as bad as Rem Golden Bullets have become in last year or two, though.

Bang bang ffft bang fft bang bang bang fft fft..

I'd rather they didn't go off at all than the underpowered ones.

Was at range Friday, a dad and his kid...had Colt .22 AR, giving him a fit. Golden Bullets. We loaded his mag with my Blazer 40 gr leadheads, flawless.

- OS

[DWARREN123]

I have had two stock 10/22's that indented the chamber area when dry fired so yes they may have this danage. Not all do but some may.