Made mistake with 22 Shorts

[Art in Colorado]

Shot some 22 Shorts in my 1966 Model 17 and they shot well but I then loaded some long rifle and the were hard to chamber and after I shot them had a very hard time ejecting the spent rounds. My guess is that the chambers are a very tight tolerence and the ring made by the shorts in the cylinder caused this. The cylinder is now soaking in Hoppes and will scrub out with a bronze brush tomorrow. Used to do this with my Ruger Single Six wih no problem but I think it had some loose chambers. Live and learn.

[Winger Ed.]

I've heard of that before.

The shorts would leave a crud ring that kept LRs from chambering up.

[Tatume]

It should clean right up. Sounds like a nice gun!

[Paper Puncher]

Back in the day when 22 shorts were the cheapest had it happen all the time. A weekend of tin can plinking with the shorts and the long rifles didn't want to chamber so well. Some Hoppes and a brass brush and ready for squirrels with LR.

[M-Tecs]

Not a mistake. Just needs to be cleaned.

[jaguarxk120]

I get the same thing with LR's that have a heavy wax coating.
After a few cylinders the cartridges become hard to chamber,
all I do is brush each chamber and I'm go to go.
I carry a 22 brush screwed to a handle just for this gun.

[Drm50]

S&W 17s are tight chambered to begin with but should clean right out. I see posts of guys wanting to ream their 17s to make loading and ejection easier. I've got two 17s, a 18 and a 34 and all are tight chambered and shoot well. I would never fool with reaming to make them easier to load and loose accuracy. Keep them clean and you can shoot shorts all day long.

[TNsailorman]

Same problem that others have faced at one time or another. I have heard of the same problem of tightly chambered revolvers doing them same thing when firing .38 specials followed by .357 magnum loads. You can shoot the reverse (.22lr first followed by .22Short) and this most likely will not happen. Might just have to try it and see for myself. james

[georgerkahn]

My younger son's first handgun use was a Savage single-shot "revolver" I purchased just for "breaking him in" to the joy of handgun shooting, in a safe manner. A few bricks of .22 shorts complemented it. MUCH to my surprise, taking it to range a bit later, I then noticed .22 long rifles could hardly be loaded. An examination quickly showed the ring! I put a few HOURS in attempting to totally remove it, but it had yet to be totally gone! Using everything from JB on patches, to dedicated solvents from Shooters Choice, Butches, Hoppe #9, et cetera -- while I "wore down" the highness to again enable long, and long rifle chambering -- where it formed is still clearly visible. The Savage sold brand new for about thirty dollars -- perhaps not the highest quality steel? BUT -- I've been wary re using shorts other than in firearms specifically chambered for this caliber, since.
geo

[LAGS]

I had the same issue with my Chiappa Little Badger.
I use it for a backpacking gun, and carry both 22 Shorts and LR's when I hike.
If I fire more than 10 Shorts in the gun, it then wont chamber the LR's all the way.
So looks like carrying Dual Ammo for a Survival Gun is not a good Idea unless I pack along a very good cleaning kit too.
A pull thru cleaner wouldn't get the lead ring out of the chamber.

[kir_kenix]

If u bump a 22 lr empty with the Lee universal expander to open it a bit you can use that empty case to knock out the ring of crud. Just shove it in each charge hole and eject. Easy, peasy. 1 case will do all 6 charge holes usually before it loses its expansion.

I'll carry a few of these expanded cases in my pocket if I'm bumming about around the farm. Shorts are quieter so I'll plink with them, .22 lr in case I stir up any vermin. Just knock the crud ring out every few cylinders worth and I never have any problem chambering lr's when the need arises.

[tazman]

If u bump a 22 lr empty with the Lee universal expander to open it a bit you can use that empty case to knock out the ring of crud. Just shove it in each charge hole and eject. Easy, peasy. 1 case will do all 6 charge holes usually before it loses its expansion.

I'll carry a few of these expanded cases in my pocket if I'm bumming about around the farm. Shorts are quieter so I'll plink with them, .22 lr in case I stir up any vermin. Just knock the crud ring out every few cylinders worth and I never have any problem chambering lr's when the need arises.

That is an excellent idea.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Or get .22 Longs that have the same powder charge as the shorts you've been using; Same case length as the LR's so it prevents the problem. I've use .22 Long CB caps for many years, basically priming compound & a boolet.

[psweigle]

Mir_kenix, that is a really cool idea. I will jave to do that and see if it works on the boy's old stevens single shot. Thank you for posting that.

[Art in Colorado]

After soaking the cylinder in Hoppes and scrubing chambers with a bore brush all is fine. However, I tried to seat the Winchester 333 box and I had to seat them with firm preasure. Not so with Automatch, Mini Mags and Fedral 550 box bulk. So I measured the the unfired cases. The Winchester was .225, Auto Match .223, the Mini Mag .224 and the Federal Bulk .224. So I do not think I will be shooting the Winchester in my tight chsmbered 17-2 and reserve them for my Ruger Mark IV. The others seat with little preasure and the Auto Match drop in with no preasure at all. The Auto Match are the most accurate of any .22 ammo I have in this revolver.

[uscra112]

My younger son's first handgun use was a Savage single-shot "revolver" I purchased just for "breaking him in" to the joy of handgun shooting, in a safe manner. A few bricks of .22 shorts complemented it. MUCH to my surprise, taking it to range a bit later, I then noticed .22 long rifles could hardly be loaded. An examination quickly showed the ring! I put a few HOURS in attempting to totally remove it, but it had yet to be totally gone! Using everything from JB on patches, to dedicated solvents from Shooters Choice, Butches, Hoppe #9, et cetera -- while I "wore down" the highness to again enable long, and long rifle chambering -- where it formed is still clearly visible. The Savage sold brand new for about thirty dollars -- perhaps not the highest quality steel? BUT -- I've been wary re using shorts other than in firearms specifically chambered for this caliber, since.
geo

Why I never EVER shoot shorts in any gun I care about. At this point I don't even have any in Ye Olde Ammunition Locquer.

An even worse offender is the Aquila "Colibri" ammo which has only primer compound, no powder. That ring takes ages of soaking to get it soft enough to brush out.

[Drm50]

I don't shoot shorts in any of my good 22s. I have a old Marlin 1897 that I've had since I was 5. I did shoot shorts in it a lot. That was because shorts were cheaper back then. It has always been cleaned well but you can see the ring. I use shorts on squirrels and usually have a run of the mill BA 22 to shoot them in. I don't own a 22 short gun right now except a little Astra Cub.

[ubetcha]

Or get .22 Longs that have the same powder charge as the shorts you've been using; Same case length as the LR's so it prevents the problem. I've use .22 Long CB caps for many years, basically priming compound & a boolet.

Where does one find 22's like this?

[M-Tecs]

Where does one find 22's like this?

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/22-long

[tazman]

Where does one find 22's like this?

Here about, we can find them at Farm King most of the time. Shorts also.