10/22 cyclening issues

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i have a early 2000's Ruger 10/22 , it cycles great with CCI stinger but not well with bulk as a result of that and time it only has maybe a brick thru it.

so for many years i just used cci stingers , it was primarily my squirrel and vermin gun and this was fine i really didn't shoot that many of them

i tried some bulk when the kids got old enough to shoot it, and it still didn't cycle well I cleaned it completely and tested it with a mag of bulk and 10 for 10 it cycled and fired so i take it to the range and 50 rounds in the problems start again.
take it home clean it again and go back 50 rounds or so and the problem starts again

i have some federal value pack and some Remington copper plated the rem is what i was using mainly to use it up as it's accuracy is so so even from my other 22 target rifle it seems to be very dirty i am not sure of the age of it but it will be gone soon

I plan to buy cci bulk next and try it, it works well for accuracy in our club rifles for our juniors program and the club prefers only non plated rounds for the 22 silhouette range

but what works to smooth out a 10/22 cycling so that it cycles bulk 22 ammo better.

the older 10/22 doesn't have the issue

[doubs43]

Three things I can think of off the top of my head are: the trigger group, a bolt that needs to be smoothed and too strong a recoil spring.

Check the trigger group to see if there is unusual resistance that may impede the bolt travel and the cocking action. Rough surfaces should be smoothed.

Remove the bolt and check all surfaces that contact anything during recoil. If there's the slightest roughness anywhere, stone that area. Use a good quality oil or light grease to reduce friction.

Finally, your recoil spring may simply be too strong. Check it carefully. Wolff offers a replacement spring and Wolff makes excellent springs. Or, go the cheap route and cut off half a coil at a time of the original spring.... but only if you determine it's too long or too stiff. I wouldn't take more than one or one and a half coils off max. For the Wolff springs, you can go here or elsewhere:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=619829

[JIMinPHX]

Many years ago I had a 10-22 that had some feed problems that were being caused by crud caught under the extractor. Other than that, I have never had any problems from a 10-22. That gun has always worked well for me, right out of the box from the factory.

I have recently found that the bulk .22LR ammo from Winchester is rather underloaded & causes jams in some autos. In general, .22rf ammo that is less than 40 grains in bullet weight tends to cycle most automatics less well than standard ammo would.

The 10-22 will usually eat just about anything if it is in good condition. It is not unusual for one of those things to go 3,000 rounds without a cleaning or a misfire. I don't let them go that long without a cleaning, but I've known several people over the years that do.

I hope that some of my gibberish up there ends up being helpful to you.

Regards,
Jim

[Mk42gunner]

Have you tried a different magazine?

Back when I had a 10/22, I didn't have cycling issues unless I dropped the magazine in the dirt. Then I had problems. Nevada desert sand would stop any 10/22 magazine from working, fortunately the magazines are fairly cheap.

Robert

[Silver Eagle]

+1 on the magazines Mk42gunner!

Make sure they are smooth. Sometimes they need the spring tweaked a bit. Especially after sitting loaded for a long time. Look up how to disassemble and check them on the web or over at Rimfire Central.

Also, after shooting one type of ammo for a long time, there might be a buildup of junk in the chamber. Give it a good cleaning and inspection.

Silver Eagle

[nanuk]

Mine was that way. If it only cycles with CCI Stingers that tells me it's working the action faster, plus the Stingers are pretty smooth ammo.
I polished mine with a knife sharpening stone and a dremel tool using the grit embedded rubber wheel. Technique and when to stop means a lot. I was disgusted with the way it was and decided I was going to fix it or scrap it. Directions here and at RimfireCentral and when I got to the warning about not working on the trigger group I had to keep going because it sucked. The trigger pull was heavier then the rifle. Get that black finish off the parts that contact each other, polish shiny. It has about 2 LB trigger now and works any ammo especially Federal Bulk 550's. Also any magazine works now from stock 10 round to 25 round, & double stack 30's, where as it didn't feed all before. Groups shrunk from inches to under 1" at 50 yards. Everything else all stock, just polished.

I have the exact same issues with mine, using the 550 bulk pack ammo.


at least one in 10 jam up.


Can you post a link to a repair/tweek site?

thanks

[cowboy]

Howdy-
2+ on the magazines!
I have a couple of 10/22s, one that I bought used way back in the late 1970's when I turned 18 YOA . Still have the magazine that came with it. Newer ( that is new from the package or "low mileage" ) mags do not match it's performance. Simply using this mag will stop "stovepiping" from short-cycling- likely due to less spring tension against the top round in the mag as the bolt passes over it ( while sliding against it) .
For reliability with all my magazines, I'll run CCI Mini Mag, or their Tactical Auto Match- VERY reliable.
Find that unplated bullets tend to have more stoppages in my semi auto .22s due to soft bullets becoming deformed while feeding.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I have 3 mags they cycle fine in my dads and my friends 10/22's
their mags still have the same problem in my gun

i was thinking it is the finish on the inside of the receiver the bolt runs against it at the top and the finish is coming off it seems to gum and grit things it , my dads doesn't have nearly that think of a powder coating on the inside , and my friends is a SS

back when i was a kid we used to go shooting with some friends they had a collection of 30 round mags we would load them up till out thumbs hurt and have over a brick loaded then play kick the can , from the hip , and a variety of other games that involved shooting at targets for speed , off hand or other ways to make it challenging.

i am interested in where to stone and how much

[geargnasher]

Clean and lubricate it.

I bought a stainless one about five years ago as a "beater". It sits by the front door and collects cust most of the time, and the last time I needed it for a varmint, it went "click" instead of "pow", and the next round fired but didn't cycle. After a cleaning and oiling, it works slick as a whistle.

I'm under the impression that Ruger recommends against using "Stinger" ammo in the 10-22 due to excessive energy beating up the back of the receiver with the bolt.

Gear

[crabo]

I would polish and radius the rear of the bolt. I would also smooth the inside of the reciever. Replace the cross pin in the rear with a buffer to keep it from beating itself to death. Lightly lubricating the bolt will help.

Read rimfirecentral, I'll be suprised if your gun stays stock very long.

[jpatm2]

I was having failure to feed/ failure to fire problems, it ended up being because the barrel was loose. Take the stock off and see if the barrel screw needs to be tightened.

[waynem34]

I've had a 10/22 for a long time and had many jams,FTE b ut they all went BANG.I used to and still do shot the cheapest, dirtest ammo available.Being young at the time I wasnt cleaning the gun properly.I like the birchwwod casey gunscrubber in the big can now.Not all the time but once in a while it helps keep the ol gun chuggin along.Can will last me a good year or more.I dont completly disassemble the gun so that may be another problem.It stopped jamming and fte after i started cleaning the action better.Just got some stingers today have not tryed those yet.Hope they do well.Take care

[Mk42gunner]

If I'm not mistaken, the receivers are anodized aluminum, I would polish the top and side toward the rear of the bolt.

I do have to add this, after rebuilding my 10/22 with a Green Mountain bull barrel and lots of high dollar internal parts I sold it and bought a Model 60 Marlin that has never jammed, and has all the practical accuracy I need.

Robert

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Clean and lubricate it.

I bought a stainless one about five years ago as a "beater". It sits by the front door and collects cust most of the time, and the last time I needed it for a varmint, it went "click" instead of "pow", and the next round fired but didn't cycle. After a cleaning and oiling, it works slick as a whistle.

I'm under the impression that Ruger recommends against using "Stinger" ammo in the 10-22 due to excessive energy beating up the back of the receiver with the bolt.

Gear

that gets it running for 50-75 rounds , i pull the trigger assembly , the bolt pin the bolt and the rod out spray them down with break clean then oil with break free CLP and re assemble

the time before that i reassembled after oiling with Eds red lube 50/50 atf and kerosine
a few times before that was Hoppees gun oil

and yes before i knew better wd-40


now symptoms have changed slightly i went from firing the round and having it feed the next round but not reset the hammer to resting the hammer but not returning full to battery


i am going to is assemble and look it over close today , maybe a polishing of flitz on the surfaces that meet . and clean the barrel and chamber

accuracy is on par with as good as the ammo will do about a half inch some will do a half at 25 others a half at 50

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i broke it down and cleaned it again , you would swear the kids took the inside of the gun for a roll int he sand box , the grit , i think left from the Remington ammo but not sure it sure wasn't in there after its cleaning last week and we only went to the range once and shot.

I found the firing pin was rubbing the receiver as it was to high where it rides in the bolt and that it was rubbing i used a stone to clean the rough edge that was sticking above the bolt cleaned and lubed and ready for testing again

[docone31]

Rather than stone the top of the firing pin, have you considered pinning it?
To do that, in the front of the bolt, drill an hole and insert a roll pin and file off. Only drill one side.
You can find photos if you search Bolt Pinning.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I cleaned it all up , and function tested with the Remington's , 10 and it was running like a top 10 more still like a top 10 more and the last one went click fully struck and the round didn't go off
starting with round 35 it started to malfunction , and got worse with every few more rounds i gave up around 65 when every round had to be hand cycled , took it down again filthy , cleaned everything out good again and tomorrow i will test it with new ammo, i have to admit i don't remember buying the Remington they could be rather old maybe 10 years or more just stored on the shelf in the original card board box

there are less than 50 left but i won't be using them in the 10/22

[tomme boy]

First, oil is your worst enemy on a 10-22. Oil only the pins and run a dry lube on the bolt. The oil will collect the powder and turn it to cement. Second, It sounds like the barrel is out of time with the extractor. It it hang up at all in the grove on the barrel it will misfeed. Make sure it does not touch the grove at all. Just be carfull of the bolts that hold the barrel on. They strip easy.

Also, stay away from Remington rimfire. It is junk. Try to find some CCI Blazers. They seem to be very good for bulk.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

what is a good dry lube ?

[docone31]

Silicone spray.

[NuJudge]

I would polish and radius the rear of the bolt. I would also smooth the inside of the reciever. Replace the cross pin in the rear with a buffer to keep it from beating itself to death. Lightly lubricating the bolt will help.

Read rimfirecentral, I'll be suprised if your gun stays stock very long.

This is all good advice. I had a gunsmith who goes by the handle 'Nemohunter' on RFC radius the rear of my bolt, and do other things. I put some Rust Inhibiting Grease (RIG) on the end of a Q-tip, retract the bolt, and rub the Q-tip against the inside top of the receiver, against the rod the spring reciprocates on, and other points the bolt rides on. Now all 3 of my 10/22 rifles are completely reliable with Standard Velocity. After a trip to the range I take a paper towel, retract the bolt, and remove the grease so it does not migrate somewhere.

[AZ-JIM]

[QUOTE=doubs43;1376899]
..... Or, go the cheap route and cut off half a coil at a time of the original spring.... but only if you determine it's too long or too stiff. I wouldn't take more than one or one and a half coils off max. QUOTE]

First, +1 on all the polishing and friction removal.
Second, clean it somewhat regularly.
Third, I would avoid cutting the spring, I tried this on mine and it made things worse so I ended up buying a spring kit from Wolff anyway. I actually added a stiffer hammer spring thinking it would help eliminate ftf. My thought for this was that ftf may be from the rim not being hit hard enough. Very rarely do I get a ftf anymore. I do get the feeling like standard velocity, around 1050 fps or so has barely enough bang to cycle the action but so far so good, normaly I shoot Rem. Yellow Jackets or Vipers and they do fine at around 1400-1500 fps. I don't recall having any extraction problems. If I could afford it I would replace the trigger group just for the heck of it.

I use a dry lube with teflon on the bolt and carrier in my AR-15 that seems to work well, I havent tried it on the 10-22 yet but it will probably work well.

az-jim

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

well i had cleaned it up very good , used the CLP oil when i put it back together but wiped off the excess , then loaded up and ran thru 60 rounds of federal value pack ammo without a problem

that may do it , i will try some CCI later

removing the rough edge of the firing pin that stuck out of the top of the bolt and rubbed on the receiver, cleaning , and different ammo seems to have resolved the problem more testing will tell how long it can go before cleaning , i am not opposed to cleaning after every trip to the range i would just like to be able to shoot for a few hours without needing to clean

[crabo]

I really like Federal AutoMatch for a bulk 22 ammo. It cycles all my rifles and pistols. Once in a great while you might get a FTF, but it work good and 50 yard accuracy is good. In some guns 75 and 100 is still good.

I buy Automatch for plinking, and SK Standard Plus/ Wolf Target for my match shooting. The SK Standard Plus/ Wolf Target, doesn't break the bank and shoots good enough that I don't feel the need to spend any more than $5 for 50 rounds. With that ammo, when I miss, it is my fault.

[inkedbylee]

pull our bolt out and take a drimel to it with the polising stone i did that and have not had one hang up since.