10/22 failure to fire

[Perd Hapley]

Our 10/22 has always had a pretty high rate of failures to fire. That's one reason why we haven't used it in years. I took it out today, and it wouldn't fire at all. The rims were dented, but no-go. I was using some high-dollar Eley stuff that my wife found, back during the height of the ammo drought. I also tried some CCI Velocitor.

I took the bolt out, and the firing pin (or whatever you call it with a rim-fire) doesn't seem to have a lot of play, but I don't know how much it's supposed to have. I found some gunk on the breech-face, and cleaned that off, and after that it worked much better. (Yeah, I got to be that guy whose gun is so dirty, it wouldn't even fire. In my defense, it's not even my gun anymore, since my wife asked if it could be hers. I guess somebody needs to learn how to clean her gun when she's done with it. ) I found that the CCI worked more often. I presume the case rim is a little thinner, or softer. The Eley worked just fine in my rim-fire pistol.

Just as a rough guess, I would say it's failing to set off about 30-40% of the ammo.

I'm going to give it a thorough cleaning, but are there any other suggestions?

[mgdavis]

How much use has it seen? Perhaps the firing pin spring is becoming weak or the firing pin is worn.

[Brad Johnson]

As you surmised... clean, clean, clean. It's possible the firing pin is chipped or the spring has broken, but gunked up .22 firing pins have made gusmiths a fair amount of money.

Soak it in CLR for a bit then hose it out with Gunscrubber like it owes you money. Soak again in CLR. Wipe down well. Apply a few drops of light oil on friction surfaces. Reassemble. Test.

Brad

[lupinus]

Get rid of the ruger junk and buy a marlin, like God intended 

[230RN]

http://www.okiegunsmithshop.com/ruger1022.jpg

http://www.ruger1022.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/1022_bolt_ex.jpg

I'd lay off the lube on the firing pin, firing pin channel, and firing pin spring.  Oil will collect more gunk.  If you feel you've gotta do it, use a small amount of dry lube like lock-ease or moly di.

[HankB]

Check the nose of the firing pin to make sure it hasn't been peened over by dry firing. Likewise check the entrance to the chamber for burrs.

Disassemble the bolt and clean both the firing pin and the firing pin channel. Might not hurt to rub the sides of the firing pin on some FINE sandpaper backed by something flat (like window glass) to be sure there are no burrs, and that it's not bowed or bent, which might cause it to bind. (A fine stone will do it too, as long as the stone is actually flat.)

[lee n. field]

Just as a rough guess, I would say it's failing to set off about 30-40% of the ammo.

I'm going to give it a thorough cleaning, but are there any other suggestions?

If that doesn't work, sell it (with full disclosure) and buy another.

[tokugawa]

Pull the trigger group and check the hammer, make sure nothing is hanging it up. Pull the bolt and detail strip it and flush it out with tri -flow or some other thin cleaner/lube.

 I had a pistol once with a hammer pin that had a burr on the end of the pin- it hung up very slightly on the frame- same result, 30% FTF.

[Perd Hapley]

Get rid of the ruger junk and buy a marlin, like God intended 

I'd prefer something more Marlinny, like one of the Appleseed guns. Or maybe a break-action.

[Tallpine]

Did you try looking down the barrel to see what was wrong 

[Grebnaws]

I have an older 10/22 carbine that was fussy and selective with ammo. I'm a terrible shot with long arms but even I could tell the difference between ammo brands. It wasn't very much fun being so unreliable and when I got back into shooting the .22 shortage was in full swing. Over winter I ordered a full set of Wolf extra power springs and a new factory firing pin and extractor. It has made a huge difference in ignition reliability, in the last 333 round box of Rem Golden Bullet (awful stuff from past experience in this rifle) I only has ONE misfire and no extraction issues. Amazing. Even with brand new 25 round Ruger mags and the factory 10rd. It was a bit of a pain doing the work myself the first time but not many tools required and tutorials are easy to find. I also added Williams peep sights.

The extra power wolf springs did make the trigger heavier. Still worth it for reliability IMO. I'm not kidding myself with a target grade 10/22.

[AmbulanceDriver]

Pull the trigger group and check the hammer, make sure nothing is hanging it up. Pull the bolt and detail strip it and flush it out with tri -flow or some other thin cleaner/lube.

 I had a pistol once with a hammer pin that had a burr on the end of the pin- it hung up very slightly on the frame- same result, 30% FTF.

I'd start here....   FYI, the firing pin should pretty much move freely in the channel....  There should be a little resistance from the firing pin return spring, but that should be pretty minimal and it should feel like just spring pressure as opposed to binding.

[bedlamite]

Check firing pin protrusion. Minimum spec is .025", Should be closer to .035". If that is good and the firing pin moves freely, it may be walking up and need to be pinned:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=439796

The alternative is to call Ruger's customer service and send it back, but I wouldn't do that if you have any aftermarket parts on it.

[LadySmith]

Did you try looking down the barrel to see what was wrong 

You, sir, are an evil man. 

[Hawkmoon]

Check the nose of the firing pin to make sure it hasn't been peened over by dry firing. Likewise check the entrance to the chamber for burrs.

While you're checking the chamber rim for burrs, also take a dental pick or something similar and scrape around the ledge. (I assume a 10/22 has a ledge.) Primers need a sharp strike to do off. In handloading (for centerfire, of course) we sometimes don't get the primer fully seated. When that happens, a first strike usually won't fire the cartridge, it just seats the primer. A second strike almost always works.

Extrapolating from that, I'll guess that if there's crud built up where the rimfire rim is supported in the chamber, the crud may act as a cushion, softening the impact of the firing pin. Make certain the case rim has a clean, smooth surface to seat against.

If all that doesn't work -- send it to Ruger and have them tune it up. It may need a new firing pin mechanism.

[Tallpine]

You, sir, are an evil man. 

Thank you.  Thank you very much. 

[Perd Hapley]

Well, it looks like I don't have the right kind of punch to drift the roll pin, so I won't be able to get to the firing pin without doing some shopping. Can I get that kind of thing at Home Depot?

[vaskidmark]

Well, it looks like I don't have the right kind of punch to drift the roll pin, so I won't be able to get to the firing pin without doing some shopping. Can I get that kind of thing at Home Depot?

All you need to know is the size.

Or cheat, with fingers crossed, using a slightly smaller size.

Pro tip - 8-pound engineers hammers in conjunction with your punch will get just about any pin loose.

stay safe.

[41magsnub]

Have you taken step one of cleaning it and trying to shoot again?  My 10/22 is 30+ years old with untold 10's of thousands of rounds through it.  Runs like ass if I let it get really dirty (happens quick suppressed), runs 100% when clean.

[Perd Hapley]

Have you taken step one of cleaning it and trying to shoot again? 

Unfortunately, I can't just shoot whenever. I discovered the problem yesterday, and I'm not sure when I'll get to the range again.

I was not able to get the firing pin out of the bolt, but I took out the extractor, and detail-stripped the trigger group, or the lock-work, or whatever you want to call it, and cleaned all of that. I put some oil on the firing pin, and stuffed a pipe cleaner underneath it on both ends.

[Tallpine]

Unfortunately, I can't just shoot whenever. I discovered the problem yesterday, and I'm not sure when I'll get to the range again.

I thought you lived near Ferguson 

Can't you just go out in the street in the middle of the night and shoot off a few rounds and nobody will notice ...?   

[Perd Hapley]

I guess I could go out and shoot some white people. They don't matter.

Someone on another forum suggested I buy a set of punches at Harbor Freight. The nearest HF is on West Florissant Road, in Ferguson.

[Tallpine]

I guess I could go out and shoot some white people. They don't matter.

Someone on another forum suggested I buy a set of punches at Harbor Freight. The nearest HF is on West Florissant Road, in Ferguson.

Is that where the local residents buy shoplift their burglary tools ?   

[HankB]

Well, it looks like I don't have the right kind of punch to drift the roll pin, so I won't be able to get to the firing pin without doing some shopping. Can I get that kind of thing at Home Depot?

You DON'T have basic tools like a set of punches? Dude, we'll let you slide this time, but if it happens again, you'll have to turn in your man card.

[AJ Dual]

MORE important than the punch is a benchtop pounding block.

An old hockey puck with some holes drilled in it to allow the pin to come out will do.  Pine 2x4 scraps will work... sort of, they're too soft and will absorb some of the impact on a really stuck pin, but it's better than beating on the part unsupported.  Although I have used that to my advantage. I've pounded some AK parts into a 2x4 with a deadblow mallet until I had a perfect impression in the soft pine that was compressed, and then drilled a hole where the pin was.

If it's wood you're using in general.. hardwood will work better.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/bench-blocks/extra-large-bench-blocks-prod24254.aspx?psize=96