Thursday, September 11, 2014

10/22 Malfunctions With Its Favorite Ammo?


Our old, reliable 10/22 didn't fling empties clear a couple times, and then it went click.  It ran OK after jacking in a new round, but while Susan was changing targets I located the round that failed to fire.  It had been hit with a light strike.  We didn't realize what was going on, but there were a few more failures to throw the empties clear, and one round had one side of the case crumpled on chambering.

Here's what we found out.  The firing pin was sticking forward, interfering with a clean catch by the extractor, and also causing misalignment for chambering.  The cause is a broken firing pin rebound spring, which pushes the firing pin to its rearward position in the bolt.  When broken, the spring can jam up the firing pin, causing it to rest forward, where it is not hit effectively by the hammer.  It can also interfere with chambering and extraction.  This rifle is out of commission until new parts are installed, and they are already on the way.  Listen to your rifle!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Never saw that happen before. Where did you find the parts - makes me think I should order some spares for my 10/22.

Merle

David aka True Blue Sam said...

I ordered from Midway. ShopRuger.com has the bolt parts, and I bet Brownells has them, too.

I will be changing the firing pin, too, just because it is 30 years old.