Last time I shot, I was keeping everything in a 2"-ish group or less at 50yds, today I put a couple hundred rounds though her and was getting fliers all over the place! tried both federal bulk and mini mags, the ammo I always use. Same problems with both. I had added a bipod to the rail, I thought that might be the issue so I took it off, nope, still having problems. could a dirty bore be the problem? I've only put about 400-500 rounds through this rifle since I bought it new, and everyone on here says dirty bore = better... Is it time to float the barrel? How is that done?

You were shooting 2" groups before so you should be able to do it again. Clean the bore and try again. Also, what was the wind doing this time out? Wind can easily cause problems.

Good luck!

It wouldn't be the first time that we've heard of someone having a slightly loose barrel on a new gun. Might want to check into that as well as that is a surefire way to loose accuracy.

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S&W15-22 RIA 1911
CZ75B SR9

What sight are you using? A loose mount, poor quality components or something like that could be the culprit.

Clean the bore, tighten everything down, make sure the barrel is tight, try it again.

Is that special tool necessary to tighten the barrel or is that just to unassemble it?

Pretty sure it's needed to tighten as well.

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S&W15-22 RIA 1911
CZ75B SR9

Although I am biased as I make the "ShooWrench barrel nut wrench" for the 15-22, I do agree with the others and suggest you get either one of my wrenches or one that tacticool22 makes and check the torque of your barrel. Seems like barrel nut tightness is all over the place on these rifles and it is a relatively inexpensive tool you must have for checking the tightness of your nut. You can put a little dot of paint on the nut where you can see it and monitor the nut's position after proper torquing, then it's a quick peek to see if your nut has become slightly unscrewed. ShooWrenches can be had for $30 shipped by contacting me or ordering from Brownells. The Brownell's SKU # is 100-005-782, but they aren't on their website yet. You can order them however by calling them on the phone. Hope this helps and I hope you figure out your problem, Shoo

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"Get Hammered By a Shooboy!!"

Shoo is totally corrrect if your going to own and shoot one of these you need the tools to work on them just like a ar-15.. anyone that really shoots an ar or m16 has spair parts and tools to work on them... spair parts for these guns are hard to come by but s&ws warranty is awesome.. get a tool and check the nut... temp. changes affect the nut a lot because its pinching a piece of plastic(handguard) so as it contracts and expands the nut works loose... the same thing goes for your scope cold weather can make them loosen up also

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07/SOT2
NRA Instructor

i'll probably get one soon just because too. whats the correct ft-lb torque spec for the nut?

I believe 20-25 foot pounds to be the factory recommended torque. To be totally safe you may want to also invest in a set of barrel vise jaws, they will insure no damage happens to the receiver when working on your barrel, Shoo

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"Get Hammered By a Shooboy!!"

Maybe i have ****** mounts. What's a good quality mount? I have a decent scope, it's the 2.5-7x28 weaver rimfire, I like it. Hopefully that's not the culprit.

Try picatinny rings instead of weaver (more universal but not a perfect fit). since we have mil STD rails picatinny is preferred. You can get one piece mounts or a pair of rings. For one piece mounts look at the Burris PEPR or the SWFA SSALT. The ssalt is a clone of the burris offered with a better price and changable rings (30mm or 1"). 60-70$. For individual rings I'd recommend the SWFA aluminum for around 35-40$.

I would check the barrel nut first

Agreed the chances that your rings "went bad" is kinda comical... something is loose... and the barrels work loose very commonly

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07/SOT2
NRA Instructor

Thanks, I like SWFA, I think I'd stick with their products, is this it? It doesn't list that the rings are interchangeable...

I didn't see a link in your post but here it is SWFA SWFA SS Mounts
both are excellent choices. Medium rings will sit around 1.1" centerline, the ssalt mount around 1.5", and the high rings just slightly above that. More exact specs can be found in their forum. If you end up buying that Viper PST scope might as well get the wrench too with the money you saved

We had a customer bring back his M&P15-22 last week for a similar occurance/complaint . He was firing Mini-Mags at 50yds and getting great groups . He switched to a brick of Blazer 22 and after 250-300 rds his groups went to patterns . After hearing the story it sounded like ammo rather than an optics issue . We inspected the barrel and found it terribly fouled with lead . So bad that we had to FORCE the cleaning rod through it . After soaking it in solvent for a couple hrs we tried again and removed "piles" of lead shavings . Eventually it all came out . We fired 100 rds of Mini-Mags and it's grouping like it used to and no sign of lead build up .

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Mitch

Mitch- so Mini Mags only? I have no problem with that, also going to clean the heck out of it when the shoowrench shows up.

well i would stick to at least plated tips instead of the open lead tips. but stay away from the remington as the manual states. Most people will disagree and say lead is fine because the federal pack is so popular, but i don't shoot enough for a couple dollars per box to make a difference for me.

+1

22 is dirty stuff. If you haven't been cleaning your rifle because you heard "dirty is better", I think you have been misinformed.

I'd bet you get most, if not all, of your accuracy back with a proper cleaning. All the suggestions so far are good ones, but, usually the simple explanation is the right one, imho. Occam's razor, and all

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Many report no trouble but I stay away from the high velocity wax coated lead bullet 22's like Blazer , Wildcat and Thunderbolt . Being in the business I've seen many 22's fouled with clumps of lead in the bore . I use strictly the "clad" type bullet like the Federal #810 , CCI Mini-Mag #0030 & 0031 or the Winchester Luballoy bullets #X22LR and X22LRH . These clean up easily with a couple passes with a wet patch and a brush .

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Mitch

That's why I pass a bore snake through the barrel after every range session (300 plus rounds). My 15-22 doesn't seem to have the lead fouling problems, but the S&W 22A is another story. A couple passes with the bore snake and they're both clean as a whistle. Plus for me, there's the theraputic value of the entire gun cleaning process

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S&W15-22 RIA 1911
CZ75B SR9

My 15-22 was shooting very poor groups. Very disappointed in this trip to the range . I was thinking that the gun was just dirty needed to give it good cleaning . In cleaning the gun , I Found the barrel slightly loose . Ordered Shoowrench , broke the nut loose to see how it was . It didn't feel all that loose . I'm auto tech . So I think I have good feeling whats tight & whats not tight. Just remove the barrel completely. Reinstalled barrel torque it down without any locktite @ 20ft lbs. No more movement at all . Perform some other mods to bolt and polishing feed ramp. Big difference at the range last saturday . Very happy with performance .

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God Bless our Country & Family

My Shoowrench showed up last night, I am very happy with the quality and price, both are spot on. What bolt & feed ramp mods did you do? Anyway what did you do to the bolt, and what did you use to polish the feed ramp?

Also what do you guys use in conjunction to the shoowrench and a torque wrench to make the two work together? I have a torque wrench and a shoowrench but it looks like you'd need a crescent wrench or box wrench to use the shoowrench...

If you want to use a ShooWrench in conjunction with a torque wrench, you'll be needing a 15/16" crowsfoot socket. It is basically an open-end wrench with a 3/8" or 1/2" square drive hole in the end opposite the wrench end. Here's an example of what you need, Shoo
http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/kdt81612.html

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"Get Hammered By a Shooboy!!"

Bolt was cutting the lead & scratching the shell casing . I read from another thread that some were rounding off & polishing bottom of the bolt . A very small amount of metal to remove ,just basic rounding that square edge a little & polish .As for the feed ramp I used Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish & stem of Q-tip . Lightly polishing , a little goes a long way. Stay in middle of ramp . Very easily done with barrel removed . The crowfoot I purchased was a from tool company that comes around shop I work at . I had a torque already . Breaker bar or ratchet is what needed to be used break nut loose . Never use a torque wrench for break fasters loose . Just remember you can't put metal back on . Slow and easy. Shoowrench must tool to have I think .

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God Bless our Country & Family