Hi all, I just acquired a new 15-22 last week. Overall, I'm really impressed with the build quality and the feel of the gun so far.

I am concerned with the number of failures to eject and stovepipes that I had with three different types of ammo. As you all know, .22lr ammo is next to impossible to find right now, but I was able to scrounge up three different types for the first outing.

I had Federal Champion (the blue box), Winchester Super X and SK Standard Plus. All three gave me numerous problems, but the Federal and the Winchester were pretty much tied for the most. The SK standard Plus only gave me a couple of failures out of three magazines. I just don't want to use up my "premium" ammo for this gun as I like to use it for precision shooting.

I've searched this site and the internet and learned a lot, but I'm not confident that they will resolve the problems. I checked my ejector per numerous posts about that being the culprit, and my gun seems to be a newer design with the ejector already bent slightly to the center of the chamber.

The primary thing that I haven't had a chance to check yet is the loading of the magazines. When I was at the range, I just used the thumb assist buttons and loaded the mags without verifying the staggering. I've since learned that this has caused similar problems for some. My next outing, I'll just press the ammo in without using the assist buttons on the mags. Hopefully that helps.

On a side note, I did make it to Walmart before sun up this morning and scored two 525 packs of Remington Golden Bullet. I realize that these are on the not recommended list, but hey, beggers can't be choosers in this climate and I was thankful to get what I did.

Do you guys have any other recommendations for someone new to this platform? There's some new plate racks at the range crying my name to bring out the new toy and play...

What color is your bolt spring? Mine is blue. The load assist works fine, but do make sure that the rounds stagger. The manual, esp the part about ineffective ammo, is outdated. Many claim no issues with Rem Gold Bullets.

Most of the failures that I've had are more than likely related to loading. I'm new to the 15-22, but it seems each time at the range there are fewer failures. Take your time while loading..

Good luck... HTH..

Thanks for the reply... My bolt spring is blue. Maybe I'll luck out and my gun will just prefer the cheapest dirtiest .22lr ammo available (i.e. Remington Golden Bullet)!

I'll take my time loading the mags on the next outing.... If that doesn't help, I may just have to contact S&W and send it in.

It's a neat little gun, I just can't wait to get through these troubles to start enjoying it. I have a brand new slide fire in the box that I won't even consider putting on until I resolve these extraction issues.

Make sure your extractor is there, functioning, and the bolt area is clean under it. Most of my FTF have been related to magazine loading not staggered. I use the assist only enough to load in one round at a time.

I have not had any issues with ammo I have some of the old rems, the new and improved rems, sub-sonic rems and Winchester. I also have a box of American Eagles that I need to run thru.
I don't know you, so please don't be offended, but did you clean the weapon before shooting? Does the bolt slide smoothly?

Extractor is definitely there and seems to be in good shape. There aren't any noticeable flaws with it.

No offense taken at all regarding cleaning. I performed a complete disassembly and cleaning prior to taking it to the range. I was kind of surprised to not see much of any of the typical heavy lube that is used on new guns. Bolt slides very smoothly and I placed a small drop of oil on each slide.

A friend and I both bought our M&P 15-22s at about the same time, and both of us experienced multiple feed failures using standard .22 LR ammo. He talked to a Cabela's salesman who advised using 40 gr. CCI AR Tactical .22 LR, which was designed for this type of gun. No problems since converting to this ammo. Give it a try, if you can find it. It comes in 375 round bricks that sold for about $28 before the last election. Happy plinkin'.

Like others have said, it is probably the loading of the mags. I only use the load assist when I have to. And I only pull it down just enought to help, but not too far. I haven't ran into any ammo problems and my gun is fairly new (January). I picked up 3 boxes of the Remington 525 this morning from Wal-mart myself. Haven't shot those yet.

CCI has been my best ammo so far, with Aguila a close second.
Everything else has seen a lot of failures.

I'd have to say it's the mags. If the rounds aren't staggered it can cause problems.

I would agree with everyone else about staggering, but I have had only one kind of ammo give us trouble and only in my gf's rifle. PMC Moderator was a PITA to deal with. Multiple stovepipes out of one magazine. We have shot close to 15 different types of ammo through our rifles, and the PMC has been the only one to give us multiple troubles. We have shot Remington, but never the GB(Thunderbolt, old Game Loads). Still have to get my hands on CCI's Tactical, Velocitor, and Stinger but have 575 rounds of Mini-Mags that I refuse to shoot at the range. Never had a problem with Federal bulk(525 or 550 packs).

I shot my 15-22 for the first time today using a variety of ammo and had no failures. Shot 1 inch or less groups at 25-50 yards. Here is my full report and targets. Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 Range Report As you can see from the targets after I got the red dot "zeroed" I had several 3 rounds groups of 1/2 inch at 25 yards. I'm very encouraged by this the first results of range testing.

http://www.gunaday.org

I just looked at your link. That doesn't look like a "red dot" on your rifle.

hi all
it took 2 months to find a mp 15 22 then with my schedule and the difficulty in finding 22 lr anywhere i finally got to shoot my new gun ... first mag was a smith and wesson mag 25 rounds i have 7 failures.. it felt like the trigger was not coming far enough forward to reset it self... so i tried different ammo and a plinkster mag .. same thing except more failures.. so i took the same ammo and used it in a 20 year old marlin that had the rod under the barrrel .. no problems at all.. I have come to the conclusion .. i have trigger issues.. rather than sending my gun back to sw and waiting for god knows how long i am considering getting a drop in tripper from cnc or timney and getting the anti walking pins.. no i am not a rich man, but time off is rare so i think this might actually be the best course for me .. on a happier note i was able to get 2100 rounds of federal 22 lr at cabellas in a metal surplus ammo can for 99.00... if anyone has any ideas on what trigger i should buy let me know ...first post here guys so if i broke any rules let me know

I had the same problem with the stovepipes. I tried different types of ammo, making sure the rounds were staggered etc.... I wound up sending it back to S&W and it was an ejector problem. The gun was brand new, just bought it in February. Now it shoots anything I put in it.
If you run out of options maybe give em a call. It took exactly 2 weeks from the time it got picked up till I got it back. Great customer service!

Thank you all for the advice.....

I went and shot several magazines of the Remington GB's over at my sister's house. This time I took my time loading the magazine meticulously and ensuring that the rounds were staggered.

The number of stovepipes were reduced significantly, but I'm still getting 1 to 2 every magazine. I guess that I need to box it back up and send it to them to work on. I don't want to keep wasting this super rare and hard to find .22 lr ammo!

Before you send it off, take the upper off the lower. Remove the bolt and clean the inside of the upper with a baby bottle brush and GunScrubber and then blow it out with an air compressor. DO NOT LUBE THE INSIDE OF THE UPPER.

Next, clean and remove all lube from the bolt body and from the bolt carrier rails. Put a single drop of CLP or similar product on each of the bolt rails. Do not put lube on any other part of the bolt.

Reassemble and head to the range. Over lubrication and accumulated powder debris can slow down the bolt sufficiently to effect the extraction/ejection timing.

I have only had 1 or 2 failure to ejects and I think 1 failure to fire from federal bulk and blazer bulk after about 4000 to 5000 rounds.

I've tried cleaning it and running it dry. I also cleaned it and oiled only the rails. Pretty much the exact same results each time.

I just got off the phone with S&W customer support and they are sending me a FedEx label to ship it back. They were quick to answer the phone and very easy to speak with. Hopefully all goes well.

Very good information here. Accumulated debris can begin to cause feed problems of all types, especially if you run the gun suppressed.

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Uva Uvam Vivendo Varia Fit

An air compressor (not canned air) is an excellent addition to any shooter's arsenal of cleaning tools.

I got my m&p 15-22 a few months ago. The first day at the range my friend and I put over 200 rounds through it with ZERO problems. I used Federal ammo,36 grain,- picked up a few 550 round value packs from walmart.

You are correct sir. Got that one covered.

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Uva Uvam Vivendo Varia Fit

you really have to make sure the mags are loaded right. i have never had a problem when i loaded but when my son or friends did before i showed them the proper way i had issues. i think 90% of issues are not reading how to load the mags. just my 2cents

Suggestions? Um... Get some CCI Mini-Mags.

First, congratulations on purchasing a excellent S&W rifle! The 15-22 is outstanding. Similar rifles produced by Colt, Mossberg, etc. are simply also rans.

From your description, the problem would seem to be with the magazines. I have a 15-22 which I recently bought. On Monday I fired it with Remington Golden Bullets and CCI Mini-Mags. The Remington GB's fired and functioned perfectly (100 rds). The Mini-Mags has a single failure to feed in 400 rds. When the magazine was reloaded,, function was perfect. I would suggest that you give attention to how you load the magazine. There is the very real possibility that that will eliminate your problems.

Wonderful that you were able to find the two packages of 525 Remington GB's. There are those who roundly condemn the Rem. GB's. A few weeks ago I fired several hundred in my S&W 18-3 as well as a 1911 outfitted with a Marvel .22 LR Conversion unit. I had one failure to feed out of 200 rds. Accuracy was virtually identical to normal result obtained with CCI Mini-Mags. Hopefully your experience will be just as good.

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i a, having the same problem...so far i tried remington goldens, winchester wildcats and cci blazers. the only thing that i have that i didn't try was the federal champions. i am averaging 3 to 7 fail to ejects per mag load. i have made sure that the rounds were staggered in the mag.
i cleaned it before i shot it and cleaned it at about 110 rounds. i put roughly another 200 rounds through it this weekend. i think i'll give S&W a call tonight.

I had the mossberg p.o.s. and had this problem after they repaired it for the bolt locking back. i had to fight with them to pay for the shipping the first trip and had to pay for the 2nd trip...

Thank you all for the advice. Regarding the magazine loading, I couldn't have taken any more time than I did on the second outing with the gun. I took my time and ensured that each round was staggered.

Regarding the CCI Mini Mags, if I had a box I would have tried those as well. Quite frankly I refuse to own a gun that will only function with one brand and type of ammo. Once they send me the shipping label, I'll send it back and report back how it functions when I get it back.

On the off-chance that you have obtained the older design M&P15-22 magazines, this would explain the problem because the original design that was shipped had numerous problems like you describe - I think that is one reason why they (S&W) ask you to also include your magazine(s) when you ship them your rifle.

The old ones have no text engraved on the right bottom side of the magazines, but the new, improved ones have "22 LR" over "25 ROUND" on the right side just above the S&W logo.

RonJon

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Stand behind our troops!

according to this, mine is the new and improved one. i need to call them tonight...

Thank you for that tip. According to this, I have the new style magazine as well.

When I called customer support, the lady told me not to send my magazine back with the gun, so I didn't pack it up.

Speaking of packing it up. My FedEx label arrived via e-mail this morning so I packed her up and sent her back to the mother land. So far the process of dealing with S&W has been very pleasant. Hopefully they can identify the issue and improve the reliability, which I think that they will.

Just a brief update. I've received the gun back from S&W this afternoon. The note in the box states that they replaced the ejector. It had been a very good experience dealing with them so far. Looking f

*Looking forward to getting back out on the range!

Re: OP/follow-up. Very good to read of how S&W responded to your concerns. In a era characterized by routine excusing making and blaming of others, S&W customer service is exceptional.

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#1 read UR manual especially on how to load the magazine. It is imperative it be loaded correctly. IF not the problem look to the extractor. Tweak/Bend it in slightly. If not fixed send it into S&W. They usually turn around in a couple of weeks and give U a new Magazine for free.

Read reply #32

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Minimize the variables

Tactical22.net - Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 In Depth Review for video explain from an owner dealing with stove pipe jamming repeatedly after changing ammo and no fix. Think EdJ. is helpful. I do believe there are a few anti gun nuts selling firearms in large stores.

Good news to report.... Just got back from the range. Fired ~400 rounds of cheap stuff (Winchester 333 & Remington GB). Only had a few failures, but they seemed to be ammo related. Also fired 75 rounds of CCI Mini Mags with zero malfunctions.

Definitely a great improvement over how it was performing. Now I feel ready to install the CMC trigger and Slidefire!

Thanks for the updates, Gr8. Actually hearing how Smith and Wesson take care of their customers and the speed that they do it makes a lot of us feel better.

So glad you followed My MP15-22's advice today and sent it in and already got it back. In other "current events" the Lindbergh Baby has been kidnapped! Police and FBI are looking at some German's of interest. Sorry, couldn't help it.

Besides using decent quality ammo, this is the next most important word of advice I can suggest. One at a time and allow them to stagger.

I understand we are being forced to use a lot of offbrands due to the lack of ammo and that is all good and fine, but then you cannot blame the gun for the ftf, fte's that result from that either. You just have to accept it and deal.

This is all I have ever used, but yeah. Goodluck finding it anywhere anymore. The only place seems to have plenty of it is gunbroker at rapey prices.

It's that way on the magazines too, they are out there at twice the price. Do believe there is a lot of enterprise going on.

i shipped mine on monday, they received it wednesday and it was shipped back to me yesterday according to the email. i was told to include the mag with it.

I'm glad that you mentioned mags. Surprisingly they told me not to send my mag with the gun.

In my shooting today, I used three different 32 round Pro Mags, two modified 10 round S&W mags to 25 rounds and the one original 25 round S&W mag that came with the gun. Didn't seem to have any mag related issues and was very happy with the quality of Promags. All seemed equal

that's good. i've passed on chances to get the promag because i have heard they don't always work as well. and with it having issues already, i didn't want to take any chances. the lgs has had them in stick for a while so once i get it back and it is 100%, i may give them a try. i did manage to buy 2 brand new 10 round long mags from a forum member. i'll make sure they work as 10 rounders, then modify them.

i made sure to ask since i had read this thread prior to calling them. i've gotten used to calling about this kind of issue though. i had a mossberg 715t that went back for repairs twice in the first 3 months i had it. the first issue was a fail to feed/bolt locking open. that was repaired by a new trigger housing assembly. it was returned with the ejection issue. i ended up selling it to fund the smith...

even with the smith's issue, which i expect to be fixed, the mossy seemed so much cheaper. you get what you pay for i guess...

Hopefully it's fine now. I for one recently and took it out of the box for the first time at the range and started shooting. So far, it's batting 1000. Hopefully yours will too.

I use the load assist all the time dont check for stagger just slam it home and go to town. I have had very few problems and I can hit clay pigeons at 160 yds all day long . I guess I just got lucky.

Many rounds of cheap Ammo through mine with zero failures. Mag loading technique seems to be critical , I always use the assist button and take my time. These guns eat anything . Don't let anyone tell you differently . Just ran 225 golden bullets through mine this morning at rapid fire. No issues at all.

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Cliff

mine is working like it should after a short vacation in the smith shop...

my paperwork (form 4) has just come in which means my silencer goes on my 15-22 this week !

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