New guy here. Well almost new. I recently picked up another 15-22 the other day (had one in the past but sold it). Question is is there anything to gain on these rifles if the bolt,rails & ejected are polished? I did everything on my 10/22 & it made big difference, a lot quieter & smoother.

Polishing the bolt itself is purely cosmetic as the bolt makes no contact with the upper receiver. The rails and the slots in the bolt body are another matter. Polishing both will make the action smoother and is worth the minimal effort required.

Care to lend your expertise on how you go about this? What do you need to accomplish the polish?

Thanks. After I looked a little closer I noticed this. I guess I jump the gun in asking this question. Thanks for the reply.

All I polished was all sides of the rails, the extractor & the spring guide. I started with 400 grit paper, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 then mothers polish with cordless dremile.

Attached Images

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I just used 1000 grit wet and dry ...

I just did mine. I had to clean it so I figured what the heck. I simply did the spring guide rod and the rails that slide in the bolt. I used 300, 600, 1200 & 2000 both wet and dry. The bolt doesn't feel much different but everything certainly feels smoother. Ill test it this weekend. Ill make sure to report back.

Hopefully this helps my slide fire funciotn just a tad better.

On topic: did you guys smooth out the lumps on the outer edges of the rods that slide into the bolt. Mine has two alrge lumps and Im not sure if I want to take them down too much. Any input...

The "lumps" on the end are just the remnants of the process that cuts the rail section. They serve no purpose and removing them will have no effect other then cosmetic.

For me, there's also no need to polish if it is working flawlessly. As through time of putting rounds in it, it will polished it self.

By the time our units are polished, maybe those that are polished ahead of time will wore out ahead of time too? 😁

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Concur with the earlthesniper! Polish by shooting. If they were meant to be smoother, the guy at the factory would have done it. Polishing just decreases lifespan in this case. Cleanliness and lubrication are your friends!

Just make sure your rails aren't bent, keep them as straight as possible.
polishing does make a difference, do it the next time you clean (every 400-500 rds depending on ammo) a clean bolt is a happy bolt.

All of the above is hogwash ... with the exception of the last sentence.

I cant believe how many folks think making your gun run smoother is a bad idea. The factory didnt do it because it was too expensive. As for the blt wearing out anyone that has polished them can tell you this wont happen. Another thing that wont happen is the bolt polishing itself. The coating and metal and rough surfaces are just too tough for even thousands of rounds to "self" polish the bolt.


You guys need to understand this is an improvement and it does help..... All other excuses not to do this mod are simply laziness or lackof knowledge. Or there the same people that buy a mustang and throw rims on it and think they have a race car.

A polished part is also easier to clean.

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15-22 bullpup, "X-terminator"

Just to give you an idea if it works or not, remove the blue spring from the bolt and reinstall the rod, now tilt it back and fore note how the bolt slides, now polish the rails and do the same. If you rails aren't bent there should be a noticeable difference.

Blue spring? Mine is not blue, but, bare metal.
How do I get a blue one? It it an upgrade?
Next question, when you are talking about polishing the rails that are one the bolt, are you talking about the inside or outside?
Sorry to ask so many questions, but would like to know.
Thanks

The rails I think are a stamped part so they are not perfect. Mine had rough ridges on it so I sanded the ridges out and polished the rails and the bolt. This makes the action smoother which affects the timing of the action also, but for the better. Mine will reliably eat even ****** ammo now.

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15-22 bullpup, "X-terminator"

To what level must one polish said rails? We talking mirror finish or what?

The recoil spring was upgrade with a beefier version and colored blue. This took place several years ago. Believe they also upgraded the extractor. Call them and they'll probably send the items in the mail.

I really don't see that anything is gained by polishing the guides unless there is an obvious rough place or burr. DON'T polish on the bolt! It is hard chromed and any polishing can damage the finish. The bolt has raised bumps in the slots for the guides to run on so there is very little friction to start with, minimal contact area. After cleaning, I put one drop of oil on each guide and one on the spring guide, no more. Going on 5000 rounds with no problems.