Cylinder fouling during range sessions with 617

[avigar]

At what point (number of rounds shot) have you experienced cartridge ejection/insertion issues, at the range, due to fouling? Do you carry a portable cleaning kit to the range to alleviate the problem? If not, do you just stop shooting with it until next time?

 

[Mike McLellan]

Honestly, the last time I went to the range, I started with .22lr until they started getting tough to seat in the charge holes all the way. I switched to longs for a while, and finally went to .22 shorts. By the time I was done for the day, my K-22 was filthy. Our range doesn't allow gun cleaning on the firing line. A quick brush would be okay, though.

 

[Matt Hooper]

At what point (number of rounds shot) have you experienced cartridge ejection/insertion issues, at the range, due to fouling? Do you carry a portable cleaning kit to range to alleviate the problem? If not, do you just stop shooting with it until next time?

I am having the same problem with my 617! Took it out yesterday for the first time. Brand new gun, cleaned it before. Had a horrible time with ejections and FTFs. Put a hundred rounds through it and probably had a bad fire every 20 or so.

Interested to see if your problem is similar.

 

[scooter123]

It depends on what I'm shooting.

Winchester Xpert HV or Wildcat will cause fouling issues starting at about 60 rounds fired, which in my case is 10 loads of the 6 shot cylinder. By the time I put another 3 cylinder loads thru it I either have to use a dry brush on the cylinder or call it a day.

The federal copper washed bulk ammo is a totally different story. I've run as many as 150 rounds downrange with this ammo without any fouling problems at all. In fact I suspect that I may be able to put 300 or more downrange but I just don't have the time to do that.

Now that "rub". My 617 really shoots very well with that cheap and dirty Winchester ammo, 2 inch groups at 100 feet are pretty typical. Go to the much cleaner shooting Federal and the groups open up to about 3 inches. As a result if I'm shooting for the smallest groups I can achieve I'll use the Winchester. If I'm just putzing around the Federal is just fine.

PS; those experiencing misfire issues after the cylinder gets fouled are seeing the result of cartridges that weren't fully seated in the cylinder. Keep pulling the trigger until that misfire comes around for a second strike and you'll find it will fire 95% of the time. What happens is the first hit drove the cartridge home and you needed the second strike to get it to fire.

 

[Old No7]

It depends on what I'm shooting.

I agree... 617s, or all 22s for that matter, are typically very sensitive to different brands. Gun A may like brand X, while brand X (or Y for that matter) may be best in gun B.

Testing all the options is half the fun!

(And twice the cost...)

Old No7

 

[Road Rat]

Ammunition is dirty...........lots of smoke and fire and heat.

Twenty-Two's are some of the worse for dirty. Some brands are worse than others.

In any case it would be a good move to take a cleaning rod and brush to the range when shooting.

 

[avigar]

Any long term negative impact when forced to use the wire brush that often for cleaning? Will it eventually help loosen up the cylinder holes through repetitive use?

 

[Road Rat]

avigar............using a bronze brush in a hardened steel cylinder isn't going to do any damage

 

[djw]

For whatever reason my 10 shot 617 seems to get less fouled the more rounds I put through it. At first I even had leading at the forcing cone. Now it doesn't lead and also goes through more rounds without the cylinder getting fouled. As Road Rat said, .22 is just dirty ammo and some is worse than others. Just keep shooting and cleaning the cylinder and it will get better. Even the action is beginning to smooth out.

 

[03Fatboy]

I usually get about 100 rounds of cci std or mini mags before it starts getting sticky.

 

[Stainz]

It's been a while since I was this extravagant even with .22LR ammo, but I did try to see how nasty I could get my 4" 617, so I didn't clean it between trips to the range. It took nearly two months to get through one bulk box and half way thru the second 550rd Box of 36gr plated Federals - over 800 rd total - before vanity won over me. Even then, I had to try a cylinder of CCI Stingers - nothing would chamber after shooting them! I've never been able to shoot more than a couple of cylinders of Stingers - even immediately after cleaning - before they would render my 63's or 617 too nasty to reload.

Stainz

 

[avigar]

Does it ever get to a point where the cylinder's ejection rod gets harder to push the spent cartridges out? What's the best way to apply a little force? Would you recommend using something to lightly tap out the rod to eject the cartridges? Would using that method possibly misalign the cylinder?

 

[mag318]

22 rimfire ammo is dirty so I experimented to find the least dirty for my 22 calibre revolvers. I now shoot federal 710s and 712s in my K22 and Model 17. This is the cleanest non fouling LR ammo I've yet to find and I can do a long range session with no extraction difficulty. So I recommend you try different brands and see what works the best for you.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Most ranges will let you run a patch or brush down your rifle or pistols. .. call or talk to your range master to learn when and how.
At our range is when the line "Is Hot" and you have to take the bolt out or open the cylinder or remove the top rail, before you can work on your weapon and the muzzle must ALWAYS be pointed down range,at ALL TIMES.

Good luck.

 

[870fan]

I'm ashamed to say that my 617 is a filthy dirty mess and like the poster mentioned above it seems to get less fouled as time goes on. I don't remember how many hundreds or possibly over a thousand rounds of bulk ammo has gone through it with no cleaning and it works fine.

 

[Matt Hooper]

Been having huge issues with fouling and indexing with many types of ammo with my 617. First time out shot CCI SV. Huge % of FTF. Thorough cleaning, repeat.

I ran three kinds of ammo yesterday. Eley Sport, Remington Club Xtra, and Federal Target Gold Medal. All had issues. Took the 617 back to the store. Gunsmith says definitely an indexing problem on 2 cylinders but the gun after 150 rounds was filthy and many rounds were sticky. Gun goes to S&W this week. SUCKS paying $799.00 for something that doesn't work. Really bummed.

Not a single problem with my SR22 with the CCI. Making me think of getting rid of the 617 and moving up to a cleaner caliber. It's ridiculous to think that I have to clean a gun after 100 rounds just to keep shooting.

 

[slickracer]

Give S&W a chance to make it right. I guarantee you the 617 will become your favorite handgun.

 

[S&W1006]

I shoot my 617 a lot. It's not uncommon for me to shoot 3-400 rounds on one outing. How dirty it gets is very dependant on ammo. Some cheap 22 ammo is very nasty and will foul up the works. I prefer Federal ammo or Blazer. They shoot well and are much cleaner. Winchester and Remington are the nastiest ammo I have used. I will not even buy Remington anymore due to misfires and fouling. I just finished some Dynapoint Winchesters. I had at least 5-10% duds and it was dirty. It is going on my list of ammo to never buy again. All the CCI ammo works well also but it costs a little more. A dry brush will knock the fouling down so you can finish shooting if you use the cheaper ammo.

 

[jack the toad]

I've not tried a lot of different 22 ammo as the Federal bulk stuff seems to work well for me.
I have found the bore snake to be useful for quick pass of bore and chambers. Afterwards, I wipe the cylinder face and forcing cone area and call it good.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

I always used CCI Standard Vol and took a cleaning rod with a brush to the cylinder after two cylinders to let it cool off some.