Canned air seemed to have worked...Why?

[jajonez77]

Hello All,

I have been lurking on this board for a long time but just pulled the trigger on setting up an account. The posts here are very informative and the community seems very knowledgeable and helpful. Which are both great because I am a newer gun owner. That being said, I figured I would get some input on an issue I had yesterday.

I got my 15-22 about 2 weeks ago and have about 1500 rounds through it at this point. I have never had a problem up until this weekend. I always use CCI Standard Velocity rounds and have cleaned the gun 3x (I try to about every 500 rounds). All magazines are loaded exactly the same with the round fully against the back of the magazine and staggered left/right because I know by reading here that this can be a problem.

This weekend I was at the range and about every 5 rounds the gun would fail to fire. I know there are technical terms as to what exactly was happening but in my ignorance I will just describe it. When this happened (again after every 5 rounds or so) I would check the ejection port and it would be half closed. Upon opening I would find that the next round was half chambered and the port was 1/2-1/4 of the way open. After this happened about 20-30 times I called it a day and went home.

When I got home I inspected further and found nothing out of the ordinary (again, limited knowledge but everything seemed fine). So, I blew out the internals with some canned air and simply went back to the range to give it a go. I put another 200-300 rounds through it and not a hiccup at all.

What would cause this?
Why would simply blowing it out have any affect or as great affect as it did?

I know I should probably just be happy that it is sorted out for now but I wanted to get some input on this so I can avoid any additional issues.

Thank you for any information you may offer.

Jason

[swood0580]

Could of been a small piece of dirty,copper.ect ect stuck in there that didnt come out with normal cleaning.Just my option.

(I know there are technical terms as to what exactly was happening but in my ignorance) ask and you shall receive :] FTF= failure to feed FTE= failure to eject

[JaPes]

Originally Posted by jajonez77

I know there are technical terms as to what exactly was happening but in my ignorance I will just describe it. When this happened (again after every 5 rounds or so) I would check the ejection port and it would be half closed. Upon opening I would find that the next round was half chambered and the port was 1/2-1/4 of the way open.

I believe the gun lingo for this is:

"When chambering the next round, the bolt did not return to full battery."

Full battery = bolt in fully seated position against breech face.

At first, firearms terminology & lingo is overwhelming. I'm still learning.

Originally Posted by jajonez77

When I got home I inspected further and found nothing out of the ordinary (again, limited knowledge but everything seemed fine). So, I blew out the internals with some canned air and simply went back to the range to give it a go. I put another 200-300 rounds through it and not a hiccup at all.

What would cause this?
Why would simply blowing it out have any affect or as great affect as it did?

By it's nature, .22lr rimfire shoots dirty. It's just the way it is. It will blow back crud into the bolt area & the trigger area. You can also get a little shaved piece of bullet stuck somewhere in the action or trigger that can cause just enough binding to restrict movement.

If I have any issues after a standard field strip & wipe down, I'll blow it out with compressed air. This will normally dislodge contaminants. I just make sure to do it outside in the garage. I don't want to blow fine particles, which could be lead contaminated, inside my home.

I'll wear safety glasses & hold my breath while blowing out the action with compressed air. I don't want any fine particles, which could be lead contaminated, in my eyes or in my lungs.

If I still have any issues after that, I'll detail strip & clean the weapon. (Detail strip = disassembly beyond a field strip.)

Originally Posted by swood0580

ask and you shall receive :] FTF= failure to feed FTE= failure to eject

There are two different "F.T.F." & "F.T.E." failures. Because of this using the acronyms to describe a failure can be a bit vague and ambiguous. I found out by getting chewed out on a less than friendly forum.

Failure To Feed (F.T.F.) = round doesn't feed properly into chamber.

Failure To Fire (F.T.F.) = round fully chambers, but no bang when you pull trigger.

Failure To Eject (F.T.E.) = round chambers, pull trigger, bang, bolt moves rearward but does not properly eject round. The extractor pulls the spent case out of the chamber, but doesn't fling it out. Ejector failure.

Failure to Extract (F.T.E.) = round chambers, pull trigger, bang, bolt moves rearward, but the spent case remains in the chamber. Extractor failure.

Failure to Return to Battery (F.T.R.T.B.) = Failure of the bolt (rifle) or slide (pistol) to fully seat against the breech face of the firearm.

[jajonez77]

Thank you for the great information that you provided.

Other boards that I have read may not have been so helpful and understanding of someone trying to learn a new hobby. I am not exactly sure why that is either... But, most boards I read seem to have a sea of elitists that are not so forthcoming with their collective knowledge.

We all have to start somewhere and you guys didn't disappoint.

Cheers!

[locapitano]

I keep a can of compressed air a long with my cleaning kit in my range bag. There is nothing worse then ruining a great day at the range with weapon malfunctions.

Next time it happens field strip, spray it out, then spray some lube in the bolt and rack it a couple times to work the lube in and continue firing.

[Majorlk]

Originally Posted by locapitano

I keep a can of compressed air a long with my cleaning kit in my range bag. There is nothing worse then ruining a great day at the range with weapon malfunctions.

Next time it happens field strip, spray it out, then spray some lube in the bolt and rack it a couple times to work the lube in and continue firing.

The bolt body needs very little lube; if you can see it on the bolt, it's too much. It's the rails of the bolt carrier that need lube and even then a very light coat of a good gun grease such as Tetra is sufficient. Over lubing the 15-22 causes more problems than it solves.

[locapitano]

I don't have a 15-22 so I cant argue but with a regular AR I know that any excess oil just burns off in the first couple shots.

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Regarding canned air-do NOT turn the can upside down and spray the dog in the nads with it-for that matter don't do it to the wife either

[Majorlk]

Originally Posted by locapitano

I don't have a 15-22 so I cant argue but with a regular AR I know that any excess oil just burns off in the first couple shots.

The BCG in an AR gets considerably hotter than a 15-22. You also have metal-on-metal contact that you don't have with the 15-22; the BGC rides in a polymer receiver.

[locapitano]

Originally Posted by Majorlk

The BCG in an AR gets considerably hotter than a 15-22. You also have metal-on-metal contact that you don't have with the 15-22; the BGC rides in a polymer receiver.

Thats right the receiver on the 15-22 is polymer. Thanks! I'm always happy to learn something new specially when it doesn't involve flaming like in most other forums! lol

[Majorlk]

Yea, running a 15-22 (or just about any other .22 semi-auto) "wet" tends to get the action gummed up with unfired powder and other debris, necessitating more frequent cleaning. It's kinda like the old Brylcreem commercials - Just a little dab'll do you!.