Okay so I recently just bought this gun, my first gun ever. I purchased a barrel shroud and recieved it today, took it to a gun shop to have them removed my flashhider and they did, went home threaded on shroud and made it hand tight. When I went to rack my charging handle back it felt weird and when I let go of it, it didnt go the full way back (4mm gap).

Went back to gun shop they fixed it apparently but I went to put the shroud back on same thing happened, so I went to take it apart and it looks like the 2 long arms on the thing in the upper dosnt line up with the slots on the barrel assembly.

I dont know what to do

did you stabilize the area between the upper and the barrel assembly when you torqued down the shroud? if you twisted the barrel inside the upper it could mis-align the bolt face.

__________________
6906,6904,g23,g21,RIA1911,40c

I think thats exactly what happened, I didnt stabilize anything I dont know what that even means honestly. I am going to my cousins house to see if he can fix ill update you guys when i get back.

try to slightly torque the barrel backwards, with the action pulled back. if you can get them to marry well. support both pieces and have someone else thread the shroud on, once it is almost hand tight. give it a very small turn. it doesnt need to be super tight, just tight enough to hold. you should be all set then :-)

__________________
6906,6904,g23,g21,RIA1911,40c

So I just got back, we concluded the 2 long black guide rodes on our firing assembly thing are bent, I HIGHLY doubt I did anything that woudl have done this so I think it was the shop.

Does anyone know where I can find a replacement peice? I think thats the only peice thats messed up. I am going to try to have my buddy bend it back he works with metal for a living and should be easy for him to straighten it out.


VV This pic confirmed what was wrong I found it online, thats how mine should look, but mine are so bent the silver peice cant move whole way foward.
http://www.gunsumerreports.com/Smith...P15-22_078.JPG

You're not "having issues." You, or someone broke it!

The M&P15-22 is a plastic rifle with a steel barrel. If someone twisted the barrel in the plastic receiver they probably broke the receiver or the barrel nut. To remove the flash suppressor you need to clamp the barrel in a vice using barrel blocks otherwise you're likely to ruin the upper receiver.

If the "gunsmith" buggered the rifle he should fix it. Sure sounds like he didn't use barrel blocks. The bolt carrier rails fit in recesses in the back of the barrel and if the bolt carrier was in the rifle when it got twisted the rails got bent as well.

-- Chuck

Chris, what evidence was there that it was fixed? Did the bolt work properly after the second visit to the shop? Did you fire the rifle successfully then?
As Chuck says, you should never apply torque to the threaded end of the barrel on the 15-22 without having the barrel itself clamped securely so it can't spin inside the receiver.
If all you did was hand-tighten the shroud it seems unlikely that you could have done the damage, but if the gun was working after the second visit to the shop it would be hard to blame them. How well do you know them?

They said they took it all out when they did it, and said its fine and that the bend rails are suppose to be bent....lol

I dont know them at all,I heard lots of pounding and banging in the back when they were doing stuff and from what I can see the 2 rails in the bolt assembly when you put into the upper the 2 long rails go right into the 2 slots by the barrel, well mine were bent and didnt go in there they are 1-2mm off... I think they jammed it in there.

The rails in the bolt carrier group are NOT supposed to be bent. I think your "gunsmith" butchered your 15-22 and owes you a new one - especially if he cracked the receiver.

You may wind up in small claims court over this, because none of this is covered by your warranty.

I looked all over didnt find any cracks, I am now uploading a pic of only issue I found.

Is there any knowledgable people in the pittsburgh area on this forum that would wanna meet up and check it out.

The BCG bars need to replaced, as far as I am concerned. As for cracks, it's unlikely you can see anything without removing the barrel first. Any cracks will likely be where the barrel fits into the receiver and that can't be seen without disassembly.

Personally, I would send it back to S&W and let THEM check it out - and then sue the jerks who mangled it for the repair charges. As it stands, I wouldn't shoot your gun on a bet right now.

I dont want to go through all the hassel to sue them, they will just lose my business and my friends.

I think with "BCG bars" the gun should be back to normal because thats only thing I could find that looked wrong so once I fix that I can then see if theres any other issue.

Where can I get new BCG bars? I am going to bend these ones back to normal and see if that fixes. My buddy works with metal for a living and said he can help me out monday.

"Pounding and banging"? Ugh! Sounds more like a NASCAR pit stop than gunsmithing. Forgive me; I don't mean any disrespect, but your descriptions hint that you are not very familiar with how firearms work (join the club - I'm no expert either). I suggest you not depend on your metalworker friend to fix this thing; who knows what the Bubbas at the shop might have screwed up. Please find a competent gunsmith. This is too nice a weapon to have things all bent and twisted and binding inside. Good luck.

I totally understand what you guys are saying. I feel like the easiest thing to do is to just bend the rails back and if that fixes ill be fine, if not I can buy new bcg rails. If that dosnt fix I will send it off to s&w (and prob pay out the *** to get fixed:[ ).

So you're willing to eat the repair cost for the damage THEY did to your rifle?

Pardon me for being blunt, but you don't even know the correct names for parts. What qualifies you to make repairs or even determine if something's wrong? You need someone who knows what they are doing!

Smith & Wesson.

Buddy, you need to stop playing around before you or someone around you gets hurt. You are NOT qualified to determine whether the firearm is OK or not. You need a REAL gunsmith, not some buddy who "works with metal for a living." Quit screwing around and send it to S&W.

I am not trying to be an ******* either, the help is greatly appreciated and every thought is taken in, not ignored. I know it sounds like I am ignoring you but I JUST got this gun, I dont have any other gun and I really like shooting it so dont want to wait a couple weeks to get my gun back. I am going to try to do the easiest, cheapest fix which is just to bend it back.

If that works, then it was a free fast fix, if it dosnt, not a big deal because I know I wouldnt be able to fix it for cheaper/faster, so I can send it off to s&w and have them fix it.

I would like to try to get the gun shop to pay for the damages but in all honesty unless the repairs are exspensive its just not worth the time, they will just lose mine and friends business.

from the photo i can tell you exactly what they did.

they used a push and a hammer to remove the flash supressor *that was the pounding and banging* but before they did this the tried to turn it off. by grabbing the body of the rifle and twisting *from the angle of the bend about 45lbs of torque applied* in doing so it bent the **** out of that.

you can tell it is a twist issue because they are not bent outward or inward but up and down which is caused by torque of opposite pressure directions on each piece

i would definitely never visit this shop again

as well i would recommend demanding that they pay for any repairs, but but with that hack job, i wouldn't even entertain the idea of letting them touch it any more

__________________
6906,6904,g23,g21,RIA1911,40c

The title of this thread should be changed to I destroyed my 15 22. Chris do everyone a favor and listen to what they are telling you, bite the bullet now and send it back to S&W with a note telling them what you did. Believe me it will turn out better than having ths thing blow up in your face. Also find a new gun shop for your future needs.

I am going to send s&w an email.

I will see how well this goes.

Dude, the "gunsmith" you went to broke your gun. You can attempt to bend the bolt rails back straight, and you might get it to sorta work. But, you need to get some new parts from the factory.

If you insist on trying to fix this yourself, please don't take it to a public range to shoot. Your repair attempts may endanger others around you.

thats really the best and safest option for you. trying a home fix on a lawn mower is okay. but on a precision firearm with the capability to explode...you could endanger your own life and those around you. some of the guys on here seem coarse. but they are just looking out for your best interest.

i had a ruger 10-22 blow up in my face once. i almost lost my right eye, and suffered 2nd degree powder burns on my face and neck.

talk to S&W. it may cost you a bit, but a bit is better than your life or someone elses.

__________________
6906,6904,g23,g21,RIA1911,40c

*Sigh*

I understand it's your first gun & you are anxious to shoot it. I understand that because you are a new firearms enthusiast, you don't know what you don't know.

Everything in a firearm must work in concert, in a set sequence, for it to work. A slightly out of spec firearm may fire, but at the detriment of safety & longevity of the firearm.

The "gunsmiths" you paid to do a job, damaged your rifle. Pounding, banging, etc. The easily visible damage is to the bolt rails. I'm willing to bet there's more damage that isn't readily evident and/or misalignments that you can not see.

As a new firearms enthusiast, you don't know what you don't know yet.

You don't have the background knowledge, experience, or skill to be able to asses, identify damage, and repair it on your own. For the sake of your own safety & the safety of the other firearms enthusiasts on the range, send it back to S&W for diagnosis & repair.

It will be frustrating to be without your 15-22 for a couple weeks, but when you get it back you will know that it is 100% good to go.


He didn't destroy his 15-22. The individual who misrepresented themselves as a gunsmith with the appropriate knowledge to work on a 15-22 did.

Now if he carries on the bubba gunsmithing chain, then he's got a hand in destroying his 15-22.

__________________
-John

I am going to check out their email and go from there, if the bill is pricey I may just have to take them to court, a $5 service of taking my flashhider off turned into a huge nightmare.

I will hopefully have some info from s&w by monday. I will update you guys as soon as I know.

Thanks a ton guys we will see how this turns out

even if the bill is $200. pay it. then take the morons to court.they will have to reimburse you for the repair. plus any court fees you may have to pay. youll win in the long run.

from now on if you don't see a S&W licensed dealer logo in a shop window or on the wall. don't let them touch it. I am a glock armorer myself and see many glocks come in that were fouled up by people who others believed knew what they were doing. :-) good luck bro

__________________
6906,6904,g23,g21,RIA1911,40c

What are the chances that I would win? They said they took the whole bolt assembly out to take flashhider off so it would be impossible for them to have done it if the court believes them, then ill be stuck with a big bill lol.

Good to hear!


Amazing the damage someone with 2-cents worth of polish & a dremel can do eh? I'll just adjust the ejection pattern by using the vise grips & bending the ejector. I'll take a file to the extractor.. LOL

OP, I'm confident in working on my semi-auto handguns & rifles. I do know that I know nothing about working on revolvers, so I don't.

I know we sounded harsh, but it's because most of us have probably been in your situation before. I'll admit to it. The key is to keep learning, little by little.

1. The S&W 15-22 worked before you brought it to them.

2. The receipt from the "gunsmith" should have a date stamp indicating when they worked on it.

3. The 15-22 malfunctioned right after they mangled it.

Keep the paper trail going. When speaking to the S&W technician, ask them for a detailed damage report. All the paperwork should help you in small-claims court. It's a ****-shoot, but at least you'll have some ammo.

__________________
-John

Please send it to S&W so that the experts can determine the extent of the damage. Lets just hope that they can repair it for a reasonable price.

Please DO NOT attempt to repair it and try to fire it.

Being without your rifle will suck but it will be for the best in the long run.

Be Safe

Bill

I know WalMart sells them & they are mostly 'plastic'...
This is SOOOOO NOT a toy! Please dont take it apon yourself to "fix" it.

the odds of winning are in your favor. to be honest.

you brought their licensed business a working firearm.

they returned to you a non working firearm.

you paid them for a service which they screwed up.

taking the bolt assembly out is not required to remove a flash suppressor. that's like removing a cars engine to change the trunk latch.

you have documentation of the work preformed. documentation of when you purchased it. which if its your first purchase i cannot imagine is that long ago. guns don't get that type of damage by themselves.

when you send it to smith they will be able to determine what happened to that and will give you a detailed report.

that's all you need.

__________________
6906,6904,g23,g21,RIA1911,40c

Courts aside.. the fact is that the only way the rails for the bolt carrier group got bent like that, is if *someone* (notice I said someone, because honestly I don't now who did this) tried to turn the barrel nut loose without clamping the barrel in a barrel vice jaw, and this had to be done with the rifle completely assembled because the rail ends interface into the chamber block on the barrel.

There could be lots more damage to this rifle. The upper receiver could be cracked where the barrel goes through the upper, the plastic tracks where the carrier rails ride could be gouged out from the rails turning inside the upper. And who knows what kind of damage was done to the barrel nut! Did they even have the proper tool?

It's sad to see this, but plain and simple it needs to go back to S&W to be repaired correctly, no matter the cost.. Safety First.. It's a FIREARM.

Hello, i am from pittsburgh, Baldwin Boro to be exact, i would gladely meet you somewhere, but to be honest that damage is really beyond repair by a lay person. From the way the bolt arms are bent there has to be damage to the rails they slide on as well, even with a brand new bolt assembly chances are the new bolt assembly still will stick, bty what gun shop did you go to?, pghrich

You have ZERO experience with firearms and now you suddenly are competent to decide if it's safe to shoot? You put your admitted lack of knowledge against the many combined years of experience of those telling you to send it to S&W and MAKE SURE is it safe to shoot. You lived your whole life so far without this firearm and suddenly you can't stand to not have it long enough to insure it is safe to shoot?

Do what you want; it's your face and your hands if the receiver is cracked, the barrel misaligned, added to a defective bolt carrier and you have an accident.

I'm out of this discussion.

S&W will be repairing my gun, I am going to see what itll cost and send it out. I dont want to second guess my gun ever not working properly so I am going to send it off to them.

I took it to altac firearms in jackson center PA. I am going to keep all paper work and will see what I can do. I just feel like the court will view to their favor because I shot the gun before leaving there and it worked properly, it just wouldnt disassemble because they jammed the rods in which I didnt know at the time when I said it works okay.

Hey partner, take the advise of the members here in this thread and send your 15-22 back to S&W and get it FIXED RIGHT! I sure would hate to be in the shooting lane next to you not knowing the you were shooting with HACKED rifle repair! just sayn.

Chris --

S&W is the best resource to repair this rifle. It was damaged thru someone's stupidity but S&W should be able to repair it. Cost may be significant or merely a new set of bolt rails. Either way I'd call or email them and request their assistance.

A lesson we can all take from this is to not dick with the rifle unless we know what we're doing. Someone here had no clue.

-- Chuck

Great choice Chris!

It is going to be repaired properly, I am very excited to see s&w's response and hopefully I will be able to get this mess fixed within 1-2 weeks.

I find it amazing that it even funtioned one time because of the way the bolt arms are bent. Well at least you learned something and are now doing the right thing, good luck, pghrich

That was a real bummer experience for you but at least when you get your gun back it will be repaired the right way. I feel your pain as some of the lessons I have learned were the the hard way.

__________________
44 Garrett Defender Ammo 4 me.

Yeah I figure its going to be put through many many thousands of rounds so if theres anything a little bit wrong the gun will be put through so much I would be an idiot not to repair it right and make sure its 100% fine looked over by a qualified 15-22 knowledgeable person.

I cant wait for S&W to respond and get this repair started so I can start shooting again

&
Thankyou Sir ! The correct choice

No email from s&w yet

CALL THEM , pghrich

I tried calling them and the warranty repair center said to go on website and fill this thing out, so I did, I am sure they will send me an email saying they are not going to cover this under warranty but thats obviously expected:P I will hopefully have this thing shipped out by mid week according to the website, I wonder if they need just the upper or if they need the entire gun.

They will want the entire firearm.

And its fine to send that out in mail? What about them sending it back does it have to go to a firearm dealer?

Sending a firearm directly back to the manufacturer for repair is legal.

If the manufacturer sends you back your firearm, meaning the exact same serial number, it's legal to come direct to you.

If the manufacturer decides to replace your firearm, meaning a new serial number, then it has to go to an FFL to be logged.

S&W will send you either a UPS Next Day or FEDEX Next Day shipping label for your rifle.

__________________
-John

Wow really? next day?

Do most companys do that or is it just s&w. Thats very awesome customer service.