Stovepipe issue at the range?!?

davidbush05

davidbush05

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Hi all! New here and had a good time today shooting my first 15-22 at the range today. Only issue was multiple stovepipe jams with both mags using Winchester M.22 40g ammo. The gun was bought used but was in great shape and I was really surprised that after 500 rounds I probably had 14 or 15 stovepipe on me. Any others having this issue and is there anything I can do to prevent it in the future?? Thank you ahead of time for any feedback and I'm glad to be a part of the community.
 
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That is usually the culprit of not loading your magazines right. You have to be sure that the bullets are staggered in the magazine or this will happen with every bullet that isn't.

Also, be sure to try different types of ammo in the gun as it is very finicky.
 
Some have had good results with the M22. I had failure to fire and eject issues with M22. Didn't have any issues with CCI AR Tactical or Federal bulk. Each firearm likes certain ammo. Just need to find what they like.


Jelly Bean
 
davidbush05 said:
Hi all! New here and had a good time today shooting my first 15-22 at the range today. Only issue was multiple stovepipe jams with both mags using Winchester M.22 40g ammo. The gun was bought used but was in great shape and I was really surprised that after 500 rounds I probably had 14 or 15 stovepipe on me. Any others having this issue and is there anything I can do to prevent it in the future?? Thank you ahead of time for any feedback and I'm glad to be a part of the community.
Click to expand...

Smooth and clean feed areas on magazines, proper S&W ammo and of course, proper loading technique. I had big time problems until I paid attention to all these - especially the smooth and clean. Now, maybe one stovepipe in a thousand rounds. For me, Aquila Super Extra HV 40 gr. ammo works consistently well and gives me very nice accuracy.
 
I have finally had a chance to shoot mine and reload the magazines and I noticed that even when I took my time and hooked the case of the round under the lips and then completed loading the round that I could see thru the back of the mag that some of the rounds where not staggered. I just have to learn to be slow and steady.
 
ArmyArmor said:
I have finally had a chance to shoot mine and reload the magazines and I noticed that even when I took my time and hooked the case of the round under the lips and then completed loading the round that I could see thru the back of the mag that some of the rounds where not staggered. I just have to learn to be slow and steady.
Click to expand...

That causes feeding problem every time.
 
When I have a stove-pipe in any firearm, I not only clear it and find out why I had a FTE, but I also check the barrel for obstructions or the bullet.

It could be something as simple as an improperly staggered magazine, but it also could be a squib load which left the slug in the barrel.

Until this is solved (assuming it's minor) I'd take a military brush, the kind with bristles on both ends, and a rod. If this keeps up, take it to a gunsmith.

Like always, change around your brand of cartridges, but check everything.
 
stimr2 said:
Some have had good results with the M22. I had failure to fire and eject issues with M22. Didn't have any issues with CCI AR Tactical or Federal bulk. Each firearm likes certain ammo. Just need to find what they like.
Jelly Bean
Click to expand...

I had the same experience, but also found Winchester had feed issues even when carefully loaded.
 
davidbush05 said:
Hi all! New here and had a good time today shooting my first 15-22 at the range today. Only issue was multiple stovepipe jams with both mags using Winchester M.22 40g ammo. The gun was bought used but was in great shape and I was really surprised that after 500 rounds I probably had 14 or 15 stovepipe on me. Any others having this issue and is there anything I can do to prevent it in the future?? Thank you ahead of time for any feedback and I'm glad to be a part of the community.
Click to expand...

I had the same issue with M-22 ammo. I haven't had issues since I switched over to Blazers several thousand rounds ago.
 
Winchester white box has never been effective ammo for any .22 I have had.
I usually go with CCI.
 
johnr43 said:
Smooth and clean feed areas on magazines, proper S&W ammo and of course, proper loading technique. I had big time problems until I paid attention to all these - especially the smooth and clean. Now, maybe one stovepipe in a thousand rounds. For me, Aquila Super Extra HV 40 gr. ammo works consistently well and gives me very nice accuracy.
Click to expand...

can you describe your smooth and clean process on the mags?
 
ArmyArmor said:
I have finally had a chance to shoot mine and reload the magazines and I noticed that even when I took my time and hooked the case of the round under the lips and then completed loading the round that I could see thru the back of the mag that some of the rounds where not staggered. I just have to learn to be slow and steady.
Click to expand...
I originally had a lot of feeding problems and stovepipes with my MOE. It ended up being an ejector that wasn't in the right position. After fixing that, I've purposely allowed rounds to not be staggered as a test, and have never had a problem (with my normal Federal Champions - I still have problems with CCI Tacticals, staggered or not). So, I'm not certain the stagger is/was the real problem. For my gun, at least.
 
I've had nothing but bad luck with Winchester ammo. Whether it be wildcats, super x, or m22, they all leave lead deposits in the barrel and cause the accuracy to go out the window. I usually go through either 2 blazer 525 bulk packs or 3 cci tactical 22 375 packs each time I'm at the range with no problems. I just recently picked up 1000 rounds of the m22 ammo on sale and thought I would give it a try since I have read some positive feedback on it. I had intentions of running all 1000 rounds at the range that day, but after about 300 rounds I could not even hit the target. The few times I did, I was shooting key holes. I went home and attempted to clean the barrel and had a hell of a time. I ended up pounding a wood dowel through it and out came a large clump of lead. I had a similar experience with wildcats when I first got the gun. Maybe it's just my rifle, but I will NEVER run a Winchester round through it again. I've had great luck with all cci products, so I'll stick with those. Play with a few different rounds and find what your rifle likes best, and stick with them. You and your rifle will be much happier.
 
yzf128r said:
I went home and attempted to clean the barrel and had a hell of a time. I ended up pounding a wood dowel through it and out came a large clump of lead.
Click to expand...

Wow! The last time I heard of a rifle leading up that bad was back in the late 70s when the barrel ruptured after a round hit the accumulated plug of lead. I'm glad this didn't happen to you.
 
Yeah, me too. As soon as I started to see she key holes I packed it up for the day. I've had this happen to other .22 rifles using Winchester wild cats. I don't know what it is, but Winchester ammo does not like me. Lol.
 
yzf128r said:
Yeah, me too. As soon as I started to see she key holes I packed it up for the day. I've had this happen to other .22 rifles using Winchester wild cats. I don't know what it is, but Winchester ammo does not like me. Lol.
Click to expand...

I think the whole situation is loopy. I haven't shot Wildcats in probably 20 years, but don't remember ever having a problem. When I was shooting NRA .22 Silhouette I shot Winchester Super Silhouette exclusively with no leading problems. Accuracy in my Ruger 77/22 was 1.5 MOA. I still have about a 1,000 rounds of it.

Squirrel and rabbit hunting was with Winchester Power Points. Same deal, no problem. I wonder what changed with Winchester.

Anyway, again I'm glad you had no additional problems other than the leading.
 
Some of the older models needed the ejector tweaked to let the fired case fly clear of the bolt. Some folks did it themselves others sent theirs to S&W to fix. I would do a search of the topic. It hasn't been around for awhile but used to be a common issue.
 
Since the 15-22 is used, it is very likely the ejector has been bent out of alignment during cleaning. That's the most common cause for mis-alignment.

I'd discuss the problem with S&W customer service.
 
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