15-22 Light strikes even with new firing pin, spring & trigger - bad barrel?

[strictlypromenade]

Bought a new M&P15-22 Pistol for my son for Xmas.

Does not work, light strikes with every kind of ammo from CCI to Eley.

I called Smith & Wesson and they said months to fix if I sent it in, so they would send me parts - sent me parts for a totally different gun, hopeless, so I ordered parts:

I have tried:

Cleaning it to death
Replacing firing pin spring
Replacing firing pin with Volquartsen SureStrike
Replacing factory trigger
Removing barrel, cleaning and reattaching
Cutting down firing pin spring

Always light strikes - tiny little dent in rim of cartridge.

I took off the barrel - is this gap normal? Also - is the barrel meant to be recessed so far back in the trunnion piece?

Thank you

 

[Kp321]

What trigger did you put in? Some drop ins will cause light strikes. I personally like CMC triggers.
Does the firing pin protrude enough from the bolt face when pushed forward? It should come to the edge of the cartridge recess in the bolt face. Is the cartridge recess too deep? S&W will send you a gauge to check the recess depth on request. They produced some that had shallow recesses and caused slam fires, could have made some too deep too?
The gap between the barrel and extension is large but should not be a problem if the barrel is seated flush on the breech end. Yours looks to be set back a little, could be the problem. All I have examined have the back of the barrel flush with the extension. A good gunsmith/machinist could fix it in 15 minutes but S&W should do it under warranty. In my experience, they quote long lead times but then beat them.
If you want to tackle it yourself, you could carefully file the extension until it is flush with the barrel. Voids the warranty however.

 

[giants1]

strictlypromenade, can you post photos of the firing pin strikes on the .22LR casings?

And what brand and lb spring did you try? And do you know what the original S&W spring weight is?

My notes say that someone in this forum had success with the Tandemkross Fire Starter #TK27N02329SLV1. It's on my list if I have firing pin problems.

And I don't know whether Wolff sells firing pin springs, but I had the opposite problem with my Advantage Arms Glock 17/9mm to .22 LR conversion kit. I had better, but not quite good enough, results by using lighter weight springs. I got my Wolff springs from MidwayUSA, but I think they're all over Ebay, too.

 

[PhilSN12]

I can recomend a CMC trigger too.
It takes five minutes to fit and mine came with anti walk pins which will make a difference too.


Sent from my SM-J600FN using Tapatalk

 

[sgtsandman]

It's had issues from the factory?

With everything done, it sounds like it might be a head space issue. Maybe the barrel wasn't installed correctly? Since the .22 LR sets head space off the rim of the cartridge, the barrel might not be in all the way as it should be. There could have been something obstructing proper barrel installation.

Since the receiver is polymer and barrel removal and installation requires a special tool. Tacticool22 sells the tool and barrel vice jaws for a little under $38.

Barrel Vise Jaws and Barrel Nut Wrench (Pro) Combo for the Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 | Tacticool22

Careful on the torque when reinstalling. Because of the polymer receiver, it isn't that much. There might be instructions with the tool on what that value is.

The trick is, whatever the issue may be, it might not be obvious to someone who doesn't work on them on a regular basis and you have to determine what it may be looking through the bottom of the upper and down through the hand guard. I don't remember the hand guard being removable.

EDIT: You may want the breech block wrench they sell to do the work as well. I've never had mine apart aside from field stripping for cleaning.

 

[minconrevo]

I own a couple 15-22's. They worked new out of the box. Both passed the headspace check. Only time I've had troubles was when I tried to run an after market trigger unit. Hammer blow must have been on the light side as numerous FTF ensued until I reverted to factory hammer/trigger set.

Make sure your bolt, inside and out, is clean (no grease) and lightly oiled. Also try different brands of ammo. Some of the .22 ammo out there these days its not up to snuff.

 

[Egg on Leggs]

I had that problem, I cured it by replacing the extractor with a Volquarsten version.

I suspect the problem was caused by the original extractor binding on the ramp in the barrel face, causing the bolt to not seat fully into battery.

 

[sgtsandman]

Yeah, the ejector design isn't great. I can see that getting bent fairly easily and it gets in the way of proper barrel cleaning from chamber to muzzle.

 

[342ti]

You shouldn't be installing aftermarket parts Brother, gun should work 100% from Factory. Send it in and grin & bear it! S&W will make it right.

 

[tacticool22]

Believe it or not, the rimfire needs a stronger hammer spring.
Headspace is machined into the face of the bolt.
Could you post different pics? The originals aren't showing up.

 

[landowner]

@strictlypromenade how did this work out for you?

My money is on a new extractor being the likely solution, based on your description of the problem and steps taken so far.

 

[rwmagnus]

15-22 light strikes

I’ve had the same issues as original poster. About 40% light strikes. Went to the Volqursten bolt and now it’s 100% light strikes. Need to find a heavier hammer spring or lighter firing pin spring. Next step will be getting rid of it or make it SW’s warranty problem.

Would be a cool inexpensive trainer for the AR platform but it’s not inexpensive any more. Last thing I’ll do is put a drop in trigger into it.

 

[SWFan27]

22LR does not always go bang. With my 617 revolver I sometimes have to flip the round with a dent around, so the firing pin hits another spot, where hopefully there is some primer. They almost always go bang the second time. And I normally shoot double action.

 

[Pubtym]

Competition Bolt for the M&P 15-22 | Volquartsen Firearms

volquartsen.com

 

[Tom S.]

OP was last seen when he made this post, Jan 22, 2022.