Citadel M1-22 Safety Warning!!

[steamloco76]

In April I purchased a Legacy Citadel M1-22 (mfd by Chiappa in Italy) .22 LR carbine. The Citadel M1-22 is a very accurate looking replica of the Carbine US. Model M1 of WWII and Korea. My version has the wood stock and was very well finished.

Upon firing, I experienced issues with bulged cases just forward of the rim and the an out of battery detonation! The Federal Auto Match round, the 9th of 10 exploded and blew the magazine follower, round 10 and the spring an magazine baseplate right down though the bottom of the magazine and split the magazine body wide open! Luckily, I was shooting bench rested and was wearing proper eye and hearing protection. The bench took the impact of the magazine parts, though I never did find the spring or baseplate.

I have emailed Chiappa for a warranty repair and am waiting for their reply.
However, I then used my google-fu to search for M!-22 issues and found a link to the Chiappa website describing the exact condition that caused my rifle's serious problem.Chiappa M1-22 Carbine The photo of the problem and its description are at the bottom of the page! My serial # is within 30 of the one shown.

Please visit this site if you, or any friend or relative owns an early version of this carbine!!

 

[Thuer]

Thanks for the warning. I directly phoned a friend who sales this type of rifle in his shop.

 

[steamloco76]

I received a UPS 2nnd day air return label via email from Chiappa today.

Will be packing and shipping tomorrow.

FYI- the dealer I purchased my M1-22 form had another early S# model in his rack today that had the ramp cut into the chamber. After I explained the issue, he removed it form the rack and called his distributor.

 

[steamloco76]

I finally received my M1-22 back from Chiappa service on Friday, August 3rd.

They replaced the barrel liner with a new one featuring a proper fully supported chamber. Hopefully it will now shoot safely and reliably.

I do have a huge gripe- The factory defective chamber caused the cartridge detonation that destroyed one of my two factory magazines. I carefully detailed this in my letter in the box- with the destroyed mag and also in my email to Chiappa. Guess what, Chiappa chose to send me back my destroyed magazine and NO REPLACEMENT. I think this is pretty darned lame.They say by shooting it with the defective chamber, the damage is my fault!

Their dangerous, defective rifle design caused the damage. They never issued an official recall of the rifles. They never informed the dealers that were selling the early rifles of the defect. How the heck is the blown mag my fault when the only way I found out their was a defect is when the cartridge blew-up just like several hundred other early owners.

One thing for certain- I am never purchasing another Chiappa, Citadel or Legacy Sports product!