failure to fire

[knightrider092]

hello everyone ,im new to the forum... so far i like what i see...little about me im from mass and owner of a sw1911 and a m&p 15 22.... never had an issue with my 1911 , ive owned it for about seven years ...my 15 22 however was flawless for over a year and just recently started having issues with failure to fire ..was wondering if you guys could steer me to the proper threads to resolve this problem...gernerally speaking ammo was never much of an issue for the rifle...mainly federal used...doesnt matter wether or not the wepon is clean or dirty...definitly into the thousands of rounds thru the rifle...i love to shoot it...any help i could get would be appreicated ....thanks in advance

 

[Jyezahn]

When you attempt to fire, and eject the unspent round, do you see where the striker hits? Sounds like you might need to replace that.

 

[Majorlk]

What do you call an issue - 1 round in a few hundred, 1 in a hundred, every 10th round?

I'm betting there is crud in the firing pin channel. Use GunScrubber or some other solvent under pressure and blow out the channel in the bolt. If that fails to solve the problem, then we'll need to look elsewhere.

 

[Majorlk]

When you attempt to fire, and eject the unspent round, do you see where the striker hits? Sounds like you might need to replace that.

There are other avenues to pursue before considering replacing the firing pin, starting with blowing out the firing pin channel with GunScrubber or something similar.

 

[knightrider092]

well yesterday it was just about every other round...the actual round had a impact mark....another note the rounds would fire the second time around...would brake cleaner work for blowing out firing pin?

 

[Maddmax]

First off Welcome Aboard.

It "could" be your barrel nut is working loose and might be the issue. Are your shooting groups as tight as they use to be ? If it's starting to "shotgun" patern on paper,that could be the barrel nut. Have you sprayed cleaner through the bolt's fireing pin hole ? Could be getting gunked up from waxy,dirty 22's. DON'T use WD-40,that's a no-no and a gunk builder over time too. Clean the bolt face with a stiff brush and get into all the nooks & crannies around the edges. You can alays call S&W CS for help and they'll gladly send you shipping lables back and forth and fix what's ever wrong along with upgrading any "older" could be problems like the older bolt springs. S&W does have a lifetime warrenty.

 

[knightrider092]

i do believe i got a updated model from what i read....hoping it a cleaning issue

 

[Majorlk]

well yesterday it was just about every other round...the actual round had a impact mark....another note the rounds would fire the second time around...would brake cleaner work for blowing out firing pin?

Stay away from brake cleaner and polymer. If they are firing the second time around, that supports my dirty firing pin channel theory.

 

[knightrider092]

this might sound bad but im not to familiar with part terms... will the owners manual help? i am a auto tech so repairing doesnt worry me

 

[knightrider092]

hey major ...do you mean dont get brake cleaner on rifle body or dont use brake cleaner at all?

 

[Majorlk]

this might sound bad but im not to familiar with part terms... will the owners manual help? i am a auto tech so repairing doesnt worry me

The firing pin channel is the hole through the body of the bolt in which the firing pin moves. The rear of the FP is the big round thing in the rear of the bolt; the front of the FP comes out of the little hole in the front of the bolt to hit the head of the cartridge.

Brake cleaner will soften and dissolve the polymer frame. Get the GunScrubber that is listed as polymer-safe. Far cheaper than possibly damaging your rifle.

 

[knightrider092]

thanks a bunch major....im off tomorow ..gonna head to local gun shop and pick up some of that cleaner...was getting ready to get new trigger spring set thinking i had a weak hitting hammer...thanks again ill report back with results

 

[knightrider092]

well a little of an update...got the cleaner ...what a nasty mess in that bolt...didnt get a chance to hit the range to see if its any better... hoping the best...im always good about cleaning my rifle but never thought of spraying out the bolt...thanks again for the info guys

 

[HotRoderX]

I just wanted to add if your using bulk pack ammo might try a different brand or another box. I had federal bulk pack that had 15-20 rounds that just wouldn't fire. I have had the same with the Winchester bulk packs. There might not be anything wrong might have just gotten a bad box.

I would assume the rifle can fire CCI mini-mags so you might wanna try them. CCI seems to have a little better quality control on there ammo. I have only ever had handful of ftf with there products I know I shot 1000's of rounds of CCI mini-mags and Blazers. In fact when I first got 22/45 I ordered 5000 rounds of CCI Blazers to keep on hand for plinking

 

[TacoDaTugBoat]

I just wanted to add if your using bulk pack ammo might try a different brand or another box. I had federal bulk pack that had 15-20 rounds that just wouldn't fire. I have had the same with the Winchester bulk packs. There might not be anything wrong might have just gotten a bad box.

I would assume the rifle can fire CCI mini-mags so you might wanna try them. CCI seems to have a little better quality control on there ammo. I have only ever had handful of ftf with there products I know I shot 1000's of rounds of CCI mini-mags and Blazers. In fact when I first got 22/45 I ordered 5000 rounds of CCI Blazers to keep on hand for plinking

As I was reading through, I was thinking the same thing. A sudden increase in ftf's could simply be a bad batch of ammo. Finding a new part of the bolt to thoroughly clean never hurt anything though. But if the problem persists, consider trying another box/brand of ammo.

 

[knightrider092]

i thought the same thing about ammo...also tried my cousins ammo and had the same results.....come to think of it his federal ammo had a bit of better results but still way to frequently...will be hitting the range thrusday after work to see if everything is back to normal

 

[Plumbago]

It could be an ammo problem, but most likly it's a fouled firing pin channel as has been suggested....trying to clean it by spraying it out is subjective at best and will only be a temp fix if it works at all....On the other hand, after several thousand rounds, the channel is probally very very dirty....It is an easy matter to pull the bolt, tap out the split pin which retains the firing pin and spring, clean it all thourghly and reassemble....It's not rocket science, very easy to do, and just sometimes necessary.....best regards Plum

 

[zikarro]

similar problem

Id be interested in hearing how this plays out. All of a sudden my 15-22 is doing this. FTF then the same round will fire second time around.
One other thing I noticed. The bolt spring fits onto a rod. The rod can be removed by retracting said spring and pivoting it up slightly. I noticed that there is a hole drilled into the rod that appears to be there to hold the spring slightly retracted. My rod does not have a pin in it. This is a one month old gun. I do not think I lost that pin. Is there supposed to be a pin in there that keeps the spring slightly retracted or does the spring rest all the way against the slot at the rear of the bolt assembly when the spring is fully extended?

 

[Majorlk]

There is no pin in any that I have seen, including the two I have. The hole is there to stick a paper clip or something similar to hold the spring when disassembling the BCG.

In operation, the spring is fully extended between the two supports for the operating rod.

 

[zikarro]

There is no pin in any that I have seen, including the two I have. The hole is there to stick a paper clip or something similar to hold the spring when disassembling the BCG.

In operation, the spring is fully extended between the two supports for the operating rod.

I should have known that. Thanks for waking me up.

 

[knightrider092]

okay guys went to the range...five hundred rounds of federal bulk and winchester m22 ...not one malfunction ...soo excited its back to the great rifle it is...side note ....there was another guy at the range that thought that my hammer spring seemed a little weak ...i plan to talk to smith and wesson of any problems that might be out there ...but again the rifle is working perfectly at this point in time

 

[Majorlk]

okay guys went to the range...five hundred rounds of federal bulk and winchester m22 ...not one malfunction ...soo excited its back to the great rifle it is...side note ....there was another guy at the range that thought that my hammer spring seemed a little weak ...i plan to talk to smith and wesson of any problems that might be out there ...but again the rifle is working perfectly at this point in time

How would he know?

If it ain't broke any more, don't fix it.

 

[knightrider092]

i dont plan at this point in changing a dam thing lol...as far as the other guy at the range he was shooting a converted 556 rifle ...it possible that full size ar's have stiffer springs?...i dont have enough experience to tell the difference

 

[Maddmax]

How would he know?

If it ain't broke any more, don't fix it.

I agree. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Now you know how to clean out the bolt & firing pin you'll be good to go. Between 8 outa 10 and 9 outa 10 people at the range don't have a clue about what they are talking about,esp. if they aren't even shooting the same style weapon as you are. Amazing how many Know-It-All's and Experts you "can" run into at the range. Don't get me wrong. There are some that DO have their "S" together and are handy. Just be carefull.

 

[Majorlk]

i dont plan at this point in changing a dam thing lol...as far as the other guy at the range he was shooting a converted 556 rifle ...it possible that full size ar's have stiffer springs?...i dont have enough experience to tell the difference

You cannot directly compare a dedicated .22 LR action to a converted AR-15's action. They are not even close. Springs, too. You can't make direct comparisons.

 

[felkebg]

I had this on mine with less than 500 rounds through it. The key I found was in the cleaning of the bolt assembly and chamber area. When the bolt is reassembled in the upper receiver just push the black end of the bolt to test the amount of pressure it take to seat the bolt flush with the chamber area and see that the bolt clicks in the last 1/8 of an inch with minimal pressure. Clean until this happens and you are good to go.

 

[knightrider092]

went to the range again today and again the rifle works perfectly thru 300 rounds...that makes 800 rounds without a cleaning ...as far as im concerned problem solved...i highly reccommend a good cleaning if anyone else has an issue like i was having ...thanks again everyone for the help

 

[Juvicator]

Yeah the bolt face where the round seats needs to stay clean if it has buildup in it then the rounds are going to sit farther away from the reach of the pin and give you fails.