FTE issue with new 15-22

[rweller68]

Looking for assistance in troubleshooting..

I went back to the range today with my brand new 15-22 and shot 6 magazines (25 rounds each) and didn't get through a single mag without a FTE. (same thing happened the prior time to the range when the rifle had just been unboxed)

I tried several brands of ammo (Federal Champion bulk, Federal Auto Match, Winchester M22, and CCI Mini-Mag) and every single brand had FTE issues (about every 3rd or 4th round)

I made sure the rounds were stacked (I'd load a round, pull down and then back up on the mag knob, load another round, etc)

I cleaned and lubed the bolt, slides, barrel after each mag/ammo change

I made sure I was not touching the magazine itself while shooting, and that the mag was not touching the bench.

I watched the extractor video and checked my rifle.. the extractor appears to be close to the bolt as in the video.

I had a couple of older gentlemen shoot the rifle and check everything out. They both agreed there was an extractor issue and/or possibly a "short bolt cycling issue".

When the rifle fires it seems to be accurate enough (photo attached of 50yard group)

Is there anything else I need to check? I think i've covered it all but if I missed something please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

 

[rweller68]

I should mention.. the photos with the jammed cases are from my first range visit. The rifle was sitting on my range bag and slipped off into the snow. I didn't have anything to clean the rifle so assumed the snow was causing all the jams. Today however, I was getting identical FTE issues but the rifle was cleaned every magazine. I didn't take photos of the FTE today.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Looking for assistance in troubleshooting..

I went back to the range today with my brand new 15-22 and shot 6 magazines (25 rounds each) and didn't get through a single mag without a FTE. (same thing happened the prior time to the range when the rifle had just been unboxed)

I tried several brands of ammo (Federal Champion bulk, Federal Auto Match, Winchester M22, and CCI Mini-Mag) and every single brand had FTE issues (about every 3rd or 4th round)

I made sure the rounds were stacked (I'd load a round, pull down and then back up on the mag knob, load another round, etc)

I cleaned and lubed the bolt, slides, barrel after each mag/ammo change

I made sure I was not touching the magazine itself while shooting, and that the mag was not touching the bench.

I watched the extractor video and checked my rifle.. the extractor appears to be close to the bolt as in the video.

I had a couple of older gentlemen shoot the rifle and check everything out. They both agreed there was an extractor issue and/or possibly a "short bolt cycling issue".

When the rifle fires it seems to be accurate enough (photo attached of 50yard group)

Is there anything else I need to check? I think i've covered it all but if I missed something please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

I've heard that brand new 15-22s often have this problem and that they are typically "finicky." Mine was. I had about 8 FTEs during my first range visit out of the 450 rounds I fired. The second trip I shot the same amount of the same ammo (Norma Tac22) and only had one FTE.

 

[RedNeck Jim]

If I remember correctly, you mentioned in another thread your trigger & hammer pins weren't walking. At this point I would contact S&W customer service & let them take it back into the shop for a check. They will fix you up & from all I've heard, they are rather quick & don't charge.

 

[Rundover]

It appears that the spent rounds are being extracted but not always ejected. To analyze this lets look at how it is suppose to work. As the bolt moves forward it picks up a round and pushes it into the chamber and in doing so the extractor catches the rim of the round with it's hook. After the round is fired the bolt moves to the rear still holding the spent bullet casing. As the bolt moves farther back the casing will hit the ejector and pivot on the extractor until it can no longer hold onto it and is flung out the ejection port.
In your case some part of this is not happening. I would check to see that the extractor is clean and moves freely. Also check to see how well it holds onto the 22 round. You can do this by removing the bolt from the gun and manually use a 22 casing to see how well it holds.
Next the bolt needs to move freely to the rear. Many people have dropped their bolt assembly and sometimes the guide rails get bent. The gun may still function but if the bolt has resistance it may move slower and limit the force of the ejector.
AS the bolt moves back it also is sliding across the top of the next round in the mag. If there is too much resistance here it can also slow the bolt down and cause a poor ejection. Try and load only 20 rounds to test this and also look for signs of excessive rubbing on the mag and the underside of the bolt.
For comparison my 15-22 ejects rounds with ease and throws them 10-20 feet.

 

[RhimFire]

Looking at your picture in the 3rd picture with the 2 cases side by side the one case is rather bloated in front of the rim. Then in the 2nd to last picture it looks like a number of rounds are expanded in front of the rim. I am no expert but it looks like the gun is not going to full battery and it's almost an out of battery firing. I don't know if that is the right verbage.

 

[Rundover]

I saw that also but I think it was smashed when the bold tried to slam closed.

 

[sithlord]

I agree with rundover. It's most likely short stroking due to the bolt guide rails.

Remove the buffer spring and guide rod and closely inspect the rails. Make sure the bolt rides freely all the way to the back with no resistance. I had to bend my rails once, and I've also polished them with some flits polish.

Good luck!

 

[GhostMutt]

I would heed the advice to send it back to S&W...the last thing you want is to have an actual OOB and blow the extractor/bolt or maybe worse and be very unlucky and be the first one to come away with very serious injuries....no point in guessing or experimenting if the gun doesn't work properly then you should send it back....if your new cars brakes kept failing you wouldn't tinker with it yourself unless you were a qualified mechanic and unless you are a qualified gunsmith then get in touch with S&W and get them to sort it out.

 

[rweller68]

Thanks all. Reaching out to customer service on Monday for a return.

 

[RhimFire]

The beauty of it is if you are the original buyer and sent your warranty paper in your M&P15-22 is warrantied for LIFE! If in doubt email S&W and get it back to them. When I had my OOB and blew out my extractor and parts off I had my rifle back within 2 weeks of shipping it off to them.

 

[Rundover]

Sending it back is not a bad idea but I believe that a person should know their weapon inside and out this way they will be able to reconize an issue possibly before it happens. You should know what each part does and when cleaning you should be looking for any abnormal wear.
Just for the record, my rails were bent also and had to straighten them. There were also lots of rough edges which I sanded and then lightly polished them.

 

[jayg]

rw68, good call sending it back. it's guaranteed and sw are the experts and know the gun better than most anyone. on a firearm i had with a fte issue it turned out to be a rough chamber. i polished it up with 0000 steel wool and that solved the problem. there was no warranty on my gun. jayg

 

[hangnoose]

VERY GOOD/HELPFULL PICS

Plenty of this or that's, that it could be. I'm not sure if I'm seeing melted snow or over oiling? MINE had issues due to a gunked up bolt that looked fine but when stripped & cleaned worked fine. Hopefully the filing/sanding doesn't void your warranty. +1 on letting S&W deal with it. PS, send the pics to S&W. GOOD LUCK.

 

[Majorlk]

Plenty of this or that's, that it could be. I'm not sure if I'm seeing melted snow or over oiling? MINE had issues due to a gunked up bolt that looked fine but when stripped & cleaned worked fine. Hopefully the filing/sanding doesn't void your warranty. +1 on letting S&W deal with it. PS, send the pics to S&W. GOOD LUCK.

Many, if not most, such problems can be traced to either bent bolt carrier rails or gross over lubrication.

There is no need for ANY lubrication on the bolt body itself since the bolt body does not have any bearing surface inside the upper. The only lubrication around the bolt body is a very small drop of CLP or similar on the extractor pivot pin and a couple of drops of CLP or similar on the bolt carrier rails. The old rule of "if you can see the lube, you've used too much" is never more true than with the 15-22.

 

[RedNeck Jim]

I guess we also should ask the OP if he has removed the flash hider and/or the barrel? If they are removed without using a barrel vise, then the upper can get damaged & cause all sorts of issues.

 

[noglock4me]

I guess we also should ask the OP if he has removed the flash hider and/or the barrel? If they are removed without using a barrel vise, then the upper can get damaged & cause all sorts of issues.

Never heard this one before but, if you try really hard, anything is possible. I have an early manufacture M&P15-22 and have never had any issues with feeding, extraction or ejection. They just don't like Remington Golden Bullet ammo but I have not seen one that didn't like Wolf Match Extra. The extractor is the weak point of the whole system and FOB will blow the parts out every time. I have replaced a few and still have some spare parts (don't ask how I got them) but am not in the biz so I keep them to myself now just in case. The FOB, I believe is caused more by rounds being set off by the ejector than by the firing pin.

 

[Decipher]

I was having a lot of FTE issues with my new 15-22. I moved the extractor in slightly but haven't tested it yet. This seems to be the common issue. We shall see but please keep us posted.

 

[RedNeck Jim]

Never heard this one before but, if you try really hard, anything is possible.

Don't have to try real hard to do this & this forum has had multiple folks destroy their upper by clamping the upper, as opposed to the barrel. As opposed to a metal AR upper, the 15-22's is polymer & quite a few people have stripped out the upper by not removing those parts correctly.

 

[saltydogs]

The pictures in your post looks like my 15-22 could be it's twin!!!
I had it twice to the range and did the same. All different types of ammo. Mine is at S&W and going to be shipped back to me some time this week. Lucky I have a M&P 15 to shoot, but I hope my 15-22 runs like my 556 (eats everything-no hiccups). Hopefully when I get it back, they shed some light on what went wrong! Send yours back, let them make it right!