K22 difficult ejection

[Hammerdown]

More experimentation, now three chambers eject easily and three are stubborn. After this I emeryed with worn emery and Simichrome polished all the chambers. The emery cloth was very worn and does little more than polish. Will test it again next week. Easy does it for things like this.

Hello
I have not had issues with extraction in any of my K-22's but have helped some buddies with these issues in the past. The factory used to include a process in finishing these K-22's that is called "Burnishing the Cylinder" all this process does is "Super Polish" the Internal cylinder. You can get the same level of Burnish by using some JB Bore Bright Paste. Use an Old Cotton .22 Bore swab slathered with JB Bore Paste. Place the Threaded end in a Battery drill and turn it slowly in each of the cylinders. This will in Turn Super Polish them and end the sticky extraction problem for you. Regards, Hammerdown

 

[SIG229fan]

Let me echo some of the comments and add a couple.

First, it's entirely possible that one or more cylinders of your revolver are "jugged" - i.e; that the cylinder bores are no longer concentric. Most consider that .22LR ammo, especially modern production, is low-pressure. It isn't...it's fairly high-pressure. You might consider experimenting with single shots from each cylinder to determine if any one or more is causing your extraction problem.

Secondly, make sure that your cylinders are scrupulously clean and *dry* before you fire different types of ammo. Lube in cylinders is for the prevention of corrosion...not for increased likelihood of extraction.

As the owner of a 50s era K-22, I can tell you that it is highly ammo sensitive...as are most firearms in that caliber.

Finally, do us all a favor and let us know what fixes your problem. It's one of the best features of this forum...helping others address a similar problem. Hope this helps in some way.

...Alex

 

[S Car]

I just received a K22 from I believe 1948. The ejector stuck after firing. Someone recommended a 3/16ths dowel and 400 to 600 grit sandpaper. I reamed the cylinders with 400 grit by hand. It took me several tries with the sticking problem becoming better with each try. After the final try, no more sticking. Thanks to you folks for your help.

S Car

 

[66Park]

There's certainly nothing wrong with giving it a good cleaning, but before doing much other than the basics, I'd try different ammo. That usually solves the problem. My K22 likes Federal Champion. Brass was difficult to eject with CCI and a couple other brands I don't remember, but no problem whatsoever with the Federal. I can shoot four hundred rounds without any cleaning, and not a single case will have any difficulty ejecting.

 

[jimmyj]

Hi:
None "Expert" here (Jimmy).
Each of my six children was given a Model 34 on reaching a certain age. Everyone of these revolver had the "Problem" on extraction.
My solution was Smith and Wesson Repair Center (1970-1980 era). The gunsmith "Reamed/Polished" the chambers. Problem Solved.

 

[Cpo1944]

I had a similar problem with a M-43. I solved it by putting some red polishing compound on a cleaning patch chucked in my electric drill and running it carefully thru the chambers several times- , now its a joy to load, shoot, and eject.

 

[Larry from Bend]

Try different ammo.

Remington Golden bulk sticks in almost every revolver I have.
I'm using Winchester Dynapoint now ( a better bulk ammo) and don't have any problems.

I almost can't force the Remington out of a J-frame I have, but the Winchester comes out easily.

Munster

Exactly!!! Rem GB don't even FIT in my 17 no dash cylinder. Everything else works with NO binding.

My 22s really like WW Power Point and like Federal American Eagle.

 

[rburg]

If that gun has been in the box unfired for 61 years,

Remember than in 1948 S&W

I'm a bit worried about your math these days. Maybe you should find a calculator.

OK, I had a 1970s K22 that just wouldn't allow the cases to come out. It hadn't always done that, but it developed the problem and eventually got so bad I stopped shooting it. I knew and tried all the classic fixes. I soaked the cylinder in a variety of liquids, from ATF and down through a bunch of Hoppes #9. Then I wrapped it in leather and chucked it in a vise, using a brass brush soaked in military powder solvent (the kind they warn you it will kill you). Finally I used an old stainless steel "Tornado brush" moving it up and down on an electric drill. Same result. So I sold the gun. I want to say it maybe was caused by powder residue or whatever, but I couldn't fix it.

 

[PMRet]

I've owned a couple of K-22's that would stick on the first 6 rounds, a couple more that would get sticky after 60 rounds or so, and still others that were extremely finicky about ammo. But I also have an old 1948 K-22 that will still function smoothly after 200+ rounds, and digest any and every brand of ammo I feed it with nary a hiccup. I can't explain it, it's just the nature of the beast. When I find a good one I usually keep it...

 

[1-1917]

Got to love this forum. I went out and shot an old K-22 today and had to use the bench to push the empties out. I did a quick google search and come to this post from 2009 with a lot of useful info.

I was shooting bulk Federal high velocity ammo (my little Beretta loves the stuff when it works) , I'll try some std vel. and other brands on the next outing. I'll also carry a "range rod" and a mallet with me.

I did give the chambers a serious clean and polish today. Can't hurt anything. I'll try some different ammo first and if I don't find something that works, I'll dig deeper.

Thanks again to the forum and those that make it work!

 

[Cyrano]

I have a 1948 vinage K 22. In the 1950s when we shot it, there were no extraction problems. It belonged to a friend then. A few years ago I got it, and when I fire it I have extraction problems. I seem to remember thta way back then the cases were lubed, usually with some wax like substance. Now usually only the lead bullet is lubed. I found some Winchester match ammo that seemed to have lubed cases, and they didnt' give extraction problems. Anyone else remember the old 22s having lubed cases as well as bullets while today's only have lubed bullets?

 

[brick]

I have a pre-17 and an 18-3 and the only .22lr ammo that goes in and comes out easily is Federal anything. I have tried Remington, CCI, Winchester and anything else that I could purchase during the .22lr drought and Federal is it for my revolvers.

 

[Fox4Alpha]

That was my first thought. Every new S&W .22 that I have was difficult to eject at first. After long use, they don't care what you feed them. Good luck with yours.

 

[MajorD]

Make sure your chambers are bone dry it may seem counterintuitive but oily chambers make extraction harder and not easier.also for the love of god stop shooting that low grade bulk pack ammo. In almost every instance you will find a better quality ammo will give you much less trouble. Bulk pack ammo is the lowest quality stuff put out by each company and also a standard rather than high velocity round will be easier to extract and likely much more accurate as well

 

[Waveski]

Mike -

"Also I'll probably take the gun apart for a stoning and polishing session on the internals."

You have a 1948 K22 which appears unshot , and you plan to disassemble it? I would think twice about that.

 

[elpac3]

Sounds like the cylinder might need reaming

 

[BigBill]

In my bolt action surplus rifles I cleaned the chambers squeaky clean. Then a very light coat of oil in the chamber then wipe the excess oil out with a dry patch. Then no problems.

 

[1-1917]

Got to love this forum. I went out and shot an old K-22 today and had to use the bench to push the empties out. I did a quick google search and come to this post from 2009 with a lot of useful info.

I was shooting bulk Federal high velocity ammo (my little Beretta loves the stuff when it works) , I'll try some std vel. and other brands on the next outing. I'll also carry a "range rod" and a mallet with me.

I did give the chambers a serious clean and polish today. Can't hurt anything. I'll try some different ammo first and if I don't find something that works, I'll dig deeper.

Thanks again to the forum and those that make it work!

The clean and polish did the trick. I polished the cylinder bores with 2000 grit wet/dry. It really polished them up nicely. Cases of everything I fired in it ejected very easily. They did not fall out but the pushed out with just a tiny bit of pressure. I shot a few boxes of Federal Standard Velocity, some mini-mags, stingers, old remingtons I found loose in the cabinet, a few I couldn't ID, all worked perfectly after the polish job. The K-22 Combat Masterpiece is back in the lineup.

 

[JSR III]

I've never had any issues with a K-22 however my Model 41 had issues with Federal, Remington and Eley ammo. During my bulls eye shooting days I had many FTF's and stovepipes. Then I tried CCI Green Tag and never an issue after that. It's pricey but works for me.

I do think ammo can be an issue with S&W's tight tolerances.

 

[CajunBass]

I've had the same problem with a couple of K-22's. I found that cutting small patches from one of those "Lead Wipe Away" cloths and using them to clean the chambers worked wonders.