Light strike or no strike?

[nagantino]

On Saturday I took the 15-22 to the range in preparation for a competition this weekend. I cleaned the rifle by the usual disassembly. The session went well but at the end, after 100 or so shots, the rifle had 3 failures to fire. When I retrieves the rounds, each had a mark where expected at the rim, but on inspection the mark rubbed off with my finger. No metallic strike at all. Each of the 3 round fired second time. It will be Wednesday before I can get the rifle to the bench, don’t ask, and a quick glance showed the bolt face very dirty. Could the bolt of the 15-22 be so dirty after 100 rounds of Aquila lead 40gn?

 

[cjt50]

Check the condition of the firing pin and hammer spring. When mine starts to act up with numerous rounds failing to fire I will find one or the other broken.

Now a severely fouled chamber can cause fail to fire issues, but not after 100 rounds or so.

 

[Pubtym]

Dirty bolt

Could the bolt of the 15-22 be so dirty after 100 rounds of Aquila lead 40gn?

Always scrub the face of the bolt with CLP and a plastic or bronze wire brush.


I always use CCI Standard Velocity.

 

[gwpercle]

It doesn't take much residue to cause problems in a good 22 LR .
100 rounds of lead ammo in todays world ...
Yes Sir ... I could see that causing a build up and problems .
Try a good cleaning and see what happens .
Gary

 

[nagantino]

Light strike ….

Here’s a photo of it just after the range session. The gun and bolt were thoroughly cleaned before hand.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

100 Rounds of Aguila?
You do know it’s a really dirty shooting ammo?
When I shoot it in short barrel handguns - Ruger LCP, Beretta 21a, etc,
There’s a puff of black smoke coming out of the barrel.

 

[cjt50]

Here’s a photo of it just after the range session. The gun and bolt were thoroughly cleaned before hand.

The concern I have based on the picture is the rim recess and firing pin hole are pretty caked up.

I know Aguila is very dirty and have stopped using it in semi-autos. I don't know what 100 rounds fired on a clean gun looks like. I usually shoot 400 minimum during a range session. But my 15-22 isn't that dirty after 400 of Blazer or federal bulk stuff.

 

[Bigpun762]

Hi there, did you end up fixing the issue? I seem to be having the exact same issue as you. I'll pull the trigger and then "click". Eject the round, inspect it. It seems like just a dirt mark and it rubs off. Put it back in the magazine, and then it fires.

See pics below.

 

[Kp321]

I would suspect a broken or badly gunked up firing pin. The firing pin is the first thing to fail on these rifles. Remove and inspect the pin and clean the hole in the bolt with a pipe cleaner.

 

[Bigpun762]

I would suspect a broken or badly gunked up firing pin. The firing pin is the first thing to fail on these rifles. Remove and inspect the pin and clean the hole in the bolt with a pipe cleaner.

Not sure about the OP but mine has a brand new firing pin.

First issues out of the box was constant FTEs. So I put in a Volquartsen extractor and that seem to have fixed the FTEs. But then after, I started having this issue about 300 rounds in. This was with the original firing pin so I swapped it out with the Volquartsen and it is still doing it.

So many other people report running this firearm really dirty and still maintaining good reliability. It's kind of a bummer if I have to clean this gun every 300 rounds just for it to work. I'd understand 2,000+ rounds but 300 rounds seems very low to me.

 

[CH4]

Nagantino, have you experienced this problem with other brands?

 

[Pubtym]

I have the Volquartsen Extractor installed. No problems. I just installed the Volquartsen Sure Strike Firing Pin. I'm going to the range to check it out.

 

[Pubtym]

Volquartsen Sure Strike Firing Pin.


Here's a photo of the 22LR cartridge showing the firing pin hit. It's a Wack-A-Mollie!. No light hits from this mod.

 

[342ti]

If you didn't monkey with the trigger/springs at all, it's the ammo you're using. My wife's MP has yet to light strike on CCi Mini Mag HP's, Federal Bulk HP's, Stingers, Yellow Jackets, etc...The minute I dropped Federal LEAD Auto Match in it, light strikes, FTE's, etc...Auto 22's DO NOT like Lead!

 

[Pubtym]

"Auto 22's DO NOT like Lead!"? Please fully explain 342ti.

 

[Navy vet]

Had the same problem

I had the same problem with my wife's 15-22 Performance Center. After about 8K rounds, she said it just stopped firing. Cleaned the Bolt Carrier Group in Ultra Sonic Sink. Same problem. Shipped it to S&W and they replaced the firing pin. While I'm on the subject of her 15-22, the hammer snapped just before this happened. I am not complaining, her gun has over 10K now. If you call S&W, they will send you shipping label to ship to them via FEDEX and they will ship back to you after they repair it for free.