Model 41 and CCI stnd velocity ammo

[What the]

I'm sorry but it seems that you should shoot the ammo that works without problems....Federal Auto Match. Your 41 isn't the only .22 pistol that shows a preference for a certain ammo.

If the gun hasn't been shot a lot it may need those higher velocity rounds to break it in. I'd put the spring Smith sent you back in and shoot 2 or 3 bricks of the Auto Match through it.

Keep the chamber clean and use the recommended lubrication on the slide and rails. Only after breaking it in would I try different ammo brands or weights in it.

This is a classic case of Ammo Preference, a textbook case if you prefer. The Federal ammo it prefers is pretty accurate, clean shooting and won't harm your gun in the least.

You could mess around fighting this gun and grow increasingly agitated every time you shoot it or accept the fact that it prefers the higher velocity ammo. It sounds like you're trying to fix something that isn't broken.

 

[jerrypoller]

My .22 target rifles (Remington 37, Winchester 52, Anschutz 64) all have ammo preferences for accuracy. I thought .22 target pistols would too - but for accuracy, not function. I'm finding it difficult to believe that they shouldn't function with all commercial ammo, notwithstanding one of them will be the most consistently accurate. Comments?

 

[Sven]

Jeff's comments were spot on. I noticed a friend give his chamber a spritz of cleaner then a twirl at the base of the chamber with a .22 brass brush. He then swabbed with a clean patch. he does not use the brass brush through the entire barrel, just the depth of the round; he said more rimfirecentral barrels have been damaged by aggressive cleaning than by anything else!

I think the dry lube accumulates and it's hard to see the crud there.

I'm looking forward to getting the Clark conversion barrel. I've heard great things about them! And I'm sure they will banish the extractor problems.

Good luck. Let us know how you progress.

I do love my Clark barrel, but it did not cure any extraction/ejection problems I had. I bought it to mount a red dot without drilling and tapping by factory 7" barrel and it does have the rear hood. CCI SV is my gun's favorite, but prefers to run with a 6 1/2# spring. I have to watch for the chamber getting dirty which is the usual cause of an alibi. I had poor luck with Federal target (and others) 15+ years ago, switched to SV and never looked back. I suppose I could take a look at what Federal produces, now. Oh, I also run mine a bit wet with Shooter's Choice oil.

 

[Barrie]

I know part of my problem with my 1958 m41 has been with the Compensator now. They can cause many of your fliers to go high left which mine has been doing somewhat as well as some stovepipes. A good cleaning really does help the stovepipe problem for sure. It does in both of mine.

 

[jstanfield103]

I also had the FTE ( stove piping problem ) the only way to fix the problem was to buy a 22LR match reamer from Brownells and ream the chamber. S&W makes the tolerances of the chamber to tight. I have not had any more FTE problems since. Some other people just use a drill and a over sized brass brush to ream the chamber out it has also worked for them. FTE are comen with this gun, that's the only problem that the gun deos have. Once the chamber is reamed you wont have anymore problems with it. The extractor fix never did work for me. I would do the reaming of the chamber and put the new spring (Factory spec. spring ) back in and have a great time with a great gun. The CCI SV are so much better at grouping than the higher velocity stuff.

 

[jerrypoller]

I also had the FTE ( stove piping problem ) the only way to fix the problem was to buy a 22LR match reamer from Brownells and ream the chamber. S&W makes the tolerances of the chamber to tight. I have not had any more FTE problems since. Some other people just use a drill and a over sized brass brush to ream the chamber out it has also worked for them. FTE are comen with this gun, that's the only problem that the gun deos have. Once the chamber is reamed you wont have anymore problems with it. The extractor fix never did work for me. I would do the reaming of the chamber and put the new spring (Factory spec. spring ) back in and have a great time with a great gun. The CCI SV are so much better at grouping than the higher velocity stuff.

Elsewhere on this forum I found a post about polishing the chamber with toothpaste - so I tried it. I put a patch through a slotted plastic jag and attached it to my drill. A little toothpaste on the patch and I let the drill run the patch in the chamber for a minute or two. Afterwards, CCI SV ammo that wouldn't drop into the chamber before the polishing were all dropping in easily. I cleaned the barrel and will try a hundred or so rounds through it tomorrow to see if the FTE/stovepipe problem is solved.

 

[jerrypoller]

I had my 41 out today and ran a second string of 60 shots through 6 mags without a single failure. On 60 previous shots, it had 3-4 FTE stovepipes and one FTF with the CCI SV ammo. I think I've got the problem licked. I'll make sure to keep the chamber clean and give the last spring (the 6 lb.) a try before I decide on which spring weight is most reliable.

 

[jerrypoller]

Problem solved. Yesterday, I swapped out the 6.5 lb. spring which had given me just a few FTE for the 6.0 lb. spring and not a single failure of any kind in a 100 round string. BTW, I put the factory 7.5 lb. spring in my 7.5" m41 which I will be giving to my son as soon as his NYC paperwork is available, and it shot CCI SV without a hitch. Now I know why they make springs from 6 lb. to 7.5 lb. - something reliable for every pistol out there.