New M&P 15-22.... Love the gun, but numerous failures

[Gr8_Outdoorsman]

Hi all, I just acquired a new 15-22 last week. Overall, I'm really impressed with the build quality and the feel of the gun so far.

I am concerned with the number of failures to eject and stovepipes that I had with three different types of ammo. As you all know, .22lr ammo is next to impossible to find right now, but I was able to scrounge up three different types for the first outing.

I had Federal Champion (the blue box), Winchester Super X and SK Standard Plus. All three gave me numerous problems, but the Federal and the Winchester were pretty much tied for the most. The SK standard Plus only gave me a couple of failures out of three magazines. I just don't want to use up my "premium" ammo for this gun as I like to use it for precision shooting.

I've searched this site and the internet and learned a lot, but I'm not confident that they will resolve the problems. I checked my ejector per numerous posts about that being the culprit, and my gun seems to be a newer design with the ejector already bent slightly to the center of the chamber.

The primary thing that I haven't had a chance to check yet is the loading of the magazines. When I was at the range, I just used the thumb assist buttons and loaded the mags without verifying the staggering. I've since learned that this has caused similar problems for some. My next outing, I'll just press the ammo in without using the assist buttons on the mags. Hopefully that helps.

On a side note, I did make it to Walmart before sun up this morning and scored two 525 packs of Remington Golden Bullet. I realize that these are on the not recommended list, but hey, beggers can't be choosers in this climate and I was thankful to get what I did.

Do you guys have any other recommendations for someone new to this platform? There's some new plate racks at the range crying my name to bring out the new toy and play...

 

[sithlord]

What color is your bolt spring? Mine is blue. The load assist works fine, but do make sure that the rounds stagger. The manual, esp the part about ineffective ammo, is outdated. Many claim no issues with Rem Gold Bullets.

Most of the failures that I've had are more than likely related to loading. I'm new to the 15-22, but it seems each time at the range there are fewer failures. Take your time while loading..

Good luck... HTH..

 

[Gr8_Outdoorsman]

Thanks for the reply... My bolt spring is blue. Maybe I'll luck out and my gun will just prefer the cheapest dirtiest .22lr ammo available (i.e. Remington Golden Bullet)!

I'll take my time loading the mags on the next outing.... If that doesn't help, I may just have to contact S&W and send it in.

It's a neat little gun, I just can't wait to get through these troubles to start enjoying it. I have a brand new slide fire in the box that I won't even consider putting on until I resolve these extraction issues.

 

[MarkBrumbaugh]

Make sure your extractor is there, functioning, and the bolt area is clean under it. Most of my FTF have been related to magazine loading not staggered. I use the assist only enough to load in one round at a time.

 

[jaylind]

I have not had any issues with ammo I have some of the old rems, the new and improved rems, sub-sonic rems and Winchester. I also have a box of American Eagles that I need to run thru.
I don't know you, so please don't be offended, but did you clean the weapon before shooting? Does the bolt slide smoothly?

 

[Gr8_Outdoorsman]

Extractor is definitely there and seems to be in good shape. There aren't any noticeable flaws with it.

No offense taken at all regarding cleaning. I performed a complete disassembly and cleaning prior to taking it to the range. I was kind of surprised to not see much of any of the typical heavy lube that is used on new guns. Bolt slides very smoothly and I placed a small drop of oil on each slide.

 

[Ranger514]

CCI AR Tactical .22 LR

A friend and I both bought our M&P 15-22s at about the same time, and both of us experienced multiple feed failures using standard .22 LR ammo. He talked to a Cabela's salesman who advised using 40 gr. CCI AR Tactical .22 LR, which was designed for this type of gun. No problems since converting to this ammo. Give it a try, if you can find it. It comes in 375 round bricks that sold for about $28 before the last election. Happy plinkin'.

 

[Bamabred]

Like others have said, it is probably the loading of the mags. I only use the load assist when I have to. And I only pull it down just enought to help, but not too far. I haven't ran into any ammo problems and my gun is fairly new (January). I picked up 3 boxes of the Remington 525 this morning from Wal-mart myself. Haven't shot those yet.

 

[Darin]

CCI has been my best ammo so far, with Aguila a close second.
Everything else has seen a lot of failures.

 

[TheMaineEvent]

I'd have to say it's the mags. If the rounds aren't staggered it can cause problems.

 

[chuk_138]

I would agree with everyone else about staggering, but I have had only one kind of ammo give us trouble and only in my gf's rifle. PMC Moderator was a PITA to deal with. Multiple stovepipes out of one magazine. We have shot close to 15 different types of ammo through our rifles, and the PMC has been the only one to give us multiple troubles. We have shot Remington, but never the GB(Thunderbolt, old Game Loads). Still have to get my hands on CCI's Tactical, Velocitor, and Stinger but have 575 rounds of Mini-Mags that I refuse to shoot at the range. Never had a problem with Federal bulk(525 or 550 packs).

 

[Ugoogle]

Range Report M&P 15-22

I shot my 15-22 for the first time today using a variety of ammo and had no failures. Shot 1 inch or less groups at 25-50 yards. Here is my full report and targets. Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 Range Report As you can see from the targets after I got the red dot "zeroed" I had several 3 rounds groups of 1/2 inch at 25 yards. I'm very encouraged by this the first results of range testing.

http://www.gunaday.org

 

[Taylor339]

I shot my 15-22 for the first time today using a variety of ammo and had no failures. Shot 1 inch or less groups at 25-50 yards. Here is my full report and targets. Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 Range Report As you can see from the targets after I got the red dot "zeroed" I had several 3 rounds groups of 1/2 inch at 25 yards. I'm very encouraged by this the first results of range testing.

http://www.gunaday.org

I just looked at your link. That doesn't look like a "red dot" on your rifle.

 

[debadge]

new mp 15 22 numerous failures

hi all
it took 2 months to find a mp 15 22 then with my schedule and the difficulty in finding 22 lr anywhere i finally got to shoot my new gun ... first mag was a smith and wesson mag 25 rounds i have 7 failures.. it felt like the trigger was not coming far enough forward to reset it self... so i tried different ammo and a plinkster mag .. same thing except more failures.. so i took the same ammo and used it in a 20 year old marlin that had the rod under the barrrel .. no problems at all.. I have come to the conclusion .. i have trigger issues.. rather than sending my gun back to sw and waiting for god knows how long i am considering getting a drop in tripper from cnc or timney and getting the anti walking pins.. no i am not a rich man, but time off is rare so i think this might actually be the best course for me .. on a happier note i was able to get 2100 rounds of federal 22 lr at cabellas in a metal surplus ammo can for 99.00... if anyone has any ideas on what trigger i should buy let me know ...first post here guys so if i broke any rules let me know

 

[Jack80]

I had the same problem with the stovepipes. I tried different types of ammo, making sure the rounds were staggered etc.... I wound up sending it back to S&W and it was an ejector problem. The gun was brand new, just bought it in February. Now it shoots anything I put in it.
If you run out of options maybe give em a call. It took exactly 2 weeks from the time it got picked up till I got it back. Great customer service!

 

[Gr8_Outdoorsman]

Thank you all for the advice.....

I went and shot several magazines of the Remington GB's over at my sister's house. This time I took my time loading the magazine meticulously and ensuring that the rounds were staggered.

The number of stovepipes were reduced significantly, but I'm still getting 1 to 2 every magazine. I guess that I need to box it back up and send it to them to work on. I don't want to keep wasting this super rare and hard to find .22 lr ammo!

 

[Majorlk]

Before you send it off, take the upper off the lower. Remove the bolt and clean the inside of the upper with a baby bottle brush and GunScrubber and then blow it out with an air compressor. DO NOT LUBE THE INSIDE OF THE UPPER.

Next, clean and remove all lube from the bolt body and from the bolt carrier rails. Put a single drop of CLP or similar product on each of the bolt rails. Do not put lube on any other part of the bolt.

Reassemble and head to the range. Over lubrication and accumulated powder debris can slow down the bolt sufficiently to effect the extraction/ejection timing.

 

[Desert Five-0]

I have only had 1 or 2 failure to ejects and I think 1 failure to fire from federal bulk and blazer bulk after about 4000 to 5000 rounds.

 

[Gr8_Outdoorsman]

Before you send it off, take the upper off the lower. Remove the bolt and clean the inside of the upper with a baby bottle brush and GunScrubber and then blow it out with an air compressor. DO NOT LUBE THE INSIDE OF THE UPPER.

Next, clean and remove all lube from the bolt body and from the bolt carrier rails. Put a single drop of CLP or similar product on each of the bolt rails. Do not put lube on any other part of the bolt.

Reassemble and head to the range. Over lubrication and accumulated powder debris can slow down the bolt sufficiently to effect the extraction/ejection timing.

I've tried cleaning it and running it dry. I also cleaned it and oiled only the rails. Pretty much the exact same results each time.

I just got off the phone with S&W customer support and they are sending me a FedEx label to ship it back. They were quick to answer the phone and very easy to speak with. Hopefully all goes well.

 

[Dirt Dart]

Before you send it off, take the upper off the lower. Remove the bolt and clean the inside of the upper with a baby bottle brush and GunScrubber and then blow it out with an air compressor. DO NOT LUBE THE INSIDE OF THE UPPER.

Next, clean and remove all lube from the bolt body and from the bolt carrier rails. Put a single drop of CLP or similar product on each of the bolt rails. Do not put lube on any other part of the bolt.

Reassemble and head to the range. Over lubrication and accumulated powder debris can slow down the bolt sufficiently to effect the extraction/ejection timing.

Very good information here. Accumulated debris can begin to cause feed problems of all types, especially if you run the gun suppressed.