Reliability Update: 8500 rounds (update)

[ZenOhSix]

I purchased my M&P 15-22 after watching a few videos and it in action with the SlideFire stock. It looked fun, so I purchased everything up front:

- M&P 15-22 MOE
- 1 (50) round drum
- 5 (25) round magazines
- Timney 3lb trigger
- KNS pins
- MOE v-Grip
- Bushnell TRS-25 red dot

I have cleaned the gun three times during the first 1000 rounds I have shot through it. I have used FrogLube each of those three times, heating up the parts and applying. At the 1000 round mark, I decided to see how dirty it would get before it wouldn't operate....

Each time I shoot, I perform full magazine dumps. I don't single-fire the rifle, except on range demo's to inquisitive range masters.

Since the 1000 round mark:
- I have shot 6,500 rounds
- I have not cleaned or oiled
- I have not had any failures, other than a dead primer on a 22lr.
- It has operated perfectly.

Pictures:

(the gun patches were from the last time I cleaned it. )

I am wondering, how long should I go before I clean it? Until something fails? Stove pipe? Fail to Feed?

Mike

 

[ZenOhSix]

The only thing that has been negative is that the QD Swivel bolt and nut fell off during a mag dump. The bad part is I cannot get the quick disconnect to activate - so I cannot put it back in. ;(

 

[Jav]

Man, I need to get on using my Froglube. I've had it for at least 3 months haha. Just too lazy to heat my guns, I suppose I love reliability tests, thanks for posting. Looks really good!

 

[Allen 1]

What did that poor gun ever do to you?

Just say'n.

 

[Basic]

OK. You talked your way out of the used cleaning patches but what do you have to say about..........


THE PROTRACTOR !
You didnt think Id see it lurking ominously in the corner there did you?
Well I did! All I can say. I wont be taken advantage of, no sir! Never again.

 

[ZenOhSix]

OK. You talked your way out of the used cleaning patches but what do you have to say about..........


THE PROTRACTOR !
You didnt think Id see it lurking ominously in the corner there did you?
Well I did! All I can say. I wont be taken advantage of, no sir! Never again.

Ha!

The protractor is for this that is sitting in the corner, along with my FPV Drone.

 

[Basic]

Nice test BTW. Id clean it before you get enough build-up to make a gap that could cause an out of battery.

God only knows how much or even if.. I needed to get my fire arms safty points for the day



good deed done

 

[e577]

Have you removed the slidefire stock to inspect the buffer tube for wear? I'm going the slidefire route with one of mine and this is a concern since it's a permanent part of the lower (ie: will the slidefire cause enough wear to the the tube that if you switch back to the moe stock it will be sloppy & loose)??

 

[ZenOhSix]

Have you removed the slidefire stock to inspect the buffer tube for wear? I'm going the slidefire route with one of mine and this is a concern since it's a permanent part of the lower (ie: will the slidefire cause enough wear to the the tube that if you switch back to the moe stock it will be sloppy & loose)??

Yes - I actually take it off all the time; to demonstrate how easy it is to remove. There is no wear on the tube at all. I used Tamiya 87099 Ceramic Grease. It has maintained the same grease lines without issue.

 

[Bat Guano]

Mine had a couple of failures to feed at the 1300 round mark, so I thought I would clean up the action and the mags. Ammo has been the Federal AE 38 gr. HVHP bulk stuff that works very well in my Colt conversion unit for the 1911.

The bolt face had quite a bit of buildup like the one shown here. Otherwise the action wasn't too bad. It was running rather dry. I oiled the rails fairly thoroughly with Slip 2000, although to me oil is pretty much oil. I do believe in taking care of my equipment, and even though the gun was running pretty well I will keep a better eye on it. I think I will do the same PM job every thousand rounds.

My drills are timed shots on a reduced silhouette target from low ready--(speed and accuracy) so I don't get ankle deep in fired brass.

The 15-22 is about the best--and most useful/fun .22 out there today.

 

[Lock&Load53]

New M&P 15 22 / Help Please

I'm jealous.
I purchased all the items mentioned in your post except the Froglube. I even purchased a S&W factory 10 round mag. After about 500 rounds, I still cannot get a full mag dump, not even with the 10 round mag without a failure to fire. I currently have 4, S&W factory mags and the 50 rd. drum.
I get the same results from all of them. I am not having any problems with ejections or feeding rounds.
I even went as far, as sending my complete lower to Timney Triggers for inspection. They installed and tested another new triger before returning it to me. I have purchased or tried about every brand of 22 calb. ammo available.
When I get a failure to fire, there is always a visible, very ligth strike mark on the case rim. I am currently awaiting a new bolt blow back spring from S&W, to try. After reading your post , I ordered Froglube from Brownell's.
I have cleaned and used Zero Friction lube so many times, I'm sure I can do it in total darkness now.
The only acessory I have, is a skeltonized forearm grip, I even removed the iron sigths to decreass weigth.
Any more tips to try guys ?
PS: I am new to the forum. If I should have posted this elsewhere, please advise and overlook my mistake.

 

[Plumbago]

Lock & Load: sounds like you need a slightly lighter fireing pin spring, or cut a couple coils off the orig.

ZenOhSix: what ammo are you using the most of??
Best regards........Plum

 

[e577]

I'm jealous.
I purchased all the items mentioned in your post except the Froglube. I even purchased a S&W factory 10 round mag. After about 500 rounds, I still cannot get a full mag dump, not even with the 10 round mag without a failure to fire. I currently have 4, S&W factory mags and the 50 rd. drum.
I get the same results from all of them. I am not having any problems with ejections or feeding rounds.
I even went as far, as sending my complete lower to Timney Triggers for inspection. They installed and tested another new triger before returning it to me. I have purchased or tried about every brand of 22 calb. ammo available.
When I get a failure to fire, there is always a visible, very ligth strike mark on the case rim. I am currently awaiting a new bolt blow back spring from S&W, to try. After reading your post , I ordered Froglube from Brownell's.
I have cleaned and used Zero Friction lube so many times, I'm sure I can do it in total darkness now.
The only acessory I have, is a skeltonized forearm grip, I even removed the iron sigths to decreass weigth.
Any more tips to try guys ?
PS: I am new to the forum. If I should have posted this elsewhere, please advise and overlook my mistake.

There is a Slide Fire thread if you search for it; although it has gotten a bit off track lately with idle chatter.

 

[stavman11]

I'm jealous.
I purchased all the items mentioned in your post except the Froglube. I even purchased a S&W factory 10 round mag. After about 500 rounds, I still cannot get a full mag dump, not even with the 10 round mag without a failure to fire. I currently have 4, S&W factory mags and the 50 rd. drum.
I get the same results from all of them. I am not having any problems with ejections or feeding rounds.
I even went as far, as sending my complete lower to Timney Triggers for inspection. They installed and tested another new triger before returning it to me. I have purchased or tried about every brand of 22 calb. ammo available.
When I get a failure to fire, there is always a visible, very ligth strike mark on the case rim. I am currently awaiting a new bolt blow back spring from S&W, to try. After reading your post , I ordered Froglube from Brownell's.
I have cleaned and used Zero Friction lube so many times, I'm sure I can do it in total darkness now.
The only acessory I have, is a skeltonized forearm grip, I even removed the iron sigths to decreass weigth.
Any more tips to try guys ?
PS: I am new to the forum. If I should have posted this elsewhere, please advise and overlook my mistake.

something I learned and will test tomorrow is to be sure your Finger is on the lowest part of the trigger mechanism when you slide the gun forward...

I think i was keeping my finger a little too High up on the Trigger and creating additional lbs on the pull and made my DUMPS not as consistent.....

Also I have not been as successful with the VFG... my AFG is THE BOMB.. so maybe try holding the upper MAG (not the Magazine itself) and try that.. or the barrel itself...

Technique is the toughest thing to MASTER on the Slide fire.... hang in there and youll be chasing your reactive ball with FULL MAG DUMPS soon....

Hope this helps

Stav

 

[Lock&Load53]

To answer the question about what ammo, I have used the most. I have run at least 2 mags of the following : CCI Stingers / Reg. CCI High Velocity/ CCI Blazers/ CCI Velocitor / Rem. Yellow Jackets / Rem. Viper/ Bulk Rem 22 L.R / Bulk Federal 22 L. R. / Federal Spitfire / Federal 22 L.R. Competition/ Agulia Supermaximun Hyper Velocity / Armscor High Velocity / Winchester 22 L. R..
That is just what is in the box here beside my desk. I wasn't thinking when I said about 300 rounds, as you can see, it was many more than that.
As for trying different ways to hold the rifle. I have watched hours of You Tube clips and tried them all. I also have had 2 other excellent marksmen try, they got the same results.
I am about ready to try a Annie Oakley , over the shoulder with a mirror, it can't be any worse than I have experinced so far.
I am going to make it work or go completely broke trying !!!
Contacting RedJacket isn't to much futher down the list. lol
Thanks for the replies.
One last thing I forgot to mention. If I lock the Slide Fire and just use the triger as normal, it will fire almost every round I put thru it. The ones that don't fire are just ocassional bad shells (duds ) from the factory.

 

[Majorlk]

One last thing I forgot to mention. If I lock the Slide Fire and just use the triger as normal, it will fire almost every round I put thru it. The ones that don't fire are just ocassional bad shells (duds ) from the factory.

That speaks volumes and says that there's nothing wrong with the firearm itself or the ammo you are using.

 

[ZenOhSix]

8500 rounds did it.

I took it to the range again on Sunday, putting another 1000 through, bringing the count to ~8500.00.

Midway through the 1000 round count, I noticed I started having light primer strikes while using the SlideFire stock. This was also about 30 rounds into a new box of bulk Winchester 333. It started out minor, but it became very inconsistant. Some magazines I would get 10 out of 25 rounds to fire in burst. Then on other magazines I would dump the entire thing.

At the time, I figured it could be weak primers on the bullets; a bad batch in this box. I even tried to double-load the light primer strikes, manually firing them each time. In which, 90% of the rounds would fire. This confused me, for now it was leading me to think it was the slide fire operation that was causing weak strikes.

I decided to field strip the rifle and look at the bolt. Interesting enough, the firing pin was sticking out. Around it though, was tons of dirt. I figured the firing pin was just really dirty and not allowing the pin to move. I could push the pin back into the bolt and it stayed there. I ended up shooting the rest of the ~400 rounds anyhow, in a mix of Auto (SlideFire) and semi-auto via normal trigger pull. Outside of the slidefire, each trigger pull (except 3 or 4 rounds) fired each shot.

When I got home, I pulled out the punch and went to clean the firing pin. Here is what I found:

I just got off the phone with Smith & Wesson customer support; spoke to a Jeff - super swell guy. He is sending me out a new firing pin & spring. Unfortunately, it won't get here until next week.

I guess I can pull my AR/Shotgun/Pistol out while I have withdrawls.

Mike

 

[Jav]

Haha that's crazy! Well, hope you get to shoot it again pretty soon.

 

[cush]

Mike, would you relate the broken firing pin to the lack of cleaning? I've just not heard of a broken firing pin in an M&P15-22.

 

[Plumbago]

Very strange failure!!............Plum