S&W Model 22A Feeding Problems

[graydog]

Hi
I have heard other people talk about this problem before but I have never heard anyone tell me why it happens or what to do to fix it. I have two 22A pistols. The problem is that if you load ten shots in the mag the gun will fire the first shot and seem to function perfectly but it does not load the next shell into the chamber, once you manually work the action by hand the gun will pick the cartridge from the mag and chamber it and then you are good to go. If you only load nine shots in the mag it seems to work fine every time. One of my guns does this a lot the other hardly ever. I assume it is something to do the mags but for the life of me I can't see what is causing it. It does not matter what kind of ammo I use either.

Any help on this matter would be very much appreciated.

Thanks Graydog

 

[310Pilot]

Annoying, isn't it? I sent mine back to S&W a couple of months ago (quoted 2 weeks, gone 5 weeks). Mine is worse, it will sometimes feed well, but, for no apparent reason, it will chamber and fire the first round out of a magazine, eject the spent casing, but not feed the next round. Furthermore, the slide effectively locks itself, and it can only be opened about 1/4". It appears that it short cycles, then manages to jam the slide somehow so that it won't open (it usually takes about 15 minutes of tugging on the slide to open it). After the slide is freed up, it may do the same thing again, or it may operate normally for a while.

I don't know what causes this, and it does it with any and all ammo, including CCI Mini-mags. As I said, I sent it back to S&W, took much longer than expected (part of that was due to FedEx screwing up, both on pick-up and delivery, and taking a full week for the vaunted "second day" delivery to the factory). The repair letter said the magazine catch was replaced and the slide-to-barrel fit was adjusted. Indeed, the magazine catch/release is much more positive in operation than the original was from the factory. Well, guess what happened on the first shot after receiving the weapon from the factory repair - exact same problem, with the additional problem that the first round up jammed halfway up the feed ramp, with a push on the back of the slide needed to get it into battery. After that, the same problem - fired the first shot, extracted the empty case, short cycled, did not feed the next round, and the slide could only be opened about 1/4". I called S&W, they issued another call tag; however, after fussing with the slide for about 1/2 hour, it finally opened. I have fired several mags through it since without a hitch, but I know the problem will return. Same behavior as before. I am loathe to ship it back during the Christmas season, based on the poor experience with FedEx (not only the prior shipping of the gun, but numerous other problems with delivery and pick-up - it seems that they hire only drivers who can't read maps to serve rural areas, among other things), and that, during this time of year, it may not receive the attention needed. As soon as it repeats the problem, though, back it goes (probably pretty soon, if I can get out to the area I usually shoot, lots of snow right now).

Based on my research, this seems to be unusual for the 22A, but it certainly can happen. Despite my not so happy experience with S&W warranty work so far, I think calling customer service and shipping it to the factory for repair is your best bet. Perhaps, if they get enough returns for this problem, they will figure out what is wrong, and fix it.

Best wishes for a speedy resolution to the problem

 

[rock doc]

I had similar problems. I researched the problem on a rimfire forum, and found a solution. My feed ramp needed to be addressed. I took a small wire wheel attachment for a dremmel and removed the paint from the feed ramp and from the underside of the slide where it contacted the frame. I also read that smacking a full magazine on the palm of the hand may help resolve some feeding problems.

 

[625smith]

Take a look at this post. Sounds like similar problems.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-semi-auto-pistols/211354-22-questions.html

 

[Phantom210]

Took mine back to where I bought it for the SECOND time. Wouldn't feed very well at all. They gave my money back for it, and I got the Browning Buck Mark. The Browning shot perfectly.

 

[RV4driver]

I have the 22s, steel version of this ***. Back to Smith years ago when it was new, came back the same. (This foretold my future experience with Smith and the Bodyguard 380, but I digress). I gave up and now it sits in the safe. I don't know why I put it in the safe, frankly.

 

[AveragEd]

My 22A-1 Talo edition probably has exhibited a failure - nothing's perfect - but I can't recall one. My suggestion would be to track the failures by magazine as it sounds like one or more of yours could be at fault. I have a Kimber 1911 in .38 Super that would fail to load a shell at random times but always with the same magazine. Adjusting the magazine spring tension solved that problem.

Ed

 

[zigzag45]

22A Jam and wear

I've had my S & W 22A for 3 months and had ftf and Jams on the second time at the range. Third time it was unusable. Took it down and after cleaning noticed excessive wear on the left side of the entry port. That's about 120 rounds. I figure at the current rate of wear it will make a dandy door stop shortly. E-mailed photos to C.S. and waiting for reply. Let you know what happens.

 

[zigzag45]

S&W is sending it back. They replaced the injector and polished the barrel. I don't know how polishing the barrel can help, the metal is already worn away? It's like getting back an old, used pistol that has a limited life expectancy. They should have replaced the barrel as well, or just sent me a new pistol. This is not going to hack it!

 

[AveragEd]

You might want to wait to shoot your gun before deciding that the repair was ineffective. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the techs at S&W have repaired a few more of their products that any of us have.

Ed

 

[cballman]

I purchased a 22a a few years ago. I had nothing but trouble out of the feed ramp. It had a gouge in it and would not feed a lot of the times. I took a file to it and then polished it up. It has been awesome with no trouble ever since. I would love to have another one but prices have been to high around here.

Dont give up some simple tricks sometimes work. Awesome shooting gun IMHO.

 

[S.B.]

On S&W's advice I went to CCI minimags and all feeding problems disappeared.
Steve

 

[AveragEd]

A lot of manufacturers of .22LR semi-autos and 1911 conversion kits recommend MiniMags. Another round that works as well is Federal's 38-grain copper-plated hollow-point cartridge (their load #712). All of my .22LR bolt-action rifles like it just a little better than the MiniMags.

I shot 50 rounds of each over my chronograph at 50 yards with a Remington Model 541-T with a sporter-weight barrel. The Federal shells shot into a slightly tighter group and had a little less variation in muzzle velocity, which should lead to more consistent cycling of a semi-auto action.

I also experience zero malfunctions with Federal's Champion 36-grain copper-plated hollow-points. They come in a nitrogen-sealed "Fresh Fire Pack" can of 325 rounds for something like $26 and for a bulk-packed shell, shoot very well.

Aside from the occasional frame crack reports, I don't get the bad-mouthing of the 22A. Several competitive league shooters have handled and shot mine and aside from a little trigger work, they felt it could do well in league shooting against much more costly pistols.

Ed

 

[S.B.]

Ed bolt action rifles are a bit different than semi auto pistols.
Steve

 

[AveragEd]

Yes but ammo would shoot the same as far as velocity variation in either platform. All I was trying to do establish which shell was the most consistent hence should be more accurate and yield more reliable action cycling.

Ed

 

[black hawk 88]

22A-1

I bought a 22-A1 back in July had the same problem. I brought it back to my store and bought a colt 22 gold cup not one problem.

 

[black hawk 88]

I still have my s&w m&p 9mm which is an excellent gun
i understand they don't make the 22 A-1 any more.