Sticky chambers .22 Magnum

[Dew]

I have a M48 .22 Magnum that WILL NOT release the fired cases without pushing the ejector rod on a hard surface. In looking back at this subject I see that I am not the only one that has a .22 Magnum Smith that has this problem.
I've tried it all... clean the chambers and make sure they are dry. I've tried most of the ammo on the market and still no luck. Has anyone found out the answer to all of this? If I don't get this 48 working better it is going down the road.

Thanks
Dew

 

[Dew]

I have a M48 .22 Magnum that WILL NOT release the fired cases without pushing the ejector rod on a hard surface. In looking back at this subject I see that I am not the only one that has a .22 Magnum Smith that has this problem.
I've tried it all... clean the chambers and make sure they are dry. I've tried most of the ammo on the market and still no luck. Has anyone found out the answer to all of this? If I don't get this 48 working better it is going down the road.

Thanks
Dew

 

[Rich W]

Sounds to me like poorly machined/reamed chambers. Take a careful look in the chambers for tooling marks that could be causing the sticking.

If that is the case then polishing the chambers should eliminate the problem.

 

[steveno]

try other brands of ammo. I have the same trouble with some ammo. I had a 1959 M-48 that only liked Federal 50 grain hp's. My current M-48 was made in 1965 and only likes the Winchester 40 grain hp's and the new Hornady ammo. it definitely doesn't like the Federal's. after every 30 rounds or so I run a brush through the chambers whether they need it or not but ammo really makes a difference. the M-48 is too much fun to shoot to get rid of.

 

[Wilson54]

I had the exact same prob with a Charter Arms .22 Mag Pathfinder. Brand spanking new out of the box. Had to send it back to the factory.
When I got it back almost all of the chambers would eject freely. Pity that the accuracy was still horrifying (POA vs. POI)(this was reported as well)at 7 yards (on benchrest).
Thankfully this was corrected at a gunshow with a trade for a Smith Model 15-4 in exellent condition. I had to pay $125 in addition. Goodbye and good riddance. With mine, I think they honed the cylinders (most of them) and looked like they tried to recrown it (and poorly I might add).

 

[Ailog]

Same with my M48 but not quite as bad. Its the cylinder bore diameters that are too tight. I had a Charter 22 mag that I could slip the fired casings from the M48 into. I could extract fired casings from the Charter with no problem. Its a matter of very fine tolerances, maybe on the order of half a thousand inch in diameter between the cylinder bores of the M48 and the charter I had.

 

[DHENRY]

Dew,
1) Use CCI ammo.
2) Clean behind the ejector star after each cylinder full.
The .22 WMR is, essentially, a rifle round being shot out of a revolver with a short barrel.
Incomplete powder combustion produces a ton of dirt, which ends up fouling the ejector mechanism.
It;s the nature of the beast.
Don

 

[Dew]

Thanks one and all for your information. Trouble is I have already done everything that was suggested. I am going to repolish the chambers and see if that might help....

Dew

 

[VAdoublegunner]

My Model 48 no dash sticks empties, like most of them seem to do, but oddly enough the 651-1 does not. I shoot Winchester and CCI 22 mags almost exclusively. The 48 is far, far more accurate. Perhaps tight chamber dimensions contribute to accuracy but cause increased stickiness? If that's the case I can live with it...I rarely speed shoot 22 mags in high volume running a brush through the charge holes after 2 or 3 cylinders worth seems to solve the problem.

 

[Sportsterguy]

Try treating your chambers with Militec-1 as directed. I swear by this stuff and so do our men over in Iraq. Good luck and if you want to sell let me know. Seriously!

http://www.militec-1.com/

 

[formula502]

I'm a long time newbie and won't pretend to be otherwise. However, I've got an interesting tidbit to offer.

I worked for Harry Sanford @ AMT when I was in college about 13-14 years ago. The Automag II (22WMR) had an interesting barrel that was kind of a pain to make.

As it was explained to me, the 22WMR by nature can be real problematic on extraction. They were able to get the semi-auto action to work reliably by building in gas ports that fed back into the chamber along the length of the case. This equalized the pressure on the case wall and allowed it to be extracted. I always thought that was kind of cool.

Anyway I've been lurking here a bit as I've just picked up a 686 (first revolver), and I'm pretty sure this is my first post. I should go introduce myself in the designated thread.

Thanks for the great forum guys!

 

[VAdoublegunner]

I always thought the Automag II was one neat pistol! I haven't seen many, but have passed a couple of opportunities to pick one up. I do recall a guy shooting one next to me at an indoor range and it was extremely loud. I thought he might have had a Coonan 357 until I saw it. His Automag was reliable for feed and extraction all during that shooting session.

 

[jimmy]

My suggestion about the Model 48 with sticky chambers is to box it up and ship it back to S&W. My 1981 48-4 had this problem big time. Out of the box, I could have rapped the end of the extractor rod with a hammer and the cases would not eject. So I sent the gun back to S&W. The factory service department polished the chambers at no cost to me and now the extractor actually works.

 

[rmw]

I've had a few 48's and they all did it. I gave up on them although they were very accurate. It was not fun shooting, then brushing every 3-4 cylinders. Plus I HATE running a dry brush through the cylinder.

 

[H Richard]

That was a very interesting piece of information on the Automag. If anyone is interested in one, there is one for sale (in VG+ condition) at my local pushers. Don't know the price as I wasn't interested. but if your interested I would check for you. It is Merkels Hardware, Quincy, IL, 217-224-2530, ask for hunting & fishing dept. If you want me to check send me an email (in my profile).