What causes this?

[TwistedCreations]

Is this what they call a "stovepipe"?

Using CCI mini mag 36gr. w/ 25 rnd mag...It has never happened with the smaller 10 rnd mags(but we shoot slower with those)

But it happened today when my son tried to go faster and it happened several times when my wife tried to shoot fast last time we went out..This was only about 50th bullet shot today and yes, my gun always gets cleaned when i get back home...

But any idea what causes this?

And here was my sons crappy crappy cell pic he took of his target grouping earlier....ughh, crappy pic But he did have alot tighter grouping later. Once i finally had the scope dialed in, he had all 10 shots within a 1" group using the CCI mini mag at 25yrds..

 

[NamibianAmphibian]

Here's what a stovepipe looks like:

 

[Jav]

That cartridge stuck in there is already spent? Or is that a brand new round trying to go into the chamber?
Maybe it's magazine related. The rounds aren't staggering correctly

 

[BELT_FED]

it could also be a loading issue refer to the videos at the top of the 15-22 page for help... by the way that rimfire hull hanging out of real ar-15 is priceless..

 

[Juvicator]

Yep. The rim of that round was behind the next round, when the bolt starts to move back to battery that round cannot move up the ramp and into the chamber, so it will nosedive until the power of the bolt hops it over the next round, the tip of round is not on the ramp correctly and it shears it off or smushes it. The rim of every round loaded has to stop at the previous rounds rim, it can't go behind it. Fully load a mag and every so often put a rim behind a rim, then just using your thumb push the rounds out, you can tell when you get to a bad spot because the rim of the next round will not let the top one out.

 

[TwistedCreations]

Jav, it is a new cartridge trying to go in...Belt fed, I have watched just about every video up there and make sure i load them correctly and they are staggered right

It only happens on the 25rnd mag though and never happens on the 3 other 10 rnd mags i purchased...25 rnd mag = stand up and have at it...10 rnd mag = usually bench shooting...

Thanks for the info Juvicator. I am making sure the mags are loaded correctly. Maybe by the time the 15th shot has went off in that magazine, somehow one has shifted?

Sounds like I will just quit using the 25rnd mag and see if it stops then

 

[TwistedCreations]

After cleaning the rifle, i looked at the stock 25rnd mag..Thanks for the info everyone, as i did find the problem...And yes, the culprit would be magazine/feed problems...Still not sure how it occurs, as i take my time to load it correctly


But I noticed the next bullets this way in the mag. So as Juvi stated, maybe they somehow jumped rim behind each other and forced the front down?

After pulling the load assist button down and letting it slam back up:

 

[tacticool22]

Try this. Take the mag apart, but don't take the spring all the way out yet. Pull the spring out and turn it around, front to back. Reassemble the mag and see if you have the same problem. In theory it should not make a difference, in practice it does. To paraphrase the great Yogi Berra or Einstein

 

[Juvicator]

Yep now it is ready to rock. Some guys said they switch the spring, or something. Search springs may find some info.

 

[mgoodbar]

could also try this. the mag that s doing this. remove the bottom and strech the spring just a little bit, so it will have more tention on it. this will keep the ammo tighter in the mag. This should keep it from jumping behind one another as you fire faster. Also before stretching the spring make sure that it is easier to load than the others. I had one 25 rounder that kept doing the same thing. I stretched the spring out some and it quit doing it. Hope this helps

 

[Jav]

Thought I saw a thread about older magazines having problems? They put 22lr on the newer ones or something like that? Don't quite remember.

 

[TwistedCreations]

Thanks for the info guys, I will give it all a try