Winchester .22 problem

[G.T. Smith]

I was shooting today and had a problem. The rifle gets great primer strikes and all of the CCI that I ran shot perfectly. I loaded the magazine with Winchester 40 grain HP's. It shot a few then came to this round that is thin at the primer. The one on the left is a CCI, the one in the middle didn't fire, and the one on the right is another Winchester. I think that the primer is so thin that the firing pin couldn't do it's job. You can see a faint firing pin mark on the rim. Did anyone else ever have this problem. The gun was clean and shot everything else fine. No light primer strikes. Thanks,
Gordon

 

[Ptarmigan]

I don't mean to come with a terse reply, but you may have solved your own problem. "All the CCI shot perfectly"

I have not had that problem with my primers, but that may be because I will not shoot Winchester or Remington .22 ammo. They're great American brand names, but they both treat their .22 rimfire like it's a third class citizen.

If you can possibly get and shoot CCI, Aguila, Federal, most of your problems will probably go away. Before you fiddle with your gun, run some CCI Mini Mags and some CCI standard velocity through it. If they all fire, and they most likely will, it's not the gun. Good luck.

 

[Grayfox]

I shoot a lot of .22s and Winchester has been one of my top choices for years. However, lately I've been noticing more and more misfires with Winchester ammo. I don't know what's happened, but it ain't what it used to be.

 

[IAhunter]

I'll second the recommendation for CCI ammo. The Winchester 333 bulk will not run either of my semiauto handguns and causes ejection issues in a Ruger 77/22. Minimags are 100% for function in all three of those guns and very accurate in the rifle as well.

 

[chief38]

Winchester is now tied with Remington for "the bottom of the barrel" .22 rimfire ammo title!

Federal is way better and CCI is the Cats meow!

 

[Salty RI]

I shot several bricks of 333 this year had a few FTF's most went bang the second time around.

 

[Ed Fowler]

The last batch of Winchesters I shot were a little thin also. They did not shoot well in a firearm with a little extra headspace, but were OK in other firearms.

Both Federal and CCI have blown up My S&W Victory twice in the last 3 months. Blew the extractor & spring somewhere, damaged the bolt and bore, they blamed S&W for the problem. Smith & Wesson just keeps fixing it.

Federal Target and CCI Blazer, this one is a Federal Auto Match.

 

[tacticalcanuck]

Winchester white box is good in my lever or revolver or bolt action for some fun plinking. But its dirty as all hell and you can see the inconsistencies. The best 22 ammo for my semis are the CCI tactical. They just work. At 50 yards in a ruger american they clover leaf. In the semis it amazes me how box after box they just keep firing.

 

[garyez]

Same Thing

Last week shot 200 rounds of Winchester Super X through my M&P 15-22. The first box of 100 @ 1300 fps were perfect but one round in the second box @ 1280 fps misfired and showed a light firing pin strike like in the picture. So out of curiosity I reloaded it and pulled the trigger on it a second time but still no bang. It then had 2 light strike marks on the rim.

Well, that's about a 0.5% defect rate so I can't complain. Have 2 more boxes of Super X to shoot next week.

 

[Ptarmigan]

The last batch of Winchesters I shot were a little thin also. They did not shoot well in a firearm with a little extra headspace, but were OK in other firearms.

Both Federal and CCI have blown up My S&W Victory twice in the last 3 months. Blew the extractor & spring somewhere, damaged the bolt and bore, they blamed S&W for the problem. Smith & Wesson just keeps fixing it.

Federal Target and CCI Blazer, this one is a Federal Auto Match.

Ed, although I like the Victory, I am prone to believe that it is your gun at fault and not the ammo. If it happened ONCE, then okay, maybe the ammo. But TWICE, in ninety days? That is just way too much of a coincidence.

 

[Ed Fowler]

All three were obliviously very hot loads the extractor was propelled over 30 feet, much black smoke coming out of the action. The Victory was in battery each time, I guess that after 70 years of 22 rimfire shooting it is my turn. Wish I would have photographed all the parts before I sent it back to S&W, they were obliterated!

I had shoot over 1,000 rounds before the first blow up.

Victory was shooting 6 inch groups at 88 yards before the first blow up, then could not hold a 10 foot group at the same range.

 

[Ptarmigan]

Okee dokee. It just kind of sounds like what could happen with a tiny bit of space between the bolt and the cartridge. If you're certain it was in full battery then I guess not.

But think about it. It never happened to you in 70 years--then it happened TWICE in 90 days. What is new in this picture?

The Victory.

If I was a detective, that's where I'd be looking.

 

[Ed Fowler]

This box of ammo was very erratic, some loud some quiet. I was on my third magazine full and was checking each shot with my binoculars, putting the pistol on safe between shots, picking up my binoculars and checking where the last bullet went. That is why I believe the Victor was in full battery. I plan on weighing the shells then setting them aside.

Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Fishslayer]

Well, that's about a 0.5% defect rate so I can't complain. Have 2 more boxes of Super X to shoot next week.

That's not too bad for 300 rds of Winchester. Some bulk packs of Remington GB I get better, mostly worse. When we were paying $16/550 I would live with it.

Nowadays I shoot CCI or Aguila. I'm gonna pay through the nose anyway so why not get the good stuff?

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

We used to go to Atlantic Tobacco Company in the 1960s and buy Winchester bricks for $5. 1 penny a round. But about that same time my brother was pooping his pants. Both those things have changed. Today it's CCI mini mags or nothing here. I see so many thousands of .22s shot here that it is easy to see what works and what doesn't. I have not seen a .22 Magnum fail to fire in the last several years. Don't know what that means, just an observation.

 

[scattershot]

Unfortunately, most of the .22 ammo available today is junk. Stick to CCI and you'll be happy.

 

[Nevada Ed]

All .22 ammo has its good and bad points, per the weapon fired in.

I had a Savage Auto that loved 40 gr Winchesters......
A Marlin Auto that loved Rem. Gold...........
A Winchester pump that shot everything but would not eject
a Federal round even though it was very accurate.

I am now trying to get the CCI Quiet to work...........

Keep shooting, you will find a load that works.

 

[twodog max]

I shoot it all whatever I can find at reasonable prices. Mostly Wally World stuff where the prices are only marginally more than before the last scare. I buy whatever they have Winchester Remington or CCI. I have had no problems with any of it. So far it all goes bang. In fact my CZ452 shoots the cheap Remington better than anything else including CCI. I will continue to buy whatever I can get my hands on at reasonable prices. I will not be scalped by those with no scruples for any brand no matter its reputation.
I shot about 100 rounds of the much maligned Winchester and Remington bulk stuff yesterday through my Model 34. It all went bang and shot as well as I can.