Ruger 10/22 – is it really that finicky, or do I just have a lemon?
I have an older secondhand Ruger 10/22 that I really enjoy shooting, sometimes.
It gets the occasional stovepipe when shooting Winchester high velocity ammunition (one or two per magazine).
It gets the occasional stovepipe with Remington Thunderbolt(one or two per magazine).
It gets the occasional stovepipe with Remington Golden Bullet(one or two per magazine).
It gets as much as 60% stovepipes when I use Federal ammunition (ANY Federal ammunition!).
I have gone so far as to remove the barrel and re-seat it to make sure that the extractor was not hanging up on the extractor cutout on the barrel.
I figured that there had to be something wrong with the way the barrel was seated because I have replaced the springs, replaced the extractor, replaced the firing pin, replaced the magazine release, replaced the magazine.... Basically, I have replaced everything except the receiver, the bolt and the barrel.
Then today, I decided to try some subsonic ammo, because I just happened to have a box of Winchester Super X 40 gr subsonic ammo with me, while I was trying one last time to figure what the problem was. Well, it worked flawlessly!
I would have thought that the high velocity rounds would have a greater chance of throwing the spent case out of the chamber because the bolt would be cycling faster. Guess I was wrong and this particular rifle does not seem to like the high velocity ammo. Is this normal for the Ruger 10/22, or do they usually “eat anything”?
I was thinking about picking up another one once I figured out what the problem was because I really like the rifle and magazine. But, if the Ruger 10/22 has a general history of being finicky with ammo then it is not what I want.
Yes, I know some guns, especially handguns can be finicky, but this is the first time in over 40 years of shooting that I have actually run into it.
For those of you who do have experience with the 10/22, is what I am experiencing normal or is it an anomaly? I am planning on calling Ruger and asking them the same thing, but I know that they will be a bit biased in their answer and I wanted to get some feedback from those of you that have experience with the 10/22 also. I am prepared to send it in to either Ruger, or a decent gunsmith, if the “problem” can be corrected for a reasonable price. However, if it is “just the way it is”, then I need to start looking for another semi-auto .22LR rifle to replace it. I would just prefer to have something that will “eat anything”, especially now since .22LR ammo is still scarce and I can not depend on always finding what I want/need.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I have an older secondhand Ruger 10/22 that I really enjoy shooting, sometimes.
It gets the occasional stovepipe when shooting Winchester high velocity ammunition (one or two per magazine).
It gets the occasional stovepipe with Remington Thunderbolt(one or two per magazine).
It gets the occasional stovepipe with Remington Golden Bullet(one or two per magazine).
It gets as much as 60% stovepipes when I use Federal ammunition (ANY Federal ammunition!).
I have gone so far as to remove the barrel and re-seat it to make sure that the extractor was not hanging up on the extractor cutout on the barrel.
I figured that there had to be something wrong with the way the barrel was seated because I have replaced the springs, replaced the extractor, replaced the firing pin, replaced the magazine release, replaced the magazine.... Basically, I have replaced everything except the receiver, the bolt and the barrel.
Then today, I decided to try some subsonic ammo, because I just happened to have a box of Winchester Super X 40 gr subsonic ammo with me, while I was trying one last time to figure what the problem was. Well, it worked flawlessly!
I would have thought that the high velocity rounds would have a greater chance of throwing the spent case out of the chamber because the bolt would be cycling faster. Guess I was wrong and this particular rifle does not seem to like the high velocity ammo. Is this normal for the Ruger 10/22, or do they usually “eat anything”?
I was thinking about picking up another one once I figured out what the problem was because I really like the rifle and magazine. But, if the Ruger 10/22 has a general history of being finicky with ammo then it is not what I want.
Yes, I know some guns, especially handguns can be finicky, but this is the first time in over 40 years of shooting that I have actually run into it.
For those of you who do have experience with the 10/22, is what I am experiencing normal or is it an anomaly? I am planning on calling Ruger and asking them the same thing, but I know that they will be a bit biased in their answer and I wanted to get some feedback from those of you that have experience with the 10/22 also. I am prepared to send it in to either Ruger, or a decent gunsmith, if the “problem” can be corrected for a reasonable price. However, if it is “just the way it is”, then I need to start looking for another semi-auto .22LR rifle to replace it. I would just prefer to have something that will “eat anything”, especially now since .22LR ammo is still scarce and I can not depend on always finding what I want/need.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks.