• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

I hate my 10/22!

Well, not really. But I do hate the fact that I'm having constant failures to fire with every type of ammunition I try in it. It's a stock gun that I've had for a while, though it's been lightly used. To tell you the truth, it's never been that reliable, but now it's getting much worse - I rarely get through a 10 round magazine without at least 1-2 light strikes. Usually they'll fire when I run them through a second time. I've googled FTF issues with 10/22's and it seems to be a common problem. Usual recommendation is to start with a good barrel and chamber cleaning - done. Still not working any better.

Here are the options I'm considering. First option is the Volquartsen bolt tune up kit which consists of their firing pin and extractor and runs in the $30-ish range. The other option I'm thinking about is a complete Kidd bolt for about $100. I'm not sure which is the better route to take so if you've done either, please let me know which you chose and why.

I want to upgrade this rifle further with a better barrel and a Victor Titan stock, but first I want to be sure it goes bang when I pull the trigger!
 
Volquartsen and Kidd products are top of the line components. Ruger magazines can be a problem as
well as the bolt. A new firing pin, spring and extractor did wonders on mine.
If you check out rimfirecentral. com it will have more information than you can digest. The 10/22 is
probably the most popular 22 rifle of all time. You can spend a lot of money on them but they are a
lot of fun and with the right set up extremely accurate.
Regards,

Joe McNeill
SW Arkansas
 
I would love to spend $30 to fix a problem over $100 any day but on the other hand I have a lot of Kidd items and love all of them .You might call Kidd, explain what your problem is, and ask them what they would suggest to solve your problem. Don’t give them your solution but let them give you theirs .
 
Is there a lot of play when the mag is in the gun ? Have you tried seating the mag while the bolt is locked open ? Those 10/22s are fun and frustrating at times.
 
I would try removing the action from the stock, remove the trigger group and bolt/springs etc., then cleaning and lubing everything again. If the 10/22 has been in the closet for a good period of time, whatever lube was applied way back when may have gummed up everything to some extent.
 
Check out CST. They make some pretty nice 10/22 components

 
What ammo are you using? 22rf cheap ammo can be more susceptible to median firing pin strike too making it look like a gun problem.
 
. . . - I rarely get through a 10 round magazine without at least 1-2 light strikes. . . Usual recommendation is to start with a good barrel and chamber cleaning -
You should consider cleaning the part of the gun related to light strikes. . . the bolt, specifically the FP slot and FP.

Maybe you'd benefit from a longer FP, but not so long you'd contact the breech face.
 
Check out rimfirecentral.com for any problem related to rimfire rifles or pistols. Plenty of information for whatever issues you might have.
 
I have owned 3 10/22's and each one had it's own issue that drove me nuts to the point of dumping each one. From failure to feed, failure to eject and one hated any ammo I tried in it. All customs with hundreds of dollars spent trying to fix issues. Gave up and bought a Savage A22 and it was almost the same,... sticking with bolt rifles and my latest, CZ 457 Varmint is shooting lights out.
 
Converted mine to a 17HM2 and I drilled a hole perpendicular and above the firing pin and installed a split pin to keep the firing pin from moving up. 10/22s, great idea, poor execution. That's why there's a healthy market for parts, pieces and mods that make it work better.

pinned.jpgpinned2.jpg
 
Thanks for all the input! I did disassemble, clean and lube the rifle when I took it out of the safe so I've checked that block. Magazines and ammo - tried multiple magazines and different ammo, some relatively inexpensive like Federal Auto Match, CCI Standard Velocity and CCI Mini-Mags plus some higher end stuff like SK Standard Plus, Wolf Match Target, and Lapua Center-X. Same results with everything.

I'm going to pull it apart one more time and go over everything. If the problem persists I'll probably try the firing pin replacement before I try anything else.
 
Read this before buying another firing pin. The stake job could be the issue.

 
A Volquartsen Firing Pin & Extractor, Fixed ALL my Miss Fire & Extraction,.. "problems" !
And a Bentz Chambered, Green Mtn 20" Sporter Barrel, ( Bedded 2" of Shank and Free Floated the Balance ) fixed ALL, the "Accuracy" Issues ! PS; use only the Ruger 10 Rd Mags for, BEST feeding.
I have had, NO Failures, to Fire / Extract, since going with, the " Beefier", Volqt Parts !
 
Last edited:
I have owned a pile of 22s over the years. One thing I noticed with the rifles that had a lot of FTFs with all types of ammo is that they use a rectangular or square shape firing pin.

I have two bolt action 22 rifles and I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a FTF. They are very rare, even when using the cheaper American Eagle ammo I prefer. Both of my bolt action rifles use a round firing pin. When inspecting the rims of fired cases struck by square pins and round pins. It is very obvious that the round pins put a much more pronounced dent in the rim. Not sure if my bolt rifles have more powerful springs as well, but the I believe the round shape of their firing pins play a big part in providing reliable ignition in a 22 rimfire.
 
Sounds like you've already disassembled and lightly oiled the bolt. But that is the first place I would start. Make sure the firing pin channel is spotless and the face of the bolt has every bit of crud removed. While you can't eliminate the possibility of a short firing pin, it would be unusual-but not impossible.

Then I'd do a plunk test of the chamber. If your ammo of choice doesn't drop fully into the chamber when the barrel is removed you have of 2 issues. Either the bullet diameter is too large for the chamber that's cut, or you have an accumulation of crud in the chamber. The crud is an easy fix. Take a 25 cal bore brush and bend it 90 degrees into an 'L' shape so the short part is the depth of the chamber. You can the insert it into the chamber every so often, even when assembled, & rock it back & forth to clean out the crudsys.
Al
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
165,858
Messages
2,204,930
Members
79,174
Latest member
kit10n
Back
Top