Working .22 Rifles

Not long ago, a group of friends, fellow gunsmiths, and I discussed the most common repair jobs we received and some of the little tasks that routinely supplied bread and butter for our families. The consensus was one of the most common repair jobs were some type of repair work for .22 rifles. Many of the jobs were straight forward while others require more effort. Despite any differences in specific requests, we all agreed on the reasons for the frequency of this particular repair job.

There are literally millions of .22 rifles. Many are not well made of good material. Most were designed to be sold as cheaply as possible. In numerous instances, the owner will insist on a repair job worth at least as much as the rifle because he is attached to the rifle, especially if there’s a sentimental attachment if the rifle was a gift received long ago with many memories of good small game hunting. Some gunsmiths might be impoverished without the .22 rifle to keep them busy.

When addressing the .22 rifles, I combine my own experience with the shooter’s complaints. Before investigating a malfunction, be certain the firearm is clean. Always begin with a clean and lubricated firearm. Powder ash, bullet lubricant, and lead residue are culprits of malfunctions, especially with rimfires. This build up slows operation down. In some cases the bolt face may become so filled with crud it causes problems with chambering a cartridge.

A light firing pin strike or misfire and ammunition-related issues are not uncommon. As an example, some target grade loads may have a longer shoulder length that standard loads. With the longer shoulder length and a tighter chamber the user may enjoy good accuracy but will also need to clean the firearm more often. With a thorough cleaning and ammunition issues addressed, look to mechanical problems. I recently worked with a rifle that had suffered a sudden degrade in accuracy.

I fired the rifle with Winchester Dynapoint ammunition and this normally-accurate load was all over the target. The problem was traced to peening around the muzzle. I don’t know if it was caused by rough handling or a drop from a tree or truck, but the muzzle looked rough. This was cleaned up with a small file and the rifle was up and shooting with likenew accuracy in short order. This was a simple fix and an obvious one to a trained observer.

Another common problem is a chamber scratched, gouged, or Below and damaged by dry fire. Rimfire firearms are especially susceptible to this type of damage if the chamber is made of soft steel and less expensive .22 rimfire chambers are often as soft a steel as the maker can get by with. Manufacturers can get away with using softer steel alloy with the .22 because it’s a low pressure cartridge. Dry firing such guns can kick up burrs and the firing pin can be damaged as well.

Lacking the soft brass rim that is normally supposed to be there, cushioning the blow, dry fire in an unloaded rimfire allows the nose of the firing pin to strike the metal of the chamber with full force. To make matters worse, once burrs are kicked up the metal is often work hardened. A reamer used to polish out these burrs may actually effect the opposite chamber wall. The Tom Menck .22 Chamber Ironing Tool is designed specifically to swage out burrs in .22 chambers caused by dry firing. Brownells lists

22 Chamber Ironing Tool. A thorough cleaning had the extractor working properly. Far Often, a simple cleaning is all that is needed. it (590-009-022) for $24.99. It works by rolling the peened area back into place and is the preferred fix. Insert and turn, or tap against the burr until the chamber is smooth and round again.

It can be pushed in and turned with its own handle, a Magna-Tip or a small wrench, threaded into an 8-32 cleaning rod and pulled into the chamber, or driven into the chamber from the rear with a small punch. While the Menck tool is the way to go in this type of work, I have It actually appears to have a chip out of it. Below center: Sometimes a file will do the business quickly for minimal burrs around the chamber edge. also used along tapered punch to remove firing pin dings from the chamber.

With the rifle secured in a vise, the punch is inserted into the chamber, aligned coaxially with the rifling, then struck with a light hammer. The punch is driven in but should be easily removed. Rotate the punch 180 degrees and repeat. The goal is to move metal back into place, not to lengthen the chamber. As a final option, moving the rough metal back into its original place can sometimes be done with a grinder at low speed running the drill. Low pressure is the key.

As for the chamber itself, a few scratches and gouges in the chamber are common. They seldom give trouble. The raised areas around the

chamber mouth caused by dry fire are more serious and I don’t sweat chamber scratches as much as damage by dry fire. The chamber is sometimes gouged when a stuck case (caused by poor cleaning) is dug out of the chamber with the point of a pocket knife. Yes, it happens often. Wear can loosen the extractor and inflict damage on the chamber. A cartridge case may rupture into the extractor groove in extreme cases. The extractor should be carefully examined.

Cleaning is often a simple fix for a worn extractor as extraction cannot be positive with dirt or foreign matter under the extractor. Rimfire ammunition can be messy as the outside lube and soft lead projectiles common with .22 ammo leaves residue in the chamber. Extractor cuts are pockets for collecting such material. An extractor out of full engagement is a recipe for malfunction. Beside needing a thorough cleaning, the ejector may be broken, moving too slow, or poorly pinned. The axis pin may be broken.

If the rifle does not extractor eject then it is a good idea to check the extractor and the leading edge closest to the barrel for a raised area (I call it a "new rectangle") caused by excess wear. Check the contact area of the angled claws for obvious wear and replace as needed. For an inexpensive fix, the extractor may be peened with a hammer. Once lengthened, it may be recut. Such fixes are done when the part is very expensive, unavailable, or a low-cost fix is of primary importance.

While both the extractor and the ejector must be close as possible to specifications, the firing pin must be perfect! The firing pin must strike a hard blow to fire the cartridge. Check the firing pin for proper length, the firing pin spring for proper tension, as well as cleaning out grit, dirt, powder ash, and left over lubricant from firing in the firing pin track. Detachable magazines and springs are best served with replacements. Tubular magazines are another matter.

The tube is sometimes damaged but most often it is a simple magazine spring that makes the difference in function. There are many types. The simplest solution is to order the longest spring. The longest rimfire rifle magazine tube spring I know of is for the Marlin 39. A weakened spring usually loses about an inch of its free length over time. Lacking a specific 22 rimfire ammunition is more reliable than ever but will never burn as clean as centerfire rounds.

Cleaning lead and powder debris is essential. factory or aftermarket replacement, clip the Marlin 39 magazine spring to just over an inch longer than the spring to be replaced and test. This often works as-is. Jobs on rimfire rifles may be inexpensive and mundane but they area bread-and-butter staple for many working gunsmiths. AG