SR22 Not Closing All The Way - Loose Slide?

Hi all!

I purchased a new SR22 this weekend for my wife to plink away with at the range. About the 5th round fired was a misfire with a fairly clear imprint on the brass. Thing just got worse from there. By the 5th magazine over half were misfiring with varying imprints on the round - some were clear and others light. In almost every case a second shot fired normally. I had several brands of bulk 22LR with me CCI Standard Velocity, Blazers, and few American Eagles (Black Friday wiped everyone out of any decent stuff). I had a few failures to feed with the American Eagles, but mostly just misfire after misfire.

After inspecting the gun closely I saw that the slide wasn't always returning fully after it was fired. There wasn't much left for it to travel, only about 1/32 of an inch, but its enough that round isn't chambered fully causing it not to strike solidly.

I took it home last night and gave it a thorough cleaning. I noticed then that there is a lot of play in the slide. It doesn't take much to wiggle it back and forth that 1/32 of an inch. The play is there with and without the guide rod and spring installed (and yes, the spring is on the rod correctly).

Back to the range this morning with more CCI's, a box of Federal 525, and a handful of Remington golds. I found that if I used my thumb to nudge the slide forward after every shot, the gun worked fine with all three ammo types. About half the time the slide did not close all the way and this did not improve after another 200 rounds. There were a few feed failures with the Federals and the Remingtons, but not a single problem with the CCI's except the slide not returning fully.

Has anyone else seen this? I plan on calling Ruger in the AM if no one knows of an easy fix.

It's likely the slide isn't coming all the way back due to the Std Vel. ammo you were using, plus perhaps some lube or break in issues, and therefore isn't getting a good run on the forward movement after firing. The user manual states that this pistol is designed to use Hi-Velocity ammo. I suggest you do what it says.

One other possibility if you still have the problem after using some quality Hi-vel ammo (CCI Stinger or Velocitor): It may be due to the Magazine Safety/Disconnect dragging a bit. It can be easily removed, and most people who shoot Ruger semi-auto's of any caliber will do that. I do. Ruger, and most gunshops, will not remove it for you, however there are some how-videos on youtube.

Thanks for the reply, but I don't think it's because the slide isn't coming all the way back. I say this because it doesn't always return forward completely if I pull it all the way back and release it.

There's also the fact that I can still wiggle the slide back and forth a bit with little to no resistance when it is completely closed.

Ya know... I don't want to sound like I'm blowing off the ammo suggestion. The slide wiggle makes me a little nervous, though. Maybe I'll hit up a shop this week to see if the display ones have it before calling.

bliveone said:

Thanks for the reply, but I don't think it's because the slide isn't coming all the way back. I say this because it doesn't always return forward completely if I pull it all the way back and release it.

There's also the fact that I can still wiggle the slide back and forth a bit with little to no resistance when it is completely closed.

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It's tough to diagnose a gun problem over the web, so if you feel it's a problem for Ruger by all means send it in. They have excellent cs.

I'd still recommend better ammo than you have been using tho. Just to compare ammo performance in different length barrels, I'd suggest taking a look at this: http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/22.html You'll notice that the Remington GB's (advertised at 1235fps) don't perform well out of the 3.5" barrel on the SR22 as compared to the CCI I mentioned. That's because Remington and most other manufacturers use a test barrel that gets them the highest possible fps for marketing reasons - usually 20"to 22", not a short barrel handgun.

Welcome to the Forum.
The ammo comment may be spot on. Standard velocity doesn't send the slide rearward enough to compress the return spring hard enough to allow it to work properly,,, not closing fully.
Try nothing but high velocity stuff, different types, to see if it happens with any of them.

Next,,, if your grip is too relaxed,,, it may be what we call "limp wristing". Movement of the hand absorbs part of the recoil to where the action doesn't function properly.
Then, after trying some of that, a polite call to Ruger may be in order. They will even send you a pre-paid shipping label if it's a malfunctioning problem. But before I'd call, double check things like the ammo first.

I would call Ruger and ask if the recoil spring needs to be replaced. My SR22 never had an issue with running standard velocity in it.

Just wanted to post a quick update -

I picked up a couple of packs of Blazer High Velocity and Aguila SuperExtra High Velocity. I was also able to bum a few rounds of Mini-Mags off of someone at the range. I experienced the same problem with all three. The "bets" I did was have 3 in a full mag of Blazers misfire and 2 in a mag of Aguilas not shoot. The worst was 7 of 10 failed. Several times the first round failed after pulling back the slide all the way and releasing it.

Needless to say, I called Ruger this morning and got an RMA.

Clean snot out the chamber to rid it of a hardened carbon ring/buildup formed about where the case mouth would be parked if a round were chambered.

A good chamber cleaning can help as suggested. Other issue I have encountered with rimfires is a burr at the rear on the chamber. Some guns when dry fired will strike the breech face. Occasionally a small amount of material can be peened over into the chamber. Will cause drag on the case as a round is chambered.

bliveone said:

Just wanted to post a quick update -



Needless to say, I called Ruger this morning and got an RMA.

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Good. We gotta stop letting Ruger and others get away with poor quality control. They've got us conditioned that when we receive a faulty product, it's somehow the customers fault. Personally, I'm done with the SR22's. I hope they get your gun repaired right, the first time. When they work, I think the SR22 is about the most correct gun made, ergonomically speaking.

WAYNO.

I talked to Ruger and they said that a faulty/misaligned barrel and ejector were causing the friction on the slide preventing it from closing all the way. Both were replaced and the gun is on its way back to me. Hopefully it will be here for my weekend range trip!

bliveone said:

I talked to Ruger and they said that a faulty/misaligned barrel and ejector were causing the friction on the slide preventing it from closing all the way. Both were replaced and the gun is on its way back to me. Hopefully it will be here for my weekend range trip!

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Great!