Learned something today

[Johnnu2]

I was at the range shooting a very old OM Ruger Super Single Six (I think that's the correct name with adjustable sights and 2 cyls). Anyway, I was shooting some Winchester 333 ammo which is: "Copper Plated for Reduced Fouling, Convenient Bulk Pack Design, Value Priced" and 36 grains. The first cylinder of 5 had some stuck cases and one was so stuck, I had to take out the cylinder and really tug on the empty case to get it out. Same thing with the second cylinder. YUP, I had run dry patches thru the very clean bbl and cylinder BEFORE taking the gun to the range. I had noticed that the ammo was a bit tough to push into the cylinder upon loading both cylinders so I tried loading another 5 rounds and they, too, were somewhat 'tight' fitting. One of my buddies was examining the cylinder with much younger eyes and was "positive" there was a firing pin indentation on the especially faulty cylinder. I doubted his sage counsel because: each chamber is recessed AND, because I've never dry fired the gun (I use yellow, wall anchors as snap caps if I feel the urge to dry fire). I was all set to go and "work on" my cylinder to remove the imagined 'burr' when, I decided to try some cheap old Federal American Eagle, non-plated, lead rounds. Of course, they all chambered without even the slightest resistance, and were easily ejected after firing. So, that saved me the need to screw-up my cylinder, taught me that not all ammo is the same, and finally, (which I already knew) not to listen to the range cognoscenti...despite their great intentions and friendships. I still am not sure WHY the extraction occurred except that maybe the very tight bullet fit caused some higher than normal pressures in the chamber(s). Any thoughts..?
John

 

[ditto1958]

Different brands of .22 LR have different sized cases. I have an old Colt revolver, and I have experienced the same thing with, I think, Remington Thunderduds. With pretty much all rimfire guns, each gun "likes" certain brands of ammo, so you just have to experiment to see which is best for your gun.

 

[mikld]

Yep, ammo is not made to identical specifications. You could have some ammo that's running at or near the top of OD tolerance, and a cylinder that runs near the small side of ID. Both can be in spec., but "tolerance stacking" occasionally causes problems. No big deal, your Ruger jes don' like Winchester 333 ammo... :mrgreen:

I had to get a magnifying visor a couple years ago for working on my guns and reloading. Didn't like the idea of "old eyes", but it's better to see stuff than look cool...

 

[Clovishound]

I've had so much trouble with Winchester rimfire ammo and Winchester primers, I won't buy it anymore. Nothing but trouble IME.

I saw several pictures on one of the forums recently of WWB 9mm that was roll crimped. Very dangerous. Wasn't just one round, or one person that got some.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I've shot a bit of 333 ammo and it's not the top of the heap by any means. But it "fits" fine and ejects ok in my CZ 75B Kadet conversion, my 10/22 and an old Marlin single shot rifle (haven't tried it in the Mk II yet), so before automatically condemning it, I'd get a copy of the SAAMI spec for .22 ammo, measure some of your ammo, and see if it meets spec. If not, bad on Winchester and you should call them about it. But if it does, you can either futz around to find a list of ammo the gun will work with, or take it to a smith who can measure the chambers to see if THEY are in spec. IF both the ammo and the chamber are in spec, then tolerance stacking has already been accounted for. Without intentionally taking yet another pot shot at Ruger QC, I'd guess a trip to the smith would be educational!

To quote my ol' gunsmith boss when folks brought new Rugers into the shop for trigger work and other mods, "First, let's get the gun working the way Ruger intended, and then we can start changing things."

Rick C

 

[Cholo]

I've had the same trouble chambering Remington Golden Bullets of recent manufacture. I took my granddaughter and 4 different .22's shooting. It didn't work in any of them. I know 3 were a Bearcat, a MKll, and a Taurus model 62 pump rifle. I don't recall the other one. All chambered 100% with all other .22's. GB's flat out wouldn't chamber. I wipe down my .22's, but I don't clean them much. So, I cleaned them good and had the same problem the next time. It would shoot a few and then it wouldn't. So, I emailed Remington.

They would send me a shipping label and if they didn't meet their specs, they would send me new ones. I know the lot # that was giving me problems and I put them aside. I have thousands of other GB's and to try them all would be a daunting task. I havn't done anything, yet. I believe the bullets themselves are oversized.

If your guns are clean, I think this is your problem, too.