Most Common Cause For .22 Autoloader Feeding Malfunction?

Q. What's the most common cause of a failure to feed for a .22 Long Rifle autoloader?

William F. Hodmy
Mandan, ND

A.The magazine is probably the place to start looking for trouble on most popular .22 semiautomatic pistols. When you buy extra magazines at your local store, you might have to tune or adjust the lips to make the magazines feed properly. Without this adjustment the bullet might hit the chamber high and shave off a small amount of lead that will remain between the barrel and the boltface. This gap will cushion the hammer strike and cause misfires. When you have a misfire, check the bullet nose for a cut, or "smiley face," on the tip of the bullet. This will let you know that the magazine needs tuning. On your malfunctions, you might try the bullseye trick of putting a drop of light oil on top of the first round in the magazine. Remember, your gun is a piece of machinery so lube it.

Jim Clark Jr.
Clark Custom Guns

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