.22 question

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
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The last thread on survival firearms got me thinking, I remember hearing some where that if one single loads rounds directly into the chamber of a .22 semi auto that over time it'll damage the action to the point where it will no longer feed like a semi auto, I was wondering if there was any truth to this or not. I't be nice to have a fire arm that coul handle ammo it like semi aouto style, but could be fed single rounds that wouldn't normally feed from a clip in a pinch.
 
There is no truth to that. It is irrelevant if you work the action or the gas/recoil from the round does. Manually feeding a round is much less destructive then cycling rounds through.
 
Most semis you can just work the action like a bolt gun for rounds it won't cycle. I shoot colibris and cb longs all the time in my 10/22 bolt action style. Chris
 
Riley, I take it you mean stuff like .22 shot shells. It will still atemmpt to auto-eject the casing-- I don't know if something like that would hang up or not. If you don't have anything in the clip trying to load in after, it should be safe enough to test.

The autoloading cycle is a lot tougher on the action than sliding a round in with your pinkies. I could see where a poorly made action might wear from constant use of a manual release, but even with a cheap gun that would take a long time. I would bet on dirt being the culprit.
 
B Finnigan said:
There is no truth to that.(that it'll wear it out)
Click to expand...

TRUE !

It is irrelevant if you work the action or the gas/recoil from the round does. Manually feeding a round is much less destructive then cycling rounds through.
Click to expand...

Not so true. Manually feeding rounds is "much less destructive?" How so ?

Manually feeding the rounds is, in theory, more destructive, but it would takes 1000's to show it.

The concern is about the extractor having to forcibly snap over the case rim. During actual firing, the rim slides up and under the extractor hook (as designed) avoiding the forcible snap.

But again, it would take 1000's of rounds to prove that, if then.



.
 
I don't see why loading by hand would cause damage. I'd be wary about owning a gun that was not rugged enough to cope with something like this.

I like the semi-auto actions like the Gevarm (Gervarm?) rifles have....they fire from an open bolt position and they don't have an extractor at all...the case is simply blown back out. They don't have a firing pin...just a big 'chisel blade' running down the front of the 'bolt' which really makes an impressive dent across the whole of the base of the cartridge case. I have been very impressed with the reliability and accuracy of the Gevarms I've experienced....and they seem to handle some ammo which had extraction problems in other weapons.
 
I don't think it would be a problem at all, unless the design is prone to firing out of battery or not having the bolt close if you drop a round in the chamber. 1911 series pistols, for example, should not be loaded by dropping around in the barel, since there is the possibility of the slide not going into battery and inflicting serious injury or death to the user upon discharge. Controlled round feed actions, like Mauser bolt actions, need the round to be in the ejector in order to close the bolt.
 
David E said:
The concern is about the extractor having to forcibly snap over the case rim. During actual firing, the rim slides up and under the extractor hook (as designed) avoiding the forcible snap.

But again, it would take 1000's of rounds to prove that, if then.
Click to expand...


During the Glock armourers course the instuctor told of a case where this happened.

A police officer had a small child at home and every day at the end of his shift, he would come home drop the mag and eject the round in the chamber. In the morning he would single load the same round back in the chamber and replace the mag.

The officer was involved in a shooting. When he fired his pistol it didn't eject. The department raised hell with Glock claiming the pistol was defective.

It was concluded that the extractor had been snapped over the same cartridge so many times that the extractor( and the case rim) had worn down so much as to be inoperable.

Glock advises against single loading.

It can happen.
 
Interestingly, I just read an article that involved a 1911 dropping the slide on a loaded round about 1000 times.

The tension of the extractor was UNAFFECTED for that test.........but then, it wasn't a Glock !! :D

.
 
David E said:
Interestingly, I just read an article that involved a 1911 dropping the slide on a loaded round about 1000 times.

The tension of the extractor was UNAFFECTED for that test.........but then, it wasn't a Glock !! :D

.
Click to expand...

Linky? I love my 1911s and would just like to find out more about this story.
 
David E and QuietMike have it right. It's the extractor that suffers, not other parts of the action. As DavidE said, when the bolt strips the round from the magazine during normal cycling, the extractor rides over the rim of the casing with little pressure or snap. However, when you hand-feed a round in the chamber, the bolt slams home forcing the extractor over the rim with a force it was not designed for. Eventually, the extractor "hook" can chip or break.... or wear to the point of malfunction.

This is true with ALL semi-auto firearms that I'm aware of, not just the 22.
 
Repeatedly single loading the same round can cause dangerous setback of the bullet and significantly increase chamber pressure. In time the bullet will move farther back in the case until it is visibly shorter than a standard round. The habit will also score the rim of the case and can cause burs that will prevent ejection. Load from the magazine and top it off if you need to and be sure to rotate your carry ammo.

In any firearm that can take shorter rounds like a .22 or .38/.357 if you shoot alot of the shorter rounds you will accumulate powder fouling in the chamber at the end of the shorter case. When you switch back to the longer round and the longer brass you will have to force the case over this fouling. Upon expansion the case will sometimes wedge tight in the chamber. In a gas operated firearm this can cause a torn rim. In most cases it will jam a recoil operated gun like a .22 pistol.

We used to hand feed CB caps and Shorts in our .22 pistols all the time and you can get away with it for a while but then you need to brush out the chamber.

In a .357 magnum revolver it can make for problems in both loading (you won't be able to close the cylinder) and extracting spent cases (hard or stuck ejector). Shooting lots of .38 special out of a .357 carbine (as in an extended practice session) then switching to magnum ammo can jam the gun such that you can't open the action at all. Mac
 
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