Over the last several events, I've encountered an unusual number of stoppages and/or other malfunctions with 10/22s, related to the bolt stop pin. This is the largest of the three pins that traverse the receiver, this one being the furthest to the rear. In most cases, it's a tight fit and difficult to remove, and is usually unnecessary to remove unless removing the bolt.
Having said that, the current crop, including the 50th anniversary models, have exhibited a loose fitting bolt stop pin. In less than 45 days I've seen one sheer in half and two fall out, one disappearing completly and causing the extractor to fall out.
There is a preventative measure/cure for this/these problems. There are several manufacturers of aftermarket polymer bolt stop pins for the 10/22. They come in different colors, by manufcturer, and vary slightly in price, but generally are around $10.00 or less MSRP. Brownells carries several.
The synthetic bolt stop pin has a couple of added benefits. It won't crack, break or fall out, it acts as a buffer, lessening receiver wear, and it ends the noise some find distracting of the bolt hitting the pin as it cycles. They're also pretty much impervious to most common bore solvents.
I now carry them with me to all the events I work.
An ounce of prevention!
Sightwolf :)
I bought a few of these and the ones I have get deformed so much in use that they are very difficult to remove during cleaning and are generally destroyed in the process of trying to remove them. Are they all like this or did I just order low quality pins?
The good ones do not seem to deform. The cheap ones do deform. I have over 1500 rounds on one that looks like new, still. I keep the metal one as a spare, though!
In the last two weeks, I detailed five new production Ruger 10/22s and installed Tech Sights or scope rings. The serial numbers on the rifles were all within 2,000. On a couple of them, the rifle had a pin which was so tight it required a brass drift to remove and reinstall. On others, they were sloppy. Using a caliper, the pins measured very close to the same.
While it might be variance in machining, I suspect think there is also inconsistent application of paint on the receivers - including in the holes for pins. Some 1500 wet/dry and a dowel opened the holes up a couple of thousandths to ease operator maintenance.
Sightwolf, I've never seen a broken recoil buffer pin. Can you detail the link between a tight recoil buffer pin and stoppages/malfunctions? I don't understand the cause/effect you're experiencing and I'd like to watch out for it. :)
Very strange set of facts. I'd like to have seen these.
1. A broken bolt stop pin doesn't surprise me. It should be very rare, but is possible. I had a MkIII pistol that suffered a broken firing pin stop pin due to improper heat treating. The part was brittle, and after few than 1000 rounds it broke.
2. Falling out during firing doesn't make sense. The ends of the pin should be captured by the stock when the receiver is properly installed. I have seen a couple of aftermarket stocks that were rather ill-fitting and could leave the ends of the stop pin open.
3. I don't know what would be the connection between a loose bolt stop pin and a flying extractor. It could be that the owner failed to properly install the extractor during the most recent cleaning.
4. My favorite aftermarket bolt buffer is the one from Kidd (coolguyguns.com) which uses a Viton rubber sleeve over a steel core. It's easier to install than the urethane buffers and very strong.
Quote from: FiremanBob on May 26, 2015, 10:05:57 AM
4. My favorite aftermarket bolt buffer is the one from Kidd (coolguyguns.com) which uses a Viton rubber sleeve over a steel core. It's easier to install than the urethane buffers and very strong.
I use this buffer on my 10/22 and I'm extremely pleased with it. It stays in place until I want to remove it - the original equipment buffer fell out of the receiver as soon as the stock was removed.
Howdy All;
I went to my local hardware store and found some nylon
1/4-20X3" bolts. Making sure that the un-threaded part is
at least 2 1/8" long. I cut the hex head off then measured
and cut the threaded end off. A light sanding to smooth the
edges and it works fine. They cost less than a buck each ... ..:..
hank
The broken pin was in a roughly 90 day old 50th anniversary model being fired in a Liberty Weekend event by a female music teacher not new to shooting. She bought the rifle new from Cabella's and had about 7-800 rounds of W-W bulk high speed ammo through it when it began behaving badly. I got a call that evening asking if I had a replacement pin. I brought my parts box to the event the next day. Her hubby had jury rigged a pin from a bolt as described below, but she chose the "Tuffer Buffer" polyester replacement over a factory steel one. I get them in three paks from Brownells.
The broken pin itself displayed evidence of a stress fracture, rather than a clean break. It was wavy and smooth, not straight and crystalline. Really strange.
On my newest loaner, one of six, another 50th anniversary leftover, the pin fell out as it cleared the stock! The trigger & hammer pins were also unusually (for a 10/22) loose.
As for the case of the missing pin, I'm as baffled as anyone. It was at a LadySeed a couple weeks ago where I was providing logistical support. I got called to the line for a malfunction. When I got there, I found what at first appeared to be a failure to eject/double feed, jam. After making the line safe, we cleared the offending rifle from the line, discovering the extractor and it's plunger lying on the mat. The spring was still in place in the bolt. How bizzare is that? We furnished the shooter with a loaner and I took the disabled rifle into the clubhouse for further examination.
On a solid top formica table, I removed the barreled action from the factory birch stock. That's when I noticed the lack of the bolt stop pin. After removing the trigger group there was no sign of the bolt stop pin or any pieces of it. I removed the bolt, reinstalled the extractor, spring & plunger, reassembled the rifle with a new polymer bolt stop pin (a steel pin was too loose) and returned it to it's owner. The mystery continues. She said she never had it out of the stock, and judging from the amount of dirt and sludge in the action, I tend to believe her. Possibly she bought it used and the previous owner was the issue.
I plead the Schultz on this one, "I know nussing!"
Any other ideas?
Sightwolf
Using high velocity ammo with a stock charging handle spring could cause the bolt to damage or break the buffer. The stock spring is too weak to handle it. There is an aftermarket spring set for the charging handle that comes with a set of 3 springs. 1 for high velocity ammo, 1 for standard, and 1 for sub-sonic to allow the bolt to come back far enough to eject the spent round and reset. They work great. One manufacturer that I know that makes them is KIDD.
Sightwolf, thanks for the additional info. Now it all makes sense.
1. Broken stop pin is due to brittleness from improper heat treating. That is the only way the relatively low impact of a 10/22 bolt could break a 1/4" diameter solid steel pin. Not worth returning the rifle to Ruger for.
2. It is not unusual for loose pins to fall out of the receiver when the stock is removed. Happens also with receiver cross pins (the trigger group attachment pins), and the bolt lock/mag release pin. Doesn't happen with ejector/upper bolt lock pin, hammer pin, or trigger pin because they are under spring pressure.
3. The missing stop pin fell out during a previous disassembly and was not noticed.
4. The ejected extractor usually happens when a shooter allows the bolt to close on a chamber flag. The flag pushes the extractor back into the bolt and sideways, so its spring no longer pushes it securely against the slot in which it sits. Or the extractor was not fully installed during a previous cleaning. In either case, the shock of the bolt cycling knocks it out of the slot, and the spring sends it flying to the side. I see a couple of these every year on the line. You're lucky to have found it.
5. I do not recommend the nylon bolt method. It does work, but it isn't very strong and doesn't absorb shock very well. Eventually (thousands of rounds) it will break. The urethane and Kidd buffers last forever and quiet the rifle better.
I have a roughly 4 year old 10/22 and I have I don't know how many rounds of all types through it. It seems to eat and shoot accurately with anything you put in it. When I first got it I put in the auto bolt release and extended mag release. Since then a change of scopes and the regular cleaning only. This last week I went to reassemble it after cleaning and the receiver would not go into the stock. After I took it out, I noticed that the pin for the mag release had backed out about 3/8". I used a pin punch to line everything back up and it went back in fine. I have had no problem with any other pins or the bolt stop.
One trick I've seen and used on 10/22 trigger groups with loose pins is to put a strip of thin tape (Scotch tape or something similar) along the sides to retain the pins. Easily removed if you need to, and the fit to the stock is usually loose enough that the tape won't get peeled off.
O0
After several thousand rounds in my 10/22, I broke the mainspring
After talking to a gunsmith, he recommended a urethane buffer - it decelerates the bolt versus a hard stop
this is the one I use
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/572337/volquartsen-recoil-buffer-ruger-10-22-10-22-magnum
I have had the extractor problem before. The usual cause is the bolt closing on the chamber flag and the shooter just pulling the flag out. It tends to take the extractor with it.
2cl
You can rack your brain forever the bottom line is for the past several years Marlin&Buschmaster and Rogers quality control is non existant.