I purchased one of the "Mans Best Friend" Ruger 10/22 rifles from Palmetto State Armory recently to use as a loaner. Model 31115. Nice rifle! Unfortunately at a shoot last weekend it exhibited severe feed problems. The rounds are pushed into the edge of the breach and lead is shaved off. In some cases, it fails to feed entirely, causing a jam. Changed mags. Changed ammo brand. All were lead round nose 40gr bullets. Same, same. Broke it down and thoroughly cleaned the innards. Same jam. Any ideas?
The edge of the chamber might be too sharp, a very light rounding with a stone might help.
The bolt could be pushing the mag down, look for rub marks on the bottom of the bolt and top of the mag.
Is the inside of the receiver painted? Specifically, the inside top where the bolt / handle travel? I had a 10/22 that was and I sanded the paint off to bare metal, sanded the top of the bolt, and the square on the handle that travels against the receiver and that problem ceased. The paint provided just enough friction to affect the bolt cycle performance. If yours is not painted, sanding may still help the action of the bolt. In addition, I stopped using lead round nose ammo.
I would try different types of ammo, One of my rifles hates Federal ammo.
Make sure the mag sits firmly into the mag area, if it moves as the bolt moves forward it could cause the bullet to pitch up.
Slightly radius the chamber edge (don't get into the chamber and scratch that area) .
Look at the tops of the mags for wear, the bolt might have burrs on the edges scraping the mag and causing an uneven feed.
Cycle the bolt slowly with safety on and and unloaded mag in, make sure it is a smooth. lightly place a finger on the bottom of the mag as you cycle the bolt, movement should be light to nonexistent.
Good luck,
JTDiver
We experienced the exact same feed issues with at least two of those same rifles at an event in November. Changing ammo solved it for the event, but I don't consider that a long term fix. Also saw it with another brand new Ruger at an event in September. I hadn't experienced it before; wonder if they changed a manufacturing process.
Thanks for the thoughts on solving it.
We experienced it with at least 1 of those rifles (I think 2) at the Greeneville, SC shoot. Considering that I have a plethora of stocks, changing stocks would be the first thing I tried. Army Vet's comments about smoothing the interior of the receiver should be done to every rifle made in the last 15 or so years. I have seen the "paint" gum up an action numerous times due to certain lubes being used when the "paint" hasn't been removed. If this happens at an event, wiping the receiver off with a rag or your finger helps this.
I just went through this with a new 10/22 I purchased a few months ago.
Different ammo, different mags, attempted to shoot, cleaned, cleaned again, remove/replace the barrel, cleaned, attempted to shoot, wash, rinse, repeat.
Same issue every time.
I sent it back to Ruger (they even shipped me a box to mail it back to them in) and they chamfered the chamber. Problem solved, cost me 0 dollars and just a trip to Fedex. They even mailed it back to me, signature required.
I'm leaning toward that solution myself. I sent them a message via the customer support page. We'll see if I have a similar outcome. Lots of that run of rifles are having the same problem. We also had one at WAC a couple of months ago.
That degree of projectile shaving is pretty dramatic and I don't think it will be solved by something as simple as taking a ScotchBrite pad to the inside of the receiver. And any Ruger 10/22 should be able to feed 40 grain round nose 22 LR ammunition.
I would be sending that rifle back to Ruger. Send them the photos of the cartridges as well.
I bought the same rifle, 10-22 Collectors 3rd Edition, and have had many feed issues. Most were stovepipes, but a couple were shavings and FTF. It was happening in every Appleseed practice with one-to-two problems. I tried different ammo, to include CCI, AutoMatch, and CMP Eley (most accurate). I read a bunch, took scotch bright to the receiver and the top of the bolt. installed a machined extractor. It did much better. Last Appleseed practice was successful 40/40. I read a post over on Ruger Forum or Rimfire central about a fellow who cleaned the receiver and bolt and then used Mother's Mag Polish on it. I'll try that next, and also consider a little work on the chamber per the comments below if the Mother's doesn't make it 100%. I read another post about polishing up the upper (left) surface of the magazine where the round rides during cycling (the author on Ruger forum was a gunsmith and claimed that 80% of the FTE problem was the extractor, and 20% was the magazine lip). He has also written of FTF, so you might like to check that Forum out.
I am very familiar with Rugerforum dot net and Iowegan and what he has posted over there. But the shavings on those projectiles clearly shows a problem with feeding, not extraction or ejection, so the magazine lip and extractor issues Iowegan discussed are not relevant to what is going on with this rifle.
Of course, a feed issue could be caused by a bad magazine, but if the problem is occurring with multiple mags that is not likely to be the case.
I would be concerned with an out of spec bolt, out of spec receiver, or a problem with the barrel chamber and I would be reluctant to mess around with it before sending it back to Ruger. But it's not my rifle.
I appreciate the thoughtful replies. I have encountered feed and extraction problems with other rifles and resolved them with the above methods. However, as pblanc points out, this is not your normal FTF. I have contacted Ruger and they replied to contact the service department to arrange return for resolution. I'll let you know how it plays out.
Thanks!