10/22 magnum Sporter project

[Ruger8r]

Finally made it to the range yesterday and it looks like I bought someone's headache. Started out shooting really well but then light strikes started happening - seemed like it happened only on the last round in the magazine but that must be coincidental. Accuracy at 50 yds was not bad but I didn't get check it at 100 yds because round no. 35 failed to eject and no.36 stove-piped and ignited in the receiver. The case head separated and I couldn't find the slug. No damage or injury but so glad for eye protection. So, the stories about ejection failures with the single-ejector bolts are true, I guess, and now I have to switch-out the firing pin and ejector. Any recommendations on parts? Never mind, I have found what I need here.
https://www.selectfirellc.com/22-MAGNUM ... s_c_9.html
Will that fix the problem?
Here are photos of the targets (top one is sighting in and the bottom is 3 groups of 5) and the case and ammo. Shootus interuptus didn't help accuracy. The 40 gr bullets should be fine

[flattop44]

That's too bad, hope the new parts fix it. Good luck and let us know.
FT44

[Ruger8r]

After stoning off some high spots on the top of the bolt I replaced all the moving parts, polished the top of the hammer, lubed it up and reassembled. At the range, the fail to fire problem was cured but extraction issues persisted, only now the empty case is pulled about half way out and has to be removed by hand. I guess that's progress. I've ordered a VQ extractor.
The original extractor was difficult to remove because stamping burrs bound it up in the slot. I thought that was the root of the problem but...
The primer strikes look a little light so I also ordered an increased power hammer spring. It's been shot a lot - there's a dimple on the hammer face where it strikes the FP.
I really ike shooting the .22 magnum - it speaks with authority out of a 16" barrel.. I was running Fiocchi 40 gr. TMJ which offered slightly tighter groups with no flyers. I hope I can get this thing sorted out so I can concentrate on shooting. Although it looks clean I'll work on the chamber to make sure there's no shmutz in there.

[Ruger8r]

I installed the VQ ejector but still having failures. It is cleaner than the others and works smoothly - even the laser-cut Power Custom piece had some cutting burr and was a little sticky. I'm stumped. The barrel and bolt look flush in battery and the extractor slot lines up. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Ruger8r]

Finally decided that the problem might be the chamber face and, indeed, the barrel had a chamber-end that was not totally flat - the barrel tube ran past the chamber sleeve ever so slightly on one side. I figure that surface ought to be flat, even and square to the barrel so I took some material off with file and stone (see before and after photos).
I don't think the heads on .22wmr ammo are all that robust - and they seem to dome slightly when fired, which pulls the rim edge in making it harder for the ejector to hook it. So the correct clearances are super critical and a bumpy chamber face would cause problems. That's my theory, anyway.
I took only enough off to make the surface flat because I didn't want to over-shorten the chamber. A round still seats fine so it might even improve accuracy.

[JAYDAWG]

Owen,
I think you might have figured it out.
From the pics it looks like the part of the sleeve sticking out was at the ejector slot, so now the ejector will be able to get farther forward and catch the rim of the cartridge better.
Let us know how it works......

Jay

[Ruger8r]

I sure hope you're right, Jay.
It looks like VQ left a little raised ring around the chamber, which may have been their solution to extraction problems. If so, the barrel should have been accompanied by a no-dry-fire notice because there's a FP indentation visible in the before pic. I think the main problem was the tube was not square with the sleeve. Nice and flat, now. We'll see.
The next thing to look at is the bolt face, which was slightly deformed along the top edge from impact. Looks ok otherwise. Seems like a tungsten/steel alloy as it is weakly attracted to a magnet.

[Ruger8r]

Finally got back to the range after the fires subsided. Ran five rounds flawlessly and I was just getting a grin on when it started. Empty cases were only extracted half way out, causing a jam. Finally jammed every round. Frustrating.
Another close inspection revealed that the extractor might have been barely touching the side of the slot. So I rotated the barrel slightly to center it up. Didn't help a bit - gun jammed right from the start and now the empty case does not extract at all.
The stuck empty cases are quite difficult to remove after a jam. It seems like the extractor might be dragging over the stuck rim. I've slathered some Bore Scrubber in there to loosen any unseen gunk and I'll brush it more later. I'm also considering renting a reamer to make sure it's in spec.
Everything else seems to be working correctly.
Could it be the ammo? I've only used the Fiocchi.
Am I missing something? The reamer seems to be the next step. Gotta make this work.