[cigarman]

I went to the gunshop where they were holding my "new to me" P22.  I saw a second one there and asked to compare them.  The one on hold was a complete 3" barrel P22 with box, mags paperwork, fired casing, etc.  It was an AC date with an L prefix on the serial.  $195

The other they had was identical except AE datestamp.  The sales guy told me it belonged to a guy he shoots with and that he had traded it in.  It just came back from a trip to the factory because it was stovepiping.  $190

I took the latter, figuring that it was from a known owner and that it had just beeen factory serviced.  Checked it out quickly and went to the range with a box of Federal hp hi-velocity, some Remington golden hp and some CCI stingers.

The first mags from the Federals had ftf (falure to feed) on every shot.  I stayed with it and soon only the first two rounds were ftf and many times the whole mag would feed correctly.  In total I shot 200 rounds of the Federal.

Tried the Remington.  More recoil and louder.  Every round fed perfectly.  I fired a total of 60 rounds.

Tried the CCI Singers and every round fed perfectly--fired 30 rounds.  They had a real kick and crack compared to either of the other rounds.  Pretty interesting.  most of the time I shoot my Ruger semi target with a bull barrel and the weight is the great equalizer--this light pistol really is affected by the ammo.

BTW, in between firing, I have the pisto a few seconds and carefully checked it for any malfunction or problem. I both shot slowly and also rapid fire to emply the mag as fast as i could and still be on the paper.

I wiped the muzzle and the ejection port area several times with a dry cloth.

When I got home I printed out the fixes located here http://www.sju.edu/~bc165187/p22fixes.html

I frield stripped the pistol and looked it over carefully again.  One of the fixes has to do with ejection problems and ftf.  The stove bolt should be tight according to the fix.  When I checked it, it took a full turn + to get it tight.

Putting this little B****rd back together is one of the challenges of the century.  The recoil spring and guide rod just do not want to cooperate.  I finally put the rod and spring through the guide hole, compressed it and held the extended end of the rod and then put it together.

If I can I will head to the range again tomorrow to see if tighteneing the screw improved feeding with the Federals.

In all, slight frustration, good feel and accuracy and a couple of hours well spent.
****
Edited to clarify that ftf is failure to feed.

 

[freddyboomboom]

One of my cleaning tools is a dental pick. I take the non-pick end and run that through the guide rod hole and into the spring, so it guides the spring onto the guide rod.

The so called reassembly rod I got with mine doesn't fit through the guide rod hole in the slide...

 

[cigarman]

OK, I'm missing something here. How does the assemby rod work. I didn't see anything about that in the manual.

 

[stunksinatl]

The assembly rod is a small black plastic rod that has little notches cut into it near the ends. You wouldn't be able to tell, but it is tapered, so it'll only go through the guide rod hole one way.

Shove that puppy in the guide rod hole and put the spring and guide rod in their proper place on the frame. Now, put the free end of the spring over the assy rod that's still sticking in the slide. You can use the assy rod to guide the spring as you pull the slide back and over the barrel. The guide rod will push the assembly rod out of the slide, and you're done!

Works pretty well, but I always forget to push up the takedown latch when I'm done! If that was difficult to understand, maybe I or someone else can try to explain it again.

-stunks

 

[cigarman]

You may have saved my sanity and will surely make me clean this baby more often.. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[stunksinatl]

No problemo.

The gun has its quirks, but I think its loads of fun to shoot! Enjoy, and I hope the stove bolt thing works.

I've got a fresh box of the federals, I've never shot them in my P22 before. I have really exclusively used CCI minimags with pretty good success. I hope I have luck with the Federals, they're cheaper!

Let us know how the next range trip goes.

-stunks

 

[cigarman]

Back to the range today after cleaning and tightening the stovebolt.

Fired 120 rounds of Federal with more success but continued failures to feed. As many as four per mag at first, but full mags with no ftf toward the end.

Fired 20 remmingtons and all fed perfectly.

It appears that a hotter round is needed to move the slide with sufficient force to allow the cartriges to load. I will try different lubes next time to see if lowering the friction helps, but it looks as if this baby requires the hotter stuff.

Accuracy was very good for a pistol with the length of this one. over 95% of all of the shots were in a 6" circle at 7 yards, including rapid fire. No flyers, no keyholes or abnormal rounds. I had two smokestacks in the first 4 mags with the Federal, this adds to my hypotheses that the slide is not being moved with enough force.

BTW, I used two different mags, both marked with the "A". One came with the original pistol, the other was a new replacement bexcause the second mag got "lost" at the gunshop.

This is clearly one of the most comfortable 22 pistols I have ever fired. Very nice, I'm pleased overall.

 

[stunksinatl]

You seem to be experiencing normal P22 performance.

I really shoot only Minimags, and plan to try the Federals next range trip.

But, P22s seem to be ammo picky, even among different P22s! I've read how some people can't feed the remingtons, and shoot the federals all day with no problems.

Anyhoo, hope you are enjoying your P22, and as always, keep us informed on your findings!!

-stunks

 

[criticalbass]

Cigarman, your experience is similar to mine. No failures with CCI mini mags. 100 Federal Lightning with no failures, and some other miscellaneous low powered ammo totaling about 100 with no failures. Went home and deliberately did not clean. Second trip, started with the much cheaper Lightnings. Gradual degradation of performance. Went back to mini mags, no problems.

Time for a cleaning. Boy, was that a dirty little .22! Also the phillips head bolt was quite loose--one and one half turns. All clean now, ready for another trip to the range. Very accurate, lots of fun to shoot. Haven't tried the long barrel yet.

stunks, I want to echo the Cigarman's thanks for the info about the lirrle plastic rod! It was such a tight fit I thought it wouldn't go. It does, and the assembly problem is history, though I had gotten pretty good at doing it without help. (Loud cursing seems to provide some marginal help

) I am not overly impressed with the manual that came with the gun.

For reliability and accuracy it won't replace the Ruger, but as a fishing companion and trainer/plinker it'll definitely do. Cute, too. CB

 

[stunksinatl]

No problemo!

Enjoy the pistol!

-stunks

 

[banddr2]

Cigarman, I don't have a p22, but I have always had trouble with the cheap federal 22's feeding in my other small hand guns. I have never had trouble with cci and winchester. I think I need to check into getting a p22, they look like alot of fun.

 

[JDog]

I buy walmart cheap stuff. CCI ftf, ftf, ftf, Every time! Remingon stuff works OK every once and a while FTF but less kick and noise than cheap ferderal stuff. I can shoot all day with ferderal stuff doesn't get dirty or FTF. and it is CHEAP

I have an old P22 though (1st year they came out) but i like.

 

[Crete]

In order to eliminate FTFs (ammo feeding issues):

1. Leave the P22 stored (or when not in use), unloaded, with the hammer cocked. After a week or so the P22 will feed everything but CB Caps, CB Shorts, CB Longs & Super Colibris.

2. Check that the Stove Bolt, a Philips screw located at the right of the frame (when the slide is removed), is tight. If loose, add some Blue Loctite on the threads and secure.

Let us know how these tips worked, or not, for you.

 

[cigarman]

I'll try that and let you know.

Thanks

 

[criticalbass]

Cigarman, weather too icky for fishing Saturday, so took my clean P-22 to the range. Started with 30 minimags, went through 550 Remington bulk-pak hollowpoints, and finished up with 30 more minimags. The only failure was one dud Remington round. Everything fed perfectly. Tried some shooting from a rest. Accuracy at 10 yards was about a one-inch group. Offered an airgun shooter a chance to shoot it, and at 7 yards, with one hand, he shot about a half-inch group of 10! Said he wasn't used to "recoil."

Home for a badly needed cleaning. Stove bolt was loose again--not sure I want to use loctite, but am considering it. (blue, NOT red)

This little gun is fast becoming a favorite. Bought a "dash A" mag on eBay last week, and it works well. Has the larger baseplate. These mags are particularly easy to take apart for cleaning, and all three of mine really needed it. Since they are stainless, I have coated the springs lightly with Militec and left everything else dry.

I am beginning to despise the mag "safety" which doesn't seem safe at all to me:angry: . I saw instructions on removing that, and am going in search of them now. CB:O

 

[cigarman]

Picked up a third mag last week. Yesterday I got out to the range and fired off about 100 rounds. (I had left the pistol cocked since last Thursday, unloaded of course.)

Decided to sat with the Federals, since they were most problematic to see if things would get better.

First mag fed perfectly, but the second mag again had failures to feed for the first 2 in the mags. After that it was a mixed bag with an occssional failure of the first shot or two in a mag and other mags feeding perfectly (without regard to which mag it was coming from.)

I have not yet cleaned it and so will be checking the stovebolt when I perform the ablutions.

It is stored cocked and I will try it in a few days.

 

[wack86]

My P22 'no mag safety' is bugging me too. Can you please post the link for the removal instructions for that pesky little 'safety feature'. Thanks.

 

[cigarman]

EDIT: Sorry, this is not the one you want, but I'll leave it beacsuse it has other info that is interesting to read

Fixes

.