Federal .22 issues

TheM4chef

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Hey guys, we were out in the bush the other day with my buddies relativity new 10/22 its been shooting remibgton thunderbolts flawlessly. CT was out of them so we picked up 2 bricks of federal .22lr and all i can say is they were garbage In this gun.
FTE and stovepipe every 2-5 rounds. Using the factory 10 roud mag and aftermarket HC mags the issues were the same.

Anyone else been this disappointed with the federal ammo?
 
what kind of Federal 22LR?
I haven't had any issues with Gameshock 36 and 40gr copper washed nor with American Eagle 40gr LRN
 
Federal .22 ammo has never disappointed me. Wish I could say the same for the 10/22. I think it's the gun. Just doesn't like 'em.
 
check the action and see if there's any build up around the extractor and that the action cycles easily and smoothly, .22 semi can get finicky fast particularly if they weren't cleaned before using when brand new, semi-auto shotguns can be that way too as both these do not develop the kind of pressures that cycle a centerfire rifle.
 
If it is federal standard velocity then it probably will not function well in your ruger, because correct me if I am wrong, but the ruger is a blowback operation much like my marlin 60. The high velocity stuff is crazy reliable and accurate. I love the 525 value boxes.
 
They shoot reliably in my 10/22 but my ruger mark III pistol on the other hand, three of four stovepipes per mag. Then switch to golden bullets or some 30 year old CIL ammo and flawless. People praise these rounds for being the most reliable bulk ammo. But in my experience it's hit or miss
 
I betcha it's Federal Champion's 714 Standard Velocity, not the 510 High Velocity (both lead round nose; blue 50 boxes or bricks, not bulk). A train-load of this stuff came in a couple of months ago, and all the CTs have a bunch it seems. Just doesn't have enough oomph to cycle a lot of semis.

Can be a bit difficult to see what you're buying with the Federal, since they don't give different names to their loads, rather using number designations. Then again, it can also get confusing when you're buying Thunder Cats or Stinging Bees or Thunder Bees or Yellow Cats or…
 
My 10/22 developed serious stovepipe issues. 2 or 3 per 10 round factory mag. Did not matter what brand of ammo I fed it.
It was always prone to a few maybe 4 or 5 per 100 rounds but one day suddenly it got a lot worse.
I contacted Barry at Bit Of Pieces to get an aftermarket extractor. He advised me that before I replace
it remove the extractor and sharpen it. Apparently the point that grabs the rim needs to be very sharp.
When I removed the extractor I could see a small chip out of the point.
I carefully sharpened it on a fine stone and reinstalled it. At least 500 rounds later it has not had one stove pipe.
I use mostly the same ammo the OP has problems with.

Terry
 
I know the solution! Get a lever-action and don't look back. They eat everything!

On topic, I've had the best luck with Federal bulk ammo as well, American Eagle being my preference. Remington .22 ammo is, IMO, junk. I had a Bucket'o'Bullets a while back where it was rare to have two rounds go off in a row that sounded the same. Very inconsistent, but they all went bang. (or pop, fffphttt, pow, etc...) I'm working on another Bucket that isn't nearly as bad. In fact it seems to be alright stuff shooting wise. Just way, way too dirty. Your fingers are copper colored after handling ten or fifteen rounds!

Remington's Thunderduds, had 6 rounds in a brick that would not shoot. I hit all sides of the rim repeatedly until the case was deformed in my Henry Golden Boy. Had probably around 30, maybe a few more than that, that took two or three hammer strikes to ignite. I'll pass next time Remington.
 
you wont have issues with the velocity of SV rounds. they are just below the speed of sound and cycle fine. its the quiet stuff you need to worry about. under 1000 (usually 950) fps is when you will start having issues. i believe champions are 1050 or 1080 fps.
 
It could be a bad batch as well. I used to shoot a lot of American Eagle (Federal) LRN through my 10/22 and it almost always worked great. I had one box (pre shortages) that was just terrible. Weak shots (sounded subsonic), FTF, FTE; maybe 50rnds in the brick (1 in 10) caused problems. Bought a new brick with a different lot number and the problems went away.

you wont have issues with the velocity of SV rounds. they are just below the speed of sound and cycle fine. its the quiet stuff you need to worry about. under 1000 (usually 950) fps is when you will start having issues. i believe champions are 1050 or 1080 fps.
It really depends on the specific gun. My 10/22 runs on SV ammo flawlessly but I've had three friends, two 10/22's and one 597, that wouldn't cycle reliably on SV at all. Squeaky clean guns, well broken in (couple thousand rounds at least), but just wouldn't eat the SV ammo for whatever reason. Stronger recoil springs maybe? Likewise I've seen many people at the range I go to call match ammo crap because it wont cycle in their semi. Most match ammo is SV, around 1050-1100fps. Other people shoot is just fine in semi's.
It seems it can be very different one gun to the next even if they're the same model.
 
My guns love federal anything. I put a few thousand rounds through my Ruger MKII and the only result was a fair bit of carbon buildup on the breech area. Put a couple hundred rounds of Remington Thundercrap and the whole inside it caked with globs of what I assume is unburnt powder.
 
Thanks for the info guys. It is indeed the standard velocity round nose lead ammo. It was disappointing and we food to a full detail strip down and cleaning. I suggested the extractor might be the issue so he's going to order a aftermarket one. I have a old tube fed bolt action that I'll end up using that ammo if the extractor doesn't fix it.
 
It really depends on the specific gun. My 10/22 runs on SV ammo flawlessly but I've had three friends, two 10/22's and one 597, that wouldn't cycle reliably on SV at all. Squeaky clean guns, well broken in (couple thousand rounds at least), but just wouldn't eat the SV ammo for whatever reason. Stronger recoil springs maybe? Likewise I've seen many people at the range I go to call match ammo crap because it wont cycle in their semi. Most match ammo is SV, around 1050-1100fps. Other people shoot is just fine in semi's.
were they lubed after they were cleaned? ruger factory bolts and receivers dont exactly have the smoothest contact surfaces.
 
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