10/22 Recoil Spring Surgery

S

symphony

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I have been working on a Franken 10/22 with many custom parts (VQ SS receiver, Kidd barrel, Grand Master trigger and bolt with LSBHO). The rifle functions flawlessly with high-velocity ammo including the LSBHO feature but when using standard velocity ammo the LSBHO doesn't work. I'm thinking that the weight of the match bolt combined with the recoil string rate is causing the bolt to not fully cycle to the rear enough to case the bolt catch to engage?

This may sound like a dumb question but if I remove some coils from the recoil spring will it reduce the spring rate? In other words, will it make the spring lighter? I already have the lightest Kidd spring available but it's still too heavy to properly cycle the bolt all the way back to engage the LSbhO feature on the last round.

I've included a picture to help visualize what I'm referring to.

Any advice is appreciated.
FFVIKTL.jpg
 
The return spring and hammer spring are the only things holding the bolt closed after firing. You have the right instincts but have a spare on hand.

I had an interesting experiment with two different 10/22s. I don't know why, but one refused to function until I swapped charging handles. That one ran well again, and the donor rifle didn't flinch with the supposedly weak spring.
 
Removing a coil cleanly and getting the spring to stay on the rod without 'screwing' it's way off on operation is a bit of a trick. I would sure look for a lighter sprung aftermarket assembly if there is one...
 
guntech said:
Removing a coil cleanly and getting the spring to stay on the rod without 'screwing' it's way off on operation is a bit of a trick. I would sure look for a lighter sprung aftermarket assembly if there is one...
Click to expand...

those pre made springs have flat ends, tough to get on a cut.

Grizz
 
If you have a pencil torch (with a small concentrated flame) - you could try compressing the spring tight and heat a small amount of it until it's dark red, about 1/4", around it's circumference and hold it compressed until it cools. That will take the tension out of that portion of spring and will make it a bit weaker.
 
The bubba way is to clip coils off, or run a wire through the spring then take it to a belt sander where the spring will rotate along the wire and the outer edge will get eroded away. This hack keeps the spring length the same but will reduce the power.
 
Spring rate on straight blowback actions has much less effect on cycle rate than bolt mass, so even with a super light spring it may not cycle 100% with lighter loads.


I'd make sure I had a spare spring before chopping the one you have.

Stomp
 
You could try putting a bigger radius on the back of the bolt where the bolt hits the hammer. I've done that on one or two 10/22's to make them cycle subsonics better.
Kristian
 
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