Rifles that won't feed?

W

Why not?

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Occasionally we see or hear about rifles that will not feed properly. Most often, this is the result of someone rebarrelling or rechambering a rifle and not completing the job.

Unless you are satisfied using it as a single shot, a rifle that does not feed, extract and eject properly is junk! :runaway:

Now, when a factory rifle doesn't function properly, that is something else again. It is hard to understand how they could let it leave the place, knowing it does not work properly, when they are so terrified of lawsuits.

Yesterday, I saw a Ruger in 350 Rem Mag that just will not feed. It is junk until the problem gets fixed.

Your comments and experiences in this regard?

Ted
 
How is it "not feeding" Ted?

Not picking a cartridge up from the mag?
Popping out of the action sideways like some older Browning A-Bolts? ;)
Jambing on the feed ramp?
Extractor not snapping over the rim?
 
Ted..I've had 2 Ruger 77s that wouldn't feed properly, a 22-250 and a 300 Win Mag. The 300 stove-piped the first time and caused me to lose a chance to put a nice Saskatchewan Whitetail in the freezer about 20 years ago.
In spite of being massaged by 2 different gunsmiths, it would still do it.
Traded it for an old 7x57 Husky Featherweight....best move I ever made and the old Husky still does the job...never let me down !
 
Kevan said:
Ted..I've had 2 Ruger 77s that wouldn't feed properly, a 22-250 and a 300 Win Mag. The 300 stove-piped the first time and caused me to lose a chance to put a nice Saskatchewan Whitetail in the freezer about 20 years ago.
In spite of being massaged by 2 different gunsmiths, it would still do it.
Traded it for an old 7x57 Husky Featherweight....best move I ever made and the old Husky still does the job...never let me down !
Click to expand...

The amazing thing for me, is that I have owned a number of Ruger 77s and never seen one do this.

Your move to the Husqvarna 7X57 was (and still would be) brilliant! Mine still work as good as the day they left Sweden. :)

DSC05112.jpg

Ted
 
Have had that problem wiht 2 Savages. They would fial to feed sometimes, fed fine other times.

SInce neither one was a DGR, and I waned somethign different, I just sold them...

If it is jamming on the feed ramp, does the spring need attention? Not pushing the cartridge up enough?
 
Is it factory ammo, or handloads?

Are the loads too long for the magazine? (That little mistake made me look foolish at the rifle rodeo...)

Is the follower crooked/canted? Feed lips maybe need bending outward just a little, or have a burr on the edge?
 
One of the biggest problems with removable magazines, is failure to feed. A tiny bend in the lips of the mag and bingo.
example, a friend gave me an eight round mag for my 88 Winchester.
It appeared undamaged.
Would not feed worth crap, not the first round, nor any there after.
Works now, but it took hours of experimentation, and comparisons with my own mag to get it just right.
 
Feeeding issues is like watching Rosie O'Donnell, you only have it happen once, you regret it for a long time, and do what ever you can to keep it from occurring ever again.

BTW Ted I shot a 1.2" group with the old 270 FN, 5 shots prone from no rest the other day 4x weaver, no feeding issues there!
 
Battle River said:
Feeeding issues is like watching Rosie O'Donnell, you only have it happen once, you regret it for a long time, and do what ever you can to keep it from occurring ever again.

BTW Ted I shot a 1.2" group with the old 270 FN, 5 shots prone from no rest the other day 4x weaver, no feeding issues there!
Click to expand...

Yes, I remember. That rifle feeds like a fat boy at a buffet. You whack anything with it yet?

Ted
 
if you walk around a rifle range this time of year, you would be surprised (or maybe not) if you asked all the hunters if they have ever actually checked function with their favorite load and rifle.

People get obsessed with group size, and often miss more critical function qualities of a hunting rifle like consistency of POI with a cold barrel, POI of a clean vs fouled barrel, or feeding after live firing when the bullets in the mag get driven forward in the mag box.
 
rgv said:
People get obsessed with group size, and often miss more critical function qualities of a hunting rifle like consistency of POI with a cold barrel, POI of a clean vs fouled barrel, or feeding after live firing when the bullets in the mag get driven forward in the mag box.
Click to expand...


Agreed...Most of my "practice" shoting is done wiht afull magazine, and cycled as if in a hunitng situation.
 
feeding

well Ted its not only frustrating but can put you in a bad situation also as you well know,especially when one more shot is needed on something that can bite back,and no matter how hard you cram that bolt it just makes things worse and panic sets in,been there done it.lve seen lots of rechamber jobs that didnt feed right also,and usually with a tweek of the mag lips as people have said things seem to work again ,but lve also had to grind the ramp down on a quite few to lower the angle to feed properly. but then the trust isnt there anymore with that rifle for a lot of people.
 
Just rechambered a stevens 200 from 22-250 to 358 win, and i must say, it feeds way better now than it did in its original form. The last round seems to hop out of the lips, rather than slide out the front of them though.

The rifle i have that feeds rarely is my savage 110FP 223. The small diameter of the cartrige makes for alot of contact area aound the chamber when coming from the feed ramp. Fortuantely, this is a gopher/target gun, and rally only sees single loaded shells anyways.
 
I had an early M-700 ADL in .222 that had some feeding issues. Anyone familiar with these rifles knows that Remington simply blocked the magazine to get the correct length - and in the case of my rifle at least, the results were unsatisfactory. When I had the rifle tweaked, I had the smith turn it into a permanent single shot. With the work completed the rifle became the most accurate rifle I had owned up until that time - now it would fall slightly behind my .308 also converted to a single shot, but more importantly I became a real fan of the bolt action single shot. When shooting with your rounds at the ready, reloading can be fairly fast - just drop the round in front of the open bolt and close the action. If you have a target/varmint rifle with feeding issues, this is a great fix - although maybe not so great for a big game rifle.

Ross Seyfried wrote an article called "The Professional's Rifle". In that article he spent some time on dealing with the complexities of a magazine's geometry. Feeding can be effected by issues related to the length and width of the magazine box, and how the rounds stack within that box.

I am sure many of us have owned rifles that feed OK, but show a distinct preference for feeding from one side of the magazine or the other. Interestingly, another M-700 I had issues with was a short action .350 magnum. In hindsight, perhaps the magazine box was too narrow for the fat cartridges. The M-700's I've owned chambered for long slim rounds fed perfectly.
 
Hi Ted,

My experience with the Ruger in 350RM (I am on my second one) is that they won't feed with round nose bullets. When I use pointed bullets and seat them out to the maximum overall length (for that bullet), I have no problems with feeding. I also load up the internal magazine and cycle the rifle through all the rounds from time to time just to make sure everything is fine.

Now, if the gunsmith would hurry up and finish up with the sights so I can get it ready for hunting season...:rolleyes:


James
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