Hello. I thought I would ask here to see if someone had this issue with their Wildcat. I bought it over a year and a half ago but didn't shoot it until about 6 months ago. It ran with no issues and I have shot at most 200 rounds with it. About 2 months ago I took it to the range again and it would only fire the first round, the brass would FTE (it would stay in the chamber) or it would extract but the next round would get a light strike and not fire. I thought it was just dirty or something, did some cleaning, oiling, etc. It didn't look too bad (this was not the first time I did some cleaning) and no visible damage or anything like that. . Took it to the range again - same thing. Took it home and took it apart, cleaned everything as thoroughly as I could. Probably went too far because I also disassembled the bolt which Winchester apparently advises against. Nothing looked broken or anything. The fun is still pretty much brand new. Put everything back together and just get light strikes now but it extracts a bit more reliably. Very sad because it's the only functioning .22 I had and I quite liked it. I have an old Mossberg that I dropped and broke the stock. I guess it's just my luck with .22s. Any ideas?
Winchester Wildcat .22 light strikes problem
- Thread starter KsCan
- Start date
Killbillc68
Regular
- Location
- Dawson Creek BC
Are you using the exact same ammo that you were using before you were having trouble?
Yes, I used CCI Standard. It was even from the same box as the previous outing and I tried recently purchased ammo as well.
That's always been really clean ammo for me.
You may just have missed some grit when you cleaned it. Not doubting your ability, that's just what I would guess if it were happening to me. These little straight blowback actions can be very sensitive.
I'd guess that there's something going on with the firing pin or firing pin channel, or that something is keeping the bolt from closing just that last tiny little bit. I'd clean the bolt assembly and the breech face.
If you don't want to disassemble the bolt completely again, try dumping the whole thing in an ultrasonic cleaner or in a pot of water at high boil. Rinse under the tap and blast it dry with an air compressor (lube immediately).
You may just have missed some grit when you cleaned it. Not doubting your ability, that's just what I would guess if it were happening to me. These little straight blowback actions can be very sensitive.
I'd guess that there's something going on with the firing pin or firing pin channel, or that something is keeping the bolt from closing just that last tiny little bit. I'd clean the bolt assembly and the breech face.
If you don't want to disassemble the bolt completely again, try dumping the whole thing in an ultrasonic cleaner or in a pot of water at high boil. Rinse under the tap and blast it dry with an air compressor (lube immediately).
Just a suggestion, but I've found that semis especially do better if the firing pin is not lubed (the pin at least, I run most of the action dry except for 'friction points'). I don't indiscriminately oil everything - it just collects crap. Usually the mfr 'recommends' To Not Dis-assemble since a lot of people can't get them back together correctly. YMMV
Have you looked at the 'empties' to see where they're being struck ? There may be a bit of dirt holding the pin out of place ? Is the 'strike' an even mark or irregular ? May be the pin is worn - low-end rifles often have poor QC
My Savage 64 had a FP wear out with only about 2000 rounds Savage in Lakefield mailed me 2 new ones when I contacted them. That was about 3 years ago, now you have to dig deep to find a p-# for Lakefield. The 800 # (even if it says Canada) goes to US Savage now!!
Good luck,
Buck
Have you looked at the 'empties' to see where they're being struck ? There may be a bit of dirt holding the pin out of place ? Is the 'strike' an even mark or irregular ? May be the pin is worn - low-end rifles often have poor QC
My Savage 64 had a FP wear out with only about 2000 rounds Savage in Lakefield mailed me 2 new ones when I contacted them. That was about 3 years ago, now you have to dig deep to find a p-# for Lakefield. The 800 # (even if it says Canada) goes to US Savage now!! Good luck,
Buck
@Alpining I really did spend more time than usual on cleaning, including inside the firing pin channel, bolt face etc. That was my first thought as well that something is stuck somewhere that is preventing the bolt from closing fully. I also thought it might be a stuck extractor but it moves rather freely. I am kind of out of ideas in terms of cleaning.
@ Buck1950s I agree about not oiling the firing pin and I wouldn't normally do that either. I did look at the empties and there is definitely a strike but I guess it's just not deep enough. The firing pin didn't look worn down or deformed when I took it apart but I don't know ...
Maybe the universe is telling me to stick to an SKS for plinking.
@ Buck1950s I agree about not oiling the firing pin and I wouldn't normally do that either. I did look at the empties and there is definitely a strike but I guess it's just not deep enough. The firing pin didn't look worn down or deformed when I took it apart but I don't know ...
Maybe the universe is telling me to stick to an SKS for plinking.
Well, if you're sure the firing pin is not being slowed down, and if you're sure the bolt is closing just fine, I think that just leaves the less likely options: Something is slowing the hammer down (or striker, don't know which one this model has), or a damaged or out of spec firing pin.
Just to be on the safe side, I should ask: Did you scrub the chamber and throat as well? Do loaded rounds plunk in the chamber without resistance? No resistance to the bolt closing from the loaded magazine?
Just to be on the safe side, I should ask: Did you scrub the chamber and throat as well? Do loaded rounds plunk in the chamber without resistance? No resistance to the bolt closing from the loaded magazine?
