[thunderworks]

I'm a new shooter - bought a Marlin 982VS WMR rifle last Fall. I'm curious what's considered a normal percentage of ftf's. I was shooting today and 3 out of a box of 50 Winchester bullets didn't fire . . . normal? abnormal? Winchester ammo not quality?

TIA for any opinions/advice.

R.

 

[unclenick]

I usually only see that in Remington, which has a less sensitive priming mix than normal. I've not had trouble with Winchester, but find CCI and Federal to be most reliable.

Sometimes you just get a box that's been dropped and the priming mix cracked and loose in a few cases. In that instance, rotating the round in the chamber will usually let you fire it.

Try some CCI. The plastic boxes offer better protection than most.

If you still get misfires then you may have a gun problem? The most common one is just lube or grease jammed in the bolt assembly. If you take it apart and soak it in mineral spirits and brush it clean with an old toothbrush, then lube it with a light layer of gun oil, you will likely be good to go. If that doesn't cut it, send the bolt back to Marlin for repair.

 

[William Iorg]

I have a Marlin 983, I don’t recall this rifle ever failing to fire. It is possible you bought some ammunition which has been on the shelf awhile.
Winchester 22WMR is generally the most accurate of 22WMR ammo in my experience as the bullets are a true .224” diameter while all other brands of 22WMR bullets I have pulled and measured are pretty uniform at .2235”

 

[kdub]

Working at a very active local gunrange, we see more and more defective 22LR ammo these days. Can't say its one particular brand, but the bulk boxes seem to have more than others. People are bringing them up to the range office by the handfull anymore. Don't know what the problem is, but shooters are pretty disgusted over it. With the economic hard times, more folks are shooting the rimfire firearms to save a bit of money. When the ammo malfunctions, it takes away a lot from pleasure shooting.

 

[ribbonstone]

If you've got strong fingers, can usually take the dud ammo apart (can kind of snap off the bullet).

What I've found in some ammo is a mix of priming compound in with the powder. Priming compound was there, but for some reason decided to just shatter from the rim rather than igniting.

Took apart some of the unused ammo to see if the compound had seperated/shattered from the rim before being hit by the firing pin... YES. In at least some of the unfired rounds, the priming compound came out in chunks when the powder was dumped.

So my guess is that at least some cases aren't prepped well enough. Oxidation or lubrication is keeping the priming compound from sticking in the case rim.

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In some "cheap duds" (from the bottom of the barrel/cheapest you can buy ammo) is an uneven application of priming mix. Never found actual "gaps" in unfired ammo's priming, but was thin enough in spots to make me belive a hit there would have a lower probability of setting the round off.
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Other ammo requires a very good strong "smack" to set off. Long ago, was some European .22 ammo with mild steel cases (some communist country that probably doesn't exist today). Was horrid ammo for 9 out of 10 guns. But given one that smacked the crap out of the rim, it worked every time (still shot poorly...but at least it went "bang").

 

[Cheezywan]

I,m starting to see 22 lr on the shelves again around here in good quanity again (although at increased cost) after a year or more of absence. I kinda suspect that quality control might suffer some as the makers try to re-stock inventory and the pipeline to retail.

I'm still using "old" stock" with a failure rate of something like 1 in several hundred or so.

Like unclenick said, rotate the case in the chamber and most go bang.

Cheezywan