A22 22WMR Misfires

I picked up a NIB A22 22WMR from a seller on CGN (Canadian Gun Nutz). This is my first savage rifle - I'm a winchester/marlin guy, but I wanted a 22wmr auto, so options were somewhat limited. It shoots well, but misfires with winchester super-X - about a third of the time. If I retry the round, it usually fires on the second round. I've picked up a couple of other brands (CCI, Horndady) that I'll try this weekend.

I've checked online and the mis-fire seems to be a fairly common problem with A22's. Is anyone aware of a fix for this? A replacement firing pin spring maybe?

More that a bit disappointed with this and considering the design and quality of this rifle, not reliably firing seems really out-of-line. Other manufacturers had this problem solved over a century ago. What the hell happened at Savage??? Even the "poorly made rifles" of the last half-decade - post 64 winchesters and the marlin/remington misfits always fire when you pull the trigger.

Thanks in advance for any tips you can provide.

Werner

It will be interesting to see if it's the ammo. I have a A22 (LR) that I shoot CCI standard velocity in tactical Matches. Never had a failure to fire. Started out with CCI mini mags - never had a failure to fire with them either - but they were not accurate past 50 yards. The A22 is mounted on a Boyd stock. I also have a MarkII BV that I use in Prone Matches - never had a failure to fire with it but have had some failure to extract problems, which I've solved.

Tried the CCI ammo. 100 rounds, no misfires.
Tried the hornady vmax. 50 rounds, 1 misfire.
Looks like the A22 is very picky about what ammo is used.

I have the A22 mag and it will not cycle the winchester ammo. Very under powered. Runs every thing else just fine.

Just a little over four years ago I bought my A22 Magnum and experienced immediate disappointment. Failed to load, failed to fire and failed to eject. When I did get a round to fire, it just kinda fell out of the receiver rather than being ejected. The first attempt was with CCI Landry Signature ammo, then tried some Remington and later, CCI A22 Magnum ammo. Never did get a full magazine to fire successfully. I returned the rifle and explained that I had found a burr in the hole for the extractor spring and had fixed it, but still had problems. A couple weeks later the rifle was returned to me and it seemed to be worse. I bought two additional magazines and nothing seems to help. Biggest problem is the bolt riding over the cartridge rim and hitting the case about half way up. I have been so discouraged the rifle spends all its time in the cabinet. Three weeks ago I sent an email through the Savage website to Customer Service and have had no reply.

If anyone has had similar problems and found a fix, I sure would like to know about it so I can try to get this thing working. A couple days ago I pulled the gun out of the cabinet and fiddled with it a bit. I noticed that the bolt handle had a rough edge and it would not move smoothly to the front end of the groove it rides in. When it hits a bind, it would limit the firing pin travel. I think I have it cleaned up, but have not had a chance to test fire.

I have a K serial numbered A22 Magnum. It shoots Armscor and Winchester with no issues. I have had a few round that would not fire at all, but all fired rounds eject and fly about 20 feet. Have you taken the bolt out and cleaned it to make sure that there is no gunk that is slowing or restricting the firing pin? Also, have you put a little light grease on the top of the receiver where the lock lug is.

I had an issue with my CZ 455 17HMR and found that there was gunk on the firing pin. Cleaned and lube it. Runs like new.

The only issue I've had was when I put the A22 in a Boyd At-One stock. I had mag issues in that stock. Boyd has that stock for review. The same type of stock works fine with my A17.

The only issue I've had was when I put the A22 in a Boyd At-One stock. I had mag issues in that stock. Boyd has that stock for review. The same type of stock works fine with my A17.[/QUOTE]

I have my A22 in the Boyd's At-one-Stock also and have had mag problems also. I purchase the weapon to use in Tactical Matches and it's a tack driver but because of the mag issues - failure of the mag to click in place - it's useless in a timed event. I've sanded, removed a little wood and loosed the screw that holds the metal tab that the lever on the mag clicks into. That helped a bit but it's still not the way it should be. I just need a hair more for the mag to click in. I purchased 2 mags of the newer design and no improvement. My 4 mags work perfectly in the original plastic stock. Actually, while I like the looks and the adjustment on the Boyd I wish I never purchased it. To insert the mag now I compress the lever before inserting the mag - I shouldn't have to do that. I will be interesting to me to hear how Boyd resolved your issue.

Boyd sent the stock back. They said that it matched their reference. I got the stock back today. In comparing the 2, the rear mount on the A17 stock is level with the wood. On the A22m stock, the wood is above the rear mount. Check your's and let me know. I think that the extra height (about .01) may be elevating the action just enough that the magazine is not able to fully engage the tab on the trigger group. I'm seeing that the magazine is unable to slide back onto the tab and the wire spring is pushing the magazine down, causing the feeding and magazine drop out issues.

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Originally Posted by Back2Wyo

Boyd sent the stock back. They said that it matched their reference. I got the stock back today. In comparing the 2, the rear mount on the A17 stock is level with the wood. On the A22m stock, the wood is above the rear mount. Check your's and let me know. I think that the extra height (about .01) may be elevating the action just enough that the magazine is not able to fully engage the tab on the trigger group. I'm seeing that the magazine is unable to slide back onto the tab and the wire spring is pushing the magazine down, causing the feeding and magazine drop out issues.

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Thank you for the info and I'll check mine today and get back with you. When I read you were shipping you're stock back to Boyd's I was hopeful but really didn't think they'd provide the answer other than to say it's not their fault. When I contacted them they advised me that their website said some fitting would be necessary, which I knew prior to the purchase. As I mentioned that "hair more" and it's probably only .01 that I need. As a last resort I even tried filing the lever on one of the mags but I couldn't get enough off without destroying the lever.

I stopped shooting the A22 in the tactical matches and am using my Mark II BV. As you know, the tactical match requires movement at each stage and a mag change. On some stages I could deal with the change - turn the rifle to see what I was doing - but in other position (prone etc) I had to feel it. Most times it didn't seat or it would fall out and that cost me time. When the mag fell out into the dirt that stage was over for me. Folks I shoot with love the look and feel of the Boyd and so do I -- too bad it doesn't work. I'd go back to the original stock but hate to think about putting a $200 stock in a corner to gather dust.

What is your plan to fix the problem?

I fixed the issue with the rear pillar but the main issue is the mag well. It's cut so that it does not push the magazine back. There is too much free space in the front. I'm going to try to use epoxy to build up a stop for the front of the magazine. Boyd is inconsistent. They make stocks for Savage and they are fine, but the ones they sell us lack QC and consistency. The mag well in the A17 stock is fine. Also, the A17 stock grips the action tightly, while the A22m stock is loose.

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Originally Posted by Back2Wyo

I fixed the issue with the rear pillar but the main issue is the mag well. It's cut so that it does not push the magazine back. There is too much free space in the front. I'm going to try to use epoxy to build up a stop for the front of the magazine. Boyd is inconsistent. They make stocks for Savage and they are fine, but the ones they sell us lack QC and consistency. The mag well in the A17 stock is fine. Also, the A17 stock grips the action tightly, while the A22m stock is loose.

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I removed the cover but my problem has been I don't know what I'm looking at and have nothing to compare it to. The action seems tight. Over the last 3 or 4 months I've had the weapon apart about 15 times. I've sanded and smoothed the mag well but I can't seem to find where it's hanging up for that little bit extra I need and I've gone as far as I dare go removing wood before I end up ruining the stock. As far as the mag being loose I don't know constitutes "loose". When I squeeze the lever to get the mag to click in it fits tight. Someone who knew what they were doing would probably see the problem in 5 second. I'm going to find a person in Tucson who can find and fix the problem. In the mean, time I'll just keep squeezing the lever to seat the mag.

It looks to be poor QC. At the front of the magwell there are 2 protrusions. To the side of each one, on the side of the stock, there are cut lines. On one stock, those lines are even with the ends of the protrusions and on the one that I'm having issues with, they are forward. If those cut lines, which the magazine should rest on, are too far forward, then the magazine does not fully lock back on the tab on the trigger. This then allows the magazine to move forward and cause the Fail to feed and crushed rounds.