NAA .22 LR Not Going Bang Everytime

[Gun1]

I recently took one of my minis in .22LR out to play. I had 200 rounds of 40gr CCI mini-mags, which had never had a dud. However, this time about 25-30 of the 200 rds didn't fire the first time but did fire on the 2nd, and a few required a 3rd strike. So I'm wondering, could this be because of a light strike problem, or just bad ammo. Unfortunately CCI is all I had on me at the range that day.

[coppertop]

What do the casings look like? Comparing a fired casing with one that didn't go bang, are the strikes similar?
That may be the best way to determine if it's a weak hammer spring or bad ammo.

[bearcatter]

I'll repeat an often stated safety rule. With a Failure To Fire, FTF, don't move the cylinder or get near the muzzle for at least a minute or two. Sometimes an FTF can just be a delayed fire.

[pietro]

Sometimes an FTF can just be a delayed fire.

AKA: Hangfire

[kurth83]

Never had a dud?  I can't say I've eve owned a 22 (except maybe my ar-15 22) that's never had an FTF.  DId you mean that particular gun, or that particular ammo type?  CCI is the best AFAIK.

That said, 15% FTF rate is abnormal, I  like to see it around 1 out of 50 or better for a good gun, if it's more than that and I'm sure I cleaned and lubed correctly I will send the gun in, and yes I have had to do that recently (not an NAA though).

If that keeps up, you'll have to send it in for repair.  Chances are the ammo is not the problem.

I don't know enough about these little guns to know what it could be, a bit of dirt in the notch holding the hammer back maybe, or a spring that is failing, I really don't know.

[bearcatter]

Never had a dud?  I can't say I've ever owned a 22 (except maybe my ar-15 22) that's never had an FTF.  DId you mean that particular gun, or that particular ammo type?  CCI is the best AFAIK.

CCI has always done the best for me, but I've had a few duds with it over the years. Rimfire's tendency to FTF is the reason I choose something a little bigger for carry.

[Rick_Jorgenson]

I've had FTF with NAA Revolvers. Just like yours, and, they would go off on the second strike.

For me... I found that it happened when I was extremely focused on the target and slowly & carefully pulling the trigger. Thats when I would get a "light strike" and FTF with an NAA Revolver.

I found that when I deliberately pull the trigger there were no FTF's and have not had one since doing that.

These FTF's (there were only 3 or 4) happened early in my shooting experience so I had low ammo count down range then and did not have the "timing/target/trigger pull control"  aspect mastered yet,  particularly with NAA's.

Regular training builds confidence and measured testing does improve all aspects of shooting. For the first 6 months of regular training my shooting was terrible but I could see improvement. After 2+ years of consistent shooting (with goal's tested for improvement) I have improved.  (it only took over 2 years and 3k rounds down range) 

Sorry, this is a long winded way of saying that by improving trigger control, target acquisition, and timing shots fired.  Helped eliminate FTF's when I shoot my NAA Revolvers 

This target was from last week. Focus of session was 5 individual single timed shots at 5 yards, then 5 shots at 7 yards, and 5 shots at 10 yards. Timing was set for 2 seconds for the first set then, 1 .5 seconds for the second set, and 1.25 seconds for the third set. The idea of the drill is to build on timing and accuracy.

My average draw to shoot time was 1.6 seconds.  I had 3 "off target" during the drills (white pasties) one next to each ear and one in the lower left.

This was with my Sig P210 9mm

Practice, practice, practice 

FWIW, YMMV

Also, no,  I don't go to the "training" classes with my NAA's but, my "shooting control" and accuracy did improve when I do shoot them as well 

[bearcatter]

That's some good shootin' for a mini. I don't do much better with a Guardian.

I like the separate target in the crotch area......

[5_shooter]

The hammer spring in these minis weaken over time. I always have three or four spares. I even had my brand new sidewinder have ftf. I changed out the hammer spring and it worked fine. Even brand new the hammer spring can be weak. Also the hammer nose was rubbing on the frame slowing it down. A little modifying fixed that issue.

[RogueTS1]

It is a rimfire and rimfire ammo is well known to have failures to fire. Could be the hammer spring is weakened or loose. It could also be the ammo, especially if it fired with a second strike.

[Anvil]

Personally I think 9 times out of 10 it's the quality of the ammunition and not the quality of the firearm. Many years ago I bought a S/W 32 HR Mag for IHMSA competition and right from the start all the casings split apart when firing making it difficult for ejections. Then I tried a different lot number of the same ammo and got the same results.
So I mailed the gun into S/W. It came back, finally (that's another long story) with a certified letter stating it met all aspects of inspection, machining measurements were precise to standards.
Upon return I tried another ammo brand and it worked flawlessly (no case damage) as it did with the ammo brand I first used but with a different lot number.
In conclusion, there is a reason they print the lot numbers on the boxes.
I should have reported it to the ammunition manufacturer but dummy me didn't save the boxes.
Lesson learned I reckon.



 

[bearcatter]

I usually post this every couple of months. Looks like a good time now. All about the design and manufacture of .22 rimfire. Once you read it, you almost wonder how .22 works at all.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/8/16/what-you-should-know-about-22-rimfire/

[Gnomie]

I usually post this every couple of months. Looks like a good time now. All about the design and manufacture of .22 rimfire. Once you read it, you almost wonder how .22 works at all.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/8/16/what-you-should-know-about-22-rimfire/

That's a great article.  Thank you for posting it!

[bearcatter]

Here's a good YouTube, a tour of CCI's factory. About ten minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rCZHG_eEak