Bad 22 Chamber
I've been working on an old lever action Mdl 895 Westernfield (same as either the Mossberg 400 or 401). It's chambered for 22 S/L/LR. I fixed and refinished the stock and for end. I figured out that one of the extractors was broken so both were replaced so the rifle will now lift and chamber a round normally.
The problem is extracting a fired shell. They stick hard and have to be pried out. I tried ironing out the chamber thinking it might have been dry fired too much which didn't work. Took it to a gunsmith next. When I picked up the rifle the paperwork indicated that the 22 Shorts fire just fine and it had a bad chamber. Was waited on by one of the clerks. I had assummed the gunsmith fixed whatever and tested it with Shorts. Two weeks later (today) I went to the range first round the fired case was stuck. went back to the gunsmith. This time he was in. I told him that the case was stuck and he asked if it was a 22LR. Told him yes. He said that the paperwork said either the gun would only fire shorts or only to use shorts. He pulled the paperwork and he apologized since it just said that it shoots shorts just fine. He then apologized and said that the bad chamber was likely caused by shooting a lot of shorts.
I remember reading that long, long ago.
So am I stuck shooting only shorts or is there a reamer I can use to clean out the chamber? There's not much room in the receiver to insert anything and looks like someone had tried to remove the barrel many years before due to the tooth marks from a wrench or vice grips. The gun really isn't worth much so I don't want to sink much more into it.
The problem is extracting a fired shell. They stick hard and have to be pried out. I tried ironing out the chamber thinking it might have been dry fired too much which didn't work. Took it to a gunsmith next. When I picked up the rifle the paperwork indicated that the 22 Shorts fire just fine and it had a bad chamber. Was waited on by one of the clerks. I had assummed the gunsmith fixed whatever and tested it with Shorts. Two weeks later (today) I went to the range first round the fired case was stuck. went back to the gunsmith. This time he was in. I told him that the case was stuck and he asked if it was a 22LR. Told him yes. He said that the paperwork said either the gun would only fire shorts or only to use shorts. He pulled the paperwork and he apologized since it just said that it shoots shorts just fine. He then apologized and said that the bad chamber was likely caused by shooting a lot of shorts.
I remember reading that long, long ago.
So am I stuck shooting only shorts or is there a reamer I can use to clean out the chamber? There's not much room in the receiver to insert anything and looks like someone had tried to remove the barrel many years before due to the tooth marks from a wrench or vice grips. The gun really isn't worth much so I don't want to sink much more into it.
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I saw Larry Potterfield demenstrate this problem & fix it on T.V.
He used a punch to clear the burr out off the chamber where the rim lays and also the round part were the brass case is inserted.
He said the firing pin hitting the rim for many years causes this problem.
May find the video on you tube. I know a lot of his how-to's are on there.
Edit:
Here you go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqUZwIf0J2k&feature=plcp&context=C38a78f0UDOEgsToPDskIcTkonBJLUaayBA3GYwESy
I have a Stevens Crackshot that had this very problem. I fixed it like shown and have not had any problem with my gun using S,L,or LR in it.0 -
Chanches are if running a reamer in it would fix the problem the gunsmith would have done so. I'm thinking that the chamber is cone shaped. Setting the barrel back and cutting a new chamber would do it. A liner would replace the whole inside of the tube.
Shoot shorts or CB caps in it.0 -
When too many shorts are fired in a LR chamber they erode the area in front of the short case. Then when you fire a LR the brass expands into the eroded area locking the fired case in the chamber. You will have to stick with shorts or reline the bbl. 0 -
Would this be like shooting .38's in a 357 mag? My .22 had the same type of problem and I used a cleaning brush in my drill to remove the ring on the inside of the chamber. 0 -
Maybe I'm just too demanding, but I would expect a qualified gunsmith to look at the chamber with a fiber optic borescope, given the complaint, not just make an offhand suggestion. With his failure to visualize the problem area, we're left guessing.
I've been able to polish .22 chambers in revolvers with J-B Bore Compound & an electric drill. In your case, that won't be possible due to limited access, & it may not be worth the expense (& risk) of removing the barrel. But, you may be able to polish the chamber manually using a Q-Tip & J-B. Or, you can even substitute auto polishing compound.
Neal0 -
After cleaning the chamber and using a chamber mirror and good light the eroded(as in material has been removed, not added) area would be visible. No amount of cleaning/polishing is going to add metal to this area. Not an unusual problem in older guns when times were hard and even .22 ammo was costly. The shorts were the least expensive and still put food in the pot. But they did do damage to the LR chamber if enough of them were fired.
Just stick with the 22 shorts or, as suggested above, have the barrel re-lined and a new chamber cut.0 -
I would have to almost agree with others. It sounds like the chamber has been eroded. IF so the only real fix is to replace the chamber.
Yyou do not need to rebarrel or reline the entire barrel. You can get a good gunsmith to just reline the chamber area. I have seen it done to guns that people thought they could rechamber to 22 mag or just messed up the chamber.
As you have mentioned it may not be worth the cost. You may be better off shooting shorts or as a last try effort one of the fixes of trying to polish the chamber. Even if you fixed the chamber with a liner the outside of the barrel has marks on it. You may be better off just shooting it once in a while and try to find a gun with a donor barrel.0 -
+1 on goodgunparts suggestion,
Subject of course, to the expense. Many years ago I had a High Standard that had the extractor groove cut too close to the chamber wall resulting in a neat little rectangle of chamber material being blown away. For what seemed like a very reasonable price at the time I had a local smith install a new chamber. Don't recall how he installed it but I think it was one of those every so slightly large (o.d.) chambers; warm the barrel, freeze the chamber, and tap into place. Worked beautifully.0 -
Thanks for all of the insight. The gun really isn't worth putting any more money in it. I'll just buy some shorts and keep it until I'm tired of it. I have a great nephew that might get then. 0 -
I remember this from my childhood when there were a lot of junkers around.In high school I cut off a chamber and rechambered a Stevens Favorite. More recently, I sold a Stevens Pocket Rifle with such a chamber.
Shooting lots of CB,BB and shorts bulged chambers of the soft steel barrels used in these old pre WW2 guns.
when I was a kid, CB caps, BB caps and 22 shorts were a lot cheaper than Long Rifle explaining their extensive use.
Today's barrels are of much better steel.
Even so, some RWS CB caps wedged in my Ruger 10-22. They seem much more powerful than I remember the old Rem and Win CB &BB caps were.0
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