[swingset]

I have a new Kimber Target .22 (the new one, not a conversion). It's light, accurate and very neat, if not a bit overpriced but that's another story. One problem tho...

It's only a few days old, and during break-in I'm getting FTF's on the first 4 or 5 rounds of every mag, every brand of ammo (12 so far) and ONLY on the first 4 or 5 rounds. The last 5 feed reliably.

The stripped round goes up into the chamber at a slight upward angle, not seating the base of the shell fully into the bolt-face....thus sticking on entry into the breech.

Now, obviously two things are at work here potentially - the mag spring at it's maximum pressure is making it slightly harder to strip off a round - and also the recoil spring could be too weak and not able to strip off a round when under that pressure. The slide moves freely, and cycling the rounds BY HAND always works, even under a full mag. It's only when I actually shoot that the hangups occur. I think I can reasonably rule out a sticking slide.

Sooo....here's my question. I think I can test the springs two ways, so tell me if I'm right. To test the recoil spring, I thought about putting a spacer into the channel in the recoil spring lug to shorten, thus tightening the recoil spring - making it stiffer. This should tell me if the recoil spring is the culprit, no??

Assuming this is a good idea (or works), then if the problem persists it's the mag spring. To test it, I thought about dropping the floorplate off, then suspending it (with duct tape) below the mag body, to effectively lenghten the spring and make it weaker. Then, loaded up with 10 rounds, it should work from the get-to, thus telling me that the mag spring is too tight. Sound good??

I'm no smith, just thinking out loud and wanting opinions.

I called Kimber, they were cool about it, they're even shipping me a new mag (free!) to try out, but short of that working they want the gun back and I'm wanting in the mean time to see if I can work it out, not only for convenience but also because I like to know for myself what's going on.

Advice welcome and appreciated.

[Old Fuff]

In a pistol magazine using rimfire ammunition each cartridge is in fromt of the one below it because of the lower cartridge's rim. As a consequence they stack at slightly different angles. I suspect that you are correct in thinking the magazine is causing the problem. The solution may be to adjust the lips so those first four or five rounds feed at a lesser angle. Also be sure the rim's aren't getting hung up on the extractor.

I'd wait and see how the new magazine works. If it does I'd try to set up the first one the same way as the second. If neither worked I'd return the gun to the maker and let them fix it. Other then carefully observing to see if I could detect what was causing the problem I wouldn't fool with the gun.

[SelfProclaimedExpert]

At the risk of agreeing with you and angering you, again:

You're thinking of all the right stuff. With the mag, make sure the inside of the feed lips isn't rough, preventing smooth feeding. Rough lips would be compounded by high spring pressure when the gun is fully loaded.

Have you tried Hyper Velocity ammo? Like Stinger? Sometimes these conversions need breaking in, and the Hyper stuff is a better bet, if you haven't tried it already.

Also, check for a smooth feed ramp.

[Bacchus]

This is brand new, right? I think that I would wait a while until the gun is broken in before changing too many variables.

[Kruzr]

I'd agree that you need to put more rounds through it. Polishing the ramp is a good idea also. But since it's new, if it does it with the new mag, do what Kimber said, ship it back. They have the fastest turnaround in the business and will fix it for you. You already got a free mag but you might be able to get another one to cover the cost of sending it back if it comes to that.

I wouldn't put any spacers in with the recoil spring. Thats more likely to prevent the slide from its full travel than to increase the spring tension.