Browning Challenger III jamming

[PaperBouy]

I purchased a .22 Challenger III at a gun show recently. It is in excellent condition inside and out with a magazine that says Challenger on the bottom.

The pistol loads easily when releasing the receiver. However, the pistol will not shoot 10 in a row without any particular round missing the ramp and the chamber and instead jamming against the top of the chamber or the roof of the receiver. The magazine doesn't appear to have been modified.

I've already replaced the pistol return spring thinking it was too weak... no help.

I've purchased two aftermarket magazines that may have been intended for a different Challenger model. They fit and used the same bottom magazine release. However, the shape of the ramps or guides at the top of the mag are different. The front part closest to the chamber was ~.100 higher than the rear of the mag where the rounds are held in place in the mag.

When loading, the bullets would miss the ramp or the chamber and lodge into the roof of the receiver. I carefully ground the front guides down to the same height as the original. The rounds load well... but again, I can't shoot ten in a row without jamming.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated... I'd like to keep this handsome pistol.

 

[prickett]

I have a Challenger 2, so I understand why you are so interested in keeping the gun. Mine has the best trigger of any gun in my collection.

I'd recommend buying a Browning magazine rather than an after market one. Typically, jams are caused by magazines. Try Numrich who sells Browning Challenger 3 mags. Yours might be early Buckmark mags which I believe also fit the 3.

Have you tried other brands of ammo? That would be the other possibility.

 

[PaperBouy]

I have tried Remington, Federal and CCI... 40 grain standard LR and 32 gr. Stingers. All jammed. Numich had no compatible magazine and I've not found an original browning mag yet.

At the range this past weekend. I was able to experiment with another shooter's Buckmark mag. Since it uses a side release instead of the Challenger bottom type release, I was able to hold it in place with my left hand and shoot all 10 rounds without a jam. Maybe the answer is to purchase a Buckmark mag and file a release notch into the plastic at the bottom. Though it will protrude a small amount, I might be able to live with it short term.

 

[nitetrane98]

My Challenger II started doing this and I tracked it to the magazine. The front of the lips were a little splayed and was allowing the front of the round to pop up a little too high and jamming on the top of the chamber. I bought a new one and it worked fine. I was able to diagnose the problem after comparing the old and the new. I squeezed the old one back together a bit and now it works fine again.

I got my spare from this guy. 35 bucks http://www.gun-parts.com/magazines/

MGW has the Brownings for about 70 bucks.

 

[PaperBouy]

next

 

[PaperBouy]

I did buy two aftermarket mags at a gun show. They performed no better. I also tried bending the ends very slightly at a time just as you did using smooth-end needle nose pliers. Still no luck. I was left thinking maybe only an original Browning mag would work.

What I have observed:
If I very slowly release the receiver to push a new round forward - just as the rim leaves the mag but before the bullet has even contacted the ramp - the mag spring drives the round up into the roof of the receiver.

This is why I changed the return spring... thinking the spring was too weak and too slow to send the round into the chamber before the mag spring won the race.

What do I need, longer .22LR rounds? ))

 

[rcmodel]

Try these instructions.

While they are for a High-Standard, they will get you pretty close on the Browning mags too.

http://www.highstandard.com/magazines.html

rc

 

[PaperBouy]

Thank you, thank you RC. Finally some dimensions to work with and compare to.

 

[PaperBouy]

Additionally for those that may also have feed problems, I found another pdf file with pictures and a 20-step process to adjust the magazine. Look here:
http://www.gun-tests.com/pdfs/1-3-20steps.pdf

I'll report on my results once I tweak my magazines and get back to the range.

 

[gb6491]

I found I had a weak spring in a Buck Mark magazine that was giving me trouble. You might want to try swapping out the spring in the magazine that came with the gun for one of the new ones.
Also make sure that your sight base screws are tight; most times (the exception being noted above) that I have any feed problems with my BMs I find the front screw (or both) has worked loose.
Regards,
Greg

 

[Gun Geezer]

I know it has been 1 1/2 years since this was dicussed. But search is a wonderful thing!

I have the exact same problem. This thread from yester-year stopped. Did the problem ever get solved?

HELP!

 

[rmash]

I too am having jamming problems, several different brands of bullits do not seem to make a difference.
Any help would be appreciated.
Otherwise, when it goes off it is a beautiful gun to shoot. Dead on at 25 yards.