Hype surrounding Ruger SR22

[Moose1995]

I just got to the range for the first time tonight with my new SR22. I ran some CCI mini mags through it, had one failure to eject. Accuracy was far less then expected. I then ran some CCI stingers through it. No failures. Those things really go bang. But TERRIBLE accuracy. Then I ran some winchester high velocity 26 grn tin bullets. 3 failure to feeds. Great accuracy. I am hoping this gun is just having some break-in issues, or I will be sorely disappointed. BTW, Fit and Finish are fantastic. I brought my XD 45 tactical with me as well and put 50 rounds of winchester JHP rounds through it. My XD runs circles around it for accuracy. I blame the poor accuracy in large part to a terrible trigger that feels like its sticking right before it fires. Like I said, hopefully it just needs to be broken in. I'll see how it runs after a few hundred rounds of Stingers.

 

[MikePaiN]

I was just running my SR22 last night its at ~1500 rounds with 0 issues. I shoot CCI Blazer 40g HV and have no complaints about accuracy(well, unless its user error ) ...If I do my part, the pistol can easily keep all rounds in a 2" pastie at 10yards under fairly rapid fire. As far as I remember, once I got the sights adjusted to my shooting its always been capable.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Disparate accuracy levels and functioning in autoloading actions between various .22 loadings is a well known phenomenon. I am sure you will eventually settle on something.

 

[chris in va]

Might just want to run some standard 22's through it. I think it was the Walther that requires MiniMags.

 

[skt239]

Might just want to run some standard 22's through it. I think it was the Walther that requires MiniMags.

I would recommend the same thing. You are right Chris, my P22 would only run with high velocity ammo. Mini mags worked the best.

 

[Moose1995]

Out of all the ammo, the only one that functioned flawlessly was the stingers. As I said, I am hoping that maybe the gun will break in and fire the weaker stuff without issue. As for accuracy, I am sure of my skills. The ammo I shot is just not accurate out of this gun. I will try many more over the next few months. Also, as I stated, the trigger just stinks. It has the feeling like its sticking, then just lets go. I have had several handguns, and target rifles as well. I know what a good trigger feels like. When I am pulling and the trigger sticks and then lets go like that can and most likely does cause the poor accuracy. Its probably why the stingers accuracy seemed the worst, because the combination of that jerk in the trigger, plus the added bang. Just my observations, of course.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Just got mine today. I haven't gone over a hundred rounds, but by the first 10, I'd have told you it was accurate as heck. I had to adjust the rear sight a bit, but the group size was great.

 

[Moose1995]

At some point I am going to disassemble the gun and see what parts I can smooth out.

 

[Moose1995]

Berettaprofessor, any FTFs or FTEs?

 

[MCgunner]

Can you quantify your accuracy comments? Mine keeps all ammo I've tried in it 3" or under at 25 yards. I shoot 2" 25 yard groups with federal bulk pack lightening which is great cause the stuff is cheap. This exceeds my expectations for the gun, actually.

500 rounds in two range trips so far with NO failures.

That ain't "hype", just the cold, hard facts.

 

[Bammac]

After shooting one for the first time, I was favorably impressed. There were some FTE out of 3-4 hundred, but the owner was loading the mags out of a huge Mayonnaise jar filled with misc. .22's- some of the rounds looked like collectors items.

Accuracy was so-so, but all I care about is chasing cans around.

I have one ordered.

 

[Pilot]

You can always send it back. Sometimes with mass manufactruing a lemon gets through.

 

[Gato Montés]

Have you checked the barrel to see if it's tightly connected? I know some were coming from the factory with loose screws and that REALLY messed with accuracy (mine wasn't).

As for failures I only had one and that was with cheap Walmart Federal bulk; light round didn't cycle the slide far enough to extract a new one. Other than that, Mini Mags, Stingers, Blazer and Winchester bulk have all been flawless.

 

[MCgunner]

As for failures I only had one and that was with cheap Walmart Federal bulk; light round didn't cycle the slide far enough to extract a new one.

I did have one such failure with some 20 year old (at least) Quik ShoK (fragmenting) rounds. The round in question was under power from age, didn't get the slide far enough back to pick up the round, though it ejected just fine.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Moose1995, not a single FTE or FTF....was using Federal Champion Bulk (that's my cheap round), for the first day.

I agree, the double action trigger is pretty bad. I'm hoping it smooths out after awhile. Most rounds I fired single action, thus one reason why I'd call it accurate.

You can bet, based on comments on rimfirecentral.com, that I'm making sure the takedown latch is fully closed and I've already marked the barrel screw so I can tell if it moves.

So far...other than the trigger, love the thing.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I would recommend the same thing. You are right Chris, my P22 would only run with high velocity ammo. Mini mags worked the best.

I havent tried Mini Mags yet (just got the gun) but everything else works just fine.

 

[Moose1995]

MCGUNNER, Like I said, I also brought my xd45 with me on that particular range trip. I took a 13" X 11" blank paper and put 13 1 1/2" target dots on it (Because the guns capacity is 13 rounds). At 25 feet, I put 1 shot inside each target dot. I can shoot. With a similar target set up, the 22 would put maybe 4 of 10 rounds inside that target dot. Also, like I said, the trigger on this gun is sticking, right before it releases and fires. My guess is this is causing the accuracy issue. As far as the failure to feeds, I inspected the gun thoroughly. The top of the barrel is rubbing the slide more then any semi-auto I have ever seen. When the slide is initially pulled back, you can feel how tight it is, and once it gets past the first inch, it slides back easily. Definitely a flaw in the gun, but one I can easily remedy with my background in metal finishing. And finally, one last issue I found on inspection.... the extractor has a large burr on it. I am surprised I have only had one failure to eject with it in the condition its in. Again, something I can easily remedy. Otherwise, this seems like a fine gun, but I should not have to be fixing anything on a brand new gun from a company with Rugers reputation. My guess is that it will work flawlessly after my fixes.

 

[Moose1995]

Heres a pic where you can see how bad the top of the chamber is rubbing the bottom of the slide, IMO the thing thats causing the failure to feeds. I can't get a clear enough pic that shows the burr on the extractor, but trust me, its there. I am going to take a rubberized polishing wheel to it tomorrow at work to remove it. I haven't dug into the trigger yet to see how to smooth it out, but I will.


Remember, this is with less then 100 rounds through it so far.

 

[Gato Montés]

Hmm, mine has the exact same blemish yet none of the problems you're experiencing.

Before taking off metal it might be prudent to contact Ruger. They're known for top rate customer service but that might change if they receive a gun with stuff chopped off of it.

 

[Psa1m144]

Definitely contact Ruger for all issues, they are very helpful and will resolve the problem...however... if you go messing around with it on your own they might not be as understanding

 

[Moose1995]

Discovered yet another issue. If I pull the slide back half an inch, and let go it will stay back half an inch. The slide rubs the hammer on the left side of the gun, but only when the hammer is cocked back. Looks like it may go back to ruger after all. No way I can polish the hammer or slide.

 

[MCgunner]

I agree, the double action trigger is pretty bad.

I don't find the DA bad at all, hit well with it. I do shoot revolvers a lot, though, have been shooting DA revolvers for 35 years.

 

[Moose1995]

OK, issues fixed. I polished the top and sides of the chamber just enough to stop the rubbing. polished the feed ramp to a mirror shine. Used a spot of grease instead of the oil where the slide was rubbing the hammer. And a new issue I found, the guides just above either side of the grip, that the slide slides back on, also had a burr on them. Both sides. I smoothed them out with a diamond file. Lubed everything and ran a clip of winchester ammo from wal mart (the stuff that comes 555 rounds to a box) through it. Worked flawlessly. Last issue that I haven't done anything with yet is that trigger sticking issue. I am hoping that many more rounds through the gun will break in the trigger and get rid of this issue. BTW, all of this I am sure would have worked itself out over time. Just like breaking in a cars engine. Some of the highest mileage cars start out with a few bugs that need to be worked out. Otherwise, I really like this little pistol, and judging by the many good reviews it gets from others, I would bet I just got unlucky. (I have owned 3 rugers in the past, two were M77MKII Varmint/ target rifles, and the fit and finish were top notch, as were reliability and accuracy. The other was a 10/22, which NEVER had a failure. NEVER. With about 10,000 rounds through it)

 

[db_tanker]

Might just want to run some standard 22's through it. I think it was the Walther that requires MiniMags.

at least it isn't like a sig mosquito...

I got rid of mine and got a Buckmark.


as for the trigger, mebbe some machinist blue to see where it might be sticking? After that some use of an india stone to polish up the offending surfaces...that way you don't take too much off as you might with a craytex wheel on a dremel.

 

[MCgunner]

(I have owned 3 rugers in the past, two were M77MKII Varmint/ target rifles, and the fit and finish were top notch, as were reliability and accuracy. The other was a 10/22, which NEVER had a failure. NEVER. With about 10,000 rounds through it)

Glad its working better for you. I've owned 12 Rugers, still own 8. All are GREAT functioning guns. Some have a few tiny finishing flaws, well, the KP90DC has. Can't say that for the rest. It's nothing really, just a spot on the slide you have to look for. But, that KP90DC is my fave centerfire auto of all time, supremely accurate and reliable and a great DA/SA trigger and trigger transition. My Rugers were/are stainless Old Army (stolen), stainless Security Six (traded), SP101 (sold), P95 (traded), KP90DC, P85, Mk 2, blued Old Army, stainless 4 5/8" .45 Colt Blackhawk, blued 6.5" .357 Blackhawk, stainless 10/22, and the SR22. Of 'em all, the only issue I've had was a broken mag release spring on my KP90DC which Ruger had the replacement in my mail box in 3 days from calling.

One thing I've always liked about Ruger, they're built well and built STRONG, sometimes TOO strong as is the case, I think, with the porky GP100. The Redhawk is a heavy lunk of steel, too, but some of the calibers that thing comes in now, it kinda needs to be. With their use of investment casting, they build quality firearms at a decent, affordable price and they're all American made. This is why I've sorta been a Ruger fanboy for quite a while and I'll admit that.

Ruger is getting off into new designs and exploring new markets old Bill never wanted to mess with, like the CCW market. Some of their designs seem like knock offs of Kel Tec or other, but they seem to make 'em better, so who's complaining? The SR22 seems like a fresh design even if it mimics, in a way, the Walther. It's better, no Zamak. But, I'd worried about buying it so soon after intro. Ruger has had some problems with new introductions that they fixed in the past. But, I WANTED this SR22 and found it at a gun show for $319 and just bought it. I figured it's not something I can't live without if I have to send it back and I knew Ruger would make it right if it were wrong in the first place. But, mine has been flawless. I've got 3 range trips and about 800 rounds down range so far.