My first inclination is to recommend a new mainspring. And this is no joke.I regularly replace mainsprings. On old vintage military rifles, I put in new mainsprings that approximate the mil spec weight. I found extra, extra power mainsprings caused issues. Such as deformed the nose of a M1903 cocking piece.
This pistol round squibbed, put a bullet in the throat of the cylinder.
looks well hit
However, the pistol had at least 40 to 60 thousand PPC level rounds with Bullseye pistol powder and Federal small pistol primers through it by the previous owner. I was shooting it with a ball powder in cold weather. I replaced the old mainspring and all those squibs and hangfires went away.
I reamed the pockets too deep on this LC 308 and the stuff would not go bang in my M70 during a 600 yard match. Primer looks well hit.
Took the same stuff to a 100 yard reduced match and all the misfired rounds went bang in my M1a. I am sure the ignition system is more robust and the firing pin protrusion was more.
I have had lots of failure to fire over the decades. Sometimes it could have been not seating the primers deep enough. High primers are the most common cause of misfires, according to CCI. The anvil has to be firmly seated, and the gap between cup and anvil set. I just do it by feel. If the anvil is dangling in the air, the first hit will likely seat the primer enough that a second try will set it off. And something that is not discussed, or hardly, is firing pin offset.
The further the firing pin hit is from the tip of the anvil, the more energy it takes to ignite a primer, to the point, the primer will not go bang.
I regularly rail about poorly built firearms, and a firearm with significant primer hit offset will have more ignition issues as the mainspring looses tension, as the firing pin tip wears, in cold weather, or congealed oils in the mechanism.
Want to experience lots of misfires? Shoot 22 lr in competition pistols.
I put on an UltraDot later
It is seldom that in a Bullseye Pistol match that someone does not have an alibi in timed fire or rapid fire with a 22 LR pistol. It is very frustrating when the rounds do not go off. Incidentally, recently attended a four day Smallbore Regional, and the dud round boxes had many rounds that did not go bang. The Juniors shooting 3 P had been taught by their coaches to put those rounds in the dud box.
Somewhere on my computer is a picture of a glass jar full of alibi rounds from a Bullseye Pistol Range. When a shooter raises their hand and reports an alibi, a Range Officer goes over, verifies the alibi, and if it is a defective round, takes it and hands it to the Range Master. Who inspects it and then places it in a glass jar. There were a lot of 22 lr's in that jar, with 38's, 45 ACP's, etc.
When you find a lot of 22lr that reliably goes bangy in your 22 lr pistol, you wish you had purchased a lifetime supply, because anxiety and misfortune are only a new lot away.
This pistol round squibbed, put a bullet in the throat of the cylinder.
looks well hit
However, the pistol had at least 40 to 60 thousand PPC level rounds with Bullseye pistol powder and Federal small pistol primers through it by the previous owner. I was shooting it with a ball powder in cold weather. I replaced the old mainspring and all those squibs and hangfires went away.
I reamed the pockets too deep on this LC 308 and the stuff would not go bang in my M70 during a 600 yard match. Primer looks well hit.
Took the same stuff to a 100 yard reduced match and all the misfired rounds went bang in my M1a. I am sure the ignition system is more robust and the firing pin protrusion was more.
I have had lots of failure to fire over the decades. Sometimes it could have been not seating the primers deep enough. High primers are the most common cause of misfires, according to CCI. The anvil has to be firmly seated, and the gap between cup and anvil set. I just do it by feel. If the anvil is dangling in the air, the first hit will likely seat the primer enough that a second try will set it off. And something that is not discussed, or hardly, is firing pin offset.
The further the firing pin hit is from the tip of the anvil, the more energy it takes to ignite a primer, to the point, the primer will not go bang.
I regularly rail about poorly built firearms, and a firearm with significant primer hit offset will have more ignition issues as the mainspring looses tension, as the firing pin tip wears, in cold weather, or congealed oils in the mechanism.
Want to experience lots of misfires? Shoot 22 lr in competition pistols.
I put on an UltraDot later
It is seldom that in a Bullseye Pistol match that someone does not have an alibi in timed fire or rapid fire with a 22 LR pistol. It is very frustrating when the rounds do not go off. Incidentally, recently attended a four day Smallbore Regional, and the dud round boxes had many rounds that did not go bang. The Juniors shooting 3 P had been taught by their coaches to put those rounds in the dud box.
Somewhere on my computer is a picture of a glass jar full of alibi rounds from a Bullseye Pistol Range. When a shooter raises their hand and reports an alibi, a Range Officer goes over, verifies the alibi, and if it is a defective round, takes it and hands it to the Range Master. Who inspects it and then places it in a glass jar. There were a lot of 22 lr's in that jar, with 38's, 45 ACP's, etc.
When you find a lot of 22lr that reliably goes bangy in your 22 lr pistol, you wish you had purchased a lifetime supply, because anxiety and misfortune are only a new lot away.
Last edited:
