SR22 first shot issue

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KenB22

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I have a Ruger SR22 and am having issues with the first shot of the day. I have owned 10-12 handguns in my life.

When the barrel is "cold" the first shot is wildly inaccurate. I have only had the .22 out 5 times but it has happened all 5 times and with 3 different shooters. It happens on the first shot of the day. After that, it's as accurate as I am. It's not magazine dependent. I have used CCI mini mags and also AE lead bulk pack. Happens with both of them. Again, after the first shot of the day, the pistol shoots fine. Any ideas what might be going on here?
 
Do you clean after every shooting session? Leaving oil in the barrel? Can't think of anything else. Tried running a patch before the first shot? How do you drop the slide on that first round? Have you tried slide release vs. slingshot vs. lowering the slide slowly by hand? Just random thoughts.
 
I'll give them a try. I don't clean after every session but I do run 2 mags of mini mags through at the end of a session. Gun has only 4-500 rounds through it.

I'll see if any of those thoughts make a difference. Since it's only the first shot of the day, it's hard to whittle down the variables.
 
Never had this problem with my SR22. It's said some of the first ones came with the barrel screw loose, but all shots would be inaccurate if that was the case. Tightening is the answer to that, of course, not real technical or hard to do.
Do you clean after every shooting session? Leaving oil in the barrel? Can't think of anything else.
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I've never seen oil cause this in a handgun, but I have seen bore butter do this in a Hawken front loader. Took me a while to figure out why my first shot was off paper and the rest went into the bull in a two inch group at 100 yards. :D I finally quit using bore butter. Just lightly lube the bore, it is chrome and I don't worry much about corrosion in the gun if I get all the sulfur salts out with hot, soapy water and dry. :D But, yeah, a lube in the bore can do that, I'm thinkin'.
 
From my experience, it almost has to be a lubricant in the bore. It takes more than one round to season a barrel when you change 22 ammunition but initially the groups won't be as tight as they might be otherwise.

Are you by chance shooting your first round "double action" and pulling the aim?
 
I don't use bore butter but I'm sure I tried to clean the barrel with CLP after one or 2 of the shooting sessions. I strongly suspect all of the first shots are double action but it has happened with 3 different shooters. It's always the first shot of the day and not the first of the mag. Maybe I'll try single action next time and see what happens. Thanks for the thoughts. I suspect it's the Indian and not the arrow or I'd be seeing problems with more than just the first shot of the day. I have a Gen3 G23 and a .45 GAP pistol so I am familiar with recoil.
 
First shot of the day but not from the mag?? Are you dropping the first round into the chamber by hand? Try racking the first round in from the loaded magazine and run that mag. If its a fixed barrel it won't matter, if it's not, the barrel may be getting jarred into an odd position.

Try it for grins when you're trouble shooting, if it works great, if not it costs you nothing.
 
I always load from the mag. All my other guns are Glocks and I am told dropping a round into the chamber without loading from the mag is a no no. I'm stumped. If it was a problem with .22's, I'm just surprised I haven't read about it before but the SR22 is only a month old and my only .22 so maybe it's common knowledge and I am too new to know it.
 
I think the problem is caused by "limp-wristing" the gun. :D


I just had to pick on you, man. Been too long. :)


Levity aside, I agree with what everyone else here has said- I'd go with as clean and dry a barrel as you can. Extra "stuff" in the barrel is the likely culprit.
 
481-you caught me. I'll try and clean out the barrel. Just can't figure out why it's only the first shot of the day. Maybe it's the DA first pull but I'd have to imagine I started other strings DA and I don't recall it being an issue. Guess I'll have to go back to my .44 so I can't limp wrist anymore. :)
 
rc's idea is worth a shot, too. Is that first mag the only one in which you pull a DA shot? Unless you are pulling DA shots later on without the aforementioned problem, that may be "it".


Short of "stuff" in the barrel, I think that rc's nailed it.

And, if rc's suggestion solves the problem, you know I am gonna hound you relentlessly, don't you? :D
 
Hummed odd....I've never noticed the first shot being wild with mine. Now I want to go shoot it just to see.

I've never shot mine DA FWIW.
 
I've had the gun out with 3 different shooters. As best I can tell it's only the first shot of the day but I'm going to really keep track now. I'm sure I've shot later mags DA for the first shot and I know others have as well. I'll really start paying attention. It may be a while before I can get it out again but I'll report back. In the interim, I'd love to hear if others do/don't have this issue.
 
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