Ever have a .22 revolver not like certain ammo?

[Toothpick]

Just picked up the Ruger Wrangler .22 today. Out shooting it and I discovered it hates certain ammo I have. So what happens is it won’t fully c0ck the hammer back with Thunderbolt and Federal ammo. But even weirder is it will fully c0ck on say rounds 1, 2, 3, but 4 it won’t. It’s odd. Even spinning the cylinder is ROUGH with those ammo. And in some cases it won’t spin at all. When I pull the hammer back it’s HARD to do. I thought the gun was broke.

Until I tried the CCI. The cylinder spun much easier. Hammer cocked fully back on every round. So what do y’all think? Should I give it a good cleaning and oiling? Then try the Federal and Thunderbolt again? Or just stick with what I know it likes?

You can see in this photo the little silver thing circled doesn’t fully hit where it should. It will do this on just 1 round too, not every round in the cylinder.

Whereas in this photo it hits exactly where it should.

This is the ammo it does it with.



I shot 20ish rounds of CCI and never had a problem

 

[Bhugo]

Congratulations on the new pistolero.

The rim on the ammo must not be seating deep enough in the cylinder and catching/rubbing as the cylinder spins. You might hold it up to the light and see there the rounds are rubbing. Maybe your cylinder is not seated forward far enough or the tolerances are too tight. I can’t think of anything else….

Unless you find a problem and can fix it easily, I would call Ruger customer service and ask them about it. It should not happen. They are very easy to deal with.

 

[BSawhill]

Agree with @Bhugo. If you have a set of calipers it may be worth measuring the distance between the cylinder and the frame with the CCI and then comparing it to the distance when loaded with the Rem and the Fed. You can also pop over to rimfirecentral.com and see what they have to say. Lots of super knowledgeable and kind folks over there.

 

[OkieStubble]

Good posts and advice.

 

[Toothpick]

I don’t have a caliper. There are a couple gunsmiths in town though. I’ll probably take in to one. IDK what Ruger could tell me besides take it in for repair or send it back. But I reach out to them too.

Likely will pick up a semi-auto .22 as well.

 

[ColtRevolver]

I'd just call Ruger and send it back. They have a reputation for a quick turnaround on warranty work.

 

[nortac]

While there seems that your revolver may have an issue, I have never been too be impressed with Remington Thunderbolt ammo. Federal and CCI should be GTG.

 

[Whiterook]

You might want to give it a good cleaning. I don't know if the Wrangler cylinder has recessed chambers, but there could be something preventing those rounds from fully seating. I find most finicky guns work with CCI ammo. My Walther P22 won't feed anything else.

 

[BSawhill]

@Toothpick that's a very B&B solution and I like it. Fix one and buy another! I'm very happy with my Ruger MkIII Hunter. If I do my part it puts 10 rounds in 1 hole at 25 yards off hand everytime

 

[Lightcs1776]

I have a 22 rifle that is not very finicky, but doesn't do well with the extremely cheap stuff.

 

[OkieStubble]

You might want to give it a good cleaning. I don't know if the Wrangler cylinder has recessed chambers, but there could be something preventing those rounds from fully seating. I find most finicky guns work with CCI ammo. My Walther P22 won't feed anything else.

The cylinder isn’t recessed and Remington Thunderbolt’s case rims, do seem to be a bit thicker then many other brands?

 

[OkieStubble]

I have a 22 rifle that is not very finicky, but doesn't do well with the extremely cheap stuff.

+1. My 10/22 doesn’t like to consistently cycle the cheap Federal bulk blue box.

 

[Toothpick]

I sent Ruger a message. We’ll see what they say. I’m sure if they get it it will work fine with their ammo.

 

[Ad Astra]

If I leave primers even the slightest fraction high, I get cylinder binding in a 38... Thicker rims on those Thunderduds, and tight tolerances.


AA

 

[Lightcs1776]

+1. My 10/22 doesn’t like to consistently cycle the cheap Federal bulk blue box.

Nice to know I am not the only one who has this issue.

 

[Bhugo]

The nice thing about 22 revolvers are the fact that you can feed them any old cheap 22. I have one that gets a steady diet of all the ammo my Bobcat, Savage rifle, or Mark IV doesn’t like. Jason can’t possibly lose that capability! Ruger does have a fast turnaround as some have mentioned.

 

[Rob72]

The good news: it's more an ammo issue than a gun issue. Stick with CCI.

The so-so: your cylinder OAL may be at the outside of tolerance, meaning, as noted above, it won't eat an/all ammo, because of the thicker case rims.

Calipers are a worthwhile investment. I would check Numrich, ebay & GunBroker, to find another cylinder & see what it measures front to back, in comparison and so that you have a cylinder to modify.

A machinist can dust literally 1/10000th off the face & you'll run fine. I would avoid local gunsmiths unless you know them _very_ well. Most are doing well not to cut it off when they zip their pants. Ruger's shop isn't much better. They don't do 'smithing, just plug-n-play. At least they have a warehouse if parts to try...

 

[BigFoot]

The Wrangler will not have the fit and finish of a single-six, but it should still function properly with any .22 ammo. I completely agree with reaching out to Ruger.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I don’t have a caliper. There are a couple gunsmiths in town though. I’ll probably take in to one. IDK what Ruger could tell me besides take it in for repair or send it back. But I reach out to them too.

Likely will pick up a semi-auto .22 as well.

Calipers are cheap, although the cheap ones are not always as accurate. They are still worth having, in my opinion. You will be surprised how useful they can be.

 

[Toothpick]

I’ll look in to a pair. Seems like I got every other darn tool might as well add something else I’ll use once or twice a year.

Still no word back from Ruger