Automatic 22 Rifle Problem?

Question

I have an Remington 550-1 Automatic 22 Rifle that wont load shells into the chamber.

The slide action wont go back far enough and the shell comes up and the slide hits it, and bends the shell, and then the shell hangs up.

Does anyone know why it might be doing this?

Answer 1

.22 rifles are recoil operated.  It is likely dirty and needs lube.   If you disassemble the rifle down to the bare receiver, clean the receiver and the bolt assembly then reassemble it with a light coat of lube on all sliding parts, your problem may disappear.

The 550 is normally a reliable feeding rifle.  

The other possibility is that the bolt is coming back just fine but the shell is not being fed up properly because of a broken or bent part.  

Answer 2

Truthfully not having the rifle in hand can not say. From what I have seen most of the 22 rifles are a blow back system.  This means that the expelled gas from the cartridge when fired pushes the action open and allows the cycle ops for expelling the spent cartridge and loading/ chambering of the new round.  Trouble shoot this first.  strip the gun down and clean the action.   Powder build up can slow the action.

Lubricate the c**p out of it and then if that doesn't work... look at the cost of the gun vs going to a gunsmith and the fact that most of them are backed up for 6 months and longer.  Last I knew a good gunsmith is about $100-150 per hour and 4 hour minimums. This could vary from smith to smith.  I haven't used one for a decade.

Answer 3

I agree with the deep cleaning of the weapon, that is normally what causes many semi-automatic's to jam or not feed rounds properly. If that doesn't work - find a gunsmith.

Answer 4

Are you using 22lr bullets or short, Also sometimes cheap ammo will cause a problem, try to manually load a shell.

Answer 5

Dirty or something like a spring is broken or something is assembled incorrectly. In any case, a tear down, cleaning and reassembly should point out the problem.  

Answer 6

Cheap ammo is dirty ammo. I have trouble with all of my semi auto 22s when I use bargain ammo. They get too dirty to function right. If its not that then I dont know without being able to see it.

Answer 7

Try a thorough cleaning and lube of the gun

This is the usual cause for 22 malfs if it isn't ammo related

Answer 8

Give your rifle a thorough cleaning, including removing the bolt & scrubbing the bolt & guide rails, then test fire it with NEW, first-quality ammo.

If the malfunction persists, you need to have your Remington checked out by a reputable 'smith, preferredly a Remington expert.

Answer 9

sounds like a build up of crud is slowing the inertia down in the action.

those 500 type Remigtons are blow-back actions.

Get a manual or go to Remington.com and download one... give that gun a good action cleaning and try again,

I have an old Speedmaster that gets sticky like that after about 500 shots.

Answer 10

Since 22 rifles are blowback actions they generally require 2 major things to help them function correctly.  Make sure the action is well cleaned and lubed, the other is use a higher velocity ammo, such as CCI mini mags, or Winchester super x, or federal high velocity.  If you are using subsonic rounds at less than 1100 fps them there may not be enough recoil to push the action back enough to engage a shell to load it.  Also, in some rifles I have noticed problems feeding with the Winchester power point because they are longer than some rounds.  

Answer 11

2 things  #1 clean it real good .#2. I had the same problem you need to experiment with different ammo manufacturers,you might need to try 3 or 4 some will be coated with wax some wont it took me 5 different brands before I got it loading normal it will be trial and error