22 LR Ammunition: Duds or Light Primer Strikes

4

44caliberkid

New member
I watch a lot of gun review videos. Seems when the subject is recently produced 22 semiauto pistols, there are a number of failures to fire. Often the tester, trying to portray the product in the best light, calls the FTF a "dud" or "bad ammo". One day at the range a guy next to me was trying out a new Ruger LCP in 22 LR. All his CCI ammo shot ok, but then he switched brands, maybe Winchester, and was getting a few, FTFs, which he called duds. I was shooting a Henry lever action and he gave me the dud rounds, about 10. Every one fired in my rifle. Another day, I was shooting a Chiappa 1911-22. Occasionally I would have an FTF, but I would cock the hammer again and it would fire. If it shoots, can it be a "dud" or fault of the ammo/ manufacturer? Or are people just blaming light primer strikes on the ammo? The Henry and my Ruger Single Six must hit pretty hard as I've never experienced a FTF in either gun.
 
I noticed that when I clean my guns after every time I shoot them, I don't have any issues with any .22lr ammo as far as feed and firing.
 
Most failure to fire in a .22lr is caused by chambers that need cleaned, based on forty years of competition shooting and a half million rounds fired.
 
Rimfire ignition requires two things, first, that the is priming compound where the firing pin strikes and second, that the primer compound be properly crushed.

Because of the way rimfire cases are primed, there is a possibility that the priming compound does not get sufficiently distributed all the way around the rim.

You never notice this unless random chance puts that empty spot in the rim under the firing pin. Bad round? yes, DUD? not if it fires when replaced in the chamber so the firing pin strikes a different spot.

Next point is crushing the primer, properly. And here's where things get.. interesting, and slightly different than centerfires. What appears to be a "light strike" can be the result of a normal strike (nothing wrong with firing pin strike itself) where other factors result in cushioning the firing pin blow.

The rimfire case needs to be completely and fully chambered, with the front face of the rim solidly contacting the barrel, so that the firing pin crushes the rim between the pin and the barrel, setting off the primer.

Crud build up in the chamber or the rear face of the barrel can prevent this. Enough build up (and being much softer than steel) acts like a cushion. The gun shuts normally, but the cushion of crud softens the blow enough so the round doesn't fire.

The firing pin strike on the case normally looks ok, making it difficult to determine the cause from the "dud round alone.

DIfferent brands of ammo have differing levels of "sensitivity" and different guns have different levels of power in their firing pin strikes.

Shooting with a friend one time, him using his S&W M41, me Ruger MK I, both shooting CCI Blazer 22LR. after half a dozen or so failures to fire in the first few mags, he passed me his unfired ammo and the "dud" rounds, and got different ammo from his bag, which ran flawlessly in his gun.

That CCI stuff he gave me ("duds included") ran flawless in my old Ruger, every round firing first time, including those that didn't fire in the S&W.

Guns with a long heavy hammer fall can hit hard enough that a "crud cushion" may be overcome and the round fires where the same situation in a gun with a "lighter" firing pin/striker could misfire.

So, if the firing pin hits, and the round doesn't fire, AND there is priming compound under the pin, its a "light strike". Why its a light strike could be a few diffrent reasons.

IF the round doesn't fire because there is no primer where the pin hits, THEN, it is a bad/defective round.
 
I have a S&W K frame .22 revolver that I've never had problems with.

However, I had some ammo (I can't remember who was the maker, maybe Winchester?) where I was getting FTF at least once out of every cylinder. I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me a shipping label and replaced the ammo.

This was during the last panic surge, and I wondered if their QC had slacked off because of running so hard to keep up with demand.
 
I pick up the dud rounds from our range & of the .22lrs the biggest problem I see is from the Federal rounds it's not getting the primer compound covering the entire bottom of the case. I pull the projectile dump the powder & I can see all of them have the light blue primer compound in the bottom but it wasn't spread out like other manufactures rounds.
The old saying about dunking the .22s in water the kill them is false too. I have had rounds that were in floods that should have been dead but after they dry out the primer is still active. The only thing I have found the absolutely kills a .22 round is heat.
After pulling the bullet, dumping the powder & visually checking the powder is gone I hold each case with pliers & heat the rim with a torch until they go off or get hot enough to start smoking. Of the duds I have disassembled about 95% go off even if they are wet & corroded.
 
I shoot alot 22lr in a bunch of different guns with almost no "duds", I would guess the reason is it's mostly either SK, Lapua, Eley, or CCI ammunition, no bulk ammunition. When manufacturers are cranking out millions of rounds and dumping them in bulk containers you have to expect it's not going to be perfect. It's a trade off, you get inexpensive ammunition knowing that there are going to be some duds, same thing goes for inexpensive 22lr guns, if you paid 150.00 or whatever for a plinker 22lr from wally world it's not going function with every inexpensive cartridge you try and shoot in it. And I don't see anything wrong with that, people just need to adjust their expectations.
Back during the last run on 22 ammunition I bought a carton of bulk ammunition from a customer, my friend Gary uses it when he's teaching classes and doesn't really care what flavor I get him. It must have been sitting in his hot garage for quite some time because there were many misfires and there were little smoke trails behind the bullets when shot from his revolver.
After 3-4 stuck in the barrel in finally threw it all away, a good example of how improper storage can kill 22 ammunition.
 
I have had quite a few dud rounds over the years, some would not fire at all{Rem and Win.) Some didn't have enough umph to operate the action if fired in a semi, some just went poof and hit low on the target. The semi auto .22 pistol is more apt to not fire than a revolver, it's also more likely to jam. nature of the beast. Best thing to do is use quality ammo and keep it clean,then it'll work most of the time unless something is wrong with the gun. I have a new S&W M&P .22 Compact. Until this gun I had never had a failure with CCI Ammo, 300+ rounds thru it, mostly CCi, I've had 3 failures with CCI ammo, it appears that the 3 rounds did not have the powder to kick the slide back and pick up the next round in the mag. Will clean it and try other types of ammo.
 
Ammo is not compatible

If it shoots, can it be a "dud" or fault of the ammo/ manufacturer? Or are people just blaming light primer strikes on the ammo?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily a dud. However the Ammo is not compatible with the specific firearm. When I read your title, right off the bat, a Semi-Auto came to mind. When faced with this situation, I switch ammo and the problem is solved. I label the box and use them in my other actions. There are some brands that I will not buy. ..... :(

Generally, I shy away from "Bulk" ammo. ..... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
duds

You read quite a bit about bad .22lr ammo, and I too have wondered about the quality of the ammo v. the condition of the firearm. I will admit to having very bad luck with a certain line of bulk ammo, and I keep my .22's clean and lubed.
That said, a line of .22 bulk I have had very good experience with, and prefer, is the Remington Golden Bullet, a HV hollow point. Not only are my fails to fire very limited, but the stuff is accurate also, at least in my guns.

I believe that a lot of .22 firearms do not receive the TLC they deserve, which contributes to the "dud" rate.
 
It might be safe to predict that folks that buy inexpensive 22 guns probably buy the cheapest ammunition they can find, not always but more often than not. Nothing wrong with living within your means but get real about what you can expect from the choices and accept them.
 
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