Sent my Volquartsen V-Comp (a bolt-on compensator) on an unintentional downrange trip last night while doing double-taps on my Ruger Mk.II .22 pistol. Apparently the screw holding the comp to the barrel sheared in two, and the next shot blew the comp about 10 feet away. It was by far the most impressive failure I've ever seen from a humble .22!
After initial mourning and some emergency surgery to extract the remains of the screw from the barrel, I was left with quite an ugly sight - about 10 years of carbon, lead, and lube buildup on the front of my muzzle. It took about 30 minutes of Hoppes-soaking and bronze brushing to get it off (fortunately, the gun is stainless steel).
Now I'm hunting around for a replacement screw. Grumble.
Some questions:
1. Anyone ever had this happen to their V-Comp? Given that I've had the comp installed for 10 years, my experience would say this is an uncommon failure, but I'm curious if it's ever happened to anyone else.
2. Could the gunk buildup have lead to increase pressure in the compensator chamber, which in turn caused the screw failure? (Never thought I'd be considering a chamber pressure issue on a .22 LR firearm!)
3. Should I be dismounting and cleaning the muzzle on a more frequent basis? Measuring the benefits of cleaning vs. the wear and tear from continually removing and reinstalling the comp.
After initial mourning and some emergency surgery to extract the remains of the screw from the barrel, I was left with quite an ugly sight - about 10 years of carbon, lead, and lube buildup on the front of my muzzle. It took about 30 minutes of Hoppes-soaking and bronze brushing to get it off (fortunately, the gun is stainless steel).
Now I'm hunting around for a replacement screw. Grumble.
Some questions:
1. Anyone ever had this happen to their V-Comp? Given that I've had the comp installed for 10 years, my experience would say this is an uncommon failure, but I'm curious if it's ever happened to anyone else.
2. Could the gunk buildup have lead to increase pressure in the compensator chamber, which in turn caused the screw failure? (Never thought I'd be considering a chamber pressure issue on a .22 LR firearm!)
3. Should I be dismounting and cleaning the muzzle on a more frequent basis? Measuring the benefits of cleaning vs. the wear and tear from continually removing and reinstalling the comp.