Is my Winchester Model 1906's barrel cooked?

W

Winchester 1964

Inactive
I have a Model 1906 Winchester pump that's in the 585,000 serial range.
Got it a few months ago. Seemed to shoot okay for the first 100 rounds or so, but it's developed this habit of under-firing its rounds. I'm using bulk ammo (Remington .22 Golden) and what will happen is that after four of five rounds that sound fine with a good sharp report, I'll get a "paaaaaaah!" and the bullet will exit the barrel but I'm left with a lot of unburnt powder.
My theories are that either the barrel is "cooked" and that the the guns riflings are so eroded that the gases are escaping around the edges of the slugs exiting the gun or that I'm not getting a complete strike with the gun's firing pin.
Firing pin seems okay and looking at most shells, they seem to have good consistent strikes on them. Looking inside the barrel, however, its riflings are not real prominent - which makes sense with a gun that's probably about 60 years old.


Here's something I should have mentioned - The Remington ammo works fine in other guns (like a Savage Mark II) with no un-burnt powder residue AND when I've tried to use other ammo like Federal or Winchester - it will often get stuck in the chamber and not want to extract. The Remington's the only stuff that's fired (usually) and always extracted. I'll try another cleaning and get back to you guys. Thanks!
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Winchester 1964
 
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I have never heard of a 22 LR "cooking" a barrel. In fact, 22 LR rifles have been known to fire hundreds of thousands of rounds with little wear to the barrel. I would bet it is the ammo, Remington Golden 22 LR is no longer the premium ammo it was decades ago.
 
When was the last time you cleaned the bore, to remove all the fouling? My guess is you have had some bad ammunition as well, but I'm betting your barrel is fine. I'd give it a good cleaning and try some different ammunition.
 
Maybe its not the gun. I have two bulk packages of Remington ammo that is total junk. Half dont work the action on my HS Victor, some take two or more strikes to get to go off using my CZ 542, I have a Winchester 62 & 63 that has the same problem. A lot wont go off at all.

I tried several types of quality non-bulk ammo and they work in all my 22s. I gave up on buying bulk ammo. It ain't cheap if it doesn't work.
 
I've got a few Winchester 06's and I think you have 2 issues. I've gotten an 06 that the barrel appeared to be smoothed out over time. Very little apparent rifling could be seen. I took non-chlorinated carb cleaner, sprayed it down the barrel followed quickly by a brush. The crap that fell out of the other end was amazing. The carb cleaner is used not for the solvent qualities but for the extreme cold that happens immediately. The temp differential makes the crap turn loose. It works incredibly quick on barrels that are leaded up.
I'd also find another brand of ammo. You'll find standard velocity ammo is going to be the best for accuracy. These old guns were just not made for the high velocity stuff commonly found today. And if none of the above works, you can have the barrel sleeved. I've got one that I had sleeved and it's a fabulous shooter.
 
Remington's crap

You really need to stop using that batch of ammo and call remington about it before you ring your bore. Remington ammo is hit and miss in quality. If the report is not consistent the ammo is crap! I would suggest some aguila or even god forbid some winchester standard velocity ammo! Don't shoot high velocity ammo in your antique. rc
 
It could be the ammo but it could also be your chamber/bore. I have owned a bunch of the old 22 rifles. Yours was made in 1918. The ammo back then had corrosive priming and it ate the chamber mouth and throat if the gun was not cleaned after every firing. A corroded mouth is oversized and the case mouth doesn't seal the bore well with every shot. This can occur with one or more brands of ammo. They vary with power and brass hardness. I have had your problem on quite a few of the older .22's I have owned. I just live with it and am careful to be sure each bullet has cleared the bore before a follow up shot. I still love the old .22 rifles. Have quite a few left...John
 
Here's something I should have mentioned - The Remington ammo works fine in other guns (like a Savage Mark II) with no un-burnt powder residue AND when I've tried to use other ammo like Federal or Winchester - it will often get stuck in the chamber and not want to extract. The Remington's the only stuff that's fired (usually) and always extracted. I'll try another cleaning and get back to you guys. Thanks!
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How deep an impact? Maybe you may have excessive headspace. Might be related to failure to extract if the shell rim is forward of the extractor. My guess is you are not getting a good solid impact on rim and are getting poor combustion.

I have had misfires in cold weather with a rimfire, impact looked reasonable but there was not enough energy to light off the primer.
 
I really can't agree with the dislike of remington's bulk 'golden bullet ammo. I am halfway through my second box of 550 of the 36 grain hollowpoints & just had my first misfire today. By my calculation that is a failure rate of 0.13% or 4 out of every 3,000 rounds. That's actually quite acceptable in my opinion given the bargain price of three & a half cents per round.
 
Sounds like weak ignition could the chamber area in front of the firing pin be damaged from dry firing and dented in a way that it doesn't back up the case against the firing pin's impact?
b
 
I chronographed bulk Remington .22lr ammo a few months back it went from 750 to 1200 fps in my newer 1022. My conclusion is that the ammo was junk.
 
now that would be a pretty good basis for labeling it junk. I haven't seen those numbers before.
 
I'll try another cleaning and get back to you guys. Thanks!
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I think that's your best place to start. After a very good cleaning, your rifling might be in better shape than you think. I'd also try some different ammo.
 
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