Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires 10/22T Tight Chamber Question?

Been hitting our squirrel fields with a neighbor who is using a nice stainless fat barreled Ruger labeled a 10/22T. His claim is they were manufactured with a tight chamber. Rifle is reasonably accurate, but does not fully eject about every third round resulting in a jam regardless of ammo brand. Actually had a cartridge that did not quite clear and the clutter set off a round with the receiver not fully closed today. No harm, but the fired round was pretty much a banana peeled cartridge.

Anyway, the question is: Does that make/model indeed have a tight chamber? Seems such would not be a good idea in a semi auto.

Your thoughts/experiences please,

No, im sure it just needs a good cleaning.

Those heavy barrel 10/22 Rugers do not have a true match chxmber in them.

I can tell you based on 30 years of running custom 10/22s with right spec Bentz type chambers( GOOGLE it) that it is not the chamber design.

Besides making sure the gun is clean , would look at -

1) The ammo
2) The extractor and ejector
3) Magazine /feed ramo alignment to the chamber


I think it is intersting you did not.mention what kind of ammo he was shooting. I this point I would not even be blaming the rifle.

The way it is functioning ,it sounds like some bulk packed crap with horrible QC.

There is a LOT of that floating around these days.

When my son worked at Gander years ago, they frequently had customers come in with .22 auto problems. The solution was Mini Mags, though a few seemed to think a rifle should be able to handle whatever crap ammo they fed it.

.22s with minimum chambers need good ammo. Even then, some may not permit a chambered round to be removed without firing it. Comes with the territory. Some, like my CSC, also can't use Stingers, or other non-standard types. Your pal should get a bore snake, and use it, and possibly change ammo types.

EDIT: Just checked the 10/22 manual online, and the Target models also aren't safe with Stingers, and it describes the same situation you did, a ruptured case.

I had had a few issues with the same model. Switched to Geco Semi-Auto loads and function has been perfect.

I have a 10-22 with a Benz chamber. No problems with any (cheap) ammo that I've ever used. Doesn't sound like a tight chamber problem. Maybe try an after-market extractor?

Yesterday it was CCI I think mini mags, American Eagle solids, and I can't definitively remember the third, but I think one of the Remingtons. Nothing that comes out of bulk packs though.

Will quiz him on whether of not he's completely torn the action down and thoroughly worked the ejector.

I tend to a 77/22 and after going through about 3 bricks in the last 8 days started getting some extractions issues. Tore the bolt completely apart and all is back to slick running now.

As to tight chambers, I also use an Anschutz occassionaly, and one has never been able to extract a chambered round from that unit without firing it first. Thereafter, things pop right out.

Thanks for the comments,

Damned fine ammo, that Geco S-A stuff. I have a CZ 512 that thinks it's candy, it will shoot 1/3" at 50 yards with it, Not bad for a 4.5lb. autoloader. I'm down to my last dozen boxes. I shoot it spariingly now.

Yep, conquer and divide. To find out whether it is an ammo or a gun issue, run Mini Mags. If the problem persists, look to the gun.
Make sure the chamber is absolutely clean. In the past I have lightly polished the chamber and radiused the mouth with
a tapered stone on a Dremel tool followed by water based valve lapping compound on cloth to polish. The radius should be very small, just enough to take away the edge.

First thing id do is make sure the barrel is tightened down. Then id clean the heck out of it, making sure the extractor cut out/slot doesnt have gunk in it. This is pretty common. Contrary to some belief, the factory ruger chamber is sloppy. Id also make sure the chamber is clean. Polish it if you have to. If it were a green mountain barrel, id agree, they are tight. Too tight in fact. Your friends factory barrel should shoot anything, even bulk ammo. Just don't use Remington garbage, or you are just asking for trouble.

Yes, it is quite accurate for a non-match grade ammo. I get groups similar to yours, if I do my part.

Do we know if Ruger makes the barrel on that shooter or do they farm it out to sub ???

I remember a long time ago with the M77 first came out the Ruger made barrel was a crap shoot, pun intended, hopefully they have improved their QC on all barrels or farmed it out. I have since stayed away from Ruger centerfire rifles.

I have assembled about 5-7 10/22s for our family and refitted them with Elysium 10/22® bull barrels and Hogue overmolded stocks as well as some trigger work.

All of those, including the two in my safe, function with all brands of ammo and produce excellent results.

I believe that Elysium barrels are stated as match grade barrels and yet they seem to be able to handle the bulk ammos with their varying dimensions readily. If that Ruger barrel is a match grade chamber I would follow the advice given above on complete cleaning and tightening and then start with CCI stuff and advance through other brands. Should be good to go as far as functioning.

Chamber needs to be cleaned.

Like said, keeping the chamber clean is job 1. After that, an extractor from Kidd or Volquartsen fixes problems a big percentage of the time. When I ordered my last Kidd extractor, I also ordered the recoil spring kit. A factory rate, a light & a heavy. I like em.

One thing I caught on the last I worked on was that the extractor groove in the bolt had rolled over edges from the buffing process that impeded the full travel of the extractor, not even the Kidd part helped this gun. The groove or slot had to be opened up.

A reliable gun now, with almost any ammo.

I had a 10/22 with similar issues.

1. I cleaned the heck out of the chamber with a bronze bristled brush.
2. I cleaned the slot for the extractor.
3. I changed to an aftermarket extractor.

I did them all in one sitting. One of them or the combination of them solved my problem.

1minute: I have two of the Ruger 10/22 "Target" Rifles and it has always been my impression/understanding that they have "Match Chambers" - I am not sure but that is what I have been told by many sources and that is the understanding that many of my friends that own these "Target" models are under.
My not so infallible memory is telling me these "Target Rifles were advertised as having "Match Chambers" (again IIRC?).
Again I don't know for positive and it don't make much of a "never mind" to me anyways.
I also have a custom Ruger 10/22 with a heavy stainless Lilja barrel and it was advertised by the maker as having a "Match Chamber" - again I don't know for positive.
Now to my point - over the years several of my Colony Varmint Hunting friends have grown tired of the failure to extract and failure to eject "problems" with their Ruger 10/22 Target Models.
In fact three of them, MID-HUNT, here in SW Montana have gone to the local gunsmith here in Dillon, Montana and had him "ream out" their "match chambers".
He has done a LOT of these "jobs" and only charges $25.00 a chamber!
He has a special reamer for this specific "job"!
Problems (extraction & ejection) solved!
Now I want YOU to make up your mind was the chamber reaming the correct fix or was it just an "expensive" cleaning of the Rifles in question, chambers?
I don't know - fo'sho!
I have both the "blued" Ruger 10/22 Target Model and a "stainless" Ruger 10/22 Target Model and I easily "live with" the somewhat rare failure to extract/eject incidents. In fact the tiny "slot head" screw driver blade on my LeatherMan Magnum tool fits perfectly in the extractor slot of the Ruger 10/22's Target Model barrels allowing for a quick flick of the wrist and the fired case "pops" out of the chamber and into the breech.
This same somewhat rare affliction and its same "correction" occurs with my Remington 40-X rimfire - and I am about positive Remington used a "match chamber" in that Rifle.
So then, MY contention is that I indeed do think the Ruger 10/22 Target Models have (or were advertised as having!) "match chambers".
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Waders: Was YOUR Ruger 10/22 the "Target Model" or did it have a sporter weight barrel (standard chamber?)?
TIA
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Ruger shows that the 10/22 target models have a "proprietary" chamber.

"Proprietary, enhanced semi-auto chamber proven to increase accuracy and precision while not compromising reliable feeding and extraction"

I have one of Ruger's heavy stainless match barrels, but prefer the 24" fluted sporter barrels from Green Mountain that come with a Bentz chamber. I also have a couple of 10/22s that have been through the full CPC tune-up and they all shoot as well as I can shoot them.

I currently have 18 10/22s and the one that I shoot most often has been tuned by CPC. It has the 24" GM barrel and an American style stock with the high comb module installed. It shoot any good ammo into small groups. It even shoots the Winchester-Olin M-22 ammo better than most other plinking grade ammo.

Green Mountain .920 target barrel. I bought the barrel new and it gave me fits as described by the OP. On somebody's advice over on rimfirecentral.com I bought the new extractor. Then I cleaned and installed.

I ran a GM target bbl, factory 80's era extractor.
No probs w variety of ammo (match and reg). Hvy taper 19"

Just went to Rimfire Sports to purchase a GM 20" sporter bbl, sold out of blued

This worked on an after market barrel with tight chamber. I just used Flitz on 0000 steel wool and that was enough.