Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Ruger 96/22 magnum failure to fire fix

I have a Ruger 96/22 magnum that is GREAT, except that it doesn't fire reliably, particularly with a full magazine. Managed to find another firing pin, but that didn't solve the problem. Firing pin strikes were way to the outside of the rim. A full magazine pushed the breech block up enough that it wasn't reliable. My fix was to JB Weld a .007 stainless shim to the breech block. There is a little hump at the front, and this is where I put the shim. So far, so good. I'm not sure how long the JB Weld will last, but a gunsmith could build the block up with weld, then mill it to the proper height. This allows me to test ride the fix, anyway. I can't get to the range for a few days, but the strikes are a LOT better than they were, on empty cases. Crossing my fingers...

100 rounds, zero misfires. Would have had around 15-20. As long as it holds up, it's fixed. At least I know HOW to do it.

Thankfully, mine has never had a problem. Was this a day one issue on a new rifle or did you get it used?

I got it used, but it had not been fired. It always misfired about 15% of the time, due to hitting the rim of the cartridge too far toward the edge. I noticed that there was some slop, and that it usually misfired with cartridges in the magazine. This led me to believe that there was just too much movement, and that the breech block was being pushed up too far sometimes. I cut a piece of a feeler gauge, (.007) and JB Weld stuck it on the upper front of the breech block. Seems to work. Though there is some vibration, that part of the breech holds no pressure. So far, so good. I did manage to locate a firing pin for it, and tried that too. Didn't make any difference.

Simple fix. Hopefully it lasts for you. These are crazy valuable nowadays. This is a great carrying carbine and the actions are quite smooth. Mine shoots the Winchester 40gr JHP quite well despite the horrible trigger.

Yeah, once you figure out why the thing wasn't hitting the rim in the right place, it was easy enough to get the clearance right. I kinda think that the JB Weld will work in that area. There isn't any great pressure. The little pad at the top front of the breech block was just .007" too short! I could have it silver soldered, if it comes apart. Because it misfired, I ended up getting a Marlin 57m, too. THAT rifle is quite accurate. Not as handy though. The Ruger is just ok.