I don't see how bullet weight could influence the striking force of the firing pin.

I would suspect there is a difference in rim thickness or brass hardness.

 

Don't blame Hornady. It's made by CCI and ftf's are not a surprise.
Manually installed primers can leave gaps in the primer coating in the rim.

 

I've been shooting .22 magnum since the '60s and can't recall ever having a dud round.

 

This!

 

It sounds like you probably need a stronger striker spring. It could be other things, like headpsace or bad/damaged striker(firing pin). I would start looking at the spring. Look at the indents on the ammo. In this case switching ammo is not the solution. The rest of the world is loving the Vmax.

As for never having a dud, that is one thing. But; I have had two 22mag guns that needed work. An H&R needed a new (aka stronger)hammer spring and an old Marlin I traded in to a shop to fix and resell. Same issue, after 40 years not hitting them hard enough. I will speculate the mags have a little heavier brass. Just pure guess work on that.

An after though, one of my buddies inherited an H&R revolver in 22LR that also need a hammer spring. And the OP gun is very modern. It should be fixable. Dont give up and forget the ammo swapping and look deeper.

 

I've had a shell not extract but never not go bang

 

Possible causes for fail to fire?
Receiver and bolt need thorough cleaning, all the way down to the firing pin.
Pay attention to the interior of the bolt...GSR can deposit there and impede the strike.
Weak spring is possible.
Brass hardness can vary as can brass dimensions.
Primer not in that portion of the rim or primer missing.
Search of rimfirecentral shows a few complaints of poor quality 22wmr.
The manufacturers don't deny that it happens.
They want to see the ammo and have issued refunds.

 

I've been shooting .22 magnum since the '60s and can't recall ever having a dud round.

Hmmmmmmm....possibilities?

Selective amnesia?

Not enough shots fired?

Still using ammunition from y'er stash and not current production?

Wize-adze? Me? Could be.

 

Not being a fan of the poly tip I can honestly say that no I have not shot a ton of the ammo. I have however measured enough mag cartridge headspace to fill up the back of my pickup.. In 2000 I shot enough "different" mag ammo in a marlin 25mn to trash the barrel in less than a yr. Favorite ammo was win 34gr hp.. This ammo (at the time) would consistently drive thumb tacks straight thru the backing of the target @ a realistic range of 50yrs. If ya find what your rifle likes first, you can shoot alot of different ammo in no time. Anyway,Im not sure why anyone would want to shoot a polytip at squirrels if you intend to eat it! If safety is a issue, I would probably opt for a air gun.:bthumb:

 

There is no rime or reason. You can shoot rimfires for years and never have a failure to fire. Then suddenly, you get a bunch all at once. Then it goes back to normal. I just cuss and then refire the bad round. It usually fires with a second strike. I recently just had my first EVER first strike failure with ELEY Target.

 

That about how it went down for me... bought my first Browning T-Bolt in 22 WMR couple 10 years ago or so really can't remember but when I bought this gun it was shooting Hornady 30gr VMax no problems... Then one day I was shooting it and I started getting misfires... cost me a couple squirrels and I was starting to get frustrated... cleaned it tried everything still gett8ng misfires with the 30gr ammo..
Switched to CCI 30gr vmax ammo same problem... trued Remington 33gr accutips and the prob was almost non existent then I'd get one... but nothing like the 30gr stuff... switched to the CCI 40gr ammo and the prob would only pop up maybe once in 50 shots... switched to the federal 50gr prob gone!!! Now I'm shooting the Hornady 45gr Critical Defense ammo and it so far been going bang every shot and groups great so I won't be shooting anyth8ng under 40gr in my T-Bolt anymore... tha5s just me and my experience... I'm sure it's something with the gun but as good as the 45gr shoot I don't care that thing will put 5 under a dime at 50 yards

 

I've been shooting .22 magnum since the '60s and can't recall ever having a dud round.

Hmmmmmmm....possibilities?

Selective amnesia?

Not enough shots fired? https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/sJ...t0hpw6b3KQ=s18

Still using ammunition from y'er stash and not current production? https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Hp...CmJA9PNjtw=s15

Apparently if a person isn't shooting half a case of ammo at each outing and constantly whining and sniveling about ammo quality, that person's posts here have no credibility.

 

Awwww, BG.....what happened to y'er sense of humor?
I know you have one, I've seen it in use, been on the receiving end, did you lose it?

My posts have no credibility? Interesting.
Instead of bragging about how great my results are
and stroking my own ego based on a couple of wallet groups,
I post what actually happens with the entire box and include chronograph numbers.
I spend the morning at the range and shoot a full box of 50, don't you?
Why hide the facts when they're all right there on the target and chrony display?
I don't pretend I can make the current production of 22wmr better than it is.
It'd be a bit lacking in the truth department, easily proven by anyone who is willing to make the effort.
Folks might think I was another 5 shot wonder, claiming "all day long", when it was blatantly untrue.

Still, I did give ya'll a year to prove me wrong about the quality of the current production of 22wmr ammo,
but no one took me up on it. Wonder why, eh?

That's ok, BG. Everyone is allowed their opinion.
Mine is just as valid as y'ers. One difference though,
I show all my results, not just those cherry picked random acts of accuracy.
I'm unwilling to have folks think I can make hunting ammo better than it is.

If you don't find my posts factual, useful, or at least entertaining, ignore 'em.
Y'er choice. :t

 

No offence intended, but shooting a 22 mag @ 200yrds & expecting to gain any knowledge is ridiculouse! You do know these bullets have a bc only slightly better than a rock right? BTW, I don't "pretend" I can make better ammo, I have already! I simply have nothing to prove to you!! You just spin yarn over & over & over..

 

I've edited my previous post for the benefit of those whose reading comprehension skills are lacking.

 

Comments read and understood.
Nothing further to add.

 

You continue to provide the most valuable 22 wmr data available on this site jaia, don't stop sharing just because people get upset over someone being transparent and presenting data.

 

Hornady V-Max misfires

Hmmm... bought a new box of the 30gr 22WMR Hornady and 2-3 misfires from 33 rounds fired on a shoot last night. Cartridge I found showed good pin strike, and the the rifle (Marlin 982 heavy barrel) normally 100%. Accuracy is outstanding and both rifle and action always run very clean.

Perplexing... I will pull buy another 50 packet and see if it recurs. If so will pull FTF cartridge apart to see if primer gel consistent around rim. Have noted inconsistent gel before in odd FTF 22 rounds. If still no result will get action/pin/headspace checked by gunsmith mate. Doubt its the rifle however as it has been perfect up to that particular ammo batch..

 

Back to the range with more Hornady 30gr V-Max 22WMR for further testing after misfires on recent shoot. On this visit I put about 30 rounds thru rifle with no misfires. Marlin 982 heavy barrel WMR extremely accurate - better than I am with easy 0.7" group at 100 meters. Capable of 0.5" with more practice.

I disassembled bolt after recent Hornady misfires and found bolt components and firing pin/channel very clean. Not a dirt buildup issue. I then pulled apart a V-Max cartridge which had failed to fire last time. It showed good strong pin strike on outer rim, it had no loose primer gel in amongst powder, and a clear line of green primer remained around inside rim after pin strike. I cannot see why this round did not fire.

In sum - the Hornady V-Max is a very accurate high performance WMR round. It does appear to run somewhat dirty - needing regular copper cleansing to ensure sustained accuracy. There are also issues with occasional misfires - not uncommon - but reason is unknown. Could be a primer gel composition issue, could be a pin strike position issue from some makes of rifles - hard to tell. Or could simply have been a bad batch of ammunition - happens to many manufacturers over time.

Worth continuing the V-Max experiment but if it happens again - say more than 1 in 100 - then I might try the CCI high performance round. If, that is, it is made at a different manufacturing plant?

 

I have a lousy shooting High Standard, police style, snubby. It always fires though. A few yrs back I tried a box of Aquila. First shot, bullseye than a bad round and,`I think, my only bad .22 mag round ever.

 

I have also been experiencing misfires in my Marlin 983S bolt action rifle. If I I try firing a second time with the firing pin mark at approximately 6 o’clock in the chamber most rounds will fire. As someone already stated the primer is not uniformly distributed around the rim. I have been using Federal Champion 40gr 22 magnum ammunition.

 

I bought my first .22 WMR in 1990 and have been using ammunition manufactured in the late ‘80’s through last year from most manufacturers. I have NEVER had a .22 WMR round fail to fire in four different firearms.

Now .22 LR is a different story...I’ve had FTFs from most manufacturers in probably every .22 LR Ive owned. That would mean over two dozen different firearms over 40+ years. Not to mention, all the issues Ive seen at ranges over the decades with .22LR.

Does the quality of ammo make a difference?

IMO, yes! I dont buy much high quality .22LR AMMO, but the little I do, Ive had little to no problem with. The cheaper the ammo, the more likely I have more issues.

I havent seen the same correlation with .22WMR as there is no real “cheap” .22WMR in my experience, its usually more expensive than high quality .22LR.

YMMV!

 

I had a brand new Ruger American that was misfiring with the hornady and Winchester’s. I found a huge bur broken off inside my bolt housing. I removed the thick factory grease, replaced it with EWL synthetic lube and polished my firing pin. The hornady’s are now 100% reliable…which they were before. The Winchester’s were still defective. I sent them back for testing and was a check for $20. Wish I could find some vmaxs! I do have to clean my chamber every thirty rounds or so or my fired cases stick.

 

I bought ,some American Quality WMR., out of rifles disappointing. Out of keltec pmr 30, fine and dandy. Difference in range, rifles 50 yards ,pistol 10 yards.
No duds.

 

Hornaby 22 WMR 30 gr constant misfire, 3 out of 5.
I have read what others have said and I disagree.
This Rifle is brand new and I have allowed the firing pin to travel further and strike harder. The indent is enough to fire this round.
I removed the lead from the shell and put it in the barrel. I made a pin the same as the firing pin and punched the bullet rim and still a misfire. I have 800 rounds that are useless.
Hornaby should come to the party with an explanation.

 

All you have to do is make a phone call to Hornady. They will have you send them in for testing and replacement. Or please send them to me because I could use them.

 

2nd post, for the new guy who says he disagrees? Disagrees with what?

I have experienced 22mag misfires. That was a 50 yr old gun slowly becomes marginal. And certain ammo appears more reliable than others. But you take that other so-called marginal ammo and shoot it in another gun and it works fine. As the gun slowly craps out more and more different boxes of ammo look bad. THINK about it!

If you cock the gun and the ammo goes off on the second strike your gun has weak ignition. Simple.

If the ammo is defective it wont work properly in any gun. Multiple re strikes and no fire.. You have to rotate the rounds to get igniton? Bad ammo. Just a little thinking and it all becomes clear. Ask for a refund. Simple.

I do believe 22mag brass is a little thicker then LR brass, so strong strikes are a must. And bad ammo happens. There is a reason center fire ammo is better. This rf concept was obsolete 100 years ago. Hello!!

Does CCI still load Hornady rimfire ammo? Thay would be all 30, 40, 50gr ammo from both brands. Same factory. Right? Wrong?

 

I just bought a 22 hornet the other day. It will solve the problem. Centerfire! Can’t wait. I have more powder and primers that I know what to do with. Just traded for 300 cases and have another 120 on the way. Plenty of . 224 laying around the load from my LTR, H&R, and POF inventory. So it’ll be cheaper for me to reload now that I have the supplies laying around than going out and buying 22 mag ammo. Probably won’t be as accurate as my 22 mag because the trigger is heavier but it won’t go bang every time I pull it. I polished it and stoned it over a half a dozen times and got it down to a crisp 4 1/2 pounds...And I have a choked 12 gauge below it for a back up!

 

Be sure to get some LIL'GUN POWDER. It has almost revolutionized the 22 hornet. Gives higher velocity for the same pressure. The loads are slightly compressed but produce accuracy much better than the classic 22 hornet loads, at least in my Ruger 77/22 hornet which produces well better than MOA groups at 100 yards.

 

I did try 13 grains of lil gun with a 40 grain Nosler ballistic tip. Didn’t measure the group becaise I wasn’t impressed with group. I’m going to guess it was about an inch and a half which was about the best group, or average group, at 100 yards. I’m gonna try a more powerful scope and see if it was just the fault of the optic with a big center dot causing the groups to open and shooter error or if that’s the best it will do. I’m sure for a gun like that should be able to shoot a little better whether it’s me or the load. I’ll stick a 2 1/2 x 10 on their next and try again. I’ll also put see-through sites on it since the shotgun barrel is close enough to kill something at 25 yards for point of aim but I’d like to get it dead on with the open sights. After my initial impressions I would rather grab my LTR 223 that shoots 1/3 of an inch 6 shot groups at 200 yards with hand loads using 40 grain ballistic tups and 27 grains of benchmark just way louder.