Ammo problems with Ruger 22 Wrangler

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

ReedTX

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2021
Messages
58
Location
Midland, Texas.
Hello All,

I have a Ruger 22 Wrangler. Whilst it is a great gun I do have trouble inserting rounds into the cylinder. Mainly there is a lot of resistance, to the point where I dare not force them anymore. I have cleaned the cylinders but have the same problem.

I have tried the cheap stuff, thunderbolts etc. This time I tried CCI but the same issue.

What ammo do you guys prefer?

Thank you

Reed.
 
The throats probably have a buildup there. Have you thoroughly scrubbed them with solvent and a bronze brush?

My Wrangler does get sticky like this as well, but it seems to be more or less self limiting and a firm push will get them seated. These guns might come with relatively tight chambers.
 
I have had the same problem with a number of my revolvers. To fix it I now carry a small drill with me and clean the cylinders when they start to bind.

I use a larger than .22 bronze brush and run it for the count of 10 - 20 depending on how bad the extraction is. After this I have not had a problem for at least 100 rounds.

I'm playing with CCI SV ammo tomorrow to see how clean it will be. I also have some Blazers to test. Both are lead bullets so they should produce more smoke and may produce more carbon fouling.

For competition I'm using Federal BYOB and can run up to 500 rounds before I have to clean the cylinders.

Why am I trying SV and Blazer? I only have a limited supply of BYOB and want to save it for matches. I also have some CCI Clean ammo that I will try next.
 
I don't own a Wrangler, but I do own several other .22 revolvers, including two of "the other budget single-action" ones. I've never had that issue in clean chambers in any of them. I'm wondering if yours was like that out of the box, or not until it had been shot a bit.
 
bulk pack .22 does that in my Wrangler, but the better stuff doesn’t.

As the guys said, scrub them good with a bronze bore brush and try again. If it keeps up you could call Ruger to ask them to polish the chambers or buy a .22 LR hone and do it yourself.

My S&W 48-3 .22 WMR was bad like that, if I fired 12 shots cases were hopelessly stuck. I had to buy a .22WMR chamber hone off Amazon, chuck it in my drill press and polish the cylinder chambers just a bit to end the issue.

Let us know what you do to solve your Wrangler’s problems. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Thank you for your replies.

I clean the cylinder using a brush and run it through a number of times with CLP. The cylinders look spotlessly clean afterwards.

Maybe I am not using premium enough ammo. The CCI I using are standard velocity lead nose, I have noticed when I do force the round in and then eject it out theres a uniform pattern or wear around the bullet where the cylinder has binded on the lead.

I will get some better copper nosed ammo and try that out.
 
Here is a picture of the markings that are universal for each chamber. Almost like there is a mark or a burr.

I have dry fired this. The manual specifically states that you can dry fire this pistol. I understand this is not the norm for rimfires typically. Could I have damaged the cylinder?
 

Attachments

  • 20220510_212701.jpg
    20220510_212701.jpg
    54.9 KB · Views: 47
The problem looks to be a burr on the edge of your chambers, from firing pin strikes. This can be corrected using either a chamber iron or a center punch to work the misplaced material back into position. Others have contacted Ruger for repairs. One has even had the gun replaced just for firing pin contact with the cylinder.

Your choice on what course of action. But at this point no more dry firing.
 
The firing pin has impacted the cylinder damaging it and thus the difficulty with loading and extracting rounds. Despite what the manual states it is clear damage has occurred, I would call Ruger as something is either amiss with their owner manual being incorrect or the firing pin being out of specification.

When Ruger repairs the revolver, and I suspect they will, I would henceforth refrain from the dry firing of rimfire firearms.

3C
 
ReedTX said:
I contacted ruger and they emailed asking for pictures. I sent pictures and they got back not 4 hours later saying a new cylinder has been shipped. Great customer service

I shall not be dry firing this one
Click to expand...
That scratch certainly would make loading difficult, that needed attention for sure. Glad they’re making it better. :thumbup:

I was thinking the first cylinder is a candidate for being rechambered to .22 WMR. The max pressure is the same upon firing as the .22 LR, but I don’t know if the Wrangler has a tighter bore than the Single Six convertible does. If it does have a tighter bore, it would probably really raise pressure as the full-diameter jacketed bullet is pushed down a slightly narrower barrel compared to the softer lead or copper-washed heeled .22 LR bullet.

Does anyone know if this could work?

Stay safe.
 
I had problems with a Blackhawk where two of the cylinders got stuck shells and I had to take a small dowel and hammer them out after firing them. I called Ruger and they told my what to do. They take automotive valve lashing compound and a bore mop and run the 180 grit and a bore mop and then run the 220 paste through them until you get a good release of the fired cartridge. I did that two times and between the two times I took it to the range. On the second time the fired cases came out like they should, just like the other four cases. You might want to try opening up the cylinder holes a little, won't hurt anything. Good Luck
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

xring3
  • Locked
Just bought a Ruger Wrangler
2
Replies
43
Views
3K
American Finn
American Finn
Old Stumpy
  • Locked
.38 Special Wrangler?
2 3
Replies
53
Views
3K
leo96150
L
T
Ruger Wrangler(s) Experience
2 3
Replies
57
Views
3K
silicosys4
S
T
  • Locked
Wrangler Vers. Heritage
2 3 4
Replies
91
Views
24K
ThomasT
ThomasT
C-grunt
Impromptu Wrangler accuracy test
Replies
12
Views
847
defjon
D
Back
Top