Ruger 10/22- Hammer not cocking

[Rusty Barrels]

I got myself a used 10/22 on monday and tried it out today. It was sweet! It has a pistol grip and folding stock. Now, if I could just get it to function properly... It worked fine for the first few magazines and then all the sudden it it wouldn't cock the hammer after each shot. It would fire, eject, and load just fine but the trigger felt soft for the next shot and nothing would happen so I would rack it (ejecting a live round) and it was fine for the next shot. When I brought it home on monday I cleaned it but I didn't break it down (what's up with Rugers and their complications anyway!?). Tomorrow I plan on breaking it down and seeing if the bolt is gummed up or something. Is there anything else I should be looking for? Could this be a spring problem? The thing that bewilders me is that it functioned flawlessly for the first 40 or 50 rounds and then I fired another 50 or 60 rounds and this problem happened for every shot!

 

[dwarven1]

Weren't you the guy who couldn't get the Mk 1 back together...

Anyway, there are threads on Rimfire Central about breaking down the trigger group. I'd be willing to bet that you have something wrong in there. First try cleaning it good, and then do some dryfiring. If it's still malfunctioning, I'd look long and hard at the hammer spring and maybe the trigger and sear - see if they're worn.

And if all else fails, put it back together and ship it to Ruger. They're pretty good about repairs.

 

[RKG]

As a guess (which all long distance diagnoses are), I'd say one of two things:

1. Might be short-cycling, on account of being dirty, so that the hammer is not retracted far enough to allow sear engagement. Solution: clean it.

2. The disconnector may not be functioning. The disconnector is the thing that connects the trigger to the sear; when the bolt is out of battery, the disconnector separates the mechanical connection between the trigger and the sear, and this allows the sear to drop in and capture the hammer even though your finger is still on the trigger. (Releasing the trigger allows the disconnector to drop out, so that pulling it again will drop the sear and fire the rifle.) Solution: this is gunsmith work, or would be if Ruger were willing to sell spare parts. They will not sell most trigger group parts, so the rifle has to go back to Ruger.

With most autos, you can test for disconnector function as follows:

Be sure the weapon is unloaded and pointed in a safe direction. If it has a last-shot hold open, remove the magazine.

With bolt closed, pull the trigger and dry fire. Keep the trigger pulled.

Now manually cycle the bolt (trigger still held back): if the hammer drops on bolt closing, the disconnector isn't functioning.

Never tried this with a 10-22, and don't have one here to test.

 

[icyclefar]

CLEAN IT! Then test fire with a known good quality ammo, I like CCI mini mags.

 

[Rusty Barrels]

Thanks for the advice, guys! None of it seems to help me out, though. I called Ruger and they wouldn't even try to diagnose the problem. They just wanted me to send it right in. I called the store where I bought it and they want me to bring it in. If they can't find the problem they will send it off to their gunsmith. I don't want to take it apart for cleaning or inspecting parts until the store (or the gunsmith) has had a look at it because I have a bad habit of not being able to put things back together. If something is broken in there I don't want to be accused of having broken it with my clumsy dissection!

 

[RKG]

Thanks for the advice, guys! None of it seems to help me out, though. I called Ruger and they wouldn't even try to diagnose the problem. They just wanted me to send it right in. I called the store where I bought it and they want me to bring it in. If they can't find the problem they will send it off to their gunsmith. I don't want to take it apart for cleaning or inspecting parts until the store (or the gunsmith) has had a look at it because I have a bad habit of not being able to put things back together. If something is broken in there I don't want to be accused of having broken it with my clumsy dissection!

Send it to Ruger.

 

[Rusty Barrels]

Well, I brought it to the store and he suggested I try some different ammo. If that didn't work he said I should see if I can clean it a little better (I should have done that when you guys first suggested it!). The ammo didn't work so I brought it home and broke it down. It was nasty in there! While dissasembling I noticed that the bolt stop pin was missing so I called Ruger back and they said that could be the problem. It's beyond my understanding how if the bolt slides too far back it can keep the hammer from cocking but they are sending me a new one so I will know soon. Now that it's clean I want to go shoot it some more but I guess I should wait for that cursed pin. I have 2 other .22 LR rifles and so far this one groups the tightest!

 

[dwarven1]

I have 2 other .22 LR rifles and so far this one groups the tightest!

If you want to make it group even tighter, bring it up to the Appleseed Shoot in Jericho, VT on October 20-21. There are several NESers heading up there for it already.

 

[Rusty Barrels]

I keep thinking about that damn bolt stop pin! Does anyone have any inside info on what the lack of the pin does to the function of a 10/22? If the problem lies in some other part than I want to get on top of it. It irks the hell out of me to buy a gun and then not be able to shoot it. My incessant questions probably irk the hell out of you knowledgable gun folks! Sorry about that...

By the way, I have to say that this gun was a lot easier to break down than I thought it would be. I'm not messing with that trigger assembly, though!

 

[RKG]

I keep thinking about that damn bolt stop pin! Does anyone have any inside info on what the lack of the pin does to the function of a 10/22? If the problem lies in some other part than I want to get on top of it. It irks the hell out of me to buy a gun and then not be able to shoot it. My incessant questions probably irk the hell out of you knowledgable gun folks! Sorry about that...

By the way, I have to say that this gun was a lot easier to break down than I thought it would be. I'm not messing with that trigger assembly, though!

The only irksome question is the one you can't answer.

Without closer inspection of your gun, I cannot reconstruct how the missing bolt stop pin would cause the disconnector to fail to function. I strongly doubt, however, that that the missing pin (and any resulting overtravel of the bolt) damaged the gun.

 

[Rusty Barrels]

ISSUE RESOLVED! I received the bolt stop pin today and tried about 60 rounds with NO PROBLEMS! I guess they were right about the pin all along. My girlfriend picked up a lumpy looking pumpkin for $1 today and tomorrow we're gonna DESTROY that m-f'er.

 

[KMM696]

The only guess I have on why the lack of bolt stop pin would cause problems would be that without it, the bolt is becoming misaligned at the end of it's travel, which is affecting the trigger group. With the pin in, the bolt won't travel as far back to the takedown notch, and is operating the trigger correctly.

There are polymer bolt stop pins out there, which are supposed to prevent damage to the receiver by the bolt slamming into the steel pin. I've never seen a 10/22 that's actually been damaged this way, but I do know that the plastic pin quiets the bolt cycle down, which isn't noticeable to anyone but the one on the trigger. I only ended up with one because I had to choose between waiting a couple weeks for the steel pin, or walking out of the store with the plastic one in my hand.

The trigger assembly is a little, um, complicated. It's not as bad as it looks, but the first couple times reassembling one can be frustrating. There isn't any plastic in there, so taking it out of the rifle and hosing it down with Gunscrubber or brake cleaner, and then some spray lube works great.

Have fun with it, and good luck with pumpkin hunting!

 

[TonyDedo]

I don't want to take it apart for cleaning or inspecting parts until the store (or the gunsmith) has had a look at it because I have a bad habit of not being able to put things back together. If something is broken in there I don't want to be accused of having broken it with my clumsy dissection!

The first thing you do with ANY firearm that you purchase is completely disassemble, inspect, and clean it. I know it can be a pain in the ass - I usually struggle for hours (occasionally even days) to reassemble a firearm for the first time, but it's a necessary first step.

 

[Rusty Barrels]

I think that's some good advice, Tony. I'm just a little intimidated by Rugers since I've had problems reassembling both my Mark1 and my SP101.

It turns out the bolt stop pin had nothing to do with this problem! When I took it to the range on saturday it worked fine but I only put 6 magazines through it. On sunday it was doing the same thing as before so I brought it back to the gunstore and they are going to give it to the gunsmith they use. Dave at Tombstone in Brookfield has been great to deal with in this situation! He's determined to get this resolved so I can walk away as a happy customer.

 

[dwarven1]

It turns out the bolt stop pin had nothing to do with this problem! When I took it to the range on saturday it worked fine but I only put 6 magazines through it. On sunday it was doing the same thing as before so I brought it back to the gunstore and they are going to give it to the gunsmith they use. Dave at Tombstone in Brookfield has been great to deal with in this situation! He's determined to get this resolved so I can walk away as a happy customer.

I don't think you can ask much more from a dealer! Glad to hear that they're treating you right.

 

[RKG]

I think that's some good advice, Tony. I'm just a little intimidated by Rugers since I've had problems reassembling both my Mark1 and my SP101.

It turns out the bolt stop pin had nothing to do with this problem! When I took it to the range on saturday it worked fine but I only put 6 magazines through it. On sunday it was doing the same thing as before so I brought it back to the gunstore and they are going to give it to the gunsmith they use. Dave at Tombstone in Brookfield has been great to deal with in this situation! He's determined to get this resolved so I can walk away as a happy customer.

Frankly, I'm not surprised, as the missing bolt stop pin could have no effect on short-cycling (one of the two likely causes) and it is difficult to see from the 10/22 lockwork design how it could affect the disconnector.

Since the rifle functioned fine for a while, I tend to discount dirt and crud, at least in the boltway. More likely, something (could be dirt, could be a missing or broken part) is interfering with the disconnector function, at least intermittently. If the disconnector doesn't work, the sear stays connected to the trigger during cycling. Since cycling occurs so quickly, your finger is still pressing the trigger and this means that the sear remains dropped out, allowing the hammer to follow down as the bolt travels forward.

 

[SteveO007]

I got myself a used 10/22 on monday and tried it out today. It was sweet! It has a pistol grip and folding stock. Now, if I could just get it to function properly... It worked fine for the first few magazines and then all the sudden it it wouldn't cock the hammer after each shot. It would fire, eject, and load just fine but the trigger felt soft for the next shot and nothing would happen so I would rack it (ejecting a live round) and it was fine for the next shot. When I brought it home on monday I cleaned it but I didn't break it down (what's up with Rugers and their complications anyway!?). Tomorrow I plan on breaking it down and seeing if the bolt is gummed up or something. Is there anything else I should be looking for? Could this be a spring problem? The thing that bewilders me is that it functioned flawlessly for the first 40 or 50 rounds and then I fired another 50 or 60 rounds and this problem happened for every shot!

I am working on a friends 10/22 and having exact same issues you are describing. It is an older rifle but I replaced the entire fire control group, extractor and spring, and recoil rod and spring, cleaned it out thoroughly, and still have same issue after firing about a magazine worth.....

 

[M1911]

Holy necroposting.

 

[Rick O'Shea]

I am working on a friends 10/22 and having exact same issues you are describing. It is an older rifle but I replaced the entire fire control group, extractor and spring, and recoil rod,..

Great First Post!

 

[SteveO007]

I got myself a used 10/22 on monday and tried it out today. It was sweet! It has a pistol grip and folding stock. Now, if I could just get it to function properly... It worked fine for the first few magazines and then all the sudden it it wouldn't cock the hammer after each shot. It would fire, eject, and load just fine but the trigger felt soft for the next shot and nothing would happen so I would rack it (ejecting a live round) and it was fine for the next shot. When I brought it home on monday I cleaned it but I didn't break it down (what's up with Rugers and their complications anyway!?). Tomorrow I plan on breaking it down and seeing if the bolt is gummed up or something. Is there anything else I should be looking for? Could this be a spring problem? The thing that bewilders me is that it functioned flawlessly for the first 40 or 50 rounds and then I fired another 50 or 60 rounds and this problem happened for every shot!

I had this exact issue and figured it out today.... Check your trigger pin to see if it is walking out on you. The one I am working on has the folding after market stock so it does not fit in as snug as oem stock so after a magazine or 2 it would do exact same thing you described. The trigger pin walks out just enough so one side of pin comes off the shelf a bit and makes it slightly crooked inside, and fails to return the trigger back to return point without manual help.