Marvel 22 ammo problems

[walsh]

Last August I purchased a Marvel 22 Unit 1 kit from the company Bob Marvel sold his ownership to. He now sells his thinner (can fit in a 1911 holster) through Nighthawk and the last round locks back.

I bought this as I went to a tournament held at our club in Charlotte, NC two years ago and the Army team was there in uniform as well as a number of other shooters who compete nationally. When discussing what conversion kit to get all 8 gentlemen said "Marvel, no others."

I waited 4 months and last August received the kit. Frustration after frustration with ammo. It comes with one polymer mag and I bought another as they said it worked just as well as steel. Recently they told me they have had some problems with some. I'd say 20% of any ammo came out of the polymer magazine and pointed above the barrel opening and 20% hit the bullet into the barrel opening, but the angle was so sharp it stuck right there. Also, I am cleaning the barrel after ever 100 rds.

I didn't do any shooting after November due to having my eyes "fixed" and then a very cold winter hit and the indoor range was quite cold. I started again in April and had more of the same frustration, finally getting two steel mags (I was credited the price towards the steel) and started with them three weeks ago and have had an improvement, but with different problems.

So far, Federal Bulk (red box and blue box) work best at 90-95% reliability. That means I have no chance to compete in the cub's PPC .22 shoot or next falls Bullseye league.

The Thunderbolt (Remington?) works almost flawlessly.

The Remington 550 copper plated bulk pack is a disaster.

The CCI 40 gr Mini-Mag will not load and upon inspection, the bullet does not turn down into a round nose until the fully sized portion of the bullet runs into the lands on the gun. I have tried two different stores in case it was a particular lot. Most rounds, after not fully loading, can be fired if you whack the back of the slide to seat them. They will eject when fired.

I tried the High velocity CCI and had jams also but shot them all before realizing it might also be the shape of the bullet.

Last night I tried Blazer ammo, 50 rds in a gray and black box. 3 or 4 shots before a for the entire box and all FTF.

I wanted this to sit atop my Kimber to practice on and to also shoot in competition, which is out of the question. Right now, I wish I bought a Ruger MK III or Winchester 41 9I think that's the model)

We have a gunsmith here who builds competition 45s from scratch and I am told will unquestionably get this working with 100% reliability. But his wife is quite ill and I don't wish to trouble him right now. This was a $525 gun after a different front sight and an extra mag. Now make that $575 to upgrade to the metal mags. This isn't supposed to be a Keltec that you finally get to work after beating it to death and using sandpaper all over it. For this money I expect it to go only to the range and work flawlessly.

Has anyone had any similar experiences with a Marvel last year?

Would you call Marvel and tell them about the lands issue, as it might be drilled a tad short (great quality control!) and ask for a new one that works, make this one made to work, or go to the gunsmith?

My concern is that is this is the rare dog, it is a mechanical device subject to problems like I had with a Sig 229 a few years back that they gladly replaced. And if the gunsmith works on it, then Marvel will likely not take it back if he says it has a major problem as someone else worked on it.

I am puzzled that at the Bullseye Clinic with national shooters, no one mentioned anything other than reliability. If this were my carry gun I would cut it in half and mail it back, telling them I will never feel safe with this after 2000+ rds through it and finding less than a 25% success rate of 10 shot fired with the polymer mags, and now 90% success with the Federal Bulk Ammo, and a disaster with all others.

Anyone who has had any experiences with problems like this and dealing with Marvel replying to this message would be appreciated before I try a few different kinds of ammo this weekend and call next week.

Thanks in advance,

Walsh

Edited June 16, 2011 by walsh

[Bill H]

Federal AutoMatch is the only round that wil work almost flawlessly through my Marvel conversion.I had many ammo problems also but I have metal single stack mags.

[DougCarden]

If you haven't, go to his website. He has a FAQ and info on what ammo to run, etc.

Worst case, call him. He is a stand up guy and will help you out if you ask. Chances are it is a small tweak that needs to be made.

DougC

[gfmun]

I have one I have had for a couple of years. I have tried several brands of ammo and the Remington Thunderbolt ammo works best so far. I live out in the country so a variety of ammo is hard to come by. I have one metal mag ( came with conversion kit ) and one plastic one and the metal is far better. I bought the plastic one later than the kit and I called when it arrived and was not metal. The lady said all I could get was plastic.

I can't get decent accuracy out of mine which could be ammo. With that and the failure to feed it is only good for some plinking. I had hoped to use it for steel matches but thats out of the question.

thanks,

George

[walsh]

Thanks for the replies guys (and please...more are desired)

I don't get it. This is a $500 conversion kit used by people who compete at the nationals. How can it be that it's finicky with ammunition? It makes no sense. This was told to me by the Army Bullseye team that most everyone uses a Marvel kit, as well as by a half-dozen others who have competed at nation tournaments and live this stuff. I'm tending to think they failed to mention a top gunsmith with knowledge of them is needed to get every flaw out off the design.

Has anyone called Marvel (not Bob Marvel as he sold the company) and complained about ammo problems? if so, what was their reply?

Thanks,

Walsh

[Singlestack]

Lets be careful not to turn this into a customer service issue. This Forum is not for resolving customer issues.

Thanks

[Jaxshooter]

I have two Marvel conversions one on a dedicated SV wide body frame and the other on a Caspian SS dedicated frame. I use the steel mags with both units. The only bullets that will run 100% are the CCI Standard Velocity 40 gr. I do not clean either barrel, the chambers are cleaned after each use and I brush out the

bullet lube that accumulates on the breach face and barrel. My wide body unit is set up as an open gun with a comp and C-More, the SS has the Bomar type sight rail on it. Try the CCI Std Velocity, that is the ammo they use to recommend. Hope this helps.

[jayd]

Federal AutoMatch is the only round that wil work almost flawlessly through my Marvel conversion.

Automatch works 100% of the time for me also

[Ming the Merciless]

I finally gave up and just reamed the chamber on mine with a "Bentz" profile ream. It now chambers every brand/type of ammo I've tried and accuracy is still excellent.

Bentz 22lr Chamber Ream

I've tried all the available magazines and the most reliable were the Tactical Solutions, BUT you either have to modify the Slide Stop or the Mag follower to prevent it from locking the slide back.

[shooterbenedetto]

I had both units and just sold it!! gave up and just bought a ruger!

no time to f%$$#^# with that crap..

[TonyT]

The Marvel unit #1 is designed for standard velocity ammo. I have two units and both function flawlessly using Wolf Match target, SKJagd Pistol Match and Aguilla SE SV ammo. I use either the Metalform, Ciener or Kimber magazines.

The only time I leaded the bore of a 22 pistol was using Remington Thunderbolt and not allowing the barrel to cool after ca 20 shots. Remington Golden Bullet is very dirty and while it has a velocity similar to the Federal HV HP Copper washed bulk pack ammo it feels snappier and spits out a lot of fire.

I purchased a case of Remington Target SV ammo at Camp Perry a few years ago and it functioned well but, as with the other Remington ammo,I expereinced several ignition failures. I recently purchased a case of the Aguilla SE SV from the CMP and it functions with total reliability.