S&W MP 15-22 Failure to Feed Issues

[Hoops]

A shooter friend of mine put a Volquartsen Carbon fiber barrel and handguard on his 15-22.  For a while, all good.  Recently he has been experiencing FTF’s (failure to feed).  The 22 bullet tip hits the top of the chamber and bites into it.  The force of the bolt sometimes bends the bullet where it meets the case.

 

Anyone had this problem with 15-22’s and if yes, what was the remedy?

 

Thanks

[AHI]

Try different ammo.

[Hoops]

Thanks.  I had asked him about his ammo.  Blazer LRN 22LR.  He has been using this ammo for a while without issues and does not think it is ammo.  Perhaps a few test runs with other reliable ammo would be wise.  15-22 mags can be problematic if a lot of rounds are shot.  Polymer feed lips get worn down.  He used a couple of fairly new mags and same issue.  I will suggest to him that he try some other ammo.

[yigal]

try  another new mag. it's mags problem not  the ammo.

[echotango]

Barrel loose?

[Ming the Merciless]

5 hours ago, echotango said:

Barrel loose?

 

This!  Check for barrel droop ie. the barrel not centered in the handguard.

 

Volquartsen recommends only tightening the barrel nut hand tight since it is an extremely thin steel liner inside the carbon fiber.  It is possible to make a fixture to hold the chamber end of the barrel to get the barrel nut more than hand tight.  If you try holding the barrel by the muzzle end you can twist the barrel pretty easily.

[Hoops]

Thanks folks.  I talked with my friend today.  He is going to systematically go thru each of the points raised here.  

 

Appreciate the comments.

[Postal Bob]

I would try other ammo. I've found the 15-22 only totally reliable with either CCI mini-mags,  CCI AR Tactical, and most times with Winchester M-22.  Any other ammo, I experience frequent ftf's.

[SnWmp1522Volquartsen]

Having the same issue, just bought the barrel and tried cycling the ammo, before I drove 30 miles to fire some rounds. Did your friend figure out his issue?

[nannerbammer]

Same issue with vol barrel. Did anyone find solution?

[IPSCLUVERRR]

I had the same issue with the volquartsen barrel. I reamed the barrel to allow for more clearance, helped a little bit but not perfect. Ended up going back to the stock barrel that I turned down to 1/2” and run that now. The modified barrel still shoots great groups and is only 1oz over the vq barrel. No issues what so ever after going to the stock barrel.