22/45 PacLite reliability problems with target ammo
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:24 am
I have a MkIII 22/45 with a PacLite upper. I built this gun for my son to use in steel matches. It has a clamp on bolt knob to make it easier for him to run. It has the rail installed with a Burris Fastfire.
This gun runs well with CCI MiniMags round nose. We've used that all up, and as you know, it is impossible to find at present.
From my benchrest days, I have gobs of Eley SemiAuto black box ammo and gobs of SK Pistol match and gobs of Eley EPS Biathlon (with the nipple at the front.) This is expensive, quality ammo.
The Eley SemiAuto tends not to have enough blowback to eject or chamber the next round. The SK is the same. Both are subsonic from rifles, probably about ~900 or so from the pistol. The Eley EPS Biathlon runs faster and will eject cleanly and pick up the next round, except that the nipple seems to cause feed problems UNLESS I hold the magazine up so that the round feeds higher on the feed ramp. That is hard to do for a kid in a steel match.
Function of the Eley black box and the SK improves slightly if I add a silencer to the front, from increased back pressure on the bolt.
The bolt knob increases mass, which I assume makes it harder to cycle the gun with ammo that is at the edge of sufficient power. I have not yet removed that to see if it lets the gun run, because it helps my boy manage the gun himself.
It seems like it will be a while before I can get CCI MiniMags again.
What are some things I can check or try to improve reliability/reduce ammo pickiness?
Thanks
Ben
This gun runs well with CCI MiniMags round nose. We've used that all up, and as you know, it is impossible to find at present.
From my benchrest days, I have gobs of Eley SemiAuto black box ammo and gobs of SK Pistol match and gobs of Eley EPS Biathlon (with the nipple at the front.) This is expensive, quality ammo.
The Eley SemiAuto tends not to have enough blowback to eject or chamber the next round. The SK is the same. Both are subsonic from rifles, probably about ~900 or so from the pistol. The Eley EPS Biathlon runs faster and will eject cleanly and pick up the next round, except that the nipple seems to cause feed problems UNLESS I hold the magazine up so that the round feeds higher on the feed ramp. That is hard to do for a kid in a steel match.
Function of the Eley black box and the SK improves slightly if I add a silencer to the front, from increased back pressure on the bolt.
The bolt knob increases mass, which I assume makes it harder to cycle the gun with ammo that is at the edge of sufficient power. I have not yet removed that to see if it lets the gun run, because it helps my boy manage the gun himself.
It seems like it will be a while before I can get CCI MiniMags again.
What are some things I can check or try to improve reliability/reduce ammo pickiness?
Thanks
Ben