Thread: S&W 22A unable to pull slide back - Any ideas?

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Anyone ever had a problem pulling the slide back on a S&W 22A Pistol. Any suggestions

Background:
Gun was working fine for first couple months.
Gun was not used for about 3 months due to a move
About 4 days ago, I went to the range to fire it. Probably put 60 rounds through it. On each 10 round magazine I probably had 1-2 times where a bullet would jam going into the chamber. Seemed high.

Brought gun home and cleaned it - Nothing obvious noted in cleaning.
Cycled a couple shells through – seemed OK.

Went out 12/31/11 - Fired 17 rounds with only 1 shell having problems feeding.
Then on the 18 th shell - it did not fire, trigger would not pull , and the slide would not open up to extract it

Took gun home and was able to finally open the slide by pushing down on the top and pull the slide. Cleaned the gun and looked for anything unusual.
Found all 4 screws on the grips loose
Replaced the Plastic spacer on the recoil spring. Looked scratched up

Put everything back together used the dummy shell for a dry fire. Trigger pulled fine
Again – Unable to open the slide on the gun .

Now this failure has Happened on live ammo and the dummy round.

["Took gun home and was able to finally open the slide by pushing down on the top and pull the slide".]


If it has an "internal Ejector" make sure it has not can loose from the frame and riding up into the slide??

Just a guess as this can be a problem with 1911's that have the non pinned in ejector. Some are Locktited in.

Make sure the chamber is clean. 22s are DIRTY animals! If the chamber gets fouled, it can make it very difficult to open. this can also cause feeding issues.

Wow you got me....If you call S&W and explain they will pay for shipping and repair at no cost to you even if you are not the origonal owner .They just did this for me on a used 4006 and explained they stand behind their products. . Good luck let us know if you fix it yourself and what it was.

Best Regards
Dave

FYI There was a recall on S&W 22As.

From S&W: if you have a Model 22A, .22 LR pistol there exists the possibility that the slide was not manufactured to the correct tolerances. See S&W’s page on the recall for more information. Pistols with the possibility of being defective were manufactured in between August 1, 2008 and February 19th, 2009. If you’ve purchased a new 22-A pistol in that time frame, please contact S&W to get a shipping envelope and send you pistol to the factory for inspection.

Smith & Wesson 22A Recall | Gun Nuts Media

Online recall forms are here...
Model 22A Return Form - Smith & Wesson

I'd fill out the form and make sure you give them a call about it. A few minutes of googling tells me you're not the first person to experience problems with their S&W 22A.

Riot , Thanks I was on their web site and never saw that.

Barrel was clean - Actually cleaned twice. Looked fine as I inspected it. I am aware how dirty they can get

I am calling S&W next week to get it sent back. Something is not right.
I cannot put my finger on it - Something just seems like it isn not meshing right

Originally Posted by sadiesassy

Riot , Thanks I was on their web site and never saw that.

Barrel was clean - Actually cleaned twice. Looked fine as I inspected it. I am aware how dirty they can get

I am calling S&W next week to get it sent back. Something is not right.
I cannot put my finger on it - Something just seems like it isn not meshing right

No problem...it's stuff like this that this gun forum was designed for. Questions or concerns with firearms.

It sounds as if the slide or rails are misaligned or out of hardness specs, especially if you had to push down on it to remove the slide from the frame or cycle the weapon. Maybe there is a burr in it? Warped rail? Whatever the case, it sounds as if the recall specifically is about your firearm.

the secret is..when assembling the pistol the rear hook has to be engaged 1st,then arc the barrle down and engage the front hook.I had it happen to me,and it took about the 3rd time to see what the problem was.You can't just slap the barrel on or the 'hook' does not engage,and things get tied up. btdt

actually reading the manual helped me on this but don't let it get out that I read the manual !! lol

I had the simliar problem with my 22A1. I found a crack in the frame after 3000 rnds had been through the pistol. I sent the pistol back to S&W, a new pistol was returned 4 weeks later.

Have read the manual and know how to install the barrel - which is unusual at best. Done about 20 times. And it fits on correctly.
Just feels real loose. MAybe something is cracked and I am looking at the wrong place for it.

I think S&W is going to have to tell me waht is wrong

Just got word back from S&W - after only 400 rounds - They said something is wrong with the frame.

Seems like this is a common issue?

I had the exact thing happen to me. I called S&W and they paid to have it sent back. Working OK now, but for how long?

Actually they are replacing it - can't be fixed according to the email

My question will be when they call to arrange the replacement
After 400 rounds the frame has a problem.
The interent seems to think this is a common problem.
So
1. what caused the problem
2. how do I know it will not occur again?

Originally Posted by sadiesassy

Actually they are replacing it - can't be fixed according to the email

My question will be when they call to arrange the replacement
After 400 rounds the frame has a problem.
The interent seems to think this is a common problem.
So
1. what caused the problem
2. how do I know it will not occur again?

1) Gun not up to manufacture's spec.

2) You will honestly never know, for sure; nevertheless the replacement and recall means that S&W is aware of the issue and will replace it with a part that should be to the manufacturer's specs and will work properly. I feel your pain and distrust for the gun...you don't want something in your hand that might injure your hand- I get that. The .22lrs I wouldn't worry too much about, though. The fact of the matter is that they know about the problem and will fix it for free...you shouldn't get stuck on the round count, just note that the gun was flawed and now they are going to essentially give you a new one. Gun manufactures hardly ever do a recall. Unless there is a flaw in their design or certain parts weren't machined correctly they will usually just have you send the gun/part in to fix it (in an attempt to both please you, the customer, and keep any issues out of the press as possible). They don't like to have the bad press over a recall. Many people see recalls as poor quality product while I see recalls as good customer service. While I hope you don't have any further issues with it, I doubt you will.

They gave no reason why it locked up or what was wrong with it when I got it back.

Riot
Do not have an issue with the round count. Just surprised with the failure so early.
My goal on every pistol is to get about 200 - 300 rounds down it to shake out early mortality issues

I had a similar issue with my S&W AR-15/22. I noticed that the buffer block had hairline cracks. I sent it in, they fixed and not really much of a note only that it now current with specs. They actually replace the buffer block and rails. No real problem before sending it in and none sense. The only ftf with that one is that you must make sure the ammo is sitting correctly on the mag follower so it feeds correctly.
Anyways, my partner pulled out his Buckmaster .22 at the range to shoot it. It had been stored for some time and he just wanted to shoot it. It acted a little as you described above. Feeding but not extracting and reloading. We changed ammo and mags. Finally we realized that he was missing his extractor claw, spring and pin. Don't know how or when, just not there.