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Rimfire Firearms .22, .17 and other Rimfire Handguns and Rifles

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  #1  
Old 01-23-2015, 8:15 AM
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balmo balmo is offline
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Default HP22A, Recoil spring boinked into oblivion!

I was happy to get my nickel Phoenix HP22 out of jail two days ago. Like all of my guns, I strip it first and clean it thorougly before I take it to the range for the first time. I was trying to put it back and the recoil spring flew out and it remains to be unseen. I could have the pistol in the range today! Anyways, I ordered a pack of recoil spring from Phoenix Arms. I have to wait until Tuesday at the most.

You guys have any tips putting back the gun? The recoil spring bends as I try to hook the barrel. And since there is no guide rod, most of the time the spring dislodges from its place.

I haven't shot it yet but I already love this gun. Its so cheap I'm thinking about trigger jobs without too much hesitation. I did already order an extra sear spring with the recoil spring and see if I can lower the trigger pull a little bit. So far, I already did the safety mod and painted the FIRE indicator red.
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  #2  
Old 01-23-2015, 9:23 AM
Rhyno24 Rhyno24 is offline
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the best thing I did to my hp22a was grind down where the frame and slide meet where the takedown lever is, they are very straight and add a lot of friction to the guns action. once I did this to my first gun I haven't had one problem with the gun. before that I would have problems every 3 mags with the slide not going fully forward.
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  #3  
Old 01-23-2015, 9:50 AM
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Staticsouls Staticsouls is offline
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Quote:
You guys have any tips putting back the gun? The recoil spring bends as I try to hook the barrel. And since there is no guide rod, most of the time the spring dislodges from its place.
Mine did the same, but I found mine. Try placing a finger over the recoil spring and pulling the slide to the rear before installing the barrel. My recoil spring tends to bend in one direction so I rotated the spring so it would bend down towards the frame rather than up and out.
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  #4  
Old 01-23-2015, 10:13 AM
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Izzy43 Izzy43 is offline
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Just one recommendation. When I clean or disassemble my pistols I place them in a large, clear plastic bag. Any springs or other parts that fly out are captured in the bag and don't wind up in Oblivian somewhere.
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  #5  
Old 01-23-2015, 10:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Staticsouls View Post
Mine did the same, but I found mine. Try placing a finger over the recoil spring and pulling the slide to the rear before installing the barrel. My recoil spring tends to bend in one direction so I rotated the spring so it would bend down towards the frame rather than up and out.
Slide to the rear so the spring is fully compressed?
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Old 01-23-2015, 11:17 AM
joe47 joe47 is offline
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Like Izzy43 I put mine in a large clear bag to disassemble.

By the way, it's been 33 years since I quit smoking. At 2 packs a day, I wonder how much I have saved?
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  #7  
Old 01-23-2015, 1:10 PM
dave85620 dave85620 is offline
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The owners manual tells you to use the barell to compress the spring during reassembly. Just flip the barrel upside down and apply presure to the spring then lock back the slide. I avoided field stripping mine at first because the damn takedown lever wouldn't budge. It took pliers and duct tape ( so i wouldn't scratch the gun) to take it down.
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  #8  
Old 01-23-2015, 7:22 PM
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Izzy43 Izzy43 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joe47 View Post
By the way, it's been 33 years since I quit smoking. At 2 packs a day, I wonder how much I have saved?
Congratulations on quitting, not an easy thing to do. Forty years of smoking gave me a heart attack and a stent implant. All you youngsters out there who might read this, pay attention and either quit or don't start. Public service announcement over.
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  #9  
Old 01-23-2015, 8:14 PM
MikeSmith MikeSmith is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joe47 View Post
Like Izzy43 I put mine in a large clear bag to disassemble.

By the way, it's been 33 years since I quit smoking. At 2 packs a day, I wonder how much I have saved?

Were you looking for an answer on that? You stated how long you haven't smoked for but didn't say how long you actually smoked. Not enough info. Now if you gave us the price of a pack 33 years ago and how many years you smoked for, we could tell you how many Phoenix HP22's you could have bought with that money.

Last edited by MikeSmith; 01-23-2015 at 8:16 PM..
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  #10  
Old 01-26-2015, 12:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dave85620 View Post
The owners manual tells you to use the barell to compress the spring during reassembly. Just flip the barrel upside down and apply presure to the spring then lock back the slide.... to take it down.
Read the Friendly Manual, yes.
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  #11  
Old 01-28-2015, 12:40 PM
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UPDATE:

Finally got my spare springs from Phoenix Arms. Installed it as per instrictions and worked out fine.



About 200 rounds of mix 22lr over lunch. I had: Win 333 buck, Win M22, Rem Thunderbolt, and CCI Quiet subsonic. Everything cycled except for the CCI Quiet where I hand to manually rack each round (expected).

Love this gun! Maybe ~3 stovepipes and 5 FTF (ammo), I'd say this hp22 is a success in my book.
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  #12  
Old 01-28-2015, 6:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrrabbit View Post
Keep shooting the high velocity and the frame will crack...

=8-|
QFT

Standard and subs only.

This is one fun little gun. My favorite, so I always end my range trip by shooting it. Nothing but smiles. Everyone I let use it loves it and wants one. Made my wife buy her own, to get her into the game. She coveted mine but I just can't part with it.

I own expensive guns, but my favorites at the range are the inexpensive ones. IDK why but the sub $300's I have give me so much joy.
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  #13  
Old 11-28-2019, 11:00 PM
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Done the same mods on mine, same trick of just raising the mag safety by sticking something under it - not sure what I used, it was whatever was handy!

I ended up with 3 - it's cheap enough to pick up a backup or two when they go on sale or find someone selling and do a PPT. That way you've always got one or two to use. I've got mine also convertable to .25acp (slide/barrel/mags), shoot pretty much the same as the .22.

For barrel swaps, I lock the slide back (compressing the recoil spring), then I can use my thumbnails on both sides of the takedown piece, and the barrel resting on something so I can tilt it up. From there, you can unlock the slide with fairly good control over the spring. Reassembly, just use either a mag or reverse the barrel to keep the spring from popping up, relock the slide back, and snap the barrel in.

That procedure works and is quite easy and fast.
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  #14  
Old 11-29-2019, 2:47 PM
DanGunner DanGunner is offline
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My favorite plinker too, which is why I own four of them. Their accuracy astounds me. Use CCI SV and you'll never have a structural problem
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  #15  
Old 11-29-2019, 6:01 PM
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I've read of some who say just keeping a fresh recoil spring you can get away with HV, but I just shoot SV to be safe.
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  #16  
Old 12-01-2019, 5:19 AM
sealocan sealocan is offline
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What I don't get about the Phoenix is why they don't just upgrade the design or the materials used in the frame to allow it to shoot high velocity 22 rifle ammunition, which let's face it, has become the more available and usually cheaper alternative to standard velocity which hasn't been more readily available in a long time.

I get the changing the design would make the new model not available for the California roster of " safe handguns " even with the many safeties it already has.
But I think it would be easier to sell them in other states and they what also get the big benefit of less of them coming back with cracked frames.

I mean the revolver equivalent would be Smith & Wesson coming out with a new revolver designed so poorly or made with material so weak that they could only fire very old .38 Smith & Wesson SHORT cartridge, yet be still able to chamber the .38 Special ( or 357 Magnum = .22 CCI Stingers) cartridges.

Why would any company do that?

Job security and repairing and replacing them?
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  #17  
Old 12-01-2019, 2:35 PM
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I've had no problem finding SV for cheap, and buy in quantity, mainly for these pistols. Aguila seems to run fine, and when CCI had their holiday ammo packs, those work fine as well.

The Phoenix isn't designed to be an expensive gun in the first place (thus why we like 'em!). The fit and finish sometimes shows this, but they are pretty good for the money!

I'm guessing that changing the material might require complete retooling, and add a lot to the price tag, at which point it's a tougher sell. It is what it is...

I accidentally ran a few mags of Mini-Mags through mine with no adverse effects, but I'm sure there's a point where there would be metal fatigue and failure, based on what others report. So I try to stick to the recommended ammo...
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Old 12-01-2019, 3:20 PM
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I asked the factory as well, and got the same story. The frame clearly has both models molded into the casting. The factory parts list shows no difference I could find in any of the "lower" parts. Same part #'s... Mag fit is interchangeable (but the mags are DIFFERENT, so no trying to fit .25 into .22 or vice versa!!!). So the "bottom half" has no apparent differences to note.

The ballistics for the .25 acp round are not particularly impressive, and shouldn't stress the frame or anything from what I've been able to find. But for those who prefer a centerfire round vs. a rimfire, this gives an option. The slide has a breech face insert with the hole in the middle, the firing pin just flips over... I've noticed that the breech plate has to be re-peened to stay in place on some of the used slides I've dealt with - otherwise they slip down and jam the slide. Definitely a "cheap pot metal construction" issue, but easy enough to fix! Other than the plate and flipped firing pin, the slide assembly looks like it came out of the same mold as the .22 - VERY clever design!

I did have to do a little "fitting" when I got hands on .25 acp slides and barrels - particularly the barrel in the area where the takedown piece latches (or doesn't until you do some fitting!)... That 5" barrel I mentioned was particularly "fun" as it wasn't molded to clear other internal parts and had to be dremeled to fit. I've noted that the .25acp barrels sometimes have that area milled and another plate bolted on, so even the factory must have had some minor issues with some barrels - it happens! I wouldn't be surprised if the "fitting" for the .25's was something the factory would not want an amateur doing and discourage!

I have tools and a shop and lots of experience in making things that don't work, work... so for me it was just an interesting experiment to see if it could be done once I'd checked all the parts were compatible.

Those caveats aside, I got one slide/barrel/mag set working, it ran fine, and so I've done a couple more for the other Phoenix's. I found the feed ramp needs a major polishing to feed HP rounds (round nose were fine). All in all, it's not "rocket surgery", but also not necessarily a "drop in and go" proposition.

Sorry for the overly long answer to the question, but if you're thinking about trying the conversion.... it's better to know what you're getting into! And to be honest, if you don't know how to work on things, probably better to try to find a HP25A!

I couldn't find one, so the mad scientist took over, and now I've got three HP22/25A's!




Quote:
Originally Posted by JRIrvin View Post
Is there anything other than changing the slide, barrel and mag to shoot .25 acp? I asked them this at the factory a couple weeks ago but they said there was more to it to convert... I know the frames are identical.
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  #19  
Old 12-20-2019, 9:44 AM
DanGunner DanGunner is offline
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I have four of these Phoenix fun guns and love them all. Reliable and accurate. I feed them nothing but CCI SV that I buy by the case because I have three lightweight alloy .22 revolvers that prefer it as well. HV cases tend to stick in their cylinders and if you're just shooting or plinking you really don't need HV stuff. I save the Mini-mags for guns that insist of them, such as Walther P22.
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  #20  
Old 12-20-2019, 2:01 PM
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Don't know what it is about .22s but I fight these springs in my ancient Marlin 60 all the time.. Don't loose them,, just tweak them out of shape. 10/22s are a pain too. Had to buy one of the aftermarkt bolt/spring/guide rod installation tools.
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