Ruger 10-22 Bolt Jammed Closed..need help

[mwr]

l took my stock Ruger 10-22 Target Model, out to the favorite desert spot. Fired 200 or so Blazers wthout a hitch, put the Ruger aside for 30 minutes or so and than loaded another factory mag with more blazers, released the bolt, sighted in on the target and it would not fire. First thought was u operators error, I left the safty on, nope, it was not on. At this point I'm not certain if I removed the mag first or tried to cycle the bolt, but the result was I was not able to cycle the bolt or to remove the live chambered round. Pointing the muzzle down range, I tried to tap the bolt open with out any luck. After many attempts to open open the bolt I decided to dissasembly.
I had some tools so i removed the stock and started to remove the trigger group from the reciever, with everyone behind me and the barrel and pointed in a safe direction, when as I removed the trigger group it fired.
What in the world happined?

I have put a lot of rounds through several 10-22's and never experienced this. Scared the sheeeettttss out of me.
What caused the bolt to JAM closed, solid, and then fire?

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

[GreggieBoy]

After the round fired can you cycle the bolt? Once the trigger group is out of the way the bolt should be able to be cycled by hand. I'd suspect maybe the ejector got out of position, if that is even possible. I would disassembly as much as you can to see if there is something bent or broken in the trigger assembly.

[ojisan]

It's tough to say without looking at the gun.

I suspect that the safety plunger was rotated out of alignment.
This can happen when the safety is put in the halfway position for removing the action from the stock.
The plunger can turn as it is slid through the opening if the stock rubs on the plunger.
The spun plunger can keep the hammer from either dropping from cocked, or prevent the hammer coming back fully to cocked.
I had this happen once, yes I shot some rounds then the action locked up tight as the plunger rotated some more.

I now double check the safety plunger function every time I remove or install a stock.

[mwr]

Greg,
The fired round ejected, and bolt manually cycled gone.
I was to shaken to reassembly in the field and try to fire another live round.

Ojiasn,
Once at home, I disassembled the receiver and did not notice anything bend or broken.

I understand the safety, but how would that have prevented the bolt from cycling while the action was still mounted in the stock.

[ojisan]

Pretty much the only thing that could hold the bolt forward is the hammer being against the bolt and somehow the hammer is blocked from moving back
(or a foreign object in there?).
Of course, I am assuming the bolt is the correct overall length, the rails inside the receiver that guide the bolt are not damaged, and that the barrel is properly installed.

Other than the ejector being out of place as mentioned by Greg; but if the ejector is not in the right place usually you can not get the trigger group into the receiver.
If you do manage to get the trigger group into the receiver, usually the bolt is wedged tight and you cannot move it easily (or fire 200 rounds with no issues).

The safety plunger is the part you push side to side in the trigger guard to put the safety on or off.
The plunger has a spring and detent inside the body that matches up to depressions in the plunger, these hold the safety either on or of and also in alignment radially.
If the plunger gets spun, there will nothing that looks wrong from the outside.
Your clues are: safety plunger moves side to side without clicking into either position; no matter what the safety position is in, the hammer does not cock or the trigger does not pull or other action cycling malfunction.

Your story is a bit confusing, if the hammer dropped when you removed the trigger group that means the hammer should have been fully cocked.
The hammer can only hit the firing pin when everything is aligned exactly right, the action is designed this way to prevent out of battery firing.
Pulling the trigger group down even 1/8" would keep the hammer from hitting the firing pin.
Did you pull the trigger as you pulled the trigger group out of the receiver?

It is very hard to diagnose problems over the internet.
I mentioned the safety plunger issue as this does happen from time to time and it is not easy to figure out the first time it happens.
Suddenly for no reason you have a bunch of unexplainable malfunctions, the malfunctions can change as the plunger rotates and either allows function or not.

[mwr]

10-22

Thank u Ojsain for the detailed response
A little history of this gun; I'm the orginial owner, fired maybe 3 to 4k of rounds, never been disassembled and all barrel cleaning was performed from the muzzle (don't hate me...lol)

Let me clarify the event; after the first 200 approx rounds for the day it was put back in the case, and not exposed to any debris that I was aware of. Freshly loaded Mag was inserted, bolt closed and attempted to fire. Safety was switched on and off several times, with and without the mag installed. After many attempts to open the bolt, I removed the stock. With the barrel still attached I pushed the second pin from the back of the receiver out with a small screwdriver, when I removed the screwdriver it fired.

Thank u again, i think I will purchase a BX trigger

[Calico1404]

Always cleaning from the muzzle... did you ever take down the rifle and do a complete cleaning over the few thousand rounds?
May be a dirty chamber and face, your bolt couldn't go all the way home as the round was not seated all the way. With the rifle safe and clear lock the bolt back and look inside from the magwell, is the spring guide just black and goey at the front of the receiver?

[ojisan]

When you closed the bolt, did it chamber the round normally / easily?

I would look carefully at the trigger group; hammer, sear, trigger, pins and springs....even the housing itself.
Something is not right.

Or replace it with the BX. : )

[slamfire1]

Having the bolt jammed forward should have nothing to do with the extractor or cartridge rim. This is a blow back action, residual barrel pressure blows the case out, the extractor is there only to keep the fired case on the bolt face during extraction. The case is pressed into the bolt face so it will eject, if it falls off you will experience a stove pipe jam.

So, I don't see any reason why the extractor would keep the bolt forward, it has to be something else. Maybe there was debris between the bolt and receiver that jammed up the bolt. Somehow dismounting the action from the stock dislodged it. But what hit the firing pin?

[TKM]

You've missed something along the way.

To avoid this in the future, learn how to lock the bolt open. You can then remove the trigger mechanism without ventilating the furniture.

[LowThudd]

You've missed something along the way.

To avoid this in the future, learn how to lock the bolt open. You can then remove the trigger mechanism without ventilating the furniture.

You missed that he couldn't lock the bolt back, as it was JAMMED closed with a live round in the chamber that he was trying to get out by disassembling the rifle.

[TKM]

There is no way to jam the bolt closed on a 10/22 that has been functioning.

It can be done by over tightening scope mount screws but they loosen up on firing instead of getting tighter.

OP doesn't report finding any broken components. Setting a rifle down for 30 minutes isn't long enough for the bolt to rust in place.

Something has been missed here.

[ojisan]

Yes, there is something odd / missing going on here.
There is the chance that the action is packed full of gummy crud which can cause a variety of malfunctions.
But, the bolt being stuck forward is certainly a very odd condition, and to wedge the bolt closed with crud is not likely.

I like mechanical puzzles, I wish I could see this gun and take it apart to find the problem.

Slamfire, we are talking about the ejector, not the extractor.
I wish these parts had more different sounding names.

[mwr]

10-22

Ojasin please be my guest, if we can get together i would be happy to have you look at it, I would in fact welcome it.

As for "crud", Im contradicting my self by claiming I take care of equipment on one hand and the other hand stating the Ruger has several thousand rounds fired without a good cleaning, but I really do take care of my equipment.
If I was not busy with the final stages of planning for my Daughters wedding i would post some pictures, I will post some early next week though.
What I know for a fact is the bolt was locked/jammed/stuck closed and, it would not fire the live round. Safety on, (yes i was able to push the safty left to right back to the left for what i think was the full travel) off, loaded and unloaded mag inserted and not.

Thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions and advice.
Mark

[ojisan]

mwr, no offense meant about the crud.
I'm at zip 91214.
PM me if you are local and want to bring it by.
No charge, interesting problem.
Inquiring minds want to know why. : )