Author Topic: Picking a .22 (Read 1915 times)

Microgunner · « **Reply #15 on:** May 03, 2012, 09:25:39 AM »

Great report and photo.

mcheath · « **Reply #16 on:** May 29, 2012, 02:23:24 AM »

Update.

The rifle now has 1200 rounds through it and I thought an update was in order. Functionally it remains rock solid, still not a single FTF, FTE, stovepipe, etc. Every round fires cleanly, does not matter if I take my time between shots or rapid fire the magazine as fast as I can. Does not matter if the gun is dirty or clean, it fires just as well with 500 rounds through it and all the parts dirty as it does when freshly cleaned. Firing only Federal bulk pack from Wal-Mart now, as well as Colibri no powder .22s at a pellet gun target in the backyard. (have to hand cycle the bolt for each one of those shots)

The trigger is better. Much better. I didn't do anything to it, usage seems to be what has smoothed it out.

Took it apart to clean it again at 1000 rounds, cleaning every 500 as the company recommends, and found some curious things. This time I pulled the inner receiver all the way out for cleaning, it's much easier as you can spray the cleaner into it all you want without worry about marring the finish of the upper. Also took the trigger group out for cleaning.

Upon removing the inner receiver I found that all the screws that hold the two halves together were loose. One was totally undone and fell out upon removal, the others were all quite loose. Hmm. There is blue loctite on the screw threads, but it does not seem to have worked. On the one that was totally undone it seems that the loctite never contacted the nut.

The flash hider loosens after a few hundred rounds and I have to retighten it.

The takedown pins have a keeper built in that does not seem to work much. The rear pin is held in by tension on the inner receiver, but the front pin will work loose by extended firing. I roughed up the surface of the pin to make it stay in better.

The rear sight will loosen after a day of firing. (stock iron sight)

So the theme of this rifle seems to be things get loose with use. Not sure how that will work out as time goes by. Will this M4 hold together at 10k or 20k rounds? Or will it have worked itself into a jumble of parts that won't stay tight no matter what you do? To be fair to it I've got similar problems with an old Remington bolt action .22, don't go out without a screwdriver for that one as it will eventually needs some tightening. Of course it's 60 years old, and the M4 is new. Next time I pull it apart it will be interesting to see if the screws are tight or not.

It's a fun rifle! Am enjoying it very much. But am concerned about these loose screws and odds and ends.

techmike · « **Reply #17 on:** May 30, 2012, 12:19:31 AM »

All of the looseness is strange - first report of that. The only problem I had was the flash hider did come loose, and I installed a slightly larger o-ring on the flash hider and it has not been a problem since.

mcheath · « **Reply #18 on:** May 30, 2012, 12:25:31 AM »

I'll give the o ring idea a try. Where'd you find it? We have the usual hardware stores here.

If the screws on the inner receiver are loose at the next cleaning that will be very weird. Maybe this was a Friday afternoon rifle and they were in a hurry to get home.

techmike · « **Reply #19 on:** May 30, 2012, 12:44:08 AM »

I have an o-ring kit from Harbor Freight. HERE I also (slightly) chamfered the barrel sleeve to accommodate the larger o-ring.

mcheath · « **Reply #20 on:** July 05, 2012, 02:51:52 PM »

Haven't done the O-ring fix yet, need to as it still works loose. Went up to Montana to see our boy and took the M4 along for fun. He and I put a few hundred more rounds through it up there, no issues during the firing as seems to be typical for this gun. After shooting I checked the flash hider and sure enough it had worked loose a tad.

It was nice to be able to go out shooting with it and not worry that if LE showed up they might think it's an Evil Illegal Assault Rifle and that I needed to go to jail. Went to his local gun store and actually got to handle .223 M4's, which felt oddly exciting and sinful. That's what happens when you live in the PRC for too long I guess.

The gun store was interesting as well, the rifles were just out in the open like clothes or stuff, you picked them up, no trigger locks, gave them the look over all you wanted. It was refreshing to be treated like a responsible adult.

dan01 · « **Reply #21 on:** July 05, 2012, 06:12:42 PM »

I have over 2000 rounds thru my Umarex Colt (Walther) C-4 Carbine and haven't noticed anything loose nor have I had any problems......................The Colt carbine and the Colt OPs are the same except for the furniture......I think the ones with the 90 degree safety are an improved version over the ones with the 180s.......

I'll take your coments on the loose screws and barrel nut as a heads up and watch mine closely.....

mcheath · « **Reply #22 on:** July 14, 2012, 04:55:19 PM »

1700 rounds now through the gun, had my first FTE today. Case hung about halfway out, a Federal Value Pack round from Wal Mart, otherwise no issues.

Cleaned and disassembled. Attached a couple of pics of the process I'm using. I pull the inner receiver out and use spray to clean it up, scrap the buildup off with a wooden tool, and then a few drops of oil. This cleanup works well, but the cleaning process is still pretty bizarre. I mean, having to disassemble to this level is ridiculous, come on Walther try harder.

Stuff was loose again. Bolts for the inner receiver were all a tad loose. Flash hider was loose again. Bolts on the trigger assembly were just a little bit loose. All these were tight when I last cleaned it at 1200 rounds. Hmm.

Madhouse · « **Reply #23 on:** July 14, 2012, 06:32:07 PM »

Very nice to hear that you are having such success with your Colt! That's awesome.

dan01 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 14, 2012, 08:59:20 PM »

Have you contacted Umarex customer service about your problems?...........I probably have 3000 rounds through my Colt now and never clean it beyond the level suggested in the owner's manual........No screws have come loose and the barrel nut stays tight also............................................What kind of ammo are you using?....Some types of ammo are much dirtier than others.........I have used Winchester 36 grain hollow point bulk packs for the most part.........I would say that an occasional FTF or FTE is normal for most ammo in most guns.

Am really sorry you are having a bad time with your Colt.

mcheath · « **Reply #25 on:** July 14, 2012, 10:17:08 PM »

I have not contacted Umarex and I should and will and report back here what they have to say. I've talked to them about other issues related to M4 before I bought it and they were very responsive.

While these loose nuts and bolts are a bit annoying, they are not at all detracting from my enjoyment of the rifle! It's exceeded my expectations in every way, utterly reliable, very accurate, good ergonomics and a great time to shoot.

But then my expectations were rather low after reading all the bad chatter about the Colt M4 .22 on the Internet. I confess that I bought it on the weight of the solid reviews from the NRA site American Rifleman, and a couple of other guys like The Truth About Guns and M1911.org, some good comments here, and some blind hope.

Saw a newer one at Big 5 last night, it had the 90 degree safety. The coloring was different on the upper and lower receivers, more grey less black, while the rest of the parts were the same more black less grey that mine is.

mcheath · « **Reply #26 on:** July 20, 2012, 01:18:54 AM »

So on the flash hider they, Umarex, suggested tightening it half a turn from the point where the o-ring first contacts. I've been following their manual which says:

"- Hand-tighten the compensator and then further tighten 1/4 turn using the supplied wrench."

So, they want me to tighten it more. Hmm.

rodent.22 · « **Reply #27 on:** July 21, 2012, 05:37:38 AM »

I cleaned and dried all my little screws and blue locktited them. My flash suppressor I tighten by hand as I tight as I can turn it. So far (2years) no issues.