single shot 22 problems

dakotashooter2

I have 2 lever action single shot 22s one Agawam Arms model 68 and one Ithaca model 49.They are very similar guns and neither has seen much use in the last 15 years. I took both of these out for some shooting some time back and both experienced a very high rate of misfires which had not occured when they were last used. Indentations on the case heads appeared light so I did some cleaning and work on the firing pins to allow for a little more travel. Same results. After a misfire I would examine the case, find a faint pin mark, put the cartridge back in, rotate it and it would fire with a very distinct pin mark on the case. I tried many variety's of (no high quality though) ammo with the same results because I suspected a possible headspace problem with the ammo. The hammer and firing pin appear to function smoothly with adequate force and I know the pin has adequate travel distance. Any Ideas? Does modern 22 ammo have a thinner or more inconsistent rim than 15 years ago?

rick_reno

Firing pin travel might not be your problem. You might try replacing one of the springs driving the firing pin and see if the misfire rate goes down.

j2k22

try check the pin and see if it is broken. I have seen several of the Ithacas with broken firing pins.

SP45

Being that they have sat for 15 years I would thoroughly check to see that the fireing pin, spring and channel are clean. Whatever was used to lubricate they may have solidified and the hammer can't strike with enough energy. This can happen even though the gun looks clean. If you can't take it apart try flushing with penetrating oil until the fireing pin is free.