22-250 Latch problem

[Ten Ring]

My wife shot her new 22-250 today and it shot real good. I went thru all the cleaning and fit the foreend before shooting. Now for the problem. We shot three different type shells Remmington, Hornady and federal and all shot fine with the exception it takes a lot of pressure to push down the latch release after firing. Where should I start looking?
 Thanks Jim

[gendoc]

is it normal when un-chambered opening and closing ?
could be headspace expansion after firing,  but others will prolly
shoot that theory down..........
look at the rim around the edge or on the face around the primer.
any signs of scuff'n  ?

i'm sure your latch and catch are dry, right ?

hey i just got a brand new rem/h&r .223 that would'nt even lock up !!!!

[Ten Ring]

Doesn't look like the firing pin is dragging. It's not real stiff when opening on a unfired round but stiffer than any I have. I can open it after firing with some effort but my wife has to use both thumbs. Ejector seems to be dragging on the spent shells also. Shelf is dry and looked like good engagement before shooting. I'll check it again when I clean the exterior tonite. This is synthetic foreend and I didn't want to sand much off because I know it will wear loose.
Thanks Jim

[trotterlg]

This is normal on the high pressure rounds, the frame springs a little allowing the case to expand which then makes the release lever hard to push down.  If you look across the breach at the barrel breach junction immediately after fireing you will see that there is now a gap at the top where the frame has sprung.  Larry

[quickdtoo]

It's typical of hot loads on high pressure chamberings as Larry said, but the barrel release lever may get easier to press as the latch and shelf wear, it can be worse on a new rifle, I've put a little metal polish on the parts to lap them together with good results, just be sure to clean it off good after the lapping. It can also be caused by uneven latch engagement, if it looks even, just give it some time, if uneven, it may need to go back to H&R for proper fitting.

Tim

[Ten Ring]

Thanks for all the input. This rifle shoots too good to go back to the factory. I have some Flitz I may try if this is o.k.
 Thanks Jim

[Spanky]

Polish the latch shelf and it'll work better. My new 22mag was the same way... it's starting to work smoother now... I've put about 100 rounds through it so far.



Spanky

[bikerbeans]

My wife has a 22-250 that does the same thing with the hotter loads.  So I reload a little lighter for it and the problem mostly went away.  Also, as Spanky said, polishing the latch self made it work better.

BB

[wreckhog]

I have a 45-70 that needs 2 thumbs on unfired factory rounds. Always figured the spring was shot. But I use it.

[Ten Ring]

Update--- I took a hard look at the latch shelf and engagement was good and even. It felt real rough at the edge. After pondering on what to use I decided to get my Lansky knife sharpener kit out. I used the pink ceramic stone and just polished off the blueing on both surfaces. It feels better now but the proof will be shooting later.
 Jim

[NFG]

You might consider these "helps"...My little 17 FB and 6mm BR even get baulky now and then when I'm working on loads and does the same thing. Once I got the sizing right, ZERO headspace the cases stopped any shoulder movement and that problem went away.  The larger the case the more pressure against the frame face and the more pressure it takes on the latch to open it.

The 22-250 has a fairly large amount of taper which also increases the back thrust...does the same thing in a bolt gun or a T/C...rechambering to a 2-250 AI could help in one way but cause MORE problems in another area...no free lunch.  I had a similar problem in my 22-250 Encore, but by rechambering to 22-243 Midd and keeping the pressures down I ended up with about 6% more velocity than a 220 Swift at the same pressure as the original 22-250 and no lockup.

Make sure your sizing die DOESN'T push the case shoulder back on a fired round...back the sizer out a bit...the better the case fits the chamber the less stretching and the less amount of pressure put on the frame face.  It's trial and error...run some searches for problems like yours...there are many and lots of solutions. 

Sometimes the problems are in the gun...sometimes in the ammo or reloading.

Polish the barrel catch AND the shelf on the barrel....POLISH...don't take off any metal...I use a motodremel tool and a medium cratex wheel...

You can "bed" the barrel in the the frame to help center and take out any slop.  I just use JB weld...run a small bead along both frame rails(I use Accra-glass release agent on the barrel and anywhere I don't want the JB to stick)...close the barrel  slowly and easy...install the forend and let it sit until the JB starts to set up to a rubbery consistency then you can use an exacto knife to cut off the excess...put it back together and let it set for 24 hours or so.  BE SURE not to use very much JB...the gap is small and it is a bear to deal with if you get too much inthe wrong place.

Having the barrel centered without any slop seems to reduce the amount of thumb pressure needed to open the action.

"Normal wear"... cycling through the firing procedure...opening, firing, opening will "wear in" the action over time...practicing dry firing...open, insert an empty case, close, shoulder, lock on a target, cock and squeeze will also help imprint into you muscle memory all the required steps and teach breath and trigger control...helps not be embarrasted or miss that once in a lifetime shot.

Luck

[petemi]

NFG, your post is too long to quote, but Thank You   Very informative and excellent.  I had a similar problem with my Handi 22-250.

Pete