22 primer strikes

[Gene Hackman]

I am not too familiar with 22 and I didn't have any misfires. They all went off on the first strike. but do these strikes look rather light? And tiny?

http://i1370.photobucket.com/albums/ag273/Dano1987/20150302_002822_zpskxhkrllj.jpg (http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/Dano1987/media/20150302_002822_zpskxhkrllj.jpg.html)

[skiflydive]

Did they all go "Bang?" If they all did then you had no light strikes.

[muggsy]

Looks ok to me.

[berettabone]

Bordering on too close to off, if you ask me................................................

[Bawanna]

Look perfect to me. They call em rimfires. Long as they are going bang your in business.

[deadeye]

Been shooting .22's for lotsa years. Looks good to me.

[marshal kane]

Looks perfect to me tool Should you ever run across one that doesn't go "bang" which sometimes happens, wait a minute with the muzzle pointed downrange, then eject the round and rechamber it with an undented part of the rim opposite the firing pin and try to shoot it again. A second try is often successful. Just the nature of .22 rim fire ammunition.

[DanTana]

Looks to me the strike went very deep into the rim and caught the entire rim of the strike area. I wouldn't worry about light strikes with that weapon.

[jeepster09]

Do you just look for things to be a problem? If they fire there ok.

[b4uqzme]

If ya never ask you'll never learn...right GH? Those look good to me. Fire away!

[ltxi]

Looks to me the strike went very deep into the rim and caught the entire rim of the strike area. I wouldn't worry about light strikes with that weapon.

x2....not hardly light and, especially knowing it's a Phoenix, that's one .22 I wouldn't dry fire without a dummy or at least spent case in the chamber.

[Gene Hackman]

x2....not hardly light and, especially knowing it's a Phoenix, that's one .22 I wouldn't dry fire without a dummy or at least spent case in the chamber.

Yeah. But if you don't count your shots you will end up dry firing it because the slide doesn't lock back. I ordered some extra recoil springs and replacement firing pin just in case

[ltxi]

Yeah. But if you don't count your shots you will end up dry firing it because the slide doesn't lock back. I ordered some extra recoil springs and replacement firing pin just in case

Not the firing pin I'd be worryin' about. On older and current cheap rimfires dry firing on an empty chamber damages the chamber mouth. T'was a big no-no practice back in the day.

But, what the hell....it's your gun so do what you want.

[gb6491]

The Phoenix HP22A (well at least mine) has a recessed breach face to preclude the firing pin damaging the chamber opening. If everything is correct, the firing pin should be flush with (or slightly below) the portion of the slide that touches the end of the barrel when it's pushed in to the limit of it's travel.
http://i62.tinypic.com/jl2tqu.jpg
Folks that have a HP22A might notice that I've modified my firing pin to give a larger "hit" footprint. I didn't have any problems with the HP22, but based on some experience I had with a Kadet kit for my CZ75B, I decided to preform some preventive maintenance on the Phoenix.
Here's a shot of the firing pin strikes from my Kadet kit. The unmodified pin strike is on the left: this caused a misfire with some regularity. The modified pin's strike is wider and longer and gives consistent ignition.
http://i38.tinypic.com/2ish11k.jpg
The factory HP22A's firing pin tip is slightly rounded, so I take enough off to flatten it out.
http://i60.tinypic.com/1iiyz6.jpg
I think if you look at the cut away 22 casing in the one photo, you might see why I prefer a little longer, wider firing pin hit on rim fire ammo.
Of course, this is just my preference and YMMW...whatever works for you :)
Regards,
Greg

[Gene Hackman]

The Phoenix HP22A (well at least mine) has a recessed breach face to preclude the firing pin damaging the chamber opening. If everything is correct, the firing pin should be flush with (or slightly below) the portion of the slide that touches the end of the barrel when it's pushed in to the limit of it's travel.
http://i62.tinypic.com/jl2tqu.jpg
Folks that have a HP22A might notice that I've modified my firing pin to give a larger "hit" footprint. I didn't have any problems with the HP22, but based on some experience I had with a Kadet kit for my CZ75B, I decided to preform some preventive maintenance on the Phoenix.
Here's a shot of the firing pin strikes from my Kadet kit. The unmodified pin strike is on the left: this caused a misfire with some regularity. The modified pin's strike is wider and longer and gives consistent ignition.
http://i38.tinypic.com/2ish11k.jpg
The factory HP22A's firing pin tip is slightly rounded, so I take enough off to flatten it out.
http://i60.tinypic.com/1iiyz6.jpg
I think if you look at the cut away 22 casing in the one photo, you might see why I prefer a little longer, wider firing pin hit on rim fire ammo.
Of course, this is just my preference and YMMW...whatever works for you :)
Regards,
Greg
Interesting. Thanks for the response. So does that mean dry firing it isn't a huge deal? My manual says not to but it will happen because the slide doesn't lock back.

[Gene Hackman]

what kind of rounds are those with the hummingbird. Also how many rounds have you put through the phoenix? Any issues? I'm already past 600 rounds with no issues at all.

[muggsy]

Learn to count your shots and you won't have to worry about the problem, or get caught with an empty gun. Of course if to shoot a gun with a high capacity magazine you may have to shoot barefooted, like me. :) "Did he shoot 5 rounds or six? Are you feeling lucky, punk?"

[gb6491]

Interesting. Thanks for the response. So does that mean dry firing it isn't a huge deal? My manual says not to but it will happen because the slide doesn't lock back.


what kind of rounds are those with the hummingbird. Also how many rounds have you put through the phoenix? Any issues? I'm already past 600 rounds with no issues at all.
I'm not a fan of dry firing .22s, but yes, if your firing pin operates as described (sits flush with or slightly below) in the photo above, that means it isn't a huge deal to occasionally drop the hammer on an empty chamber.

You can buy a magazine follower that will hold the slide open after the last round is fired. Search for seller candelaria55 on eBay. I've no first hand experience with them.

The Hummingbird logo is on Aguila Super Colibri.

There's probably several thousand rounds through my HP22A. No issues..so far. However, the frames are known to develop cracks, so I shoot mostly standard velocity stuff through it. https://www.google.com/search?q=phoenix+arms+frame+cracks&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

There is at least one (albeit not very active) Phoenix Arms forum: http://www.bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=11

Regards,
Greg

[marshal kane]

Interesting. Thanks for the response. So does that mean dry firing it isn't a huge deal? My manual says not to but it will happen because the slide doesn't lock back.
IME with rimfire guns, a big deal only if you dry fire a lot e.g. marksmanship training. Best though to use a fired case or snap cap in the chamber if you intend to dry fire a lot. If you occasionally dry fire due to miscounting the number of shots fired it should not hurt the gun.

[ltxi]

I'm not a fan of dry firing .22s, but yes, if your firing pin operates as described (sits flush with or slightly below) in the photo above, that means it isn't a huge deal to occasionally drop the hammer on an empty chamber.

You can buy a magazine follower that will hold the slide open after the last round is fired. Search for seller candelaria55 on eBay. I've no first hand experience with them.

The Hummingbird logo is on Aguila Super Colibri.

There's probably several thousand rounds through my HP22A. No issues..so far. However, the frames are known to develop cracks, so I shoot mostly standard velocity stuff through it. https://www.google.com/search?q=phoenix+arms+frame+cracks&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

There is at least one (albeit not very active) Phoenix Arms forum: http://www.bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=11

Regards,
Greg

Thanks for posting that follow-up, Greg. Nice to know Phoenix is paying attention to modern convention. My 70's production version was an HP-22, not the A revision, and I don't recall it having a breech face with firing pin travel limit spec'd quite like that. I generally won't deal with really low end, Ring of Fire class guns any longer, but could see myself into another Phoenix .22 if I found a new need for a cheap, casual plinker. As I said, mine was pretty good to the point of I prolly shouldn't have sold it.

[Gene Hackman]

I'm not a fan of dry firing .22s, but yes, if your firing pin operates as described (sits flush with or slightly below) in the photo above, that means it isn't a huge deal to occasionally drop the hammer on an empty chamber.

You can buy a magazine follower that will hold the slide open after the last round is fired. Search for seller candelaria55 on eBay. I've no first hand experience with them.

The Hummingbird logo is on Aguila Super Colibri.

There's probably several thousand rounds through my HP22A. No issues..so far. However, the frames are known to develop cracks, so I shoot mostly standard velocity stuff through it. https://www.google.com/search?q=phoenix+arms+frame+cracks&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

There is at least one (albeit not very active) Phoenix Arms forum: http://www.bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=11

Regards,
Greg
So it looks like you aren't supposed to use high velocity ammo which is pretty much what I have. Like remington golden bullet. Will my frame crack if I use it?

[Gene Hackman]

All that's available to me seems to be high velocity ammo. I don't wan't a cracked frame. I have lots of remington golden bullet and some winchester hollow points and federal auto match. I have been using the federal auto match and no issues yet but all of this ammo is over 1200 fps and you aren't supposed to use anything over 1100 per the manual. A lot of people get cracked frames.

[hardluk1]

Try some cci sv , ar tac , green tag , fed 711b, aguila SV 1b222268 or 69. I have a colt huntsman from the early "60's and its shoot mainly high velocity ammo for close to 50 years . Not sure what dad bought to use in its first 5 years .

maybe time for a better class of firearm too. Used woodsman / huntsman , ruger mk 2, or s&w or ruger revolver

[Gene Hackman]

Try some cci sv , ar tac , green tag , fed 711b, aguila SV 1b222268 or 69. I have a colt huntsman from the early "60's and its shoot mainly high velocity ammo for close to 50 years . Not sure what dad bought to use in its first 5 years .

maybe time for a better class of firearm too. Used woodsman / huntsman , ruger mk 2, or s&w or ruger revolver
like I said, all that's available is high velocity target ammo

[ltxi]

All that's available to me seems to be high velocity ammo. I don't wan't a cracked frame. I have lots of remington golden bullet and some winchester hollow points and federal auto match. I have been using the federal auto match and no issues yet but all of this ammo is over 1200 fps and you aren't supposed to use anything over 1100 per the manual. A lot of people get cracked frames.

The manual is obliquely telling you to use "standard" pressure/velocity ammunition. It's a cya caveat for warranty purposes on a cheap gun. Shoot what you have and stop worrying about it. Searching out and buying more, std pressure .22lr at today's prices just for that pistol ain't gonna be at all cost effective.

And a blunt, I'm sure unwelcome bit of advice....stop buying cheap, substandard guns. If nothing else, that not be a cost effective strategy, either.

[jeepster09]

Old saying that is true....

"YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR".

[Gene Hackman]

So I was shooting Remington golden bullets today out of the phoenix 22 today. I shot almost a whole brick and had a lot of misfires. Most of them went off on the second strike. Also there is bulging at the rim on every single case on the opposite side of the firing pin strike.

http://i1370.photobucket.com/albums/ag273/Dano1987/20150310_172149_zpszs9dfpni.jpg (http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/Dano1987/media/20150310_172149_zpszs9dfpni.jpg.html)