Buckmark spring and guide rod bent?

[baddarryl]

Hi all. My Buckmark would barely run yesterday. It was dirty so I took it apart and the guide rod/spring are not perfectly straight. Would that cause FTF's?

Let me add that I was using the Winchester Super X .22lr ammo that I have reading a lot of problems about since. I just cleaned it and will take it to the range with some of that and some CCI SV that i have and see what it does. Has run pretty well on the CCI.

[James K]

I have not heard/read enough about any Super X problems to form an opinion on that issue.

But yes, a bent guide rod, no matter what the cause, can certainly result in malfunctions in a Buckmark; the slide will rub on the recoil spring and that will slow the slide down, resulting in various failures, including failure to go into battery as well as failures to feed, extract or eject.

That being said, cartridges giving a rapid pressure rise can cause damage to a guide rod like that as well as to a recoil spring. I assume you have straightened the guide rod before trying different ammo.

The Buckmark is usually a very reliable pistol and a hard look at ammo in any failure is well warranted. Let us know how things turn out.

Jim

[ranchito457]

I also have a couple of buckmarks and I've noticed when I'm having FTF its always one of the two screws on top getting loose-For whats its worth give it a look-Both of mine will eat even the worst .22 ammo-Good luck

[baddarryl]

Well those 2 screws were loose and I gave it a needed cleaning. I only had 10 more rounds of the X to test and it choked on one of them. Then I ran a box of CCI CV's without a hiccup. I suggest it was a combo of the ammo, screws, and a cleaning. I do have 2 more boxes of the X that just weren't with me today, but I will try them again. If not they will always work in my bolt action.

[baddarryl]

Will a little medium lock tight on those screws hurt anything?

[James K]

What about the guide rod? Did you straighten it?

Jim

[baddarryl]

Tried a little, but saw other pictures on a web search that showed slightly bent ones. Decided to leave it alone and focused on the ammo, cleaning etc as a way of diagnosis. Ran fine after that.

[ranchito457]

I use a little lock tight also seems to keep them in place..

[4V50 Gary]

I'd straighten the rod as Step I.

[baddarryl]

Is it ok or easy to take the spring off the rod?

[4V50 Gary]

Get a large cardboard box. Do your work in the box so nothing goes orbital. NASA hates the competition.

There's a C-clip (aka Jesus Clip) on the end. Compress the spring (you may want to use padded vise grips to relieve the pressure on the c-clip. Push the c-clip off and when you release the vise grip, the spring should slide right off the recoil spring guide rod.

[FrankenMauser]

Just replace the rod.

You can get the entire recoil guide rod assembly (rod, spring, clip, and guide) for about $10.

In my experience, they're only good for about 15k rounds. You can push them further (30k-50k), but the spring is pretty weak by that point. Reliability suffers, and the frame gets battered.

[zach_]

Baddarrel, my Buckmark won't shoot if I don't keep it squeaky clean and lined. I get fail to fire, fail to feed the second round of the 10 round magazine, jams, and the back screw on top works loose. CCI standard 40 grain is my favorite ammo for dependability and accuracy. When I keep it clean per the owner's manual, all is good. I painted the sights kind of a kelly green. The lighter colors were worse than the factory black. I hope to get the same accuracy out of all of my pistols that I get out of my Buckmark.

[baddarryl]

Just replace the rod.

You can get the entire recoil guide rod assembly (rod, spring, clip, and guide) for about $10.
 
In my experience, they're only good for about 15k rounds. You can push them further (30k-50k), but the spring is pretty weak by that point. Reliability suffers, and the frame gets battered.

I may do that. I got it used so who knows. I will say though that that is the only ammo that has done this.