Jennings J22

[wizzamen]

What's up with the Jennings logo, it's a figure of a person with a fencing sword. Does anyone know the history or the significance of the logo?

[Carmady]

The guns jam so much you best have a knife with you, the bigger the better.

[Charlie98]

I had a .22 Jennings back in the day... never really had any misfire or feeding problems. The one thing it did do was dump burning powder on my shooting hand as it ejected the case.

Back home, years ago, that Jennings helped get me out of a fight with 4 high school punks one night when I was out on the motorcycle.

[Oysterboy]

I remember the J22 I had, an absolute piece of crap. I was luckier than you because I shot a whole mag full in the beginning and jam city ever since no matter what.

[Skans]

I have a safe full of firearms,but this little 22 drives me nuts. Can’t get it to fire more than 2 or 3 rounds before it jams. I use good ammunition,but it don’t care. I think it hates me because I carry a Ruger. Any Ideas.

You will hear all kinds of hate for the J-22. I have had my J-22 for over 25 years. Mine is chrome, wood grips and steel safety thing. Not all J-22's are the same. Mine generally functions flawlessly if I spray-clean it and wipe the chamber down a little after shooting 3 magazines. Otherwise, it will start to have feeding problems.

If the gun is cleaned, and slightly oiled, and it is still jamming, then I would suggest trying a different magazine, or checking to see if the magazine spring is weak. The magazines are a bit flimsy and easy to damage. Other thing to check is the recoil spring which may need replacing.

Also, I find that it really likes CCI Stingers. I like to bring mine out to the range every now and then, just to tick people off by proving my little J-22 works pretty darn well. Would I carry it? I have years ago, but not today - there are much better options.

[libiglou]

There are several on GB for sale. All them have at least 10 bids or more. Impressive for a gun that is so hated.

[moosemike]

Mine also loved CCI Stingers and was very reliable with them.

[BigHank]

Jennings J22
Thanks everybody for your input on my j22. You have given me some new ideas on what to try next. I know it’s a Saturday night special but there’s something about it that keeps me interested. Maybe it’s time to take a closer look at the magazines.

[thickstrings]

http://www.bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com/forum/ I now remembered where I found out about Jimenez fixing Jennings firearms.....This is a forum for crappy guns...They deal with them and like them... ask on there.

[Nacho Man]

Ring of fire

[Drm50]

When 1st out I was in business and they were 3/$99. I sold about a dozen of
them before I started getting complaints, and ceased selling them.

[JERRYS.]

I bought my first and only J22 in 1987 I think it was. I only fired Remington Vipers through it and it worked every time. I traded it off for something else later. I never came across the opportunity to buy another one since because people try to sell used ones at new prices.

[Skans]

people try to sell used ones at new prices.

I think I paid $80 for my J-22 new. I doubt that I could get that price for it, if I ever decided to sell it.

[dgludwig]

Oxymorons: Jumbo shrimp. Government workers. Engraved Jennings.

[USMCGrunt]

Your Jennings isn't jamming because it hates you. It's jamming because it's a piece of junk!!

[BigHank]

I agree,it is junk.

[745SW]

Having some experience with 22LR I would not trust any make/model of mouse gun using this cartridge.

[Jazzgun]

Hey Big Hank. You won't get any sympathy here at TFL from most. Some are willing to help but most haven't had any real experience with the little SNS anyway so they couldn't help even if they wanted to. I have a Raven I recently purchased and your gun is an exact duplicate of the Raven, which was manufactured by George Jennings...patriarch of the Jennings family, who owned Jennings Firearms as well.

Mine was jammed and I came here for help. Some were really nice in trying to help but the bad reputation these little guns have keeps the info at a minimum.

My husband and I both got one at the same time for carrying around the neighborhood on night walks. We both had the same problem with them. What we did is completely disassemble them and clean them throughly and examine them for any signs of damage. All looked to be fine but they were difficult to rack the slide. We polished the feed ramp and changed out the magazines. The magazine springs go bad after a few years. The biggest problem seemed to be the recoil spring. We have new ones now but Robert took out the existing ones and with a pair of needle nose pliars squeezed the coils like three at a time to make it less stiff. That did the trick. Also, the gunsmith recommended using Seal One to clean it with. It's a neat little gun with not a lot of parts to worry about. Have fun with it and don't worry about the Zimak the gun is made out of. It's just fine for the calibre ammo it uses.

~ Jazz

[Oysterboy]

The Raven I had was 100%. Never a misfire nor a jam and that makes me wonder what makes the gun do bad. Manufacturing flaws maybe like a misalignment?

Yes they are cheaply made and I was lucky to have a good one. Too bad I lost it in a pawn shop.

As to guns made with Zamak, they'll have steel where it's a must, most importantly the barrel and the firing pin/sear. Look at HiPoint, they have a loyal following and the best warranty on this planet.

Sadly, the Jennings 22 I had was absolute junk, dumb luck of the draw.

[Jazzgun]

Here's a youTube on the Jennings J22 that might help you. It addresses some of the problems. The comments are very helpful as well.

Good luck with it.

https://youtu.be/3zOunh91neU

Hi Oysterboy. One of these days I'm gonna learn how to spell Zamak. LOL!

~ Jazz

[Oysterboy]

One day you will.

The J22 is such a good looking little pistol that I still want one.

[Jazzgun]

Why? The Raven looks just like it! LOL

I want a Baby Browning now! I saw one last night on Gunbroker that looked so much like my Raven. LMAO!!!

[Brian48]

I will confess that I had and carried a J22 briefly decades ago. It was the only carry gun I could afford at the time until I was able to save up for a jframe. Although I agree with most that this gun was/is junk, my particular specimen did serve its role for me. Provided the gun was clean, it would consistently and reliably shoot through the first mag of CCI Stingers without a problem. The second mag would usually be about 80-90% reliable. After that, the gun was a jam-o-matic. The gun was obviously not designed for extensive shooting. It would only work with Stingers. Since for defensive carry I'd never carry more than one mag anyway, I thought this was acceptable. The only thing I hated was have to carry with an empty chamber for safety reasons. I literally gave the gun away once I bought my SW Model 60.

[Oysterboy]

From 22 to 357. Now that's a leap of faith.

[dgludwig]

It's jamming because it's a piece of junk!!

Jennings: the Anti-Korth.