Kelby's range

Hal · August 29, 1999, 07:03 AM

The best laid plans,,,yada, yada, yada.
Well, I had planned to shoot the old ones, but my wife's new Winchester 9422 just called out to me. As an after thought, I threw it into the trunk along with all the others I planned on shooting, and just got carried away with it.

As kind of a review of the gun:

Winchester 9422, Trapper Model
Ammo: Remington Thunderbolt
Winchester DynaPoint
Winchester Xpert

Fit and fishish are good to very good. I would of course prefer a little better blueing, but,,,

Accuracy is acceptable, but the open sights are off to the point of being unuseable. Even adjusted "all the way down" for elevation, the gun shoots 3 inches high at 50 yards. Since it is going to be scoped, this isn't a problem. A friend's 9422 shows a similar tendancy to shoot high.

Trigger: Fantastic. Measured a hair under 5 pounds, and smooth as glass. got better as I shot it more.

Reliability: Have to rate this a zero. I had no less than 7 jams in a total of 300 rounds fired. The most common problem was the shell jumping the rail as it was being loaded into the chamber. The loading action has a lever that moves the shell into place to be rammed into the chamber. On 5 occasions, the shell would fall between this lever and the inside of the reciever. Each time I had to unload and disassemble to remove the shell. My friends 9422 does not do this, so I think it is a problem with mine, and possibly not a design flaw.

Overall rating: A gun more suited to an experienced handler because of the feed problem. Fun factor is very high, hunting use is very possible, but agin the jams may be a problem. I will try some faster (ie:Stingers) to see if the POI comes down, plus there is the micro adjustment on the Buckhorn rear site that I didn't mess with.

Would I buy another: No, not in .22lr or .22 mag. For open sight use, the Trapper in .38/.357 is OMHO a better option. Side loading gate and close to the same price to feed with reloads.

UPDATED: I found the feed problem to be tied to the use of cheap ammo. I went back out today(Sunday), after mounting a 4X scope, to try it out again. This time I took along a half a box of CCI mini mags. The Mini Mags fed 100%, but I again had a lot of trouble with the cheaper ammo. It seems that the Winchester is very sensitive to rim thickness.

*George: I didn't see Janet, but I suspect she was close at hand. Either that or the cows in the next field were overly active in their production of fertilizer. I hope I didn't offend you with the other post, I just got sick of seeing her mug plastered all over the news, and figured you might get a kick out of excercising your "god" powers in a friendly kind of way.

[This message has been edited by Hal (edited August 29, 1999).]

George Hill · August 31, 1999, 08:09 PM

3 inches high at 50?
That IS off. Your right, a scope will fix that. It could be that you need the muzzel recrowned - Give it a hard look as that can sometimes have an impact on the balistics.

------------------
"The rage is relentless... We need a movement with a quickness.
You are a witness of change and to counteract - We gotta take the power back!"

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
The Critic formerly known as Kodiac

Hal · September 1, 1999, 06:02 AM

The scope worked wonders. No problem with the crown as the scope allowed for tight 3/4 inch groups at both 25 and 50 yards, about 2 inches to the left of point of aim, before adjusting it. I just mounted it, and fired 20 rounds, then did the adjustments to bring it dead on.

Good little shooter except for it's demand of CCI ammo. Nothing and I mean nothing else works in it without feed problems. I really have a tough choice on this as to whether or not to send it back to the factory. I really can live with the choice of CCI as the gun likes it, it isn't all that expensive comapred to the cheapo crap, but it should be able to run with anything. Since it is Mrs. Cheapskates gun, I'll let her decide

------------------
CCW for Ohio action site.
http:/www.ofcc.net

chucko · September 1, 1999, 09:56 AM

Hal,

I sympathise with you about your rifle being a picky eater. I have a 10/22 that was been completely reworked by Briley. The only thing it will eat with 100% reliability is Federal Gold Medal Match. The only thing I've been able to figure out is that the match chamber in the rifle is very tight, and the case tolorances of the cheaper ammo vary too much.

Chuck

George Hill · September 1, 1999, 05:50 PM

That sounds right.
But does that Winchester 9422 Trapper Model have such a tight fit?
That is very interesting.
If it feeds the CCI -
Does it feed STINGERS? Or am I thinking of Vipers? Which one has the round nose?

Dang - Going to have to bust out the old Remington 514 .22 and do some hands on research!

------------------
"The rage is relentless... We need a movement with a quickness.
You are a witness of change and to counteract - We gotta take the power back!"

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
The Critic formerly known as Kodiac

Hal · September 1, 1999, 07:09 PM

The chamber of the Winchester isn't that tight. The problem occurs before the round gets to the chamber. The 9422 has a 2 piece battery arrangement. The round is fed up from the bottom via a channel in the front part. It is here that the round fails to remain captive and falls out before it can be put into battery. Kinda hard to explain without pictures or a hands on. I believe the tolerance in the front piece is to blame, and the CCI's are just the right size. A conversation with a friend revealed that his 9422 sufffers no similar problem. The 9422, in any configuration is the same regardless of length. I think this one is going to go back to the factory for a check out. I only wish I could combine the reliable feed of the Browning lever .22 with the great trigger of the Winchester.Course with my luck I would get the terrible trigger of the Browning and the terrible feed of the Winchester

------------------
CCW for Ohio action site.
http:/www.ofcc.net

George Hill · September 1, 1999, 09:25 PM

Sounds like you should just try a Marlin...

Seriously - I am not a big .22 rifle man - but I have always had very good results with Marlin .22s. They are also less cash too...

------------------
"The rage is relentless... We need a movement with a quickness.
You are a witness of change and to counteract - We gotta take the power back!"

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
The Critic formerly known as Kodiac

August 29, 1999, 07:03 AM	#1
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	The best laid plans,,,yada, yada, yada. Well, I had planned to shoot the old ones, but my wife's new Winchester 9422 just called out to me. As an after thought, I threw it into the trunk along with all the others I planned on shooting, and just got carried away with it. As kind of a review of the gun: Winchester 9422, Trapper Model Ammo: Remington Thunderbolt Winchester DynaPoint Winchester Xpert Fit and fishish are good to very good. I would of course prefer a little better blueing, but,,, Accuracy is acceptable, but the open sights are off to the point of being unuseable. Even adjusted "all the way down" for elevation, the gun shoots 3 inches high at 50 yards. Since it is going to be scoped, this isn't a problem. A friend's 9422 shows a similar tendancy to shoot high. Trigger: Fantastic. Measured a hair under 5 pounds, and smooth as glass. got better as I shot it more. Reliability: Have to rate this a zero. I had no less than 7 jams in a total of 300 rounds fired. The most common problem was the shell jumping the rail as it was being loaded into the chamber. The loading action has a lever that moves the shell into place to be rammed into the chamber. On 5 occasions, the shell would fall between this lever and the inside of the reciever. Each time I had to unload and disassemble to remove the shell. My friends 9422 does not do this, so I think it is a problem with mine, and possibly not a design flaw. Overall rating: A gun more suited to an experienced handler because of the feed problem. Fun factor is very high, hunting use is very possible, but agin the jams may be a problem. I will try some faster (ie:Stingers) to see if the POI comes down, plus there is the micro adjustment on the Buckhorn rear site that I didn't mess with. Would I buy another: No, not in .22lr or .22 mag. For open sight use, the Trapper in .38/.357 is OMHO a better option. Side loading gate and close to the same price to feed with reloads. UPDATED: I found the feed problem to be tied to the use of cheap ammo. I went back out today(Sunday), after mounting a 4X scope, to try it out again. This time I took along a half a box of CCI mini mags. The Mini Mags fed 100%, but I again had a lot of trouble with the cheaper ammo. It seems that the Winchester is very sensitive to rim thickness. *George: I didn't see Janet, but I suspect she was close at hand. Either that or the cows in the next field were overly active in their production of fertilizer. I hope I didn't offend you with the other post, I just got sick of seeing her mug plastered all over the news, and figured you might get a kick out of excercising your "god" powers in a friendly kind of way. [This message has been edited by Hal (edited August 29, 1999).]

August 31, 1999, 08:09 PM	#2
George Hill Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 14, 1998 Location: North Carolina Posts: 11,546	3 inches high at 50? That IS off. Your right, a scope will fix that. It could be that you need the muzzel recrowned - Give it a hard look as that can sometimes have an impact on the balistics. ------------------ "The rage is relentless... We need a movement with a quickness. You are a witness of change and to counteract - We gotta take the power back!" RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE The Critic formerly known as Kodiac

September 1, 1999, 06:02 AM	#3
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	The scope worked wonders. No problem with the crown as the scope allowed for tight 3/4 inch groups at both 25 and 50 yards, about 2 inches to the left of point of aim, before adjusting it. I just mounted it, and fired 20 rounds, then did the adjustments to bring it dead on. Good little shooter except for it's demand of CCI ammo. Nothing and I mean nothing else works in it without feed problems. I really have a tough choice on this as to whether or not to send it back to the factory. I really can live with the choice of CCI as the gun likes it, it isn't all that expensive comapred to the cheapo crap, but it should be able to run with anything. Since it is Mrs. Cheapskates gun, I'll let her decide ------------------ CCW for Ohio action site. http:/www.ofcc.net

September 1, 1999, 09:56 AM	#4
chucko Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 1999 Posts: 151	Hal, I sympathise with you about your rifle being a picky eater. I have a 10/22 that was been completely reworked by Briley. The only thing it will eat with 100% reliability is Federal Gold Medal Match. The only thing I've been able to figure out is that the match chamber in the rifle is very tight, and the case tolorances of the cheaper ammo vary too much. Chuck

September 1, 1999, 05:50 PM	#5
George Hill Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 14, 1998 Location: North Carolina Posts: 11,546	That sounds right. But does that Winchester 9422 Trapper Model have such a tight fit? That is very interesting. If it feeds the CCI - Does it feed STINGERS? Or am I thinking of Vipers? Which one has the round nose? Dang - Going to have to bust out the old Remington 514 .22 and do some hands on research! ------------------ "The rage is relentless... We need a movement with a quickness. You are a witness of change and to counteract - We gotta take the power back!" RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE The Critic formerly known as Kodiac

September 1, 1999, 07:09 PM	#6
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	The chamber of the Winchester isn't that tight. The problem occurs before the round gets to the chamber. The 9422 has a 2 piece battery arrangement. The round is fed up from the bottom via a channel in the front part. It is here that the round fails to remain captive and falls out before it can be put into battery. Kinda hard to explain without pictures or a hands on. I believe the tolerance in the front piece is to blame, and the CCI's are just the right size. A conversation with a friend revealed that his 9422 sufffers no similar problem. The 9422, in any configuration is the same regardless of length. I think this one is going to go back to the factory for a check out. I only wish I could combine the reliable feed of the Browning lever .22 with the great trigger of the Winchester.Course with my luck I would get the terrible trigger of the Browning and the terrible feed of the Winchester ------------------ CCW for Ohio action site. http:/www.ofcc.net

September 1, 1999, 09:25 PM	#7
George Hill Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 14, 1998 Location: North Carolina Posts: 11,546	Sounds like you should just try a Marlin... Seriously - I am not a big .22 rifle man - but I have always had very good results with Marlin .22s. They are also less cash too... ------------------ "The rage is relentless... We need a movement with a quickness. You are a witness of change and to counteract - We gotta take the power back!" RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE The Critic formerly known as Kodiac