Winchester 63 chambering issue

[JHZR2]

Have a 1957 Winchester 63, .22LR semi-auto. Recently received it from family, probably hasn’t been shot in 50 years. Cleaned and lubed it, action moves nice and smooth. But two issues.

1) It won’t chamber from the tubular mag. It won’t quite stovepipe, the round just gets lodged in there crooked, because it won’t feed in straight and chamber hard. If a round is fed in manually, straight, and the action allowed to close hard, it will usually chamber and can be fired.

2) If a round is manually entered, the action closed hard, and the round fired, it will not eject. The ejector on the action moves smooth and free, and seems to engage the round well enough.

Here are some rounds that show damage from the attempt to chamber. The fired round shows no odd damage from chambering or the failed attempt to eject.

The rifle is clean and lubed. But maybe some core thing isn’t? I’m worried if there could have been peeking from dry firing decades ago. Hard to tell.

Anyone know these rifles and have any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[SShooterZ]

Clean the chamber. .22LR can be waxy depending on brand. A small brass brush with Butch’s and some scrubbing should help.

If the barrel says something like Super Speed or Super X on it, it will need high velocity ammo. That should complete the stroke cycle and make for smoother loading from the magazine.

 

[Greasymechtech]

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22's are ammo picky, especially in automatic. If all parts are there, all scrubbed clean and good, and lubed properly, use the HV ammo or another brand.

I also always worry about a gun that has been sitting in a safe forever.... sometimes, a super'smith takes their weapon apart into a bazillions pieces, loses a piece or installs it wrong, puts it together, doesn't work, doesn't know why, and then tosses it in the safe for a few decades. I would probably do a complete teardown and rebuild to make sure all is there, and nothing bentbrokenmissingdamagedworn.

 

[wwillson]

There are two common problems I see with my .22s. First, the magazine gets sticky and the cartridges won't slide easily. I believe much of the time it's from the lube on the cases and the wax on the projectiles. When I clean the magazine down to slick bare metal, the feeding problem goes away. Second, if there is anything and I mean any type of buildup in the chamber, which sometimes you can't even see, then you will have chambering problems. Fine bronze wool on a jag from the breach end works very well to clean the chamber.

 

[Chris142]

I would try a more rounded none ammo.

 

[jhellwig]

Are you sure it is meant to shoot .22LR and not .22 long?

Also try a basic round nose bullet not the super high velocity stuff.

 

[MParr]

Check and see If the magazine tube is clean and lightly lubed. The spring could be hanging up. All other springs should operate freely as well. Field strip, clean and lube. .22 rim fire ammunition is dirty.

Get you a .22-.223 Hoppe’s Bore Snake for barrel cleaning.

 

[JHZR2]

Clean the chamber. .22LR can be waxy depending on brand. A small brass brush with Butch’s and some scrubbing should help.

If the barrel says something like Super Speed or Super X on it, it will need high velocity ammo. That should complete the stroke cycle and make for smoother loading from the magazine.

The barrel says super speed or super x only. I was running whatever white box Winchester I had on hand.

But the issue really was, I couldn’t chamber the first round from the magazine, ever. It wasn’t a matter of cycling, though that didn’t work because the spent round wouldn’t extract.

Are you sure it is meant to shoot .22LR and not .22 long?

Also try a basic round nose bullet not the super high velocity stuff.

Definitely long rifle.

There are two common problems I see with my .22s. First, the magazine gets sticky and the cartridges won't slide easily. I believe much of the time it's from the lube on the cases and the wax on the projectiles. When I clean the magazine down to slick bare metal, the feeding problem goes away. Second, if there is anything and I mean any type of buildup in the chamber, which sometimes you can't even see, then you will have chambering problems. Fine bronze wool on a jag from the breach end works very well to clean the chamber.

The mag definitely isn’t sticky. That part works well. I cleaned the chamber but apparently not good enough.

The thing that bothers me primarily is how when the action tries to chamber, it seems to push the round a bit crooked, effectively damaging the bullet (as well as making it loose in the brass), and kind of crooked.

 

[wwillson]

The thing that bothers me primarily is how when the action tries to chamber, it seems to push the round a bit crooked

Is the breach face flat? Could it have build-up on it? Is the extractor easy to push aside? I have seen extractors get carbon built up and won't easily push out of the way.

 

[JHZR2]

Is the breach face flat? Could it have build-up on it? Is the extractor easy to push aside? I have seen extractors get carbon built up and won't easily push out of the way.

Extractor moves really easy. I need to look things over closer tomorrow.

Currently there is a spent round stuck in there because the extractor can’t pull it. The extractor looks and moves ok, but could be “dull”.

Though I’d also think that’s a separate issue from why it won’t chamber a round.

My big fear is if it was dry fired years ago and the surface is slightly peened.

 

[spasm3]

I generally don't use brushes in my barrels. But i once had lead buildup in a barrel that caused a lot of problems, it was from some bulk ammo that was jacketed but too thin. It was so bad that i had to start with a .17 caliber brush and then a .22.

I would brush this barrel and see if you get much out, and see if it helps.

 

[JHZR2]

I generally don't use brushes in my barrels. But i once had lead buildup in a barrel that caused a lot of problems, it was from some bulk ammo that was jacketed but too thin. It was so bad that i had to start with a .17 caliber brush and then a .22.

I would brush this barrel and see if you get much out, and see if it helps.

I did. It is an old gun, ram some rimfire cleaner through, and a bore snake. I’ll probably take it apart further and run more brushes through. Not a fan of doing so, and the rifling and barre look great inside. But worth a shot…

 

[SShooterZ]

Bronze or nylon brush should work just fine. Do you know anyone with a borescope? Might give you a better look in that chamber. Wonder if there’s a small piece of brass that broke off in there that’s causing problems.

 

[JHZR2]

Extractor looks good, moves easily. Yet round can’t come out. Needed to pull it by other means.

I do think it was dry fired in the last, not sure if that is the issue.

 

[paulo57509]

No doubt that firing pin indent isn't helping matters. It may even be the cause of the feeding issues.

Brownells sells a .22 chamber "iron" (for lack of a better term) that made especially for smoothing out that particular kind of damage.

TANDEMKROSS CHAMBERMADE" CHAMBER IRONING SWAGE GUNSMITH TOOL | Brownells

At a glance: For the repair of any .22 caliber chambers that have been damaged by firing pin impact Eliminates a very common cause of feeding and extraction malfunctions Corrosion resistant, heat treated, for long lasting durability Tandemkross ha...

www.brownells.com

This is the one that I'm more familiar with:

Swages out burrs in .22 chambers caused by excessive dry ...

Swages out burrs in .22 chambers caused by excessive dry firing. Insert and turn, or tap against burr until chamber is smooth and round again. Can be pushed in and turned with its own handle, a MAGNA-TIPA(R) or a small wrench; or, threaded into an 8-32 cleaning rod and pulled into the chamber...

www.thrillon.com

Once you get the damage ironed out, you can use plastic drywall anchors as snap caps to protect the chamber opening when releasing the hammer before storage.

 

[BrianF]

That extractor claw looks good and sharp, that was my first guess. Then I saw that chamber face. That looks misshapen. Slowly chamber a round under control, see where it may be making contact. Also make sure the bolt is going fully into battery.

Most firearms can operate a bit dirty but I've seen 22's jam up from hard carbon deposits. It never hurts to grab an awl or something to prod around the hard corners or places that brushes and patches do not touch in a cleaning. Funny story was I was doing a cleaning of my dad's old Remington 550-1 a couple decades ago. It always had a few stovepipe and jams from time to time. It had sat for a couple decades before that, who knows when it was last cleaned. Found out it needed an extractor claw, spring and plunger. Then she ran like a top, only to produce around in it and thought I chipped the metal, finding a massive hard carbon deposit impeding the bolt slightly. Now she runs great, floating chamber and all.

 

[Slick3914]

The barrel says super speed or super x only. I was running whatever white box Winchester I had on hand.

But the issue really was, I couldn’t chamber the first round from the magazine, ever. It wasn’t a matter of cycling, though that didn’t work because the spent round wouldn’t extract.




Definitely long rifle.


The mag definitely isn’t sticky. That part works well. I cleaned the chamber but apparently not good enough.

The thing that bothers me primarily is how when the action tries to chamber, it seems to push the round a bit crooked, effectively damaging the bullet (as well as making it loose in the brass), and kind of crooked.

Try some CCI ammo, Winchester rim fire ammunition is absolute garbage.

 

[JHZR2]

Try some CCI ammo, Winchester rim fire ammunition is absolute garbage.

But it should still fit!! The issue is that a round won’t even chamber. So forget about cycling.

CCI Clean is my favorite/go to. Hard to find in standard velocity, though for the semi autos the higher velocity is probably better.

 

[JHZR2]

No doubt that firing pin indent isn't helping matters. It may even be the cause of the feeding issues.

Brownells sells a .22 chamber "iron" (for lack of a better term) that made especially for smoothing out that particular kind of damage.

TANDEMKROSS CHAMBERMADE" CHAMBER IRONING SWAGE GUNSMITH TOOL | Brownells

At a glance: For the repair of any .22 caliber chambers that have been damaged by firing pin impact Eliminates a very common cause of feeding and extraction malfunctions Corrosion resistant, heat treated, for long lasting durability Tandemkross ha...

www.brownells.com

This is the one that I'm more familiar with:

Swages out burrs in .22 chambers caused by excessive dry ...

Swages out burrs in .22 chambers caused by excessive dry firing. Insert and turn, or tap against burr until chamber is smooth and round again. Can be pushed in and turned with its own handle, a MAGNA-TIPA(R) or a small wrench; or, threaded into an 8-32 cleaning rod and pulled into the chamber...

www.thrillon.com

Once you get the damage ironed out, you can use plastic drywall anchors as snap caps to protect the chamber opening when releasing the hammer before storage.

View attachment 134640

Thanks. I ordered the tool. Hopefully it will work!

 

[Slick3914]

But it should still fit!! The issue is that a round won’t even chamber. So forget about cycling.

CCI Clean is my favorite/go to. Hard to find in standard velocity, though for the semi autos the higher velocity is probably better.

Not necessarily, I some Super X that had over sized cases. Winchester bought it back from me.