Firestorm 22

[Ichiro]

So, I bought this wonderfully ergonomic, good-looking, and compact .22 a few weeks ago and have been attempting to prove that it is a reliable weapon. Turns out this is a monumental task.

With bulk ammo, this gun will jam after round #1, jam again after round #2, and sometimes jam again after round #3, after which it performs well for the next seven rounds. Really not acceptable, even for a range "fun gun".

Rounds that do not work in this gun, and which will never again be loaded into its magazines are:

• CCI Blazers - actually not too bad; typically jammed only after the first round.
• American Eagle "high-velocity" - jammed regularly, and like Satan himself had it in for this gun. Turned this gun into a single-shot wonder, if that. I had a fired round that would not eject, even upon insistence. I had to field strip the gun on the range and poke the spent round back through the barrel with a cleaning rod.
• Remington Yellow Jackets - Another high-velocity round that jammed like nobody's business. Works great in my Ruger, however.

The only rounds that have functioned well so far are.........drum roll.......

• CCI Stingers, which I consider the cure for all .22 problems, and
• CCI Mini-Mags, which I was delighted to discover this morning, function flawlessly in this gun, at half the price of Stingers.

I am doing the best I can to prove that this is a nice and reliable gun. As long as CCI Mini-Mags and Stingers are available, I think I'll be able to achieve my goal.

It's not as accurate as my Ruger, nor as tolerant of ammo. But this Firestorm, when it works, is awesome. When it does not work, it totally sucks. Anyone have any other experiences with this gun that they'd like to share?

After my last post about this piece, to which nobody responded, I'm beginning to think I'm the only one who actually owns this totally cool (with the right ammo) gun.

~Ichiro

 

[Handy]

It's nice when a gun works with everything, but Minimag is such nice and accurate ammo I don't see the downside to the gun liking little else.

How much did you pay, and how'd you find it?

 

[Ichiro]

I was real happy when the gun digested 100 straight rounds of MiniMags with no failures. The price is decent, and I love the packaging.

I found the Firestorm at the range/gunstore in like-new condition for a little under $200. The original owner probably fired one magazine of bulk ammo, figured the gun was a jammomatic, and traded it in right then and there. One man's trash, and so on... I love this gun and am going to try to wear it out now that I've discovered what it likes to eat.

~Ichiro

 

[CajunBass]

My wife has one, that's not quite as bad as your's with bulk ammo. It's gotten to the point that it only jams once in a while with the cheap stuff, but she does have several thousand rounds through it. We don't shoot lead bullets in it. One brand, and we don't remember which it was leaded the barrel really BAD so we stick with the copper washed ones now.

But with CCI mini-mags that thing is as reliable as the sunrise. It just goes bang, and keeps on doing it.

No, it's not as accurate as our Ruger 22/45, but it's accurate enough.

 

[Ichiro]

Cajunbass, that's good to hear. I suspected the gun had been barely shot and will loosen up a bit over time. I've got 750 rounds through it in two range trips and expect to shoot 200-300 minimags in every future session.

CCI Blazers fouled the bore so bad I couldn't believe it. I have never seen a bore that filthy. No problems with coated bullets though.

~Ichiro

 

[Sir William]

Try CCI/Speer Velocitors. I did a little Dremel and Flitz buffing on mine and it fed pretty much everything but, Velocitor was 100% through mine. I disassembled the magazines and did a little filing and polishing to the follower also. I put a spot of teflon in the magazine body as well. They are neat little 22s.

 

[Ichiro]

Thanks for the tips, Sir William. When I get more comfortable with semi-autos, I may need to attempt a fluff & buff. Already got a nice gunsmithing book, so I'll see if there's any advice in there.

I'll try Velocitors, too. My only experience with them was in my 22/45, and three of the 50 rounds in the box actually folded almost in half. So I stopped buying those.

~Ichiro

 

[Gazpacho]

For the record, my FS22 also doesn't like bulk ammo. It LOVES Aguila Super Maximum. Like CCI Stingers and Mini-Mags. I'm considering switching to a dry lube like chainsaw wax, or maybe pure molylube.

 

[Ichiro]

The Aquila is also on my short list to try. Local store does not carry them, so I'll have to tack them onto my next internet centerfire purchase. Lots of great ideas here. Thanks much.

~Ichiro

 

[cavediver27]

My Firestorm LOVES CCI Stingers, Velocitors, Mini-Mags and of all things, bulk Remington Goldens. It won't shoot any standard velocity rounds or any Federal high velocity or American Eagle high velocity rounds. I reall y do like the pistol and it's great fun to shoot.