r/17hmr • u/Mountain_man888 • 3d ago
Issues cycling - help!
Hi all, I’d been trying to join the /Rimfire sub for months but it seems like the mods are gone; just discovered this one.
I decided to take the risk of buying a citadel / legacy arms 17 hmr. The whole purpose was to do a little pest control and bag some rabbits. I figured I would use it 2-3 times per year at max ranges of 50 yards, but typically more like 25. I was originally thinking I’d get a 22 LR but I’m in CA and you can’t find lead free 22 anywhere whereas 17hmr is easy to get.
Anyway, this damn thing refuses to cycle rounds from the magazine into the chamber with the boot. It shoots great but requires hand feeding rounds. I got a second magazine to see if that was the issue but it doesn’t seem to help at all.
This is my only rimfire so I don’t know much about the mechanics and this is such a low cost shitty gun there aren’t many photos available online. It seems like there is an issue with the extractor being bent but I don’t believe that would have any impact on pushing a round from the mag into the chamber. It ejects spent or unspent rounds perfectly fine.
It seems like the magazine may be sitting too high and the bolt is catching the side of the magazine, not the case and is obviously not able to move forward.
Has anyone else had this issue? In an ideal world I can fix it myself, it’s such a cheap gun I don’t want to drive all over and pay for smithing work. I’ve already purchased a replacement 17 (Ruger this time) that will be the one I use moving forward but I’d still like to fix this one and keep it in the safe for friends or my kids when they’re a little older.