I bought it last summer NIB for $390. Currently I have ran around 300-350 rounds through it. At first I had a lot feeding problems. I tried three different makes of CCI's. So the next time out, I tried some Remington bulk. It did cycle a heck of a lot better. The one thing that did eritate me, is the fact that you had to force the magazine to get it to lock. I also took the mag apart, and cleaned it because there was a lot of wax buildup from the CCI's. Well a couple of weeks ago, I took her to the range for the first time this year. Wow can you say FTF's constantly. It was like every 5-6th round. Exact same ammo, out of the same bulk pack that ran great last year. Towards the end, I would just load three rounds. The first would feed just fine. The second round would not feed. When I pulled the bolt back, the new round would be sitting verticaly. Every time the same thing happend. I did notice a crack in the back right corner of the mag. Do not know if that is causing the problem or not. I'm pretty disapoined considering what I payed for it. When I have a $130 597 sitting in my safe, that has had 0 problems. So I have two choices. Sell it, or pay $25 for a new mag and try polishing the feed ramp.
Would you like some cheese with that whine? OK. You're frustrated. I get it. Now, let's talk about positive solutions to your problems. You have a cracked magazine. Replace it. Almost all .22 LR weapons are ammo sensitive. There are some .22 LR ammo that the SU-22 is known not to like. There's no need to suffer with that. Would you buy a Lexus and complain because it smokes and runs poorly whenever you fill the tank with diesel? Try a box of inexpensive Federal bulk pack ammo. My SU-22 likes all the types of Federal ammo I've tried. It also likes the Blazer bulk pack with hard wax lube on the lead round nose bullets. If it still doesn't feed well, call Kel-Tec customer service and send it back. It has a lifetime warranty. If you need to push hard on the magazine to lock it in place, send it back. I push the magazine release button when inserting or removing the magazine to avoid wear, as I've run many thousands of rounds through my SU-22 and I plan on shooting many thousands more. No need to cause extra wear on the mags or mag release. Almost everyone is very happy with their SU-22. There is no design flaw or systemic quality control problem. If you got a rare bad one, Kel-Tec will fix it. Have you tried contacting Kel-Tec about the problems that seem beyond the ability of the end user to repair?
Has anyone tried using Federal Auto match in an SU-22 yet? I have used it in other semi autos and it seems to feed better out of the magazines.
My SU-22 loves the Federal Auto-Match. I bought a bulk box from Wal*Mart. It's probably a bit more accurate than the Federal maroon box bulk pack.
The white box Auto Match is more expensive than the regular maroon box but I think its worth it. I paid around $12-$13 for the 300+ round box of auto match at Wally World vs the $17-$18 for 550 rounds of regular federal.
Mine has never had any significant feeding problems. Up until last week I had shot nothing but Federal bulk pack in the maroon box. I did have to send it back for a badly misaligned front sight. While it was there, Kel-Tec also polished the chamber, judging from the shininess. Last week I shot more maroon box and some Auto Match. Both did OK, but I wasn't happy with my 2 to 2.5 inch groups at 25 yds using a 4x32 scope from a rest. (Indoor range, and so far the only place I have found to shoot.) I couldn't tell any difference in the performance between these two types of Federal. For me, and this particular rifle, Auto Match is not worth the difference in price. I went to the counter and bought some CCI Mini-Mag HP (36 gr) and some Aguila .22 Interceptor (40 gr copper plated round nose). Groups shrank to less than an inch with both, with the Aguila being slightly better. Function was flawless with all rounds. The Aguila is a hot load at 1470 fps, they don't say what kind of test barrel. The Aguila also has a bizarre odor when fired, not bad, but weird. Impressive. A hollow point version might be a good hunting round. I have some more standard Aguila to try and some other stuff as well. Incidentally, two weeks ago, I had taken my Calico M-105 to the same range, with an identical scope and was shooting sub 1 inch groups with the Federal maroon box bulk ammo. I figured that my SU-22 should be as good as the Calico. Half the fun of a .22 is figuring out what it likes. ;D buzzsaw-getting ready for the night of the living dead chipmunks.
U.S.Patriot, to echo others here, you should send it back to the factory. I own / have owned 5 Kel-Tec products (with a PMR-30 on order too) and I've only had to send one back with a feed issue. (which was resolved quickly and then some!) Their customer service is great. I hope you can get this worked out. - videodon -
