killaguhrilla

This is a chunk of leading I just cleaned out of the barrel of my Single Six. The last time I fired it, it was shooting everywhere but POA. I am guilty of falling into the "it's just a .22, I'll clean it next time" trap. This could have been a disaster. And I have learned an important lesson: clean your gun every time you fire it!

Marine Division Two

A Bore snake run thru the tube every 50 rounds or so will put you at ease,Great invention.

BoydS

Thanks for the post, glad no one was hurt.

James6591

Yep, absolutely.

jaxrider14

"The last time I fired it, it was shooting everywhere but POA"
Imagine the bullet starting down the bore and hitting that ramp. You're lucky it didn't make a u-turn coming out of the barrel. Certainly food for thought.

killaguhrilla

What's sad is that I'm a stickler for keeping my larger calibers clean. I've heard all too often about "guys who never clean their .22s And it's just fine." I should never have let it go that long. I will never let it go that long again!

KJS

Wow!

How many rounds without cleaning did it take to manage that?

KJS

I find the bore on my MKIII is so clean that it shines like a mirror even after 500 rounds.

This makes me wonder: do .22 revolver differ in some way such as to allow that stunning leading which simply doesn't happen in my MKIII? For example, does having to jump the cylinder gap introduce more leading as it's unlikely a cylinder can be perfectly lined up with the forcing cone. And then the forcing cone shaves off a tiny bit of lead with each shot, producing a huge hunk of lead over time?

With a pistol it would seem you can be sure chamber & bore line up, seeing how they're all once piece.

gmsoapy

When I'm done shooting I always run my bore snake thru the barrel while it's still hot. Just to get the crap out. Then clean the gun fully when I get home. I always keep bore snakes in my range bag. Takes two minutes to run it thru. Cheap protection. I don't care what cal. all get this same treatment. Gald you cleaned before something bad happened.

Chalakee

Don't use the inexpensive leaded ammo.....use jacketed....$.02

KJS

I know that's definitely an issue in centerfire guns, but does it apply to rimfires?

Does jacketed .22LR even exist? Seems the choice is between LRN & copper plated (either RN or HP) in .22LR.

LRN .22LR isn't a cost savings. The vast majority of low-cost bulk ammo is copper plated, like Federal bulk that I've used probably 20K+ rounds of.

The only inexpensive bulk I can think of that's LRN would be CCI-Blazer, that many seem to like for it's low cost, reliability, and surprisingly good accuracy for stuff so cheap. I've run through 5 bulk packs of that since April, out of the 21 I bought @ $15 each.

There must be something positive about exposed lead on .22s, seeing how all the expensive target-grade stuff seems to be that way. Is there any target grade .22s that are copper plated? I've never made any serious effort to look as I shoot .22s to save money. I might as well fire 9mm if I want to pay a fortune for ammo. Also, at my skill level, the advantage of match grade ammo would be a total waste on me. I know a guy who can consitently get dime-size groups at 50 yards using the huge stockpile of CCI-Blazer bricks he bought several years ago for a mere $8 each. If he goes up to Wolf Match Grade at 10 cents a shot, then those groups shrink to the point where each hole is touching. Seems only with skill, quality optics, and a bolt-action bull barrel rifle does one get to actually see the superiority of match grade ammo.

Duane

I must plead ignorance. I've always thought that copper plated 22 LR was the equivalent of jacketed center-fire ammo.

Duh?

Help me understand, please.

Thanks,

Duane

KJS

I'd like a better understanding as well. I once misspoke and said jacketed when I meant copper plated when referring to .22LR and some pointed out to me that jacketed .22LR doesn't exist. I'm not sure the technical difference, though I believe it's just a copper wash .22s get for a real thin coating, as opposed to a FMJ that's considerably thinker. I might very well be wrong on that, so I too would appreciate clarification.

The incident I just described came up when I posted a question asking if copper plated ammo kept a .22 cleaner than LRN ammo.

After using CCI-blazer in my MKIII, I can't say I see any difference in terms of the bore. LRN blazer & copper plated Federal bulk both leave my MKIII's bore so pristine that it shine's like a mirror. This is what makes a bore snake of limited use -- as the bore is the cleanest part of the gun by far. It's everything behind the chamber that gets dirty, while the bore seems to magically remain stunningly clean.

In March I bought an S&W 617 (I'd have gone with Ruger, a brand I much prefer, if they made a .22 on their GP100 frame. I simply felt the SP101 frame wasn't large enough -- though the Ruger .22 SP101 is truely a gorgeous gun. If only it were a bit larger it would be absolutely perfect.

Well, I ending up with a 617 that had to be sent back to S&W. It arrived at my home only minutes after I left for the range (just my luck). They "Cut Forcing Cone" according to their exceptionally concise description of repair to fix "Spitting lead," their ultra-concise summary of three problems I concisely described. (Spitting lead, gaps between barrel & frame, & a barrel that may be canted -- the canted barrel was pointed out to be my various revolver experts on The High Road who immediately noted what I'd never noticed nor even though of.)

As for copper plating, it's apparently far thiner than a FMJ. I've seen plated bullets for sale to handloaders, and they're positioned between cast lead & jacketed. They can handle higher velocity than cast lead, but don't have enough copper coating to handle really high Magnum velocities. I'm guessing the copper plated rimfire rounds are something like that centerfire counterpart.

Buckstone

Even if I don't intend to run my Boresnake I still take a business card or something to illuminate the barrel and take a peak every 50-75 rounds. You just don't want to blow up a nice gun or a nice you.

gmsoapy

Hi Buckstone
I also carry a hoppes bore flash light in my range bag. $6 cheap protection. just rack the slide back and lock stick the little plactic rod in the breech and look down the barrel.