Bucksnort1
New member
Will off the shelf plinking 22 long rifle lead a barrel?
Is this the reason for copper coated bullets in 22 LR?
Is this the reason for copper coated bullets in 22 LR?
22 Long Rifle Leading in Barrels
- Thread starter Bucksnort1
- Start date
That really depends on how smooth or more accurately how rough your barrel is. If you have an old neglected gun from way back in the early 20th century that was fired with corrosive priming and not cleaned well then yes it may lead no matter if they are lubed or plated bullets.
But a gun with a new, smooth barrel most likely won't lead but in spite of what you may have been told it still needs to be cleaned after a shooting session of a couple hundred rounds or more.
22 ammo is about the dirtiest ammo there is and most shoot at least a couple of boxes when they go shooting. Some a whole lot more than that in a setting. You may not so much get leading as much as you get lube and plating build up just in front of the chamber.
I have an older 77/22 that will with a rest put 10 shots into a 5/8" group at 50 yards. And do it over and over. But somewhere between 200 and 300 rounds accuracy will fall off until the bore is brushed out. And most of the gunk is right in front of the chamber. And thats with Federal Blue Box plated 22s from WM I bought way back in 2008. It shoots so good its all I have ever fired in that rifle.
But a gun with a new, smooth barrel most likely won't lead but in spite of what you may have been told it still needs to be cleaned after a shooting session of a couple hundred rounds or more.
22 ammo is about the dirtiest ammo there is and most shoot at least a couple of boxes when they go shooting. Some a whole lot more than that in a setting. You may not so much get leading as much as you get lube and plating build up just in front of the chamber.
I have an older 77/22 that will with a rest put 10 shots into a 5/8" group at 50 yards. And do it over and over. But somewhere between 200 and 300 rounds accuracy will fall off until the bore is brushed out. And most of the gunk is right in front of the chamber. And thats with Federal Blue Box plated 22s from WM I bought way back in 2008. It shoots so good its all I have ever fired in that rifle.
stinkeypete
New member
What he said.
My TT Olympia (pistol with very good barrel) clone gets a cleaning every brick. Cleaning sooner and my group size opens up.
CZ 452 gets cleaned every time my ammo changes as the different lubes mess up the group size... and then need to put a box down range before the groups steady out but I am shooting at nickle size targets at 50 yards.
10/22 is pretty forgiving, I clean mine every brick or so.
I will pull a little bit of tee shirt tied to a bit of twine gently and easily through the bore just to get out the gunpowder crud.
Other than old rough bores its much easier to over clean a 22 than to under clean it.
Copper plated bullets? I expect it's because they are cheaper to manufacture or people want to push the velocity hard.
My TT Olympia (pistol with very good barrel) clone gets a cleaning every brick. Cleaning sooner and my group size opens up.
CZ 452 gets cleaned every time my ammo changes as the different lubes mess up the group size... and then need to put a box down range before the groups steady out but I am shooting at nickle size targets at 50 yards.
10/22 is pretty forgiving, I clean mine every brick or so.
I will pull a little bit of tee shirt tied to a bit of twine gently and easily through the bore just to get out the gunpowder crud.
Other than old rough bores its much easier to over clean a 22 than to under clean it.
Copper plated bullets? I expect it's because they are cheaper to manufacture or people want to push the velocity hard.
Thats funny.That was how I cleaned the very first gun I bought. A Winchester 190 I bought from K-Mart for a grand sum of $48. That would have been way back around 1973-1974 when I first started driving.
I finally bought a little cleaning kit and after a some head scratching figured out how that gun came apart. Then it really got cleaned and I saw just how dirty a 22 semi-auto could get. Of course I shot the beejeesus out of it. I never came home with any left over ammo.
It also depends on the lead bullet used. In 1990 I bought a brick of PETER's it was the first and LAST of that garbage I ever bought. It leaded up the barrel of my 10/22 something fierce and was filthy to boot. I never had anything come close to that garbage; CCI Blazer, Wildcat, Thunderbolt all worked fine with no leading to speak of.
22 barrels rarely lead. If the bore is rough, it might. I clean my guns once a season. A quality barrel will only need to have the chamber cleaned. I bought a bore scope. The diference between a good barrel and a cheap one is amazing.
The copper on the bullet is a wash, not plating. It is still wax covered.
A lot of damage can be done by cleaning a good quality 22. Best to do it only when groups open up. Use a bore guide.
I can see in my barrel where the rod rubed on the edge of the rifling. Don't want that.
Worry less, shoot more.
David
Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk
The copper on the bullet is a wash, not plating. It is still wax covered.
A lot of damage can be done by cleaning a good quality 22. Best to do it only when groups open up. Use a bore guide.
I can see in my barrel where the rod rubed on the edge of the rifling. Don't want that.
Worry less, shoot more.
David
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NoSecondBest
New member
+1 on what David R said. He is spot on.
The most accurate 22 rimfire match rifles need thorough cleaning every 50 to 75 shots. Powder residue builds up unbalancing bullets.
Some top ranked competitive shooters run a couple cleaning patches damp with bore cleaner breech to muzzle then make several round trips of a bronze bore brush both ways. Couple dry patches breech to muzzle and that's good.
Some top ranked competitive shooters run a couple cleaning patches damp with bore cleaner breech to muzzle then make several round trips of a bronze bore brush both ways. Couple dry patches breech to muzzle and that's good.
I clean my 10/22 after a few range trips, usually after 400-500 rounds, I'm shooting Zappers, SK and Wolf ammo. Chamber needs a cleaning, but barrel isn't too bad. Groups open up after a cleaning but tighten up nicely after I've put 75-100 rounds down range after a cleaning. With my cheap Barska 4-12x40 scope, the old 10/22 is surprisingly accurate when a little fouled.
I shoot Wolf Target Match in my CZ452 Varmint, it's standard velocity and the bullets have a lube not waxed . They shot the best in my rifle so I only shoot those for now . It does go against my thinking because I start shooting with a clean dry barrel , even though the lubed bullets shoot best for me . I clean after one box 50 rounds , I just don't like the build up staying in the barrel . Every range trip starts with a clean firearm .
22LR barrels that have been cleaned typically don't start shooting really well until they have had 10-20 rounds of lubed ammo through them. I coats the inside of the barrel and lubes the way for the bullets. If you clean your 22LR barrel you will see it. When I shot 3-position match we would always clean the rifle before a match and fire 10 rounds to lube the bore before a match.
Clean it after every range trip , use brass brush and whatever you got for a bore cleaner .
lastly run an oily patch through the bore . As long as bore isn't rusty or rough it won't lead with just about any decent 22 ammo .
Those who say I never clean my barrel are lazy or foolish ...clean the barrel , keep it clean and you will not have any problems .
Gary
lastly run an oily patch through the bore . As long as bore isn't rusty or rough it won't lead with just about any decent 22 ammo .
Those who say I never clean my barrel are lazy or foolish ...clean the barrel , keep it clean and you will not have any problems .
Gary
ATTABOY !
That's exactly how my daddy taught me to do it !
I don't win match or set record.
I used to clean my rifles after each session. Then I noticed I would need up to 10 fouling shots to make the gun shoot straight after each cleaning. Hmm.. how about I skip the cleaning after range? The rifle shot just like before. So I stopped cleaning after each session. I still clean it before putting the rifle back in the safe for storage, or when the accuracy noticeably degrades.
When I clean, I don't scrub the barrel with brush. I have nylon brushes and they are solvent applicators. I let the chemicals do the job for me.
-TL
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
I used to clean my rifles after each session. Then I noticed I would need up to 10 fouling shots to make the gun shoot straight after each cleaning. Hmm.. how about I skip the cleaning after range? The rifle shot just like before. So I stopped cleaning after each session. I still clean it before putting the rifle back in the safe for storage, or when the accuracy noticeably degrades.
When I clean, I don't scrub the barrel with brush. I have nylon brushes and they are solvent applicators. I let the chemicals do the job for me.
-TL
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
NoSecondBest
New member
I've put several high quality aftermarket barrels on different .22lr rifles I've owned. The manufacturers recommended never using a brush in the barrels....chamber only and then with some moderation. I shot competition with those barrels and did very well. They did not lead up at all. What was coming out while cleaning was powder residue and lube from the bullets. It simply doesn't take a brush and scrubbing to clean a .22lr barrel....unless you've got a very bad bore in it to begin with.
The reason virtually all USA NRA 100 yard and lots of 50 yard 22 rimfire prone records shot before 1980 still stand is because all makes added more abrasive glass frit to their ammo's primer compound. Match grade barrels before then went over 50,000 rounds. Afterward only 30,000 rounds and accuracy extreme spread nearly doubled.
Lones Wigger said it was due to an explosion at Eley's primer mix facility.
Lones Wigger said it was due to an explosion at Eley's primer mix facility.
Last edited:
SGW Gunsmith
Moderator
I always like to read the posts involved with .22 rimfire barrels, and how they SHOULD, or SHOULDN'T be treated.
.22 rimfire barrels, for around the last 50 years, or so, have been rifled by only two methods. Either button rifled or with a mandrill inserted and then hammer forged. The rifling groove to land height only runs from 0.0020 to 0.0025 of an inch. Been that way for a very long time. Some mandrills will even include the chamber and the leade when the barrel rifling is hammer forged & formed. That process provides for the chamber & leade to be almost perfectly concentric to the bore center-line.
When a .22 rimfire chamber is "reamer cut" into the barrel, the right-hand cutting action of the chamber reamer will most often create a sharp edge {roll-over burr} on the left side of the leade where it meets the bore. That sharp edge will indeed peel off lead shavings from the bullets diameter as the bullet passes over that sharp edge. It will take some time, but the burning powder will eventually burn that sharp edge off.
Some have tried to "fire-lap" that burr away using grit impregnated .22 rimfire bullets, and in the process have moved the leade forward a ¼ inch or more, and then blown whatever accuracy there was previously all to hell.
It was posted above that the person doesn't use a brush only to clean the chamber. A brush alone will not clean anything, a GOOD solvent left to soak in the bore,will though. I will only use proper size felt plugs and a modern solvent on my, or my customers, .22 rimfire bores. And then, those plugs are pulled through the bore using a length of weed-whacker line. The solvent is left to "soak-clean" the bore for 15 minutes and then, two dry plugs are pulled through to remove any gunk in the barrel. I save the nylon brush for the chamber and leade area. I own a bore scope also, and for .22 rimfire barrels, it gets used quite often:
.22 rimfire barrels, for around the last 50 years, or so, have been rifled by only two methods. Either button rifled or with a mandrill inserted and then hammer forged. The rifling groove to land height only runs from 0.0020 to 0.0025 of an inch. Been that way for a very long time. Some mandrills will even include the chamber and the leade when the barrel rifling is hammer forged & formed. That process provides for the chamber & leade to be almost perfectly concentric to the bore center-line.
When a .22 rimfire chamber is "reamer cut" into the barrel, the right-hand cutting action of the chamber reamer will most often create a sharp edge {roll-over burr} on the left side of the leade where it meets the bore. That sharp edge will indeed peel off lead shavings from the bullets diameter as the bullet passes over that sharp edge. It will take some time, but the burning powder will eventually burn that sharp edge off.
Some have tried to "fire-lap" that burr away using grit impregnated .22 rimfire bullets, and in the process have moved the leade forward a ¼ inch or more, and then blown whatever accuracy there was previously all to hell.
It was posted above that the person doesn't use a brush only to clean the chamber. A brush alone will not clean anything, a GOOD solvent left to soak in the bore,will though. I will only use proper size felt plugs and a modern solvent on my, or my customers, .22 rimfire bores. And then, those plugs are pulled through the bore using a length of weed-whacker line. The solvent is left to "soak-clean" the bore for 15 minutes and then, two dry plugs are pulled through to remove any gunk in the barrel. I save the nylon brush for the chamber and leade area. I own a bore scope also, and for .22 rimfire barrels, it gets used quite often: