Lubed 22lr match ammo…

[ORhutner]

I swallowed the "don't clean it till accuracy suffers" pill but always thought that applied to the barrel alone.

Actions (bolts, firing pins, receivers, mags, etc) should be cleaned often, IMO.

100% agree with that breakdown. The average person cleaning a 22lr will cause more harm to the barrel and chamber than good when compared against not cleaning the barrel. I am not saying you shouldn't clean a 22lr barrel but if proper equipment and cleaning agents aren't used you can quickly ruin a 22lr barrel capable of match accuracy.

I do however clean and lubricate the action, bolt and associated components regularly and agree that the statement of don't clean till accuracy falls off does not apply to these components.

 

[NobullSKS]

@NobullSKS are you able to extract a loaded round from the chamber? As mentioned, many match chambers are tight enough to cause problems with extraction, especially if out of spec ever so slightly on the tighter side. The flip side is that it helps to promote accuracy. In a safe environment, I would load a known good magazine with the various ammo you are wanting to run and then cycle through a loaded mag of the various ammo's paying close attention to the action. Do one ammo type at a time and make sure it is a fully loaded magazine. Watch for feeding, extraction, movement of the magazine, etc....

A factory ruger 10/22 (assuming you don't have a Kidd or TacSol aftermarket receiver) is pretty sloppy from a tolerances perspective. My curiosity has me wondering if your work to improve accuracy by tightening up the mags in the mag well via JB weld has taken to much slop out of the system and is actually contributing to your function issues. You might try running unaltered factory mags as part of your testing.

Gotcha….

OEM receiver

I'm using factory 10rnd in my normal shooting…… the BX 25s are for fun and not expecting same results.

Trusted 10s

The unfired ammo usually doesn't extract…. Some times it does.

 

[Member 34319]

I swallowed the "don't clean it till accuracy suffers" pill but always thought that applied to the barrel alone.

Actions (bolts, firing pins, receivers, mags, etc) should be cleaned often, IMO.

I was at a match and a guy was cursing up and down the range about how much he spent on his Lapua ammo to only have it falling left and right.

I asked him the last time he took his bolt apart.

He said other than the extractor and guide, not once.

We knocked out the roll pin and pulled the spring and firing pin. Completely coated in gunk and the channel was filled with that gritty crap that rim fire tends to leave in actions. Cleaned it really good.

Voila no more "duds"!

I think he was even more mad after realizing it was his fault!

 

[Hueco]

I was at a match and a guy was cursing up and down the range about how much he spent on his Lapua ammo to only have it falling left and right.

I asked him the last time he took his bolt apart.

He said other than the extractor and guide, not once.

We knocked out the roll pin and pulled the spring and firing pin. Completely coated in gunk and the channel was filled with that gritty crap that rim fire tends to leave in actions. Cleaned it really good.

Voila no more "duds"!

I think he was even more mad after realizing it was his fault!

Ewwww .

10/22? I coated mine in dry lube and actually appreciate the oversized firing pin channel; can just get a patch and dental pick into it for scraping out without having to knock out the pin.

I am this close (____) to just buying an ultrasonic cleaner though and to mostly leave scrubbing by hand behind me.

Really wish they made long thin cleaners that could support cleaning a barrel. I am probably wrong but it seems like an ultrasonic would be the absolute least destructive method for really cleaning a barrel.

 

[Member 34319]

Ewwww .

10/22? I coated mine in dry lube and actually appreciate the oversized firing pin channel; can just get a patch and dental pick into it for scraping out without having to knock out the pin.

I am this close (____) to just buying an ultrasonic cleaner though and to mostly leave scrubbing by hand behind me.

Really wish they made long thin cleaners that could support cleaning a barrel. I am probably wrong but it seems like an ultrasonic would be the absolute least destructive method for really cleaning a barrel.

I polish all of my cleaning rods and get bore guides for each rifle I own. I stick with aluminum over steel and definitely no carbon fiber. Softer the metal the better. Nylon brushes and copper patch swag. Then good ole hoppes. Never ruined a barrel in all my years from cleaning.

 

[Legs]

I'm hardly an expert... just a guy that shoots rimfire, a lot. All kinds of rimfires... bolt, semi, single shot... 22s and 17s. So here's my $.02 :
-Never clean a barrel you value from the muzzle. 10/22?.... bore a hole in rear of receiver for cleaning rod. Don't want to do that...? Use a Bore Snake from the chamber. They work well for a quick spritz but won't replace a aluminum rod as a tool.
-Pay attention to bolt and breech face when cleaning. Get the grew graw out from under the extractor and from inside the recess in the breech for same.
- I use name brand lubes for my bolt and other bearing surfaces and good old Hoppes for general cleaning. I'd be in heaven if some distiller made a Hoppes flavored whisky.
-Go easy on bore brushes... use nylon, bronze if you must but stay away from steel brushes.
-As already noted, clean your firearm after use. It will be ready for next time you need it.

There has been plenty of good advice offered through this thread, and there has been much written on 10/22's.... nothing new that I can offer here, except that I reline select rimfire rifle barrels... Nothing fancy, just enjoy bringing old iron back to life and then maybe someone can shoot great grandpas old Stevens Favorite that has been sitting in the closet and has a rotted bore. On that note, I have purchased and used 22LR chamber reamers and the selection of chambers goes something like this... a standard chambering (presumably for reliability and field use), a match chamber, for well, matches, and a Benz chambering. Match chamber obviously has tighter tolerances and shoots better, but your extractor better be on top of it's game. Benz chambers are extremely tight and are one of those features best cleaned every 50 rounds. Remember rimfire ammo is a filthy beast.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Not sure if this applies...
( Or even if the following is correct )

I read once that certain 10/22 match barrels wouldn't work with CCI Stingers...something about too tight of a chamber.
Maybe...
Something like this is going on with your Shaw barrel....?

A more realistic answer is that the lube is picking up gunk somewhere / somehow and messing the works up.
Andy

My volquartsen barrels s are a bit picky with cci's wax.

 

[Hueco]

Not sure if this applies...
( Or even if the following is correct )

I read once that certain 10/22 match barrels wouldn't work with CCI Stingers...something about too tight of a chamber.
Maybe...
Something like this is going on with your Shaw barrel....?

A more realistic answer is that the lube is picking up gunk somewhere / somehow and messing the works up.
Andy

Stinger on the left, CCI standard on the right.

They used a smaller pew and extended the case length to hold a bit more pew powder. So, yep, doesn't play well in all chambers.

Love these little things out of my Wranglers though!

 

[eldbillbo]

Stingers….. nickel case…. Lite bullet weights run perfectly. They are usually higher velocity. Federal personnel defense 29 grain… is pretty fast and nickel. Runs good. Just not great groups. Maybe I'm expecting to much from a semi auto but I try and keep learning

Lower velocity lubed cases are the issue. I'd assume new from box they'll be pretty clean but who knows. I wonder if the lube itself is gumming up after firing and causing slow blowback.

If I can come across them (if they exist) …. Nickel case match ammo. I'll have to hunt around. I was just quite pleased that a fairly inexpensive prevalent ammo did so well for me. NORMA. I'd prefer not to have to run strictly Lapua or ELEY high end. But I may.

So Norma worked well for you? I am building an identical set like yours using a Shaw barrel. I was thinking of getting a bulk deal on some Norma.

 

[NobullSKS]

So Norma worked well for you? I am building an identical set like yours using a Shaw barrel. I was thinking of getting a bulk deal on some Norma.

Yes it works very well…… both are fly killers…

At 50 yards it hard to tell the difference between TAC-22 and MATCH. I've been told that the TAC is the "rejects" of the MATCH….. but really the same build.

At 100 yrds I think MATCH does a little better group. That's what I tell myself….. but TAC is normally I little cheaper. I bought my first 2 bricks then 2 more after when PSA had'em at 4 cents a rnd. A little more than a year ago. Now I'm sitting happy. I can enjoy good accuracy with not having to pay $15-26 a box of match ELEY, LAPUA…..

Center X did really well for me too.

 

[dangerranger60]

Having issues with lubed 22lr ammo through 10/22 aftermarket barrel ……Shaw bull.

I find great accuracy with Norma "Tac-22" and "Match"…. And the lubed S*K and ELEY stuff as well.

Read a little on ELEY' article and it looks like they use either Paraffin or Bee wax and both have different properties and little cost. Eley' writer identified purpose of wax to assist chambering more than bullet travel if not totally. One of the differences in wax is Bee' ability to pick up dust/debris.

My situation…. It seems:
After cleaning the rifle.. cool weather mostly…. And random ….. first box or 2 then it seems to run. Or if I blast through mid-high velocity plinking rnds.

Issues..:
- failure to eject
- failure to pick up next round
- erratic shell ejection paths

I tried for the first time wiping off lube before filling mag…. Seemed to do better but maybe I'm being optimistic.

A range buddy said matter of fact…. Carbon buildup becomes a lubricating surface.

But until when? I have to clean bore and action.

Maybe my questions:
- Is my rifle just not gonna run match/standard velocity ammo?
- wipe off lube on rounds before shooting?
- keep trying new ammo?
- upgrade recoil/action spring or bolt? (Factory now)
- shoot a seasonal ammo…..summer weather….. cool weather?

THX

So one thing about "match" ammo and semi autos is the ammo will always be subsonic. Sometimes it works in a semi auto and sometimes it doesn't.
Eley ammo in some bullet profiles have a larger diameter bullet, so slower velocity and larger bullet may make them fail to eject, and may leave some lead fouling in the chambers throat.
The first thing I would try is a little faster ammo.
If you have a match chamber in your new barrel, Do not use stinger ammo. It uses a longer case and the brass case mouth banging into the end of a match chamber will do damage.
A sporting chamber is long enough that the Stingers case does not touch.
I would not wipe off lube, I would try different ammo till you find one your barrel likes. DR

 

[Jay Walk]

Stay away from Norma Eco variants in .22LR, that garbage is covered in vaseline

 

[whiskeybill]

Just left the Lilja Barrel website and happened to read their take on barrel cleaning. For 22 LR in a bolt gun, it's not really necessary to clean if using "lubed" match ammo. The exception would be semi-autos such as the 10-22. Powder fouling will build in the throat causing malfunctions. Dan Lilja has spoken with a number of champion shooters, and they agree the lube coating in the barrel for 22 rimfire is beneficial, the more you shoot it the better. Looks like about every 200 rounds, it's recommended to run a couple dry patches through just to take out the powder fouling. I've run several hundred rounds through my barrels, ran a couple dry patches through, they come out clean. Borescope the barrel, it's nice and shiny. I will admit it's a PITA handling those slippery little devils, but it's worth it.

 

[Mono1]

Just left the Lilja Barrel website and happened to read their take on barrel cleaning. For 22 LR in a bolt gun, it's not really necessary to clean if using "lubed" match ammo. The exception would be semi-autos such as the 10-22. Powder fouling will build in the throat causing malfunctions. Dan Lilja has spoken with a number of champion shooters, and they agree the lube coating in the barrel for 22 rimfire is beneficial, the more you shoot it the better. Looks like about every 200 rounds, it's recommended to run a couple dry patches through just to take out the powder fouling. I've run several hundred rounds through my barrels, ran a couple dry patches through, they. come out clean. Borescope the barrel, it's nice and shiny. I will admit it's a PITA handling those slippery little devils, but it's worth it.

ELEY Contact. It's what I use to hit FLY's.