.22 lr lead fouling

[BORE HUNTER]

i own a 10/22 and a MKII and use off the shelf copper jacket hollow points. will solid round nose match type ammo cause a lot of lead fouling? am trying to get one big hole at 100 yds. the rifle has a 22" factory type barrel. dont want to go to the expense of bull barrels, etc. just want to have some serious fun.

thanks

 

[knzn]

.22 LR do not leave lead in barrells. Just powder residue, and it may take many thousands of rounds for it to have an effect on accuracy.

 

[Edward429451]

22LR sure leaves lead in my 10/22 barrel. I've had it so leaded up before that I couldn't get a rod through it. Some brands of ammo lead worse than others. It helps if you clean it more than I do.

Just think of it like I do. It's fun leading it up, and fun bringing it back to squeeky clean again.

 

[9mmepiphany]

i've never had a .22lr lead up on me either...and i don't have any idea how many thousands of rounds i've gone through between the rifles and handguns (mostly wheelguns, learning how to shoot DA)...and i hardly ever clean the bores of my guns

i've seen some buildup of lube, but usually not lead

 

[Edward429451]

That is kind of weird. Mine don't lead up all the time, just sometimes. Maybe it's related to the ammo. But when it does lead up it leads up a lot.

It's not lube buildup. I soak it, run a brush down it and take out long slivers of lead. I have always taken it in stride up until now, but you guys make me wonder if I have a rough spot in my barrel that shaves the slugs or something.

I'd like to hear more on this issue from others experiance.

 

[Gewehr98]

Odd. I've owned .22 LR rifles for 30+ years.

And never had them lead up. In fact, I prefer not to clean them. Edward, is the bore in your rifle rough or something?

 

[dfariswheel]

SOME .22lr ammo does lead up.
Cheap ammo is more likely, but not always.
Better grade ammo, especially the plated bullets like Remington's "Golden" bullets don't unless you have a barrel problem.

I once had a 5000 round case of Remington standard velocity un-plated that leaded so badly that it would actually almost close the bore off.
I discovered this when shooting a Calico carbine with a 100 round drum magazine.

I was shootin' along having fun when I noticed that as I fired a shot, SOMETHING hit the berm BELOW and to the side of the target.

I started watching the shots through my spotting scope and wasn't seeing new holes in the target but more strikes on the berm.

A look down the bore and I was shocked to see a pin hole instead of a clear bore. How the bullets were getting out, I don't know, and fortunately, the barrel wasn't damaged.

The same ammo leaded EVERYTHING I shot it in, from revolvers to a Remington 40X match rifle.

I sent the remaining 4000 rounds back to Remington, and they sent me new ammo, along with a letter saying that they found that ammo lot had had a problem with improper lubrication during manufacture.

Generally speaking, the only time you see much leading is in the forcing cone area of revolvers, or in bad barrels.

 

[Edward429451]

Edward, is the bore in your rifle rough or something?

Not that I've noticed. I bet I'll be looking more closely next time I clean it though. It doesn't have accuracy problems beyond operator error and ammo preferences, I think! (I missed, the gun's broke! Not.) Seriously though, I do consistently better (at least marginally) with my 10/22 than my other 10/22 owning buddies, even if they shoot with my 10/22, so I suspect my bore is ok.

I once had a 5000 round case of Remington standard velocity un-plated that leaded so badly that it would actually almost close the bore off.

This is the stuff in the yellowish box? (Rem UMC?) That is what I was shooting when it leaded up so bad I couldn't get a rod down the bore. I bought a 5000 rnd case for 50 bucks a couple three years back. Sometimes cheap just isn't worth it. I have no apparent leading problems with CCI ammo. Red box Federal shoots good but leads somewhat. Sounds totally ammo related at this point. (Why can't friends spring for good ammo instead of the cheapest they can find?) I play stash with my CCI's.

 

[Red Neck64]

I have a Mossberg 142A since 1953 never any lead problem.Or any other of my 22s.

 

[Dave R]

I have never seen lead in any of my .22's. I have tried Peters and several other brands, then settled in on Remington Golden Bullets, which are plated. Have never seen anything other than powder foulding in a .22 bore since then.

 

[BamBam-31]

Mine don't lead up either. Once in a blue moon, I'll run a few patches of solvent through it to clean up powder fouling, but that's about it. This is for 2 Ruger 10/22's and one Ruger 22/45.

 

[WonderNine]

People on here have told me in the past that .22's don't lead up because the velocity is too low, but I really don't believe that. Perhaps the bullet design does matter, but go ahead and rub a piece of lead against a piece of metal....

 

[redneck]

Target ammo isn't necessarily going to get you the results you want. My bolt action marlin seems to like Remington High Velocity 40 grain solids (brass washed like the golden bullet bulk packs)better than Eley Target Ammo, 1/2" groups vs 1" groups at 35 yards.
Doesn't like Federal lightning 40 grain solids at all, and shoots CCI mini mags and Remington golden bullet HP's about the same as the eley.
I have a box of PMC scoremaster to try in it next, along with some CCI stingers and velocitors. Seems like you just need to play around with anything you can get your hands on.

 

[Gewehr98]

WonderNine, if I may change your blanket statement...

People on here have told me in the past that .22's don't lead up because the velocity is too low, but I really don't believe that. Perhaps the bullet design does matter, but go ahead and rub a piece of lead against a piece of metal....

I'd say it like this:

"Perhaps the bullet design does matter, but go ahead and rub a piece of non-lubricated lead against a rough piece of metal"

Since most exposed lead rimfire ammo, and cast-bullet centerfire ammo, is lubricated, and most rifle bores are smooth-finished.