.22lr revolver - how challenging to keep clean?
- Thread starter ShadyGrove
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Mostly Lead
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Folklore from my youth, heard for many decades now: more 22s are ruined from to much cleaning than from to much shooting...
My Ruger Super Single Six has somewhere north of 20k rounds through it. It's stainless and looks great - but I don't clean it very often. Wipe down yes, push a patch through maybe, scrub no.
My Ruger Super Single Six has somewhere north of 20k rounds through it. It's stainless and looks great - but I don't clean it very often. Wipe down yes, push a patch through maybe, scrub no.
Crosshair
Member
You ate some poorly cooked chicken, pooped out both ends at once, and concluded that chicken is inherently dangerous to eat.
You know the answer in your own post, that you probably got a box of bad ammo, yet continue to be paranoid about barrel leading. The 22 Long Rifle would not have survived in the market for 135+ years if it was constantly leading barrels.
Not trying to be rude, just getting to the point. The problem you have is entirely of your own creation.
.38 Special
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I've done it. It worked. The main trouble is that then I'd have some jacket fouling that needed to come out - for some reason, I've found that even a tiny bit of copper fouling tends to cause severe leading if cast bullets are fired over it. Being as I'd much rather clean out leading than jacket fouling...
Now, there are people who say the practice is dangerous; that leading can cause pressure spikes when jacketed rounds are fired through it. There also are people who claim that the jacketed bullets just "iron" the lead into the bore and make it impossible to remove. There may be some truth to the former, if there's massive leading. I sincerely doubt the latter and have never seen the slightest evidence for it.
Personally, I just make the significant effort to get my gun dimensionally correct, and my bullets properly cast, lubed, and fitted to the gun. Once that is taken care of, leading ceases to be an issue in centerfire revolvers.
When I was in basic training I learned how to clean a firearm inspection clean.
When I got to Vietnam I learned functional clean.
Big difference between the two. Now my carry guns get inspection cleaned after range use. Not so.much my 22s that I don't carry. Bore and cylinder get the big chunks wiped off and the entire revolver gets a wipe down.
When I got to Vietnam I learned functional clean.
Big difference between the two. Now my carry guns get inspection cleaned after range use. Not so.much my 22s that I don't carry. Bore and cylinder get the big chunks wiped off and the entire revolver gets a wipe down.
doubleh
Member
You are seriously over thinking this. I have been shooting 22 rimfire for, well if you take into consideration the first time I ever fired one, 81 years. Stack on 3 more years of age and I went hunting every time I could. I have never had a 22 rimfire barrel collect any lead, ever. I have a stack of 22 revolvers. My cleaning routine is to spray a little Pledge furniture polish on a rag, wipe the gun down, and then buff with a soft rag. Been doing this for over 30 years. No rust, inside or out, and no malfunctions. Now and then I add a little oil where needed. Before Pledge I used Johnson's paste wax. Pledge is quicker and appears to be just as good. Sometimes I will wipe out a barrel when I change to a different ammo. It would be easier to shoot it out but wiping is quicker and less expensive. I usually run 2 alcohol soaked patches and 1 dry one. Once in a great while I will run a brush in the chambers. I can pick any of them, load it up, and start shooting.
TheFrontRange
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I rarely let my centerfire revolvers go without a cleaning between range sessions, but I’ll let my K-22 go a few sessions (maybe 500-600 rounds total) between scrubbings.
dfariswheel
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Shooting the lead out" is one good way to get a bulged or ringed bore.
If there's just a little too much leading the pressures can soar and it will blow a bulge in the barrel.
A jacketed bullet passing down the bore has to try to push much of the leading out in front of it, like a boat pushes a bow wave of water in front of it.
If there's too much lead, the jacketed bullet can't push it out of the way fast enough and the spike in pressure can bulge the barrel.
People do this for years, then one day the shoot a little more than usual or use a different alloy bullet and there's more leading then normal.
That's when they'd come in horrified asking what happened to their barrel.
Of the ringed or bulged barrels you see, it's common lore that it was caused by a stuck bullet with another bullet fired with the bore blocked.
Truth is, often it;s shootin' the lead out.
Modern .22 ammo is pretty much totally non corrosive so unless a barrel is getting leading, many shooters only clean the barrel at the end of a season. Many precision Match .22 shooters will never clean a bore during a season and say that the wax coating of .22 ammo actually preserves and protects the bore.
If you're getting revolver forcing cone build up, then use a bore brush.
Chambers are another story and get fouled with lead, carbon, and bullet lube.
A fast and effective cleaning method is to use a worn 5.56 AR-15 bore brush on just the chambers.
The AR bore brush is larger in diameter then a standard .22LR brush and it's made of stiffer bristles.
One pass is almost always enough to totally clean a .22 chamber.
If there's just a little too much leading the pressures can soar and it will blow a bulge in the barrel.
A jacketed bullet passing down the bore has to try to push much of the leading out in front of it, like a boat pushes a bow wave of water in front of it.
If there's too much lead, the jacketed bullet can't push it out of the way fast enough and the spike in pressure can bulge the barrel.
People do this for years, then one day the shoot a little more than usual or use a different alloy bullet and there's more leading then normal.
That's when they'd come in horrified asking what happened to their barrel.
Of the ringed or bulged barrels you see, it's common lore that it was caused by a stuck bullet with another bullet fired with the bore blocked.
Truth is, often it;s shootin' the lead out.
Modern .22 ammo is pretty much totally non corrosive so unless a barrel is getting leading, many shooters only clean the barrel at the end of a season. Many precision Match .22 shooters will never clean a bore during a season and say that the wax coating of .22 ammo actually preserves and protects the bore.
If you're getting revolver forcing cone build up, then use a bore brush.
Chambers are another story and get fouled with lead, carbon, and bullet lube.
A fast and effective cleaning method is to use a worn 5.56 AR-15 bore brush on just the chambers.
The AR bore brush is larger in diameter then a standard .22LR brush and it's made of stiffer bristles.
One pass is almost always enough to totally clean a .22 chamber.
With todays non-corrosive primers and powders, cleaning is not as critical as in years past.
That said, if I shoot a gun that won’t be shot again for a while, I clean it. I do not clean so much that you could eat off it, but I get the crud out and coat the chambers and barrel with oil.
If I’m planning to shoot the gun again in a day or two I might not clean it until
I’m done shooting it.
Guns I use for carry, I do clean the gun after shooting. If I end up in a shooting event, I want the gun clean if I did not discharge it.
That said, if I shoot a gun that won’t be shot again for a while, I clean it. I do not clean so much that you could eat off it, but I get the crud out and coat the chambers and barrel with oil.
If I’m planning to shoot the gun again in a day or two I might not clean it until
I’m done shooting it.
Guns I use for carry, I do clean the gun after shooting. If I end up in a shooting event, I want the gun clean if I did not discharge it.
doubleh
Member
Wax is the main culprit with 22 LR but revolvers have little places for it to collect. Rifles and semi-auto pistols do. Some ammo tends to have more unburned powder than others and it collects in the wax. Harbor Freight has some very cheap pick sets that stand up well to use and they are a great aid to removing the wax and crud these guns collect. I have never had to use one on a revolver.
halfmoonclip
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Remember the old saying, "Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere?"
Guns are like that; clean ones go back in the safe, dirty ones get shot.
Seriously, no need to over clean, or overthink. When I was first shooting, we worried no end about bore leading, buying Lewis lead removers, and similar gizmos. We were all shooting revolvers back then.
Oddly, we never found much lead, because there wasn't much.
No need to worry overmuch now, either.
Moon
Guns are like that; clean ones go back in the safe, dirty ones get shot.
Seriously, no need to over clean, or overthink. When I was first shooting, we worried no end about bore leading, buying Lewis lead removers, and similar gizmos. We were all shooting revolvers back then.
Oddly, we never found much lead, because there wasn't much.
No need to worry overmuch now, either.
Moon
sparkyv
Member
I never before thought I overcleaned my 22LRs, but after reading this thread, it sounds like maybe I do. This Beauty doesn't make it out to the range often enough because I abhor cleaning it. My 22LR semiautos are WAYYYY easier to clean.
it doesn't take me any longer to clean a revolver than a semi-auto. just a quick clean after the range, 10 minutes. for a .22 LR, revolver, you'll deal with less FTF or jams for sure. you can also use cheaper ammo and it won't affect performance like it does with a semi-auto. with the revolver, it kind of becomes more obvious if ammo is dirty, you can see some of the fouling on the face of the cylinder and frame, and with a semi-auto, you just know it jams, but it is not immediately obvious why. I shoot Remington Thunderbolt out of revolvers and it works fine, a bit dirty, but - I don't see why I would spend more on ammo since it works and we're just shooting tin cans anyways. I don't even try to shoot that in any semi-auto, I did, but it is an excercise in futility.
I've still never seen lead fouling with any of my pistols, centerfire or .22 LR, so - it happens, but I've shot a lot of rounds and just never seen it, it is the exception not the rule. When you clean, you might see a touch of green or blue on a patch, and that is some kind of metal fouling, but - I've only ever seen it one time, on a firearm that had been sitting for 20 years. Never seen it one time after a range session, at all. I would not spend much time worrying about a problem that you don't have, and even if you do, isn't that big of a deal for the most part.
I've still never seen lead fouling with any of my pistols, centerfire or .22 LR, so - it happens, but I've shot a lot of rounds and just never seen it, it is the exception not the rule. When you clean, you might see a touch of green or blue on a patch, and that is some kind of metal fouling, but - I've only ever seen it one time, on a firearm that had been sitting for 20 years. Never seen it one time after a range session, at all. I would not spend much time worrying about a problem that you don't have, and even if you do, isn't that big of a deal for the most part.
vanfunk
Member
I used to be an obsessive overcleaner, no more. For my .22 revolvers I wipe the cylinder face, the extractor star, under the extractor star, the “square” of the frame, I wipe the forcing cone, and then I run a bristle brush a few times through each charge hole in the cylinder. I never clean the barrel unless something is really wrong.
Riomouse911
Member
I have had far too many instances of crud making cartridges tough to insert, or worse stick in the chambers, to not brush out my rimfire chambers after every use like you do.
This is especially true with 8-9-10 shot revolvers and the increased friction of more chambers.
Every gun and every shooter has their routine. If your gun runs 100%, and accuracy is staying consistent, then the cleaning routine you use works just fine.
Stay safe.
.38 Special
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That is a lot of chambers! I often will chuck a brush into a drill motor and give each chamber a quick spin. Then a pass through each one with a lightly oiled patch or Boresnake and I call the job done.
Peakbagger46
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Get a .22 and shoot the snot out of it, it will make you a much better shooter. Light to moderate clean is all it will need to keep shooting great.
I love my Single Six and clean it only when the rounds get tough to seat due to fouling.
I love my Single Six and clean it only when the rounds get tough to seat due to fouling.
AzShooter1
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I don't bother cleaning the outside of my revolvers but the chambers get a very good cleaning after every trip to the range.
The Kingfish
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I clean my cylinder by dropping it into a jar filled with Hoppes and let it sit submerged for up to a week. Wipe it, dry it and it looks like it's never been shot.
My 617 has 10 chambers, no way am I cleaning each one by hand.
My 617 has 10 chambers, no way am I cleaning each one by hand.
sparkyv
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What about the barrel?
The Kingfish
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One or two passes with a bore snake. That's it.
I do scrub the forcing cone... and the rest of the gun gets a good wipe down.
BobWright
Member
For cleaning .22 revolvers, here's my tip of the day:
Go to your tobacco store and buy a pack of those bristle type pipe cleaners. To clean the chambers, use one pipe cleaner, fold it in half, then fold out two "wings" to shape it into a "T" shape, the stem to be longer than the cylinder. Dip the stem in Hoppe's No.9 and run the "tool" stem into the chamber. Use the "handles" to twist the cleaner in the chamber. Do this for each chamber, then use a clean patch to bry the chamber. These pipe cleaners work well for getting into crevices as well.
Bob Wright
Go to your tobacco store and buy a pack of those bristle type pipe cleaners. To clean the chambers, use one pipe cleaner, fold it in half, then fold out two "wings" to shape it into a "T" shape, the stem to be longer than the cylinder. Dip the stem in Hoppe's No.9 and run the "tool" stem into the chamber. Use the "handles" to twist the cleaner in the chamber. Do this for each chamber, then use a clean patch to bry the chamber. These pipe cleaners work well for getting into crevices as well.
Bob Wright
BobWright
Member
There is some question about this. Spme attest to its value, others say it merely forces the lead into the grooves and sort of polishes it. Me, I use stainless steel brushes. While you may cringe at this, its a practice I've done for some forty years or more with no harmful effects.
Bob Wright
eddiememphis
Member
I only shoot Stingers. 1600fps, copper jacket- no leading in barrel.
They use a powder that burns much cleaner and completely than other brands. This produces a sharper report and a brighter flash with less smoke and unburnt powder.
I clean after every trip to the range with Hoppe's, a bore snake, toothbrush and a wipedown..
It is quicker and easier to clean a little mess than to clean a big one.
They use a powder that burns much cleaner and completely than other brands. This produces a sharper report and a brighter flash with less smoke and unburnt powder.
I clean after every trip to the range with Hoppe's, a bore snake, toothbrush and a wipedown..
It is quicker and easier to clean a little mess than to clean a big one.
