What's The Dirtiest 22 Ammo?

[Neumann]

Who cares what's the dirtiest? The only .22LR ammo that works in a pistol for me is CCI. Works well in my K-22 too.

 

[kiyoty]

I'll second the nomination of Russian Junior as the dirtiest ammo ever. Bought 3 cartons years ago, still have 2. Steel case and lubed with bear grease or petroleum grease. Messy to handle, and gummed up actions and even magazines in short order! Velocity varied wildly, and accuracy was nonexistant. Still have most of it for some reason.

Years ago (at least 25-30), I ordered a few items from Sportsman's Guide. This was when they would send a mystery prize with every order. My prize happen to be 2 boxes of (junk) Russian 22lr. I took them to the range and was shooting them in my MKII and noticed what looked like sawdust everywhere. It nearly locked up the Ruger. I had to completely tear it down to clean all of it out. I shot the rest in a single shot rifle.

 

[fiasconva]

Cleaning my firearms after a range visit is just part of the day. I don't mind it one bit and actually like field stripping and cleaning them and seeing the results of my work. However, those Thunderbolts mentioned in previous threads do make that cleaning a lot more work than most of the other 22's I shoot. One trip to the range after shooting them convinced me to find something else. Thunderbolts in .22 and UMC's in any other caliber seem to be downright nasty.

 

[Oldsalt66]

In my experience all .22 rimfire is dirty to one degree or another.

 

[venomballistics]

I’ve found Remington Thunderbolts to be the dirtiest/least reliable and I avoid buying it these days.

sad fact ... once they axed the truncated cone load, the stuff just wasn't worth any further consideration.

 

[rockquarry]

In my experience all .22 rimfire is dirty to one degree or another.

Already been said and ignored, but you're right.

 

[ajgunner]

Not 22 but 44mag, and everyone like pics. I had an antique (mid 60's) can of either 2400 or Unique that I wanted to use up. All went bang just fine, but some looked like I had loaded black powder by the cloud it was putting out.

 

[Dave Lively]

No reaming just polishing. I use Flex Hones on every gun including rimfire. When new I use the 400 grit one time, then use the 800 grit every 400-500 rounds, whether wheel gun or semi auto, I have a dozen 22s, half of which I shoot suppressed which blows carbon back into the gun.

Simple fix and they last forever if you use them properly, light oil when mounted on an electric drill. You will not regret this and then use them on every gun you own. A mirror finish just does not collect carbon, like a factory finish.

Thanks! I ordered a set in both 400 and 800 grit.

 

[Dave Lively]

It is interesting that people are so sick of cleaning their firearms. That's part of the deal, each time you clean and lube a pistol, you learn a bit more about it and just handling it makes you more familiar with it.

For me cleaning guns is like scrubbing a toilet. It has to be done but if there was a way to avoid it or do it less frequently I would.

 

[Dave Lively]

Not 22 but 44mag, and everyone like pics. I had an antique (mid 60's) can of either 2400 or Unique that I wanted to use up. All went bang just fine, but some looked like I had loaded black powder by the cloud it was putting out.

When I reloaded I used a lot of Unique. It was a great powder for "10 mm Special" loads I used in my 610 that had about the same power as a 40 S&W but in a 10mm case. It was dirty, produced a lot of smoke, had a unique smell but those loads shot very well. I once had a shooter on the bench next to me ask if I was using Unique after the wind blew some of the smoke back in his direction. He identified what powder I was using by the smell.

The changed the powder right before I quit reloading so it was not so dirty. But honestly the old powder being dirty never really bothered me much. It was not so bad I had problems at the range due to the gun being dirty. When I got home I cleaned the gun regardless of what ammo I was using and while they was a lot of soot it cleaned up just as easily as powders that burned cleaner.

 

[oneeyedpete]

Thunderbolts by far! I use the Flex-Hone polishers for all my rimfire wheel guns. Works like a charm! You can make your own honing oil: Equal parts Mineral Oil and Mineral Spirits, with a few drops of Synthetic ATF for lubricity.

 

[Major 2]

THIS ...

View attachment 771839

Ditto, and Wildcat

 

[rockquarry]

For me cleaning guns is like scrubbing a toilet. It has to be done but if there was a way to avoid it or do it less frequently I would.

I'd much rather clean a gun than a toilet.

 

[Dave Lively]

I'd much rather clean a gun than a toilet.

So would I. But I don't enjoy either task.

 

[rockquarry]

Not 22 but 44mag, and everyone like pics. I had an antique (mid 60's) can of either 2400 or Unique that I wanted to use up. All went bang just fine, but some looked like I had loaded black powder by the cloud it was putting out.

I use a lot of #2400 with cast bullets in .357 and .44 mag. My guns don't look quite that dirty, but it all comes off easily with Hoppe's #9 or any other good solvent.

 

[robvious]

absolute worst ever was a box of 22lr Remington UMC.. the old mustard brown box.. leaded up every pistol or rifle we shot it in.. still have half a box somewhere.. made the barrel look like a shotgun after a couple of rounds.. amazingly bad ammo.

 

[Law-dog]

Thanks! I ordered a set in both 400 and 800 grit.

You will not be disappointed. And wonder why we all did not know about them long ago.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Aguila!
When I shoot it in short barrel handguns I get a puff of black smoke.
And it smells funny!
Never say never, but I will try to avoid it!

 

[walkin' trails]

I can’t dine out any particular manufacturer as all of them have offerings that can be pretty filthy.

But the nastiest ammo I’ve ever fired was a “green,” environmentally friendly, 5.56 from Federal, I think that was really gunky. It was as bad as or worse than firing blanks thru an M16 with blank adapter. That stuff was awful, but supposed to be safe for shooters and ranges.

 

[venomballistics]

Aguila!
When I shoot it in short barrel handguns I get a puff of black smoke.
And it smells funny!
Never say never, but I will try to avoid it!

yes ... it definitely smells funny. Oddly though, it's the most accurate of the modestly priced stuff in my Springfield 2020. even edging out the CCI MiniMag it's an obvious clone of.