Wax Coatings on .22 Ammo - Clean the .22

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VaTom

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I often read in the forum about problems with .22 rifles and pistols being ammo sensitive or that a particular firearm was a jam-0-matic. There are some who rarely clean their .22s. In my opinion a lot of the feeding, ejection problems are from a build up of not only lead but the waxing coating found on much .22 ammo.

I just bought some bulk Aquila .22LR recently (Black Friday Special) and was putting it in some empty CCI plastic boxes for the range. It appear to have more wax coating on it than CCI Mini-Mags. A couple of years ago I bought a used (1977) Remington 572 pump in great condition but when I got it home it seemed stiff when chambering a round. As with all guns I buy, a thorough cleaning is in order first thing. You would not believe the gunk that came out of breech end of the barrel and action. Smooth as silk afterwards.

Clean your firearms after each use for reliability! Any thoughts from others?
 
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Only clean 22 rifles when going to be racked for awhile. Wipe them down on exterior. The wax protects the bore, very unusual to see a rusty bore on 22rifle. Hi grade target guns I completely clean after every session, as well as 22 handguns.
 
Can't disagree with much of what OP said, except the jam-o-matic being mostly due to wax/fouling. My daughters Buckmark was cleaned and cleaned and lubed and cleaned and still is FINICKY about ammo - period. My Ruger MkII - shoots anything I put in it, never a hiccup, and its being doing that for 30+ years :D
 
Some guns don't feed various ammos reliably, regardless of wax/ lube buildup or none at all, but it's usually the cheap bulk ammos that cause or contribute to problems. I always clean my .22s after shooting. It does no harm if you use good quality coated rods, etc. If your gun needs fouling shots with a clean barrel, use the junk ammo for that.
 
six shot extraction trouble

I recently got a as new 98% S&W M18-3. Six shots of Remington Thunderbolt or Winchester Copper Plated Hollow Point stay in the chambers so stiff that it might be possible to bend the extractor rod trying to eject them if not ultra careful. Other brands of similar ammo give no trouble at all.
 
Great advice here about the necessity of regular cleaning. The major problem is that most, if not all of these wax based bullet lubricants are not soluble when exposed to the cleaners and solvents gun owners typically use. Other harsher solvents that can dissolve the wax compounds can be harmful to gun finishes, and our health.

This makes disassembly (field stripping) and the application of a bit of elbow grease at the end of an old toothbrush or other suitable tools a must. This is especially true when it comes to these waxes, that have been atomized and mixed with shooting debris at high temperatures, then deposited in hard to reach places.
A bit of heat can help, warming the part using a hair dryer, or submerging the part(s) in hot water when this is feasible.

Internal actions can definitely benefit from a thorough cleaning now and then. Perhaps it's just me, but the .22 rimfire ammo bullet lubricants in particularly injurious in terms of reliability.
 
It depends a lot on the weapon and the ammo used.

We had a Stevens semi-auto at the old Duck club that was cleaned every five years.
My old Rem and Winchester bolt actions maybe 1 or 2 times a year.

I did clean the Ruger single six 22 LR/ Magnum a lot more than any other .22 weapons , that I had but it was a Revolver.

Back then, we were told........
if it isn't broke, don't mess with it.

Seemed to work with the little .22 weapons
 
armorer951 said:
Great advice here about the necessity of regular cleaning. The major problem is that most, if not all of these wax based bullet lubricants are not soluble when exposed to the cleaners and solvents gun owners typically use. Other harsher solvents that can dissolve the wax compounds can be harmful to gun finishes, and our health.

This makes disassembly (field stripping) and the application of a bit of elbow grease at the end of an old toothbrush or other suitable tools a must. This is especially true when it comes to these waxes, that have been atomized and mixed with shooting debris at high temperatures, then deposited in hard to reach places.
A bit of heat can help, warming the part using a hair dryer, or submerging the part(s) in hot water when this is feasible.

Internal actions can definitely benefit from a thorough cleaning now and then. Perhaps it's just me, but the .22 rimfire ammo bullet lubricants in particularly injurious in terms of reliability.
Click to expand...

I don't know what sort of ammo some are using, but I've tried many different .22 ammos in many handguns and rifles in the last fifty or so years and have yet to come across a lube or wax that wasn't easily cleaned up with Hoppe's #9. I'm pretty sure a lesser cleaner would work about as well.

I also use Hoppe's #9 for cleaning centerfire rifles and handguns that are fired exclusively with conventionally lubed cast bullets. Lubes have ranged from soft to hard, greasy, creamy, waxy, or a combination. Hoppe's is fine, in fact, 3-in-one oil or CLP would probably work satisfactorily and I don't consider the latter two gun cleaners by any means.
 
Once again, I’m an outlier on cleaning 22’s.

Early in my career on my high school rifle team, I cleaned my M52-C.

My coaches were furious: Sgt. Shaw had me doing push-ups as punishment before each daily practice for the rest of the semester. He said it would help me remember not to clean my gun during the competition season.

I’ve followed his guidance over the last 55+ years without experiencing a problem.
 
As someone stated above, the waxy coating protects the bore, I rarely will swab out a barrel.

Actions like a blowback semi auto will need more frequent cleaning than a pump, bolt or lever.

A lot of crud will get blown into the action.
Not all semi autos are the same as far as frequency of cleaning though.

My Browning SA (auto take down) rifle will go longer without cleaning than my Ruger MK IV or 10-22's I've owned.

My Nylon 66 can go a long, long, long time before I'd need to clean out the action to restore reliability.
I've known guys that didn't clean their Nylon for a decade and it still worked.
 
I used to be a lot more diligent about cleaning after a range trip. Now I don't clean any where as often. I've read that especially for target guns with very tight tolerances, excessive cleaning puts more wear and tear on them than shooting. I've heard some say the only object he allows to go down the bore of his target gun is a bullet.
 
I'll rarely strip and clean a 22 unless it starts giving trouble. I've seen more worn out by overzealous cleaning than by shooting.


One exception to this is the cylinders of 22 revolvers. Some of them seem to become difficult to seat ammo in. I'll run a brush through the charge holes when that happens.



As to the coatings on the bullets, you would prefer that to a non lubed lead version.
 
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