Do You Consider Blazer Clean & Safe

I read almost every post on this forum because of all the good information here. I have had my new 15-22 about six months and it only has about 2000 rounds through it. Almost all of those are CCI Blazer, chosen as my standard plinking round mostly because of the good reports I read here. I wanted to stick with just one brand for consistency. They have been awesome, the gun runs perfectly. It eats them up and spits them out all day long without any FTF or FTE problems.

Last week, while out shooting a buddy of mine scoffed at my choice of Blazers because they are not a jacketed bullet. He claimed the lead fouling is a big problem. I disagree. I have been pleased every time I clean it. I do not have a “lead fouling problem”. The barrel cleans easily and never looks to be excessively dirty. But, I seem to average just 300 to 500 rounds with each range trip so far. I know some of you guys are lucky enough to go way beyond that. Is there a point (number of rounds) when I should be concerned about build up during a long range session?

Also, do you consider CCI Blazer to be a clean burning round? I have read about several dirty brands here but find little one way or the other on Blazers.

I also believe I read somewhere on this forum, that a build up of gunk on the bolt face in the recess where the round seats and the firing pin strikes could be responsible for some of the out of battery discharges associated with the 15-22. Is that true? I generally think of a dirty rifle to be unreliable, not unsafe. I use a sharp plastic cleaning tool to get the recessed bolt face portion clean.

I feel safe and confident when I shoot this rifle. But I have two teenage sons that love this gun and I worry a little about their safety (yes, eye and ear protection, always). I could not live with myself if one of them was to be injured. Especially if I contributed to an OBD because I ran dirty ammo or did not clean it properly. Am I being paranoid or is proper cleaning of this rifle actually safety issue?

I think at least once a week I run into Mr. "If you're not using MY favorite, you're wrong!" Just ignore him.

The boltface and chamber need to be clean for reliability, the barrel not so much. Normal cleaning is adequate. Blazer is fine ammo.
The obsession with "clean burning ammo" bores me to tears, as I have shot blackpowder guns for decades with no safety issues.

Ask your buddy what 22 lr bullets he knows of that are "jacketed". Or perhaps you/he misspoke? Can't say as I've ever seen a jacked 22 lr.

You just need to find someone who's shot a couple thousand rounds of Blazer in an M&P15-22. Oh yeah, that's you. In reality, I think you already have your answer. Sounds to me like you're just fine with Blazers.

Jayhawkhuntclub said:

Ask your buddy what 22 lr bullets he knows of that are "jacketed". Or perhaps you/he misspoke? Can't say as I've ever seen a jacked 22 lr.

You just need to find someone who's shot a couple thousand rounds of Blazer in an M&P15-22. Oh yeah, that's you. In reality, I think you already have your answer. Sounds to me like you're just fine with Blazers.

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He's talking about plain lead versus copper jacketed lead like CCI Mini Mags or Stingers.

Pinstripe said:

He's talking about plain lead versus copper jacketed lead like CCI Mini Mags or Stingers.

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Plated,is the word associated with 22 rimfires, not jacketed.

So, by using a copper plated bullet you run the risk (not very high) of copper build up in your barrel, instead of lead. In actuality, neither one will build up worth a darn in a semi smooth .22 bore. Run a patch or two through your barrel every 500 rounds are so and don't worry about it. If you are happy with the way your rifle digests Blazer, keep using it. It is your rifle after all, not your buddies.

I've shot over 1K rounds of Blazers with no problems. Cheap fun.

Chief63, I believe you, 100%
why?
well, i've shot 50K+ of blazers through my Smithy
with only a minimum of blokages
(mostly failiure to feed): less than 1 in 3000 !!!!

I know I should clean my gun regulary, but only do so when 'realy needed'

No the Blazer isn't the most accurate ammo! by far !!
but it's cheap and for most of us (with a 15-22) it'll do everyting we want it to do.
Fouling isn't worse than with most kinds of .22LR ammo

I'm sticking with it, just placed a 25K order with my armourer, should get me through the winter

berzerker said:

Chief63, I believe you, 100%
why?
well, i've shot 50K+ of blazers through my Smithy
with only a minimum of blokages
(mostly failiure to feed): less than 1 in 3000 !!!!

I know I should clean my gun regulary, but only do so when 'realy needed'

No the Blazer isn't the most accurate ammo! by far !!
but it's cheap and for most of us (with a 15-22) it'll do everyting we want it to do.
Fouling isn't worse than with most kinds of .22LR ammo

I'm sticking with it, just placed a 25K order with my armourer, should get me through the winter

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+1 When I am just 'burning ammo' I use the cheapest **** out there. For hunting, or accurate shots, I go 'top shelf'.

Blazer is good ammo.

Just run a bronze brush through your bore every 400 or 500 rounds, to keep it clean. Dip the brush in plain old Hoppe's #9 first.

No worries.


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No problem with Blazer here either.

You guys are right. Even though my friend scoffed at the Blazers it did not keep him from reaching into my ammo can to feed his Marlin 10-22. His Marlin jammed three times in less than 100 rounds. I said “what’s that about? My Marlin never jams.” He said “it’s really really dirty, I have not cleaned it in forever”. So much for his credibility.

What about the early history of the 15-22 and my safety question. I’m not trying to start yet another thread on OBD’s, I have read them all. Are you confident enough in your rifle to let your 12 year old son shoot it? I do, but I am just a little bit concerned about it. My serial number is DWC7###. From everything I can read this gun should be safe. I think it is a legitimate question though.

I bought the boy a Marlin 10-22 for Christmas last year. He loves it. You should see him with the 15-22……when I hand it to him he is ready to run to the nearest recruiter and enlist in the Military. It is so fun to shoot with him. His Mom is going to kick my *** when he ships out someday!!!

PHXSHOOTER said:

do you consider CCI Blazer to be a clean burning round?

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compared to other 22s, yes

OKFC05 said:

I think at least once a week I run into Mr. "If you're not using MY favorite, you're wrong!" Just ignore him.

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this

Not to worry, shooting CCI Blazer with the lead bullet at about (40 grains at 1235 fps). You won't get any leading in the rifle groves. Why they use jacketed bullets in higher calibers is due to leading of the groves. You would have to be pushing the little 22LR to the .17HMR levels before you start seeing leading, thus jacketed on 2500 fps on up. Try Winchester they are jacketed, they work for me but I always go back to CCI.

What's neat about CCI is they have made a 22LR for the Tactical Rifle (see below), I'm liking CCI much more, also it's jacketed so you should be happy about that.

http://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/detail.aspx?use=5&loadNo=0953

I run cci blazers through mine . Cheapest and most reliable for me, the fed 510 went up on price so I run Blazers all the time in my 15-22 picked up some for 12.99 @ dunns for a brick, bought 4 bricks. I ran 6000 rds of blazers through mine once before I cleaned it without a failure, was going to see how many rds of blazer I could shoot before any failure but I cleaned it I couldn't take it any longer. Plus I posted that once and had a lot of flax about abusing my gun from others, so I keep mine clean and tidy now LOL's

Yeah, CCI Blazer used to be my favorite HV stuff at 15.99/500. Now that it's gone up to 19.99 around here, I've been buying Win 555 from Walmart for 18.99. No complaints.

Did you guys get in on the sale at Dick's Sporting Goods on Friday? Buy one get one 50% off. Got 5,000 CCI Standard Velocity for under $200.00!

PHXSHOOTER said:

You guys are right. Even though my friend scoffed at the Blazers it did not keep him from reaching into my ammo can to feed his Marlin 10-22. His Marlin jammed three times in less than 100 rounds. I said “what’s that about? My Marlin never jams.” He said “it’s really really dirty, I have not cleaned it in forever”. So much for his credibility.

What about the early history of the 15-22 and my safety question. I’m not trying to start yet another thread on OBD’s, I have read them all. Are you confident enough in your rifle to let your 12 year old son shoot it? I do, but I am just a little bit concerned about it. My serial number is DWC7###. From everything I can read this gun should be safe. I think it is a legitimate question though.

I bought the boy a Marlin 10-22 for Christmas last year. He loves it. You should see him with the 15-22……when I hand it to him he is ready to run to the nearest recruiter and enlist in the Military. It is so fun to shoot with him. His Mom is going to kick my *** when he ships out someday!!!

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a marlin 10-22?
who's credibility is up, now?

You shot 2000 rounds? You know more than he does. Probably more than he'll ever know. You were right to post and ask your questions, but it's coming up about time to recognize that some folks are ** **** ** **** as a Christmas turkey. Your buddy is one of them.

BTW, Blazer works very well for me in some revolvers that don't like other ammo.

I shoot a little of everything, CCI Blazer, Federal & Winchester Super X, this ammo is all in bulk (I purchase anything thats on sale) .... in fact I just got a 1000 rds. of Winchester M-22, blk. CPRN 40 gr. from Gander Mountain for $39.99 .... will be trying it out next Tues. @ the range. I have not experienced any lead fouling or any kind of fouling with the above mentioned ammo. Of course I am only able to shoot about 150 rds. per 1 hr. range session and I do clean my rifle after each trip.

i have shot a few thousand rounds of "blazers" and a lot more lead bullets and never had a problem with either item.