M&P 22 cleaning

[oldtimer63]

This is my first post, so be gentle. I purchased a M&P 22 a few weeks ago. I cleaned and lubricated per the manual. Finally got to the range with it and had a bunch of fun. Now the fun is over and need to clean it up. I haven't had a 22 for about 45 years. What do I use to clean the lead out of the bore? I don't want to use something that will damage the gun. Any help will be appreciated.

[JaPes]

I use a good old non-marring rod, bronze brush, and bronze patch tip & jag. Push through & clean like normal.

Also, a Boresnake works wonders.



I use the rifle length Boresnake in my pistol. A little solvent on the part of the Boresnake before the integrated bronze bristles, and pull through. I do this three times.

The cool thing is that the Boresnake is washable & reusable.

[MichiganScott]

I don't use a Boresnake, but do the bronze brush thing. The secret is to not let the fouling build up to the point that accuracy begins to suffer. Then it becomes a lot of work

[Lost Lake]

Some say you shouldn't clean a .22 often.

I just ran a couple hundred through my new M&P22 and haven't cleaned it yet. I don't think I will either!

[JCashStudios]

I may be accused of over-cleaning, but I had an antique gun rust beyond repair once, so I'm a little over-cautious...I do this every time I shoot my pistols regardless of the number of rounds I put through it...

I also own the M&P 9mm. I first run a patch with a small amount of Hoppe's 9 solvent through the barrel once. Then run my brass bristle brush through it at least twice. Next I run a clean patch or two through the barrel until it comes out pretty clean. I followup with another patch that I've put a few drops of the Hoppe's gun oil on which leaves a very thin film of oil.

For the other parts of the gun, I first use a patch with a small amount of Hoppe's 9 solvent and wipe out the gunpowder residue from around the slide, hammer, and clip area. I use a clean soft cloth to dry the solvent from these areas. Then on another patch, I apply a couple drops of oil and wipe these areas with a thin film of oil. I put a droplet of oil on each of the parts that come into contact with the slide notches and reassemble the gun and rack the slide several times to distribute the oil along the slide rail making sure it's functioning properly.

Finally, I use a soft cloth to wipe off fingerprints and excess oil from the entire exterior of the gun, handle and metal parts. Hope this helps.

[MichiganScott]

Originally Posted by Lost Lake

Some say you shouldn't clean a .22 often.

I just ran a couple hundred through my new M&P22 and haven't cleaned it yet. I don't think I will either!

I don't clean my bolt action competition small bore rifles until I start getting weird fliers, but lead builds up pretty fast in .22 pistols. Even if it doesn't mess up your accuracy, you will still get malfunctions that cleaning will fix. However, you don't ever want to scrub the bore like you are churning butter and top quality equipment is necessary to prevent damage.

[M&P Freak]

I also use a rifle length boresnake on my .22 pistols (M&P and Buckmark), but I do it dry and only one or two passes per cleaning, chamber to muzzle. Rimfire ammo is about as dirty as it gets and over lubing attracts dirt. Then again, .22s require lots of lube to operate so it's a balance thing. I run a pretty dry gun and use a very small amount of gun grease where it counts with good results.

[Jlduke]

I do the bores snake routinely. I clean it after every trip to the rang. Ever so often, I'll clean the parts in acetone to make item like new.

[oldtimer63]

Thanks for the advice.

[JCashStudios]

After reading M&P Freak's post on using grease vs. gun oil, I'm going to switch and use the grease on the slide parts.

[PennGrizz]

Look into froglube you won't be disappointed.

[bmyers]

I use a bore snake and FrogLube

[Jmc24]

There's an old saying: if it slides - use grease; if it pivots, use oil.

[Plinker99]

Originally Posted by Jmc24

There's an old saying: if it slides - use grease; if it pivots, use oil.

I thought the saying was "If it's supposed to move, use WD40, if not, use duct tape".

[Thump-boom]

Try Ballistol spray

[Flavorman]

Originally Posted by Lost Lake

Some say you shouldn't clean a .22 often.

I just ran a couple hundred through my new M&P22 and haven't cleaned it yet. I don't think I will either!

I think you'll find that you'll need to clean it more than you want to. After about 300 rounds of Blazer bulk ammo I start to get failures to feed. I don't clean mine after every trip to the range but need to every second time to avoid the annoying failures.

[crebble]

I'll add my plug for the .22 Bore Snake. It makes cleaning the barrel and removing lead a lot easier than the traditional brass brush-patch method. I add a few drops of Hoppes #9 on the end and those little brass teeth do a fantastic job of removing the lead deposits. Mine leads severely with unplated ammo, even after several thousand rounds. I'm trying to get through some Thunderbolt and Federal Match bricks so I usually shoot them at the end of my range session. Lots of leading after 20-30 rounds.

[Justin69]

Use Frog Lube. Its amazing!!!!

[JCashStudios]

I'm now using a new product on the market called, Super Quick Clean Guns.

Super Quick Clean Guns :: The World's Best Gun Cleaner!

I use it on my Kershaw knife and fishing reels too. Replaces solvent, oil and grease on all parts of the gun. I have no stock in this company so I get no advertising dollars...just love the stuff!

[Mydogmax]

All of the above work fine. Have owned my M&P22 for one month and have used Hoppes #9 solvent and gun oil. Sprayed solvent down the bore and let set while I cleaned the rest of the gun. Used a bore brush (brass) and then a few patches until they come clean. Some people like Hoppes, some like ballistol etc.
I think that if u use a name brand product and clean with bore brush, snake or patches you'll get the same results. Just clean it often enuf. IMHO about every 200-300 rds. Clean gun less problems. Also depends on ammo used.
BTW. Wally Mart got restocked today in St Paul Mn. Picked up CCI mini mags & Federal target grade 40gr 1200 fps (325 rd brick) brick was $18.97 & mini mags $7.47 per 100 rds. Three stores in my local area were stocked. They also had 9mm ammo. Spoke w/the salesperson and she said that all of a sudden ammo came in. Hope this is a better sign. I cheated and went to two stores. Now have enuf to continue to practice.

[Louchia]

As you can see, everyone has their own best method. I use Hoppes Elite to clean the bore. Use a bronze bore brush. For the rest of the gun I use Break Free CLP .
Stay away from acetone. It's a polymer frame.
Also ,if you still have trouble with getting all the led out, wrap a couple of strands of Chore Boy (copper pot scrubber) around the bore brush. It really works. If your targets show keyholes rather than round holes, you have lead build up in the groves of the bore.
Tried Frog lube, it started to ooze and attract dirt. Maybe I did something wrong.

[Tarkan]

Hi there,
well, after each range visit I clean it anyway (around 150 rnds a trip). Start with a bit of Outers bore clean (barrel only and on plastic bore brush) and leave it for a while, during the wait I clean the gun with a rag a plastic cleaner "pin" and "cotton (buds) ear/ make up remover tips" in the narrow areas until nothing comes off anymore. Then I "send" some air (high pressure) through the unreachable parts (slide release system)and pre-lubricate all moving parts (areas with wear and tear shown) with Gunbutter! The spring, take down lever, rod with plastic thingy and locking lug I use Gun butter (trigger and locking lug grease). When that's done, I pull the copper brush through once and move it up and down in the chamber (2, 3 times), inspect it with a special lamp and pass a 22 rifle boresnake through it until I don't see any fouling up anymore. Finally I use FP-10 on a cloth and pull it through the barrel (to store it lightly lubricated).
Long story but only takes 10mins.
Note: before firing I dry the barrel with another boresnake (more tight fit then the other) and get the grease/oil off any surface that gets into contact with the actual round (front of the "bolt", excuse my English but am used to 35mm guns and has a separate bolt...)
hope it helped
gr Tarkan