Bore Brush got stuck in new SW22?

[pjevans]

I bought the new SW22 target pistol. Shot it for the first time Friday night, loved it! Ran about 50 rounds through it. Great feel, excellent accuracy. Took it out today, put another 100 rounds in it, but noticed bullets were tumbling out of the barrel?!?
Never seen that before in any of my guns.
I thought it might be bad ammo, so picked up a new box from my gun club, different manufacturer. Same result.
I hadn't cleaned it yet, so I picked up a .22 bore brush from my gun shop, disassembled it, lubed up the brush with Hoppes and it got stuck about 3/4 through. After putting more cleaner down the barrel and a LOT of force, I was able to push it through. But, it looks like it damaged the barrel.
Has anyone had either of these happen to them? I'll go talk to my gun club tomorrow, since I bought both the gun and the bore brush from them.
I'm in total dismay...and heartbroken. I've been really looking forward to this gun and now, it seems, it's useless - it's not even a week old. What gives?!? I know this gun is relatively new, many probably haven't shot it or own one yet, but thought I'd start here. Any ideas or thoughts?
Thanks, -- P.J.

 

[Ed Fowler]

I always pull my brushes through my barrels if possible. If it was mine I would pull the brush through from chamber to muzzle several more times, usually lube them with Break Free, Hoppes is good enough. What you see may just be lead and debris that the brush is breaking loose in the barrel.

Had that happen to me yesterday with a high ticket pistol, just kept cleaning, finished up with JB bore cleaner, then clean patch, then bore came out beautiful. Then bore butter and let her sit overnight. This morning I shot by best long range group ever through her.

Some barrels need broken in, my first Sig P 210 was that way, now she is real nice.

If you have any doubts call S&W customer service you will find a friend.

 

[moosedog]

Are you sure it was a 22 caliber brush and not a 25 caliber? Even then, it should not have gotten stuck that bad.
Something is wrong and without seeing it, we'd only be guessing. Good luck and let us know what you find out. Maybe it's not as bad as it seems.

 

[hoc9sw]

Has happened to me before. When I am left with Thunderbolts, I know the barrel will lead up after 100 rounds or less, and it will be a bear to clean. With those, I've gotten strands and leaves of lead, as much as an inch long. When the ammo is poor, carry a bore snake, and run it through every 50 rounds with some CLP.

A suggestion I found here was to use a .17 brush to get some Hoppe's down into the barrel, then let it soak overnight.

I doubt you killed it, but getting a brush stuck is a bit unnerving.

 

[scooter123]

First question is what kind of brush did you use? If you used a bronze brush it is highly unlikely you have done any damage to your barrel. If you used a stainless steel brush it is possible you did damage your barrel, especially if you reversed direction with the brush inside the barrel. Even though a stainless steel brush is faster at cleaning lead out of a barrel I won't ever purchase one because even used carefully they do unneeded wear to the barrel.

Tips, start out by giving your barrel a good soak with a good solvent for at least 1/2 hour before you even touch it with a brush. Then take you time and lubricate your brush frequently with more solvent. Finally, clean every 100 rounds, leading is a LOT easier to remove if you don't let it build to the point of an observed loss in accuracy.

 

[sceva]

I am guessing, and this is only a guess, that you have a severely leaded barrel. This could account for the brush sticking and, until the lead is removed, it can make the bore look like a sewer pipe. My suggestion, get a good solvent that says it removes lead, soak it good and keep brushing with a good 22 cal brush kept wet with solvent.

 

[pjevans]

I appreciate the advice. Thank you all. I'm quite confident it's a .22 brush, as I bought it brand new and it was in the packaging. I understand if it was rolling around loose in a cleaning kit, it could get confusing. It's a Pro-Shot .22. The description says "Phos. Bronze Bristles Brass Core".
In hindsight, I'm convinced the brush couldn't have done the damage. I'll take it to our club gunsmith today, just be sure, before I fire it again.
Appreciate the quick responses! Thank you.

 

[NH Old School]

I've never heard of or experienced a .22 barrel leading up so badly that bullets were tumbling. Loss of accuracy, yes, but total lack of stabilization, never. Did you look at the bore before shooting it for the first time? Maybe it was rough to start with. That would explain excessive leading.

 

[SixShooterFan]

Can you describe damaged? Damaged how?

 

[hoc9sw]

I've never heard of or experienced a .22 barrel leading up so badly that bullets were tumbling. Loss of accuracy, yes, but total lack of stabilization, never./QUOTE]

Months ago I would have said the same thing, but last week it happened to me with a .22 Compact and some (now suspect) Winchester ammo.

I see brutal levels of leading with Thunderbolt these days. Guy at the range Friday had his Ruger do it. He had pushed over 200 rounds of Thunderbolt, and was keyholes all over the paper by the last target.

 

[pjevans]

Well, I think I know why the brush got stuck. Took this pic this morning. Now I have to figure out how/why it happened?!?

 

[Targets Guy]

Goodness! Hope it is an easy fix. I've not had that problem with the Victory. .22's jamming yes but no tumbling and once I got the correct ammo the jamming stopped as well. The only other problem I've had is the barrel coming loose. But she shoots wonderful and is very accurate; when the barrel is snug.

 

[Jdavis]

Yup! You have a severely leaded bore. About a year ago, a guy was shooting a Ruger 22/45 in the next lane. He was complaining that he could hardly get on the target. He asked me to check his gun (new shooter) after he examined his target and found that his bullets were key holing. After looking over his Ruger, I found that the barrel was all but plugged with lead. I took a cleaning rod and .22 jag and literally beat it through the bore. Lead came out in a chunk followed by lead ribbons. He had been shooting Thunderbolts and it is good that he quit when he did. The range master said that he had never seen a barrel with that much lead in it and that the shooter was fortunate that .22 is a low pressure round. Getting all the lead out is necessary in order to restore accuracy to your gun and it isn't that easy to do.

 

[old&slow]

Well, I think I know why the brush got stuck. Took this pic this morning. Now I have to figure out how/why it happened?!?

Wow,, I've been shooting for many many years ,, shot tens of thousands of rounds.. Never seen a barrel like that.. Let alone after 50 rounds.. hope you find out what the problem is ,,, and let us know..

 

[pjevans]

Came across a VERY interesting video on YouTube. Basically confirming what I now believe happened. Lead build-up as a result of some really terrible ammo. Remington 22 Thunderbolt is garbage for pistols. I bought two bricks of it, and since I can't return it, it'll be a dust collector now. More info on this horrible ammo at: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTTEhJFDm1M[/ame]

Thanks again for all the responses! It's greatly appreciated!

 

[frankcr]

We normally shoot Federal or CCI in our handguns, but we bought a tub of Golden Bullets which we found in a store. Think we will use them in revolvers only until we find if they give good service.

Anyone have problems with the Golden Bullets? You could not give me Thunderbolts after seeing this thread.

 

[jwalts27]

Every .22 I own hates Remington bullets. But my Walther P22 loves those things. It jams up with anything but Remingtons. Makes no sense.

 

[gwpercle]

Thunderbolts = Lewis Lead Remover purchase.
Keep a close eye on leading and Nip-It-In-The-Bud . It's the heavy build up that causes problems. Always clean after each session or when a glance down the barrel shows it starting to accumulate.
A bore snake is good for a quick pull through, it rolls up and goes in range bag.
Gary

 

[heysox]

We normally shoot Federal or CCI in our handguns, but we bought a tub of Golden Bullets which we found in a store. Think we will use them in revolvers only until we find if they give good service.

Anyone have problems with the Golden Bullets? You could not give me Thunderbolts after seeing this thread.

I have had no issues with the Golden Bullets from a 10-22 and Ruger Mark II. Far different from the Thunderbolts.

 

[flyfishinjunkee]

I had the EXACT same thing happen with my Ruger mark 2 22lr and thunderbolts. Barrel was leaded up so bad it wouldn't shoot straight. That's how I noticed. I ran some Winchester bulk ammo through it after I saw the leading. 2 clips and bore was good as new. Use the thunderbolts in a rifle they seem not to lead up in rifles for some reason.....

I never run a bore brush through any of my 22's. I have been told the bore is easily damaged. Moreover, the bore is almost always perfectly mirror bright after running a bore snake through the barrel - even after thousands of rounds. I shoot thousands through my 22's on a regular basis. All brands ammo except thunderbolts! My 22's all love the Remington Golden bullets they are one of my favorites...