Cleaning 22 ammo?

A quick followup folks, while I still haven't gotten to shoot this stuff (I have found almost all positive reviews on it though) yet, I thought I'd check the can I opened last week today. I was thinking maybe the grease was just melted in the NM heat.

Opened the top, grabbed a few, and it is still a strange thin oil. I've shot dozens of different rifles, pistols, machine guns, both modern and antique, and I can't ever remember seeing anything like this on bullets. I have no doubt that it'll fire as fine as the reviews say (hopefully I finally do that this weekend), so I'll probably load up one mag with them as is, and one with them wiped down, to see if it fouls the mag at all.

These cans are nice too, I thought it was going to be like a Pringles can, they are metal, with a metal pull tab top that you have to peel off to get to the rounds, with a plastic cover.
 
Be sure to post a range report on the stuff. I'm betting I am not the only one who is curious about the outcome.
 
Bkreutz said:
It's made in Germany (which means if the UN thing goes through we won't be able to get it anymore). I have one of these cans, thinking of burying it in the back yard as an emergency stash. That way I can eat squirrels after the lights go out.:D
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I think I'd check to see if Kay on Duck Dynasty has a recipe book. Her family seems to love her squirrel stew. Me? I think I'd be shooting more duck ... :)
 
Majorlk said:
Be sure to post a range report on the stuff. I'm betting I am not the only one who is curious about the outcome.
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I will, best I can. It is made by Lapua, and supposedly the same grade as the Wolf Match ammo, just in a bulk can.

Here is the stuff, and where I got it.
Graf & Sons - SK AMMO 22LR 40gr LRN MAGAZINE 500/can 10/CS

Here's my post with pics from the Ammo thread.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/ammo/3...ms-keep-out-ammo-fs-thread.html#post137182662

If you Google...

sk magazine 22lr

There are several reviews/videos out there if you want a jump on them.

Consensus I've seen is very positive.
 
My son picked up a can of it and ran some through a golden boy and a sig 1911-22. 1-2" inch groups from both guns at 50 yards and no failures.He did mention it being greasy.
 
Jump over to rimfirecentral.com, under 22 Ammo, and read the SK Bulk comments, sounds like this stuff is like most Wolf, and SK, plenty of lube, but that may be part of why it shoots so good in some guns. Now I have to order some of this bulk ammo!
 
Waxy CCI AR Tactical Rounds

I noticed this issue with CCI AR Tactical. Kind of like a waxy coating. I'm just beginning to learn about my 15-22 and whether it likes certain ammunition more than others. I probably shot about 150 rounds of this CCI and 100 of Winchester Super X the first time I fired my rifle (all through the same S&W 25 rd mag) and had absolutely no issues with either kind. I haven't shot it since but am planning on getting out this weekend to see how each of the different rounds below fire. Just curious if the waxy coating on the CCI will dirty up the barrel sooner than other ammo. I've heard CCI mini-mags work great and these CCI AR Tactical rounds state that they are specifically designed for rifles like our 15-22. Guessing it's not a big deal just wondering everyone else's thoughts.

Next shoot to include:
Remington Golden Bullet
Remington Subsonic
CCI AR Tactical
CCI Mini-mag
Federal Champion
Winchester Super X
 
It's lube, that's the way it is supposed to be. Load it. Shoot it. Do not try to clean it.
 
RED ZMAN said:
I will, best I can. It is made by Lapua, and supposedly the same grade as the Wolf Match ammo, just in a bulk can.
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I can't imagine Lapua putting out junk. I wouldn't hesitate to buy and use it. In fact I may just to see if the oiliness is an issue.
 
tailslide said:
I can't imagine Lapua putting out junk. I wouldn't hesitate to buy and use it. In fact I may just to see if the oiliness is an issue.
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Me, neither, but I can't imagine Lapua putting out anything like what has been described. Wolf, yes, but not Lapua. I've shot a lot of their ammo over the years and have never come across anything like it.
 
TUMBLING LIVE AMMO

I love this old chestnut. with MY luck and Murphy's law I don't do it. love the logic that I did it for 100 yrs and nothing ever happened to me, SO IT MUST BE PERFECTLY SAFE FOR ANYBODY. I've also witnessed lots of people pumping gas with a lit cigarette between their lips, and nothing happened to them (on that particular occasion), so that must be safe also. one reason you don't hear from the people that did have problems might be that they are too dead or embarrassed to talk about it. as a reloader I never saw any REAL need to tumble live ammo. if it did need some cleaning surely a rag wouldn't take long, maybe even less than putting it into, sifting it out of, running it for a period of time then wiping the dust off with a rag afterwards. better safe than sorry. as for lubed brass, I prefer a light coat of hornady one shot, after tumbling. it runs thru the dies better for me and seems to keep it's shine longer for long term storage. as it's a dry lube I can't tell any diff in firing it, maybe easier feeding/ejection if anything.
 
The prohibition against tumbling, actually vibrating, loaded ammo is one of those shooting myths that have been floating around for years. Interesting theory about the dangers, but no factual evidence to back it up. The ammo manufacturers have used this method of cleaning and polishing finished ammo as the last step before packaging for decades.

You or others don't want to do it? That's fine with me.
 
Majorlk said:
The ammo manufacturers have used this method of cleaning and polishing finished ammo as the last step before packaging for decades.
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I'm sure it would be pretty safe to bet that the way the ammo manufacturers tumble clean their ammo differs markedly from the way I clean brass. You've made me rethink the whole concept but I still see no reason to do it with my reloads.
 
So I shouldn't tumble my live rounds in a 55 gallon drum with hammers and anvils anymore?

Sheesh...

Oh, by the way, Graf & Sons is becoming my favorite place to get ammo. Got a shipping notice today, will have my other 4000 rounds of the SK on Wednesday.
 
FedEx dropped off two cans of it to my house today, I opened one of the and yes this stuff is greasy. I dumped out about a third of the can on a light blue bath towel and started to roll it on the workbench between the towel. And man let me tell you how dirty this stuff was, after cleaning the first can the towel was black with oily residue. I am glad I decided to try and clean it, had it not been so greasy I might have not done this. Only took about 10 min. to do the one can, and it got most of the excess residue off the rounds. Will proberbly be easier to load now.
 
The black is from the lead tips, the oil/grease is clear.

Blasted from my Samsung Galaxy SIII (CM10.1 Masta Mix).
 
BTW, I got my 2nd order of this stuff yesterday.

I'll put up a picture later, cause it is pretty damned cool.

10 cans of it, plus some other .22lr we had from my wife's 10/22, now I'm sitting at about 6500 rounds.
 
Majorlk said:
Me, neither, but I can't imagine Lapua putting out anything like what has been described. Wolf, yes, but not Lapua. I've shot a lot of their ammo over the years and have never come across anything like it.
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I got a hold of some lapua trainer rounds a few months ago and they were so greasy they wouldn't even chamber in my 15-22 or my dads browning pistol.
 
The grease or oil on the bullets is lubricant which contributes greatly to accuracy. Clean it off and they will no be as accurate. I have shot some sk ammo with that oily lube and a lot of wolf 22 with it. Both are very accurate in match grade rifles. I would not remove it.

Try shooting a few groups with a garden variety 22. Then shoot several groups of the SK. After 2 or 3 groups you will see an improvement in accuracy as the barrel gets the new lube in it. Then go back to the previous brand 22 and the accuracy of it will be improved until the "oily" lube is shot out. I've seen that happen several times with match grade 22 rifles.
 
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erick1987 said:
I got a hold of some lapua trainer rounds a few months ago and they were so greasy they wouldn't even chamber in my 15-22 or my dads browning pistol.
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Interesting ... but then again, it's been about several years since I last shot any Lapua.
 
I registered to this forum only to address the issue of tumbling live ammunition.

1) Will tumbling activate/ignite/fire my ammunition?
No, it will not if you're using your average vibratory tumbler

2) Will tumbling alter the burn characteristics of my powder by "breaking" down the powder granules?
This is almost a definite no. popnfresh on the ar15.com forums ran a stress test, 200+ hours of tumbling and powder inspection under a microscope. He tested different powders (except for extruded): Winchester 748 (ball type), Alliant Unique (flake type), Alliant Power Pistol (flake type), AA No 7 (ball type), FFFg (flake/ball type?), Bullseye (flake), 1680 (ball), 2230 (ball). In a lyman turbo 2200. All with no significant change in the powder.
Tumble live ammo Tumbler O' thruth EXTREME edition, 200hour torture test**UPDATE**fired rounds in OP - AR15.COM

It's still up to you whether you want to tumble live ammo or not. (almost all manufacturers state you shouldn't to remove liability). Many people do tumble live ammo with no problem. I've tumbled .223 and .45 auto without any issues (extruded and flake powder).
 
The lube, regardless of what kind it is, is on the ammo for a reason. Originally it was done to keep the bore from leading up. So in my case I leave it on because then when I clean the gun I can use a dry boresnake on the barrel and that is all it needs. Also why they tell you when testing ammo to shoot up to 10 or more bullets of the new variety before running a group thru because you need to replace the lube from the previous ammo with the one from the new ammo you are testing.
 
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