Remington thunderbolt cure?

[semperFi]

Other than not shooting them - what tricks have you found to minimizing the pain and suffering due to the unbelievable leading you get with these. I ended up getting a couple thousand rounds so I could shoot during this ammo madness. I find with my M&P that at about a hundred rounds it is fouled and shots are way off target. If I stop I can run the brush thru it without pounding it thru. I'm hoping someone's figured a way to minimize the pain and suffering after you use this ammo.

My last cleaning session I ran 25 patches thru it and was still getting black on it!

 

[alwslate]

I've shot several hundred rounds of Thunderbolt through a variety of
guns without any leading problems. I'm not impressed with their
quality but in general they are much more accurate in my rifles than
my handguns. I shoot slowly however and if you are shooting lots of
rounds as fast as possible semi auto you might encounter leading
with any unplated 22 ammo.

 

[cloud]

I just run a bore snake through after about every 100 rounds at the range .Than do a good cleaning when I get home. They have not been a problem for me.

 

[chief38]

A good stiff bronze brush along with solvent should do the trick. If that is not cleaning it to your satisfaction then you could try some JB Bore paste.

While I am certainly no fan of Remington rimfire ammunition I have shot it in the past and have not had any severe leading issues - but maybe they have actually cheapened up the lead mixture even more these days - who knows............

 

[hangnoose]

NOT MY FAVORITE

BUT I'd rather use them, than the golden.I haven't seen it on shelves for a long time, but hoppes used to make a lead solvent, That & more frequent swab/brush outs, may help. Overheating & really baking on the crud, would make it harder to remove.

 

[David Sinko]

I have shot untold thousands of rounds of Thunderbolt over the decades and I have experienced a high rate of misfires, a slamfire that blew the extractor out of my 10/22, cracked cases... but never excessive leading. At least the leading was never bad enough for me to notice, and my .22 rifles always went a long time between cleanings.

Dave Sinko

 

[hittman77]

Give them to someone you really dislike or send them to the bottom of a pond. No, I know of nothing to make them "better" in a gun. I simply refuse to shoot them.

 

[semperFi]

Slow up

I've shot several hundred rounds of Thunderbolt through a variety of
guns without any leading problems. I'm not impressed with their
quality but in general they are much more accurate in my rifles than my handguns. I shoot slowly however and if you are shooting lots of rounds as fast as possible semi auto you might encounter leading with any unplated 22 ammo.

I'm gonna try slowing up but those M&P 12 round mags got me to put rounds down range too fast. Thanks I'll report back. I was wondering in the forums of the divergence between those with minor issues and others like me with the leading?

 

[max]

Try dipping the lead part in alox.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Try dipping the lead part in alox.

That's what I was going to suggest. Two more things. You can use the tray from some CCI Stingers or anything else to hold a hundred at a time to dip them. Then you can also instead of alox buy White Label Lube's 45/45/10 which works even better with less goop. It dries hard to the touch.

 

[SMSgt]

Froglube . . .
Solved the leading in my Advantage Arms conversion barrel for my Glock.

 

[Salty RI]

Last summer I had four bricks of thunderbolts and had leading problems with all of them, I found buy shooting a plated round through each cylinder or clip was a big help.

 

[alwslate]

I'm gonna try slowing up but those M&P 12 round mags got me to put rounds down range too fast. Thanks I'll report back. I was wondering in the forums of the divergence between those with minor issues and others like me with the leading?

Like most shooters I've shot many thousands of 22s over the
years and never experienced any leading problems except
with some old rifles with pitted bores. Old pitted bores will
scrape lead from soft lead 22 bullets like running a file over
them. The lead can build up until bullets are slowed down to
the point of risking a stuck bullet. The lube on 22 bullets is
just wax, and some have more than others. I've seen the
bulk pack Remington golden HPs with so much wax I've
wiped some of it off before shooting them. I've just never
been into very rapid firing however even with my semi-autos.
I prefer to aim every shot. Maybe you get heat build up with
lots of fast shooting. It's possible your gun has a slightly
rough bore but if you slow down and focus on accuracy rather
than volume maybe the problem will be solved.

 

[Maddmax]

I quit shooting that junk years ago when it started being a problem and never looked back.

 

[Louchia]

I've also heard that putting one plated rnd in each mag helps if it is hyper velocity( not advised by S&W). I have had the same awful leading problem. and no longer use Thunderbolt. However, when I did use it, I put a few strands of Chore Boy pot scrubber on a cleaning rod along with using Hoppes Elite bore cleaner. That did clean it out.
Just talked with a rep. Was told that running a FEW hyper velocity such as CCI Stinger at the end of the day will help clean the barrel of lead.

 

[semperFi]

Nice hints. I just got a new 43c .22 j frame and pumped about 200 rounds thru it many rounds being the thunderbolts. I used a few CCI and other copper jacketed in the mix and ended up with no real leading issues. Earlier in the thread it was recommended using a .17 cal brush to start the cleaning process which I followed. I did see some lead flecks come out in the cleaning, but didn't have to beat a .22 brush thru it. Gonna try the same recipe and slower firing in my autos with thunderbolts next range visit!

 

[Starwalker]

I have been shooting Thunderbolts for years and never knew they were a problem until I started reading gun forums.

I have had great success with them and never had a failure or leading problems. I do clean my .22's pretty much each time I shoot them, and make sure to use a brass brush.

I mostly shoot .22 pistols, but I do have a Ruger 10/22 rifle and a S&W M&P 15 .22 that like Thunderbolts.

I prefer CCI mini-mags, but during these days I pretty much buy what I can find.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I save my Thunderbolt ammo for the days I hope never come and someone really needs them. Years ago I fired a few boxes through a Beretta Model 70 and towards the end of the range session the slide moved so slowly on the Beretta you could watch it go back and forth while you found something else to do - not really, but you get my point. If I use that ammo it will not be in a pistol; I have revolvers that don't mind getting dirty.....

***GRJ***

 

[grip frame]

Lap your barrel?

The mentioned JB bore past is a mild abrasive and and will polish up your barrel.

 

[josboy]

Good lord, it does foul a barrel quickly; but it does fire. I've fired several thousand rounds of Thunderboldt - and at first the barrel got so dirty, I couldn't even get the weight on a bore snake to drop through so I had to use a rod to push a brush/swab through. What I do now, because I find it to be good range ammo and a consistent performer if I address the fouling problem, is to, after every hundred rounds, is to squirt a little ballistol into the barrel and then run a bore snake through the gun twice. If I do that, it fires like a champ.