.22 ammo accuracy testing - when to clean?

[dakota.potts]

I have a hobby/ a little bit of side income writing for some small gun and hunting websites. I've been amassing some .22lr ammo of different types lately when I can find it and thought it would be fun to do a non-empirical write up comparing different ammunition types from my CZ 452 in a mechanical rest.

I figure I'll be shooting from 50 yards (might do 100 - undecided) and ammo will include an entire spectrum from Remington Thunderbolt to Federal Target Match and plenty in between.

Even though I'm not doing a scientific test and results will obviously only be completely true to my rifle, I was wondering what type of cleaning I should consider. I have heard some people say they rarely clean .22lr barrels? Some also say that they shoot better fouled?

I don't know if I want to clean the barrel before and then shoot them all without cleaning. That would leave the possibility that a fouled barrel could affect accuracy on the later boxes vs. the earlier ones shot through a clean bore.

However, if the .22 does tend to shoot better with a slightly fouled bore, I'd think it would also have undesired results if I cleaned it after every 25 shots when I switched brands.

What would you do?

[Snyper]

I'd just shoot them, and not worry about cleaning too much, since that's what most folks seem to do with 22's

I cleaned my 77/22 after several months of use, thinking the groups would tighten up, and it took about 50 rounds before it settled back to the one hole groups it's always done

[hartcreek]

You mean we are supposed to clean them .22s too I bet I have a couple with twenty year old dustbunnies.

I would think that by now any and all .22 ammo has been tested so unless you just like burning daylight why bother?

[Mobuck]

If you're "testing ammo", you need to start with equal baselines--perfectly clean bore. Manual cleaning may not provide this "equality of cleaning" so an electronic device which removes EVERYTHING is a good start.

[Bart B.]

Most folks seldom or never clean .22 rimfire rifles or handguns. As their accuracy pretty much stays where it is after the first 100 or so shots fired after well cleaning the barrel, they'll not see any change trying different makes/types/lots of ammo.

Folks shooting the best scores in competition clean them every 50 to 100 shots. The ones using rifles have to in order to get 1 MOA accuracy (all fired record rounds) at 50 and 100 yards slung up in prone with 90% of their shots. Best handgun accuracy is virtually the same when fired from machine rested firearms. They notice the first few shot from a clean barrel go 1 to 2 MOA high from zeros because the barrel's not fouled and bullets go out faster.

I think Federal Target Match rimfire ammo's about average or a little above across all that's availabie when compared to the best lots of Eley Tenex or Match and RWS R50, R100 or Special match. Federal has .22 Ultra Match which I think is RWS Special Match headstamped and labeled different. Remington's Match is/was Eley Match relabled/stamped.

After getting a squeaky clean barrel, one has to "condition" it with a few shots before best accuracy is fired. Easy to do in rifle matches as unlimited sighers are allowed in NRA matches and can be made on the sighter target before starting the record shots and any time during the 20-shot record string. Few matches allow sighters in handgun matches.

Best rimfire ammo these days shoots under 1/3 MOA at 50 yards and 2/3 MOA at 100; in the best match grade rifles over 50 to 100 shots after a few bore prepping shots. Proof's in the pudding of NRA records shot prone at 100 yards. The 40-shot match records fired in the late 1970's still stand. Ammo made since then hasn't been as accurate because all the makers changed the primer compound mix for safety reasons. That mix is more abrasive (glass frit?), too, so barrel life's now about 30,000 rounds instead of 50,000 rounds it used to be. Accuracy varies somewhat across different lots of ammo of a given make and type. It's cheap enough to shoot 50-shot test groups as that shows what accuracy will be shooting 5 conditioning/sighting/zeroing shots before each 20 shot record string in a 40 shot match.

[wogpotter]

The best thing I heard was to clean whenever you change a brand or type of lube.
Supposedly it eliminates any possibility of incompatible lubes getting mixed together.

[Bart B.]

A method popular with the top ranked smallbore rifle competitors to judge barrel life is to watch the dark ring form at the throat of the chamber bottom. Use optics to look at it well magnified after the bore's well cleaned. A new barrel will have equally shiny metal surfaces all around the origin of the rifling. As rounds are fired, the abrasive frit in them settles in the bottom of the chamber. It gets pushed out with each round fired. That turns the metal surface frosty and it appears darker with more rounds fired.

Check it every 3000 rounds or so and it works its way up each side from 6 o'clock to 3 and 9 o'clock. Somewhere around 30,000 rounds, that dark area will be half way up the sides; the top half still bright and shiney virtually as good as new. By then accuracy at 100 yards will be noticably less than at 15,000 rounds of barrel life. If the best ones want to keep winning, they'll rebarrel; or set the barrel back an inch and get another 15,000 to 20,000 rounds out of it with the accuracy it had when new.

[Fotheringill]

Based on my own experience only;

If testing, you need to start fresh each change in ammo. You don't want lube from Wolf Match Extra (Extra greasy) giving you a false results when shooting something else right afterwards. I had this when I shot my first five shots of Federal Automatch right after the Wolf.

Each rimfire is ammo specific as to the individual rifle and barrel.
Each rimfire will have drop off in accuracy after a certain number of rounds. For example, my CZ452 will shoot about 100-125 rounds before accuracy drops off. I am measuring a drop off in 1/8" inch increments in spreading at 50 yards. My Anschutz 1913a will drop off after 75 rounds or so.

All testing needs to be done under the same conditions, i.e. wind and temperature. I wouldn't test anything under 40 degrees since lubes react differently to colder temperatures. When you have a perfectly clean bore and carbon free chamber, you will need anywhere from five to ten foulers to get the rifle to settle in and THEN test the ammo.

As to those people who never clean, it is perfectly ok if you are shooting at squirrels and such. A hit anywhere is going to be a kill. BUT, if you are shredding paper, 1/4 to 1/2" off is not going to leave you satisfied.

I don't know what the rules are here about links to other sites, but there was an extensive test of ammo with a very high end target 22lr. You would be astounded at the differences between ammo brands and "models".

You also need to be selective in what you are using for proper cleaning, from brand of cleaner, to rod size, to bore guide, to patch and jag size. I shoot target only.

Currently, I use a Tipton fiber composite 22 rod, rifle specific guide, spear jag, 1" round patches, Patch Out and Accelerator.

Is it ok to put link in here?

[RC20]

I have the 17 caliber rod so I get a bit easier clearance into the rifle (452)

Some comments on damaging the bore area.

For average shooter does Hopes 9 and patch work (oil after) or should a brass brush be used per center fire? - followed by the jag (which I use) and patch?

[243winxb]

This > Based on my own experience also ;

If testing, you need to start fresh each change in ammo. You don't want lube from one brand giving you a false results when shooting something else right afterwards. Clean when changing lot numbers. Then condition the barrel with 10 fouling shots before shooing for group at 50 yds. Do use wind flags.

[Pat T]

I THINK I cleaned my Ruger 77/22 three years ago with a brush and patch...since then I don't know how many round have gone through it. Last fall I shot two <.375" five shot groups at 50 yards with Federal 711b ammo which ain't the greatest. Looks like you can go a long time between cleanings with a .22

Cleaning isn't the issue, finding the ammo your gun likes and using it is.

[Fotheringill]

I only use nylon brushes, not bronze or brass or another metal. Although a steel barrel is not as soft as any copper based alloy, I am not comfortable in using the m. I have seen no difference in cleaning "ability". Also, some cleaning products recommend a back and forth cleaning with the rod and a brush, i.e. to loosen carbon or copper fouling. THAT is going to mess up your crown, not to mention issues of a brass brush going back and forth.

[Bart B.]

If you ever watch a smallbore or high power match where record setters win by running bronze brushes in and out of both ends of the barrel every few dozen shots followed by wet then dry patches, you may think that doesn't ruin accuracy.

If it really did, their scores wouldn't be at the top of the scoreboard and in the record books.

[dahermit]

I think that you may have the tail wagging the dog. For years, it was conventional wisdom that any particular .22 rifle will shoot a particular brand of ammo. The trick was to find the brand of ammo that would shoot best in your rifle. We would buy on box of 50 rounds of all brands that were available and fire five shots from each box while noting on the target which ammo were used. Inevitably, we would find what it liked.

If that philosophy holds true, even if you found a round that shoots best in your rifle, it may not shoot well in another person's rifle.

It also should be noted, that back "in those days", the best shooting round was usually (but not always), "Standard Velocity" ammunition which was a bonus for us because it cost less then High Velocity ammo. However, nowadays they seem to cost the same, or as I suspect, the "Standard Velocity" ammunition is now renamed, "Target" ammunition and sells for more than High Velocity.

Therefore, instead of thinking in terms of what ammo shoots best, you should think in terms of, "what ammo shoots best in my rifle."

[Bart B.]

SAAMI specs for all long rifle ammo pressure is 24,000 psi average. Velocity for both 40-gr bullets is different. Faster for hi-speed and slower for standard and match.

[Erno86]

I'll run a bore snake thru my 22's every once in awhile --- if not --- a .17 cleaning rod works well. But since the {brass only} .17 jag is so small --- once you run the jag past the muzzle --- on retrieval...guide the jag back into the bore with your fingers, so the jag does not hit the face of the muzzle crown.

Most of the time, after a shooting session with a 22 rifle, I'll make sure to swab the chamber with a oily nylon shafted Q-Tip; because of the chance that I handled the ammo with sweaty hands.

With my semi auto Ruger 22, I'll sometimes flush out the action with non- chlorinated brake cleaner degreaser spray --- spray oil it down --- turn the muzzle face down on a wad of newspaper; and let it all drain out. I do the same with my semi auto 22 pistols and revolvers.

You'll find that standard velocity 22 rimfire has less wind drift then high velocity rimfire at 100 yards or less.

I do like 22 subsonic hollowpoints for squirrels {no semi auto guns}...because the report spooks the squirrels less.

May I suggest avoid using Remington Thunderbolt ammo, because of reliability issues --- squib loads to say the least. The Remington Golden Bullet seems to work okay in my guns. Winchester M22 has had bad batches come out with some kind of sticky lube on the rounds, that have stuck spent bullet casings in my chambers.

[dahermit]

You'll find that standard velocity 22 rimfire has less wind drift then high velocity rimfire at 100 yards or less.

Why is that, I wonder?

[Picher]

It seems that it's not necessary to clean .22lr barrels as much as we used to. I've gone perhaps 300 rounds between cleaning my benchrest bores, but I cleaned the crown more often than that. Deposits at the crown can be bad because they become less uniform with time and portions of crown accumulations can be blown away, causing instant change in POI.

Premium barrels that are very carefully made and lapped by the maker can be much more tolerant to long intervals between cleaning than cheaper barrels. Cheaper barrels may accumulate deposits that are detrimental to accuracy.

(Little of this applies to centerfire rifles shooting jacketed bullets.)

[Bart B.]

22 long rifle wind drift:

http://www.gunsmoke.com/guns/1022/22drift_cross.html

Few, if any, barrels today equal the Hart and McMillan ones made in the 1970's and 1980's.