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Old February 12, 2018, 10:54 PM   #1
Yosemite Steve
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Ruger 22 Single Six - No Rifling?

My old 22 single six has no rifling that I can see. I can't see any lead. Just a black smooth barrel. Is it possible for it to be severely fouled and I just can't see it? I looked with a magnifying glass and a light and it looks to be gone.
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Old February 13, 2018, 02:21 AM   #2
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The rifling in a 22LR is only .002"-.003" deep, so any fouling at all will obscure it. In 22LR revolvers, that fouling is usually the greasy/waxy 22 bullet lube. If you run a brush through it, then a patch, you will see rifling.
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Old February 13, 2018, 08:43 AM   #3
Yosemite Steve
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Quote:
The rifling in a 22LR is only .002"-.003" deep, so any fouling at all will obscure it. In 22LR revolvers, that fouling is usually the greasy/waxy 22 bullet lube. If you run a brush through it, then a patch, you will see rifling.
I brushed and patched until the cows came home.
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Old February 13, 2018, 10:31 AM   #4
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Steve, I can tell you for a fact that your gun has rifling in it. You simply can't wear the rifling out of a .22lr handgun.....no matter how much you shoot it. Run a tornado brush through it and keep scrubbing. If you still can't see rifling, have someone else look....you might be going blind. I've had .22lr handguns that I've shot literally a hundred thousand rounds through, and the rifling was still sharp and clear. I think the catch phrase here is "that I can see". It's there. Put a bore light in the cylinder end of the barrel and look again. It might simply be a lighting problem where you're looking.
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Old February 13, 2018, 10:37 AM   #5
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Ok. Thanks.
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Old February 13, 2018, 11:16 AM   #6
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Steve, if you don't have a bore light, put a piece of white paper in where the cylinder goes and shine a flash light on that while looking in the exit end of the barrel. The paper will reflect light up into the barrel. It's a "poor man's borescope". Works on rifles too.
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Old February 13, 2018, 11:28 AM   #7
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I have looked in the barrel with lights and done the paper trick. The rifling is barely a trace. I guess I need a better way to clean it out.
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Old February 13, 2018, 11:58 AM   #8
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Here: https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleani...-prod9791.aspx

I don't recommend these for extended use. They're pretty harsh for regular use, but they do a great job for a really neglected bore that needs a good cleaning. Sounds like you have that kind of job at hand. Combine the brush with some Shooters Choice bore cleaner and that bore will shine inside. You can use the Shooters Choice all the time.....great stuff.
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Old February 13, 2018, 06:40 PM   #9
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22 lr barrel wear

My Ruger MK1 , bought new, had almost no rifling left when i sold it. Many , many rounds fired. Wish i had kept a record.

Had a used Mossberg 22 lr that was in the Lend Lease Act program as a training rifle. Very hard to see the rifling.

Over cleaning will increase wear, if not done correctly.

True leading will produce very poor accuracy.
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Old February 13, 2018, 07:10 PM   #10
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The best lead remover that I have used consists of Chore Boy copper scrubber wrapped around a bore mop.

https://www.walmart.com/search/?quer...ad=chore%20boy

Just be certain that the pads are all copper and not copper coated steel as a lot of suppliers sell.

Test it with a magnet.

Tornado brushes are nothing but a bore eater.
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Old February 13, 2018, 09:31 PM   #11
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I can see it now.

Long ways to go.
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Old February 14, 2018, 10:26 AM   #12
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Ok. It's clean now. That took a lot of work. I can't wait to go shoot!
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Old February 14, 2018, 10:38 AM   #13
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I had to take 0000 steel wool wrapped around a worn out brass brush to clean a really leaded barrel. It is amazing how much crud and lead can accumulate in a bore.
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Old February 15, 2018, 12:59 AM   #14
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Use copper chore boy, not steel wool.
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Old February 15, 2018, 02:16 PM   #15
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Having used it for 45 years or so, I can tell you that an occasional cleaning with very fine (0000) steel wool will not hurt a gun's bore. It's certainly less abrasive than JB Bore paste.
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Old February 19, 2018, 03:00 PM   #16
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hmm. nobody else uses big 45 frontier? just clip off a small amount and wind it around a brush..
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Old February 20, 2018, 02:31 PM   #17
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"...brushed and patched until the cows came home..." Quit doing that and plug the barrel with something(a jacketed .223 bullet tapped lightly into the muzzle, will work), fill it with solvent and leave it for a half hour or so. Then, without dumping the dirty solvent down a drain, clean it normally. Repeat as required.
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Old February 20, 2018, 03:17 PM   #18
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T. O'Heir, I sort of did that. I rolled a strip of paper towel at stuffed it in to fill the barrel and then saturated it with solvent. It took about 5 soakings and cleanings to finally get clean patches after brushing. It will never get that bad again. Still have not shot it yet. Need to buy some magnum ammo for it.
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Old February 20, 2018, 05:27 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yosemite Steve View Post
Ok. It's clean now. That took a lot of work. I can't wait to go shoot!
And how many times have guy's said " you don't need to clean 22's " that's just horse puckey .
Steve's experience is why you should clean your guns after every outing...they get extremely hard to clean after such a build up. I like to not let the build up get started.

The Foaming bore solvents also do a good job of filling and cleaning the bore
Gary
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