Washing .22 rounds??? anyone?

Greenman

Greenman

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Hey guys I just had an old fella donate several hundred if not well over 1000 rounds of .22 to me the only problem being that It is "gummy " and I would like to wash them , any ideas on how to ?

Thanks guys
 
The lubrication is probably wax. You should not jostle the cartridges because the bullets may be dislodged. I'd suggest rubbing the wax off by rolling the rounds between rough towels.
 
Dump them in a tub of varsol for a minute or two, remove, dry, enjoy.... The gummy stuff is probably nothing to worry about to begin with mind you ...
 
Occasionally a round or two finds it's way into my washing machine with my laundry.
I never try to shoot them afterwards, I am concerned I might get a hang fire that goes off just as I am trying to eject it. Could blow the extractor off my rifle or worse.
Wipe with a rag lightly dampened in solvent or use them as they are or chuck them. I don't recommend you immerse them in anything.
 
I also would not recomend immersing the ammo in anything. give 'em a quick wipe if you want.

Old ammo used to be greased. Its a pain to clean but I bet that you will find that it will shoot well.

If you dont like the idea of leaning your .22 that much, invest in some newer ammo.

Jut my $0.02
 
when i used to have my 10/22 i used lapua ammo, and its was all lubed in the tin. when you handle the ammo does it make your fingers sticky or greasy?
 
more gummy than sticky , I shoot them out of a couple of old cooeys and they foul up the action ( more on the semi than the bolt) , more than the new stuff. If I wasn't so cheap then I would just go buy more but I just can't get around the idea of tossing away free ammo . ;)
 
I would lightly damp a couple of rags with varsol and rub the rounds between them. It wouldn't get all the crap off but they would be a lot cleaner. I don't like the idea of immersing them in a liquid either.
 
I would just shoot them. They can't really hurt your gun, and it is easier to clean your gun three or four times than 1000 .22 shells.
If they are really that bad, they are not worth the trouble, and you should chuck'em...
 
I accidently washed a few rounds in the machine as they were in a pants pocket. I decided it would be worth a try to see if they'd fire. The first popped off just fine. The second made no noise so i cycled another round. Before i fired i noticed the round on the floor had no lead in it so i tipped the rifle foreward and the bullet fell out the end. I think the primer must have pushed the bullet out of the casing and didn't ignite the wet powder.
Kinda scared me so i tossed em all.
It's not worth the trouble washing .22 ammo when it's so cheap to buy new and safer ammo.
Cheers.
Mike
 
I wouldn't wash them. I'd just shoot them.

A lot of the higher end rimfire .22 ammo has a wax on it. Lapua, Elley and CCI come to mind. They feel waxy or gummy due to this wax. However they shoot night and day compaired to the $12 a brick stuff.

Just take a bore snake with you to the range. If it's a problem I'd stop using them, however I suspect it won't hurt at all.

Have fun.
 
Roll them around in a clean town to get the excess lube off or a quick twist of the bullet in a rag. That lower end Lapua has a particularly greasy lube. You certainly don't want to remove all the lube, but you don't want to be putting bullets down your bore that have picked up grit.
 
The wax is a lubricant, as Epoxy7 said, the higher end match grade 22 ammo is waxed.

22 match shooters want the wax in the bore and will only dry patch the barrel once accuracy starts to degrade a bit. Conventional thought is never to use a bore solvent or brass brush when cleaning as is will wash out that gummy wax.

I would shoot it as is.
 
I think I might dampen up a old towel of methyl hydrate and roll a test batch like 50 in it an see what happens . If it degrades or makes the lead fall out Ill let you guys know.


Thanks for all the advice
 
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