Why is 22LR so dirty?

[targettarget]

Gentlemen,

I just bought my first .22LR handgun, actually, it's my first .22 period and I've been to the range twice in the last week to test it.

The first time I went, the gun was jamming so badly that there wasn't anytime for a cloud to accumulate in front of me. However, the second time I went, I brought the correct ammo and had minimal reliability issues and was able to create quite the little cloud of pollution in front of me while rapid firing.

My question is why is .22 so dirty and what makes it this way? Is it the powder they use or a combination of different things? I think that I took at least a couple of months off of everybody's life at the indoor range I was shooting at.

 

[wobbles99]

What brand were you using? I've found that remington can be pretty dirty and cci can be pretty clean.

Primers, powder, and bullet lube can all affect smoke and build up in a gun

 

[Dr.Lector]

The guns with straight blow-back are, by definition, the dirtiest,
when compared to delayed blow-back, gas-op'ed and the rest.

 

[ESQ]

CCI runs cleanest in my pistol.

 

[hoochie]

My question is why is .22 so dirty and what makes it this way? I think that I took at least a couple of months off of everybody's life at the indoor range I was shooting at.

incomplete burning of powder + lead hmmmm....
in a center fire there is a primer which does a much better job of igniting the powder... in a rimfire, there is a coating to the inside of the shell at the head that acts as the ignition sourse for the powder charge.
When the rim is hit, the initial "spark" that ignits the main charge isnt very hot, thus poor ignition, and incomplete burning of the main powder charge.
this creates a "diry round".

 

[t-star]

Just You Wait Till Somebody Shows Up With A Black Powder Revolver- i create whole weather fronts with mine, not just clouds of smoke

 

[targettarget]

I was using absolutly everything I could get me lead covered hands on which includes...

CCI, Remington, Federal, American Eagle (Federal) and Winchester. I bought the gamut before I went out shooting.

I found the CCI to be the cleanest, but not by much.

Thanks, Hoochie for the explanation.

 

[sunray]

"...create whole weather fronts..." Precisely why few indoor clubs allow BP.
"... The first time I went, the gun was jamming..." That's the firearm not liking the ammo. This is why you have to try as many brands as you can to find the ammo your firearm will both shoot well and cycle the action.

 

[thebaron]

I find AE and Federal 525pak to be relatively clean in my MKII. Remington TB, GB and WIN SX are extremely dirty. I've never shot any CCI, I find it too expensive.

 

[Armament]

.22 handguns by nature are smaller,have smaller components and less spring tension. It doesn't take much to gum them up combined with the inherent properties of .22 summed up by hoochie.

 

[mittycat99]

Worste for my is the .22 magnum in my ruger single six. Federal .22 LR 525 pack works best and is cheapest for me. Thanks for the explanation Hoochie.

 

[art.h]

pay the extra fot 22 pistol ammo, different rate of burn, much faster, better primer quality control, less lube=more suitable results---disadvantages more expansive, harder to find, less choice of manufactures elly best bet but some german russian brands come to mind. remember most LR's are designed for max velocity out of much longer barrells