9mm dirty ammo.....wonder why

M

mravery

New member
Hello all,

So, backstory, I have a Walther PPQ Q5 and have put about 300 rounds through it over the past month, 115gr, misc makers. I clean it after each trip and usually shoot 150 rds each trip. The gun has barely been dirty or needed any cleaning. Last week bought a case of American Eagle 115gr and shot 200 rds, still barely dirty at all.

So, I read that the 124gr might be more accurate so I bought a couple of boxes of American Eagle 124gr and took,it to the range today. I went to clean it tonight and it was extremely dirty, only after 50 rds of 124 gr.

So, question is, has anyone else noticed a difference in residue from different grains but SAME MAKER?
 
Don't really do a post mortem on how dirty my guns are after a range session, so I wouldn't know.
But, the best possibility I think of is that a different powder is used for each bullet weight. Some powders perform better than others with certain weight of bullets. They might just be using a dirtier powder in the 124 grain loads.
 
American Eagle has always been one of the cleaner brands for me including the 124gr loads. They may have changed their powders recently though.
 
I noticed their 10mm was EXTREMELY dirty back when i had a glock 20, about 6 years ago. I tried to avoid it because of this. A very high amount of carbon deposit, everywhere. I have never experienced this much gunk with any other brand or otherwise of ammo, even magtech lead swc .45acp
 
It's generally average in terms of cleanliness in my experience. Not overly good, not overly bad.

I will say I've had less ideal lots from most makers at one point or another. I usually give everyone a second chance and I haven't run into two bad lots in a row yet.
 
Large ammo makers use powders that will vary in energy, from lot to lot, by upwards of 5, 10, 15% or more. Each new lot of powder requires the ammo manufacturer to do test loads in a proof barrel to get the charge weight right. Go find a box of AE that has been on the back shelf of a LGS for a year or two, then go to Walmart and buy the same ammo that came off the truck this morning. Pull the bullets from both and it's possible that one box will use a spherical powder while the other box uses flake powder.

The moral of the story is... there will be differences between lots of otherwise like ammo. They will be loaded mostly to similar pressure and velocity, but the powder used may have very different burn rates that would lead to one lot being "dirtier" than another.
 
There are others that no more about ammo manufacturing and reloading than me, but I can't think of a reason that a change in bullet weight by itself would make a big difference in how clean it burns. The burn efficiency could change a little with the pressure change of a different bullet, but I have a hard time imagining it would be as dramatic as your report. It is far more likely that you saw a change in powder as described by 5whiskey. Get UncleNik in on the conversation if you want to be absolutely certain - he is a walking encyclopedia on the subject.
 
The 124gr projectile is changing back pressure and unlock time, it's forcing more of what is normally exhausted with the 115gr projectile back into the action. Like when you use a can.
 
I agree on the powder and different batches. All I use now are my reloads ad my cast. Different powders burn differemtlly and even the same powder but of a different lot will be different in regards to burning clean or dirty. Before I started reloading, I used a lot of AE in my 9mm and to be honest, I didn't really pay attention to how one batch worked from the next - I just cleaned my inn each time I got back home so it was reedit go the next time.An interesting observation that you made thouhj. :)
 
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