How long can your .22lr semi go between cleanings?

T

Tropical Z

New member
I have a FEG SMC-22(looks like a PA-63) that has about 450 rounds through it.The first 150 rounds were problematic as the gun didn't seem to like the ammo i was using(Federal Brick)and would frequently have ejection problems.This smoothed out with Remington golden bullets and the next 150 rounds were uneventful.My last trip to the range was perfect until about 150 rounds when i noticed problems going fully into battery.This was apparently caused by the guns action becoming pretty grimy.I think that any .22lr should be able to get through a full brick and still go fully into battery-don't you?If your'e a SMC-22 owner,have you noticed the same problem.The gun is very well built and is pretty tightly put together-maybe this is part of the problem.It was cleaned after each range trip.Any ideas?
 
Remington .22 ammo uses some gawd awful sticky waxy lube. It doesn't seem to bother my Rugers to shoot the stuff, but sometimes it will stop my Buckmark plus or my S&* model 22s w/the 7 1/2" barrel on it.

Nolo problemo.
Just swab out the chamber with a q-tip dipped in Hoppes #9 and keep shooting. Look on the bright side. Difficult extraction in a .22 usually means a tight chamber. A tight chamber means above average accuracy. In a rimfire, the action of the firing pin striking the rim causes the case to cant in the chamber. The tighter the chamber, the less the cant. the less the cant, the better the accuracy.

My guess is that your little .22 is a real tackdriver, that shoots "better than it has a right to".

If it really bugs you a lot, you can always polish the chamber by using Fitz or toothpaste to smooth things out. Just try not to overdo it.
 
Tropical Z,

.22's are dirty little critters.
Are you putting a lot of oil in your action? If so, try leaving it dry or try using a dry lube.
Oil attracts and holds the powder residue and will gum it up. That's when your action starts to drag.

The Federal .22's aren't as hot as the Remingtons and won't function all semi autos. Some of my guns work well with them, some don't work at all.
Never had a functioning problem using Remington .22 ammo, even when shooting the Thunderbolts.

Might even be a good idea to throw a can of gun scrubber and a toothbrush into your shooting bag.

My two cents. . . . .
 
Never had a functioning problem using Remington .22 ammo, even when shooting the Thunderbolts.
Click to expand...

Remington .22 ammo -- the cheap, green box of 50 -- is the only ammo that has malfunctioned in my Ruger. I had so many duds (which are a pain to get out of a rimfire pistol safely, I might add) that I threw away the box once when it was still half full. After two bad boxes, I'm done with that stuff.

Ammoman.com has bricks of Federal Gold something-or-other that I use all the time now.

BTW, how DO you get a crimped-rim, dud-but-who-knows cartridge out of your pistol?
 
I find that my .22s start to have problems between 400-500 rounds. They still function, but I get an occasional feeding or ejection problem. In fact I have found that pretty much every gun I have including revolvers will start to have problems if I go 500 rounds without cleaning. As was suggested, running a bore snake through the barrel will get the thing running again. .22 rifle require very little upkeep. That boresnake should keep your gun going for a lifetime.
I personally don't try to push it and after every 500 rounds, I strip the gun down and clean it throughly, although as a kid I shot a Nylon 66 for probably 10 years without really cleaning it. Once in awhile I ran a cleaning rod and patch through the bore but never stripped it. I tore it down about a year ago and scraped crap out of the action with a screwdriver. But, it seemed to still be working fine.
It is commonly believed that .22s are very ammo sensitive. And this seems to be the case for me. I buy the bulk packed .22s from Wal Mart. Here they have two brands, Federal and Remington. I have always like Remingtons, but several .22s I own won't reliably feed them. Other .22s I have love them. If your problems continue, try different ammo. Of course also try cleaning.
 
50 rds at most for my Ruger Mk 2! I think its the ammo, from Wally World..... I have FTE about every other mag with that stuff. I think its Federal ammo, and now I have a box of something different to try though. Wish me luck. BTW, I clean my gun often, so its not built up from long ago.

Oh yes, that dry lube in a spray can will prevent rust a lot better than normal gun oil. I have a blued Beretta I cary in a shoulder rig, and it would have a light rust on the bbl after a day or two. Put spray on dry lube on it a month ago, and still no rust! :eek:
 
Thanx for the great replies! I'm betting that i'm lubing the action too much.That FEG is so tightly put together that i'm betting that it picks up a little grime and starts having the problems.I'll clean it and put some dry lube in the chamber area.:)
 
I shoot CCI Mini-Mags thru my Ruger Mk-II.
I just run a bore-snake thru it and spray a little Gun-scrubber in the action, then lightly oil the bolt with Rem-oil.
Its still humming along after a thousand or so rounds.
 
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