Copper plated or not

[jackandblood]

IDK but all the super match stuff (costs 30 cents and up per round) seem to be wax covered lead. maybe the even tiny tolerance change in copper wash is the reason? I wouldn't hesitate to shoot your lead rounds. Really, as I typically do a light cleaning after every range session, including a check of barrel condition. I dont recall any difference in fouling from the bulk copper washed winchesters and the bulk blazers.

[9mmlaw]

Is that centerfire, rimfire or both? Just curious.

Both.

[Tythagoras]

Copper does not deposit in .22 barrels. Not enough heat. Try to get a blue patch cleaning your .22. Just the same, the only plated rounds I use are MiniMags and Stingers.

Cleaning copper in rimfire barrels was my first use of Butch's Bore Shine. Came out very blue. Heat has nothing to do with it. I can rub a penny on steel and get copper rubbing off. After 2000 rounds of copper plated projectiles through my rimfire barrels, they don't shoot as well. Doesn't happen with wax lubed bullets.

Note that it doesn't apply to copper (or brass) plated bullets that are also lubed. I forgot to mention that in the first post, kind of an important detail, sorry. CCI Minimags and Stingers are (or at least used to be) lubed over the plating, and don't generally leave any extra fouling. Compare with Rem Golden Bullets for contrast.

Go here:

www.rimfirecentral.com

I second the recommendation, been a member there for years.

[mif_slim]

It makes sense for HV rounds. Who wants to get lead fouling, right?

Well I find that my cast lead can take 1400~fps without gas check, so that means HV (1200fps) lead bullets should not create leading yet.

[wu_dot_com]

Cleaning copper in rimfire barrels was my first use of Butch's Bore Shine. Came out very blue. Heat has nothing to do with it. I can rub a penny on steel and get copper rubbing off. After 2000 rounds of copper plated projectiles through my rimfire barrels, they don't shoot as well. Doesn't happen with wax lubed bullets.

Note that it doesn't apply to copper (or brass) plated bullets that are also lubed. I forgot to mention that in the first post, kind of an important detail, sorry. CCI Minimags and Stingers are (or at least used to be) lubed over the plating, and don't generally leave any extra fouling. Compare with Rem Golden Bullets for contrast.



I second the recommendation, been a member there for years.

the general recommendation for copper fouling for .22 is to stop cleaning it. from a clean bore it tend to progress from clean to dirty to clean again. i guess what happened is that eventually you buildup a thin layer of evenly distributed copper and it acts as a smooth lubricating surface.

the same cannot be said for lead or wax buildup.

personally i also dont know if leaving the copper buildup will cause corrosion either.

[Tythagoras]

the general recommendation for copper fouling for .22 is to stop cleaning it. from a clean bore it tend to progress from clean to dirty to clean again. i guess what happened is that eventually you buildup a thin layer of evenly distributed copper and it acts as a smooth lubricating surface.

the same cannot be said for lead or wax buildup.

personally i also dont know if leaving the copper buildup will cause corrosion either.

There's a great many opinions on cleaning rimfire bores. I suspect each will reflect the ammunition and intended use of the respective firearms. Many benchrest shooters will clean after every match, or even after every relay. But many of those same benchresters will say that they don't get the best groups with the match ammunition until they shoot a few, but they get sighters. Rimfire hunters don't get sighters, so they may prefer to clean before a range trip, to keep the bore seasoned for that first, critical shot.

Still others may recommend never cleaning. I fall in between, I don't notice a falloff in precision until I've run about 6000 wax lubed bullets through the bore, on any of my rifles. I clean every 1-2 thousand cartridges, unless I switch ammunition frequently, then I clean after the range trip and season the barrel again the next outing.

I don't think copper will usually attract any more corrosion than wax will. Any moisture would have to get through the copper before attacking the steel of the barrel, assuming it was evenly distributed. (might be a bad assumption) My girlfriend's rifle was stored improperly and was badly rusted when it was given to her, but the bore wasn't cleaned after the last outing and was rust-free after cleaning, and it shoots great, despite it's shabby appearance. (my cold bluing skills leave much to be desired )

I believe we may have drifted a bit from the intent of this thread. If anyone wants to debate cleaning, it might be proper to start a new one.

[asme]

I use copper plated in semi-autos. I find that they feed better imo.