I just took a Walther P22 I got to the range this past weekend and it worked great for about 100 - 150 rounds, however after that for the next 100 rounds the accuracy seemed to get worse and worse. I finally stopped shooting and went home and when I went to clean the gun I found the barrel was almost lined with lead. I tried to push a .22 cal brush through and could not because so much lead had built up inside the barrel. I used a foaming bore cleaner to clean the barrel and get the lead loosened and out, but it took almost an hour. I was shooting 22 Remington Thunderbolt brand rounds. My question is has anyone had this issue? I have had some fouling in guns before but never anything like this. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this?
P22 Fouling issue
- Thread starter mookiie
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deputy tom
Member
I have had similar experience with leading while using Thunderbolt ammo.tom.
wow6599
Member
Not a big fan of Remington ammo, especially their cheap .22lr stuff and UMC "green" boxes.
I do like Golden Sabers though.........
I like the Federal bulk .22 boxes from WM......it's cleaner and goes bang more often than the Remington junk. The Winchester bulk boxes aren't bad either.
I do like Golden Sabers though.........
I like the Federal bulk .22 boxes from WM......it's cleaner and goes bang more often than the Remington junk. The Winchester bulk boxes aren't bad either.
bigfatdave
Member
Does it do this with all ammo, or just that particular brand?
bigfatdave - I just got it and that is what I always shoot through my Ruger 10/22 and have never had any problems. I will try some CCI stinger I have heard that works well with the P22 and let you know.
deputy tom - Thanks I am hoping it is the ammo. I have shot alot of that thunderbolt through my 10/22 and never had an issue maybe it is that particular 500 pack that has some issue I may try some in the 10/22 and see if I have similar results.
wow6599 - thanks for the imput I may give some federal a try.
deputy tom - Thanks I am hoping it is the ammo. I have shot alot of that thunderbolt through my 10/22 and never had an issue maybe it is that particular 500 pack that has some issue I may try some in the 10/22 and see if I have similar results.
wow6599 - thanks for the imput I may give some federal a try.
bigfatdave
Member
Stingers are overpowered for casual shooting. The extra case length can give some guns problems. My P22 runs fine with Stingers, but I wouldn't feed it an exclusive diet of them. Pick up a box and get a couple boxes of mini-mags for general use. Once your gun is well broken in try out the bulk stuff again, start with Fed550 available cheap from WalMart, it isn't perfect but it seems to be the best bulk for the money.
If something works in a rifle, that doesn't mean it will work as well in a pistol. My pistols (including my P22) generally dislike anything that says "remington" and "rimfire" on the box. I have good luck with CCI (mini-mags are a winner, I always keep a bunch on hand) and Federal, including the Fed bulk 550 boxes you can probably find at your local WalMart. Winchester has been hit or miss, the bulk 555 boxes are OK as far as cheap bulk stuff goes, I've encountered some stuff that was unhappy in pistols but OK in rifles, and other stuff I had to feed to guns that weren't semiauto because it was so dirty and weak.
And I often get more lead slivers out of the barrel with my P22 than with other guns, but not enough to affect what accuracy the little thing has in the first place. Are you 100% sure you weren't getting tired or that your hand had started rejecting the tiny grip of the P22? That gun is small enough that it will amplify any error on your part, in grip/trigger control/sight alignment/etc.
If something works in a rifle, that doesn't mean it will work as well in a pistol. My pistols (including my P22) generally dislike anything that says "remington" and "rimfire" on the box. I have good luck with CCI (mini-mags are a winner, I always keep a bunch on hand) and Federal, including the Fed bulk 550 boxes you can probably find at your local WalMart. Winchester has been hit or miss, the bulk 555 boxes are OK as far as cheap bulk stuff goes, I've encountered some stuff that was unhappy in pistols but OK in rifles, and other stuff I had to feed to guns that weren't semiauto because it was so dirty and weak.
And I often get more lead slivers out of the barrel with my P22 than with other guns, but not enough to affect what accuracy the little thing has in the first place. Are you 100% sure you weren't getting tired or that your hand had started rejecting the tiny grip of the P22? That gun is small enough that it will amplify any error on your part, in grip/trigger control/sight alignment/etc.
evan price
Member
I fired literally thousands of rounds of Federal 550-pack 36 grain copper plated HP's through my P22 with no cleaning. After a few months the mag was so fouled it started jamming and I had to swap the mags.
IMHO Thunderbolts are probably about the WORST rimfire ammo out there second only to Golden Bullet. (Gee, both Remington products...). Filthy, low accuracy, lots of fail to fire.
IMHO Thunderbolts are probably about the WORST rimfire ammo out there second only to Golden Bullet. (Gee, both Remington products...). Filthy, low accuracy, lots of fail to fire.
Wow. Reading this, I think I should check my MkIII barrel. I shot a box of bulk Golden Bullets the other day.
I had about 1 dud every other mag. Although I went through one stretch of 50+ shots without a problem. That felt like a minor miracle. I'd say I had around 30 duds in the box, so my first box of Golden Bullets will be my last.
I had about 1 dud every other mag. Although I went through one stretch of 50+ shots without a problem. That felt like a minor miracle. I'd say I had around 30 duds in the box, so my first box of Golden Bullets will be my last.
bigfatdave
Member
I just got into those magazines for the first time (and probably 7-10 thousand rounds down the pipe split between two magazines)
Filthy! Gummy from the waxy rimfire lube, sooty from the blowback and proximity to the chamber, little copper/lead/brass shavings.
No wonder I was getting failures to pick up a round, it takes longer for the rounds to grind their way up the magazine chute if it is full of abrasive grit.
I know I've never been in there, because I didn't remember seeing the little bitty mag spring or the cheap molded mag follower before, and they're fairly distinctive.
mookiie, this is a bit off-topic for your thread, but it couldn't hurt to get into the mags next time you're cleaning, I moved mine up after seeing the filth in them, every 1000 rounds or so wouldn't be too far out there for a quick wipe-out.
bannockburn
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mookiie
I had a Walther P22 and found that after shooting even just 50 rounds, that the gun would start to have problems from fouling. I won't buy Remington .22's just because it's some of the worst rimfire ammo I have ever tried to use. Way too many misfires, failure to feed, and failure to eject. Even with Federal and Winchester bulk packs, fouling can still be an issue. What I would do with the gun is spray it down with some sort of solvent (like WD40), every 50 to 100 rounds. Usually this was enough to get the gun up and running again.
I had a Walther P22 and found that after shooting even just 50 rounds, that the gun would start to have problems from fouling. I won't buy Remington .22's just because it's some of the worst rimfire ammo I have ever tried to use. Way too many misfires, failure to feed, and failure to eject. Even with Federal and Winchester bulk packs, fouling can still be an issue. What I would do with the gun is spray it down with some sort of solvent (like WD40), every 50 to 100 rounds. Usually this was enough to get the gun up and running again.
Just to give everyone an update I went to the range today with some CCI stingers, Mini Mags, and some Federal champion bulk ammo. And I am happy to report that all functioned flawlessly with no fouling problems as I experienced with the Remington thunderbolt...whew..It is nice to know it was not an issue with my gun but with them ammo I feed it. Thanks everyone for there suggestions/comments! I shoot over 500 rounds mixed between the three and did not see a problem with any of those brands, where the Remington had awful fouling after about 100 rounds. So thanks again everyone!
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