Super Companion leading

[Busyhands94]

I've been having some trouble with my NAA Super Companion, I've been getting the bore leaded by shooting those 30 grain bullets too fast. Being designed and deemed safe for smokeless powder use I found that slightly over 1.5 grains is a great load for it. I recon I'm getting about 1200 FPS, the power is most comparable to Winchester Super X ammo fired out of my Remington 512 rifle.

So my load has been slightly over 1.5 grains of smokeless with some paper to push it against the nipple, and the 30 grain bullets that come with the gun. That is a fantastic load because it really lets you know you've got a Magnum, but I'm getting the bore leaded up. I think the problem is that when the bullet is seated the lube is stripped off the sides of it. Would it help if I were to put a little bit of lube on the top of the bullets to coat the bore? I know I could just stick with Triple Seven, I know I could just use Swiss. But I like the clean burning power that this load has to offer.

~Levi

 

[arcticap]

Since the cylinder is being loaded off the frame anyway, perhaps a tight solvent patch can be run down the bore between loadings to remove the leading before it accumulates much.
I clean my .22 bores with a section of thin wooden dowel from the hardware store and home made patches which can be cut to fit the bore as tight as desired.
Another method for cleaning smaller .177 air guns bores is to fashion a large loop out of heavy ~40 lb. fishing line by permanently bending it in half by using some heat. Then the 2 loose ends can be attached to a small wooden rod/handle to make pulling tight patches through the bore easier. The empty loop is passed through the bore, then an oversized solvent patch is placed inside the loop which can then be pulled through the bore by pulling the handle.

While the dowel method pushes the patch through from the muzzle, the fishing line method pulls the patch in the opposite direction beginning at the forcing cone.
I mention both of these methods because they're much less abrasive to the bore and crown than constantly brushing out the barrel with a wire brush attached to a metal rod.
The NAA lead bullets may be too soft for the velocity or the rifling may be sharp.
.22 magnum bullets are usually always made with a full metal jacket which prevents leading. But some batches of .22LR bullets can cause leading too when the lead is too soft. In the past, some batches of Remington Thunderbolt .22's were notorious for causing severe leading problems.
I don't know if factory .22 bullets are any harder than the ones that NAA sells.
But swabbing between loading with a solvent like Hoppe's Number 9 or some inexpensive WWII military bore solvent may help to keep the leading down without much of an inconvenience to your regular loading regimen.

 

[MCgunner]

I load 2.0 grains Bullseye and only get around 1150 fps. I always scrub the bore with a bore brush and wrap a few slivers of chore boy (brass) around the brush which takes the lead out (if there is any) post haste.

I fight leading on my 9x19 more'n my SC, but the chore boy works.

 

[Busyhands94]

Well then I guess I'll make a habit of swabbing everytime I reload. Choreboy is convenient, we've got some under the sink! I have been thinking, what if I stripped the lube from those 30 grain bullets then maybe rigged up a plating tank then plated them in copper? I tried the plated .22 rimfire bullets, they are a tad hard to get to work due to then being a hair too loose. I might try knurling those with a file, that might work better! It seems like at higher velocities they don't engage the rifling well enough, they just leave little boat-shaped holes on the combat silhouette. They don't lead though so I think the plating is what helps them stay clean.

~Levi

 

[MCgunner]

Well, if you plated 'em, they'd still need to shave off that plating when loaded, right? I've shot plenty of Remington thunderbolt that was not plated, raw lead, with no problems in .22 rifles. Might be a harder alloy than the NAA bullets, though.

 

[MCgunner]

Then again, it's the back of the bullet where the plating counts. Same principle as gas checks.

 

[Busyhands94]

Hmm, I could figure out how to make gas checks for my bullets! I took apart some used shotgun primers, they had a little brass cup that was close to .22 caliber. I found I could make percussion caps with them, although they were a tad loose. Now that I think of it I could probably stick one of those in each of the chambers then load my bullets!

 

[arcticap]

Hornady makes .22 caliber gas checks.
They can bought by the 1000 for ~2-3 cents each.
Someone mentioned using them in their .44 chambers for chain fire protection.

Shopping results for Hornady .22 gas checks:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=2qgUT9C_HMTf0QHg0c2kAw&ved=0CFYQ8wIwAg

 

[Busyhands94]

cool! If these brass ones work well enough I might have to get more!

 

[Busyhands94]

Thanks for the help guys! I can't wait to see how my homemade gas checks work. I think I need to chronograph these bullets, I'm dying to know how fast they are. Heck it wouldn't surprise me if they were 1200 or faster. I've been using the powder from .22s, it seems to be working great in this little gun. It's kinda interesting once you hit a certain velocity the bullets start doing interesting stuff. On a full chamber of Triple Seven my gun shot high, but with my load of smokeless powder they shoot dead on and are way faster.

It occurred to me the other day, I'm really glad I live in a country where I can be a minor and worry about leading my handgun. (as strange as that sounds) I figure there are a lot of other places where I'd still be worrying about if I'd ever own a gun. I mean where else in the world can you order a little snubby like this, better ballistics than the cartridge version, no paper, for only $200 bucks. America is the coolest! Hehehe!

~Levi

 

[MCgunner]

The shape of the bullet would lend itself to a gas check, maybe. It's not tapered, but it is reduced diameter behind that band around the middle of the bullet. Sounds like a project to me.

 

[MCgunner]

I push a .357" bullet to 1900 fps in my Rossi 92 carbine, a cast lead bullet with gas check, no leading. Gas checks do work.

 

[Busyhands94]

Well I loaded my gun up with some gas checks and .22 bullets, I'll test it out tomorrow and see how it does. I just finished building a bullet trap that I can recover my rounds from and see how they did. Can't wait to see if the gas checks help!

I also noticed, when I strained the kitty litter in my bullet trap and recovered the 30 grain bullets a few days ago the base seemed like it had flared. You know the little dimple in the back of the bullet I'm talking about, well it seems like it couldn't take the pressure that well. I really think a gas check should help with that. I also tried cutting an X on the nose of the round, it expanded into a neat little lead mushroom! I'd never guessed this kind of lovely performance would be feasible with such a tiny handgun!

~Levi

 

[Busyhands94]

Well I tested them out today, the bullets didn't lead the bore with these gas checks I used. I was shooting some pretty hot loads, so they definitely weren't slow and would have leaded the bore if I didn't have those in place. I might just order some of those .22 gas checks, I like shooting hot loads with this thing so I figure what the heck. I'm loving this little pistol!

Now I'm starting to wonder if I could possibly make jacketed bullets with .22 short casings, that might be another option!

~Levi

 

[MCgunner]

A jacket would be tough to load, I'd think. The gas checks normally must be run though a sizer to crimp 'em on the bullet, but the loading process on the SC should do this.

 

[Busyhands94]

I figure you are right on the jackets. The last thing I need is for something to frustrate me at the range. I did figure something out, I made up a batch of smokeless lube about an hour ago to try. I used paraffin and Crisco to make a nice thick lube. I put some knurled lead bullets in with some smokeless powder, put a little bit of the grease over the chambers, then fired it into my bullet trap. Remarkably, there wasn't ANY leading. In fact it seems like it cleaned the little bits of lead out that I was unable to get that were back near the forcing cone!

The only downside is it's a tad on the smokey side, I don't care for that. But as long as I've got sledgehammer force and a cool muzzle flash I can tolerate a little smoke. What really surprises me is how easy a fix that was. All I had to do was smear some stuff on the bullets! :banghead: