Thunderbolts = leaded barrel.

[AntiGun]

OP here,
I did get my barrel clean but it required a hell of a lot of soaking and scrubbing.
Far too much effort to risk putting it into that shape again.

 

[Mark K]

OP here,
I did get my barrel clean but it required a hell of a lot of soaking and scrubbing.
Far too much effort to risk putting it into that shape again.

Yeah. Bit hard to tell from your original photo, but my bore seemed to be looking a lot like yours. Like I said, I couldn't even get a bore brush pushed through yesterday afternoon, or a bore snake dropped through.

We'll see what happens after 24 hours of soaking in CLP.

Hell of it is, I think I've got about 500 rounds of Thunderbolt left. I don't think I'm going to touch it after this...

 

[cestrella13]

Thunderbolt is dirty stuff; i find cleaning after each use is a best practice.

 

[Mark K]

Thunderbolt is dirty stuff; i find cleaning after each use is a best practice.

Again, that's a best practice anytime, for anybody. I always fully clean immediately after shooting. This happened after about 200 rounds (less, maybe) through a perfectly-clean 1911-22.

 

[Doctor_M]

One way sure way to keep the barrel from leading... don't shoot it... but where's the fun in that. I got a bargain on Thunderbolts years ago and have been working my way through them... usually don't shoot more than a box or two at a time, but I've never had this kind of problem. Yep they are dirty, but a little elbow grease at the end of the shooting session and good as new. I don't think I'd shoot more than a hundred rounds of them between cleanings though.

 

[AntiGun]

One way sure way to keep the barrel from leading... don't shoot it... but where's the fun in that. I got a bargain on Thunderbolts years ago and have been working my way through them... usually don't shoot more than a box or two at a time, but I've never had this kind of problem. Yep they are dirty, but a little elbow grease at the end of the shooting session and good as new. I don't think I'd shoot more than a hundred rounds of them between cleanings though.

only 100 at a time?
10 mags of 22lr is just the warm up.

 

[Doctor_M]

I've been trying to shoot more frequently, so I do less shots per session now. 22's I can do in my back yard, so have been trying to get out on a fairly regular schedule. Plus, I'm a lightweight :-)

 

[Pinecone]

More damage occurs from over cleaning than for dirty firearms.

No way a lead bullet can gouge a steel barrel. If you can't get a cleaning rod through, it is just a lot of leading.

And old formula for removing leading is vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, mixed 50/50. The problem with this method is you end up with a very toxic solution of soluble lead acetate. But ti sure cleans out the lead.

 

[cestrella13]

Thunderbolt is dirty stuff; i find cleaning after each use is a best practice.

Sorry buddy, just a general comment

 

[cestrella13]

Again, that's a best practice anytime, for anybody. I always fully clean immediately after shooting. This happened after about 200 rounds (less, maybe) through a perfectly-clean 1911-22.

Sorry buddy, just a general comment

 

[cestrella13]

More damage occurs from over cleaning than for dirty firearms.

No way a lead bullet can gouge a steel barrel. If you can't get a cleaning rod through, it is just a lot of leading.

And old formula for removing leading is vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, mixed 50/50. The problem with this method is you end up with a very toxic solution of soluble lead acetate. But ti sure cleans out the lead.

I agree with the whole over-cleaning idea; I just know for certain ammo, like Thunderbolt, it's best to clean lol..

 

[Travis Bickle]

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=126808

I had the same problem. Thunderbolts were the cause. Just like OP I fixed it through soaking then scrubbing it out with a wire brush. I can't believe Remington is selling this stuff.

 

[alucard0822]

Thunderbolts have notoriously bad quality control, namely the amount and consistency of the lube, but cheap components and soft lead also make it prone to leading. A number of 22 barrels(among many other calibers) come pretty rough too, as Clandestine posted. Easiest thing to do is pull a tight fitting patch through with JB borepaste a number of times, it is a mild abrasive and can help clean up a barrel that is a little gritty, or scrub one clean without much chance of damaging it. If a barrel is really rough might still need the traditional lead slug and compound, or a replacement. If you already have leading, the Lewis lead remover is probably the best, brass screens around a rubber button that mechanically scrapes the lead out, brass being softer than steel and harder than lead it doesn't harm the barrel. Brushes and other mechanical methods including JB paste work much slower. You can use lead-out or chemical cleaners, but they take a while to dissolve the lead, and bad leading will require repeated treatments to work.

With a decent barrel, and good ammo leading isn't a problem, I don't normally mag dump 22s so I will spend the money on mini-mags or Wolf and Norma target ammo, don't really use much else. Ammo ranges from cheap 2-5 cent bulk crap like thunderbolts, to cheap, but functional crap like 5 cent Federal automatch, to really good 10 cent mini-mags, to excelent 15 cent wolff match and Norma tac-22, to expensive and not much better 30-50 cent Lapua RWS and Eley. CCI mini mags are the gold standard in high velocity 22, they function in just about everything, don't foul much, and are fairly accurate without being too pricey. I love Wolff match ammo, it's extremely accurate in most 22s, and while it has a thin oily coating, it is beyond clean, will actually sweep out minor fouling from previous ammo, it is standard 40gr@1050fps velocity, so might not have enough recoil for some picky 22s, but functions fine in everything I have tried it in. Have had about the same results with the new Norma tac-22, but it's loaded a tiny bit hotter for better cycling, excellent stuff.

 

[cestrella13]

Ditto on the Wolf Extra Match .22lr I picked up a brick a couple of months ago when Classic had them.

Definitely have an oily film, but wow did it group well; sub-MOA at 50 yards! I haven't tried the Norma stuff yet, but may now based on your feedback.

 

[Mark K]

I guess what absolutely amazes me is that lead -- one of the softest metals there is, that can easily be gouged with a fingernail -- can cause fouling serious enough that I absolutely can't get a brass bore brush through there, even after soaking the bore with bore cleaner for an hour.

Or I get the brush stuck in, about two inches down, and I can't even pull it out again without a pair of pliers. Which happened a couple of times yesterday afternoon.

After less that 200 rounds of Thunderbolt...

Which is why I was wondering if there's some kind of chemical reaction between the lead and maybe the powder residue, maybe with the heat, that hardens all the residue...

 

[alucard0822]

Ditto on the Wolf Extra Match .22lr I picked up a brick a couple of months ago when Classic had them.

Definitely have an oily film, but wow did it group well; sub-MOA at 50 yards! I haven't tried the Norma stuff yet, but may now based on your feedback.

There are slight differences in the bullet driving band shape, Norma's road sign headstamp vs crosshairs on the wolff , but every round has a consistent coat of goo on it, no weird smells, no metal fouling, and only light powder fouling and some lube residue. every bullet is well formed, all brass looks good, has a nice consistent sound, nice deep pin marks, and groups are tiny without fliers that I didn't cause. You really can't go wrong with Norma or Lapua(maker of Wolf match), basically Mercedes vs BMW, but in this case it is priced below just about every other match ammo, and just above decent target/plinking like CCI.

 

[Mark K]

Well, from the sublime back to the ridiculous.

After leaving the 1911-22 barrel soaking in CLP for about 20 hours, I came home to black swirls floating from the muzzle and chamber ends. I was finally able to get a bore brush through the entire bore, and after about 20 passes the bore was finally starting to look normal.

Gunk, grit, and sharp quarter-inch shrapnel flakes of lead all over the brush. Yuk.

The bore still has areas of what looks like tiny stippled raised dots, particularly through the middle of the barrel. So it's back in the CLP bath until tomorrow.

After less than 200 rounds. Un-frickin'-believable...

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement.

*BREAK* After letting the barrel soak in CLP for a couple more hours, and extensive scrubbing with a bore brush and sopping up the resulting grit with numerous patches, I finally got the bore clean. No more Thunderbolts for me, I think...

Thanks again.

 

[newq]

Well, from the sublime back to the ridiculous.

After leaving the 1911-22 barrel soaking in CLP for about 20 hours, I came home to black swirls floating from the muzzle and chamber ends. I was finally able to get a bore brush through the entire bore, and after about 20 passes the bore was finally starting to look normal.

Gunk, grit, and sharp quarter-inch shrapnel flakes of lead all over the brush. Yuk.

The bore still has areas of what looks like tiny stippled raised dots, particularly through the middle of the barrel. So it's back in the CLP bath until tomorrow.

After less than 200 rounds. Un-frickin'-believable...

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement.

*BREAK* After letting the barrel soak in CLP for a couple more hours, and extensive scrubbing with a bore brush and sopping up the resulting grit with numerous patches, I finally got the bore clean. No more Thunderbolts for me, I think...

Thanks again.

Glad you got her clean. A little elbow grease is better than coming out of pocket for a new barrel IMHO.

Looking to sell the thunderbolt on the cheap ? I got a old remington 22lr tube fed rifle that has a loose bore and eats damn near anything. Thunderbolts were its normal diet until the ammo shortage.

 

[rico903]

Probably the worst .22 bullets out there.

 

[aquashooter]

More damage occurs from over cleaning than for dirty firearms.

No way a lead bullet can gouge a steel barrel. If you can't get a cleaning rod through, it is just a lot of leading.

And old formula for removing leading is vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, mixed 50/50. The problem with this method is you end up with a very toxic solution of soluble lead acetate. But ti sure cleans out the lead.

Silencerco suggests that a 50/50 solution of peroxide and vinegar is the best way to clean their Sparrow.