Are 22s dirty?

[Jim1911]

As far as cleaning goes, .22's are dirty. Clean your pistol often and it will give you little or no trouble.

I keep hearing this. I have seen nothing to back it up. Are 22s dirty because of the volume of rounds shot through them or the ammo.

When I go to the range I fire the same number of rounds through each handgun I bring and the 22 is always as easy or easyer to clean than a 45 or 38.

[S&W 10mm]

I keep hearing this. I have seen nothing to back it up. Are 22s dirty because of the volume of rounds shot through them or the ammo.

When I go to the range I fire the same number of rounds through each handgun I bring and the 22 is always as easy or easyer to clean than a 45 or 38.

Yes, you are are correct they are dirty. I believe the reason is because of the powder residue that builds up in certain areas in the gun. Now I dont remember why it builds up and has more than higher caliber bullets, so i'll let others answer that one.

[mikey]

I think it is because of the wax on the lead, causing the burnt powder to stick to it. I have not had a .22 since I was a kid but I think I remember having to clean it alot.

I do need to get a new .22 in the near future to use up all the ammo I have been buying lately.

[pred]

I believe it is because the .22lr was designed for a rifle barrel not a short handgun barrel.
Improper burning of powder in a handgun, I notice that my 22 rifles stay cleaner than the .22 handguns.
I could also be wrong, But I do know that the .22lr bullet gets up to full speed in a 22,24" barrel.
Peter.

[buster]

I have seen 22 rifles shoot better when dirty. Don't know about pistols, though.

[Tusk87]

.22 pistols, in my experience are dirty. Many factors at play here. Perhaps the #1 reason is that many of the .ss available are relatively cheap and the tolerances(particularily in revolvers are pretty sloppy. I have a couple .22 revolvers. One is a very inexpensive "plinker" and it is incredibly dirty. I have to wipe powder residue off my hands after firing it. The other is designed for competitive shooting and accuracy. It is a very clean firing weapon. The other potential is the type of ammunition used. As .22 rounds are inexpensive and made by hundreds if not thousands of Mfg.'s tolerances vary widely(particularily for imported ammo.
Not much of an answer...just my experience. I do not have this issue with my 9MM's, or .38's or even .357's with +P rounds.
Tusk87

[Jon1911]

Most 22LR ammo I've used is a lead projectile. That's always much dirtier than FMJs.

[Jim1911]

Most 22LR ammo I've used is a lead projectile. That's always much dirtier than FMJs.

This one makes sense to me. I hate cleaning lead out of my barrel so I use copper plated bullets. Compared to 45 ACPs they are still cheap.

[normanvin]

I find that some ammo is dirtier than others. But with the current price of ammo I will gladly spend some extra time cleaning the .22's.

[sbc1320]

I would think because of the cheaper versions of 22 pistols that they are dirty. Probably also in older guns because of loose lock up and the shearing of the lead causing more build up.