22LR 'sticking' in blued H&R revolver cylinder

[jshinal]

I think the proper term for this is 'stiction.' Anyway, I am curious about a symptom I have only experienced recently.

My 82 year old mother keeps my (inherited) old H&R 922 revolver as a nightstand gun. For all its weaknesses, it's simple, and she is completely confident in her ability to use it (actually she's a decent shot).

However when I recently cleaned and checked her pistol, the bare-lead Winchester 22LR (Wildcat) ammo in the cylinder had ALL stuck fast in each chamber. I tapped gently at the ejector, trying to free them. I tried to pry one up using a fingernail. I tried some penetrating oil as a last resort. All nine rounds were stuck tight.

Using a cleaning rod from the 'outgoing' end, I was able to clear all rounds easily enough, but it is quite obvious they were all stuck fast in the blued steel of the revolver. Each round showed a whitening residue upon inspection.

Since the revolver commonly sits unused, should I switch to copper washed rounds ? I never recall seeing this before, but usually the shells had copper washed projectiles. Is this a common reaction of bare (or lubed) lead against steel ?

[JerryB]

Sounds like it just needs to be shot once in a while. I have an old .22 sixgun that stays loaded all the time but I do use copper clad ammo, CCI Stingers.

[bdhold]

the white is hydrated lead oxide or lead carbonate, but the equivalent of "lead rust"
it's a reaction product of the lead with moisture in the air over a long time.
While lead is lowest on the galvanic scale of any of the materials in contact (copper in the brass being the highest or most noble), lead also tends to passivate well, better than steel, so I think we're talking about a long, long time under wet/dry weathering conditions.
A good product to slow it all down is Boeshield, which is a lubricant, active dehydrating medium, and a corrosion inhibitor.

[Mescalero]

In Eng. terms it is called interaction between dissimular metals.
It occurs over time.
monthly removal return 9 to the box, put 9 new in should take care of it.
A good cleaning of the cylinder will also help.

[jshinal]

I guess oxidization from galvanic action or slowly from atmosphere makes sense here. I had normally used copper-washed and hadn't seen this sort of thing before.

I'll increase the maintenance cycle and improve the media. Thanks all !

[J Miller]

Now that you have the problem diagnosed, here is what I did with a bunch of .22RFs I found in the desert long ago. I got tired of them sitting around with no lube on the bullets, I didn't want to shoot them that way. Soooooo I used Lee Liquid Alox lube on them and shot 'em up.

Worked superb. And no wasted ammo.

Joe

[AJMD429]

In Eng. terms it is called interaction between dissimular metals.
It occurs over time.
monthly removal return 9 to the box, put 9 new in should take care of it.
A good cleaning of the cylinder will also help.

I'd not return them to the box, but rather SHOOT them...

[Blaine]

Grandpa always shot shorts because they were cheaper way back when...After a while, the LRs would stick because of the deposits....

[1894c]

nothing more dangerous than a MOM with a gun...actually my MOM was dangerous enough without the gun, but that's another story... :)

[madman4570]

Am no gunsmith so this is just a suggestion(you choose what is correct)

Take the empty gun(get some spray pledge wax)spray down the whole gun(foam it up)inside/outside stick in a plastic bag overnight.(I always use Lemon)
Next day pull gun out wipe whole gun down entirely clean(insure bore,cylinders are clean etc.)with a very little on rag just barely wipe the cases down and then wipe clean with clean rag.

For some reason those H&R's sometimes do that????????
My 999 did!

Did above and never ever had a problem since!

just do it at own risk! JMHO

[olyinaz]

Am no gunsmith so this is just a suggestion(you choose what is correct)

Take the empty gun(get some spray pledge wax)spray down the whole gun(foam it up)inside/outside stick in a plastic bag overnight.(I always use Lemon)
Next day pull gun out wipe whole gun down entirely clean(insure bore,cylinders are clean etc.)with a very little on rag just barely wipe the cases down and then wipe clean with clean rag.

For some reason those H&R's sometimes do that????????
My 999 did!

Did above and never ever had a problem since!

just do it at own risk! JMHO

Really what you're doing there is putting light coat of wax on the thing, so it's also something that could build up into a varnish over time, but if it's worked for you it's hard to argue it. None of this is rocket science. The bullets oxidized and stuck since the lead oxide takes up more room. Rust would have done the same thing, but thank God that's not what happened! Remington golden .22LRs have a pretty good wax coating on them and they're brass plated, so I suspect they'd last longer. I like the idea of coating the inside of the cylinder with a bit of dry lube of some sort, or even the wax trick, but I think just a good coated bullet will go a long way.

Try the Remingtons (or some other really well lubricated .22 brand) and check them in three months. Say, I think Stingers are pretty well lubed too! If they show no signs let 'em ride for another three, and on and on...

Oly

[Mescalero]

I was going to suggest Stingers,
but they get a lot of ( underserved bad press )
At bedroom range, they are good to go.

[jshinal]

After a good soak and scrub with Hoppes #9, a significant amount of cloudy black silt was removed from the cylinders (it was clean when it was last put up !). I gave it a light going over with CLP and fed it some CCI Mnimags with copper coated bullets.

I'll check it in a few months. For now, Calamity Jane is back in business.

[olyinaz]

CLP might be the culprit if that's what you lubed it with last time before putting it up. CLP isn't just a lube, it goes after some materials and compounds. Just thinking out loud...

Oly