Problems with Sellier&Bellot .22lr Standard?

[SlartyBartFast]

Has anyone else experienced problems with Sellier&Bellot .22lr Standard?

I shot several boxes without incident through my SW22. Then, the last two boxes have been nothing but trouble.

First rounds from the two boxes were fired through a Unique DES without trouble, and shot superbly (130/150). Then in my SW22 I experienced failures to eject, stove pipes, and a lot of light strikes.

The light strikes and stove pipes continued with the next box. The light strikes seem to occur because the bolt isn't seating fully forward.

A couple of times, there were failure to feeds with a chunk of the bullet left behind in the mag taken off by the bolt.

Ten rounds of ammo donated from the shooter next to me fired flawlessly. Followed by more problems with the S&B.

The S&B seems to be rather heavily coated with wax and others at my club have commented they don't like that. The shooter who donated the other ammo to me said he thinks the S&B are actually slightly larger than other ammo.

Now, I love the price and availability of this ammo and until now loved the performance. The answer I suppose is obvious, use different ammo.

I'll be picking up some CCI SV if they have any in stock at another range/store nearby.

But would just like to hear peoples thoughts on the S&B ammo and what might have caused the change.

[jmdavis]

Clean the chamber with the chamber brush and then a patch on a pull through. Then try the drop test. A round dropped into a barrel at 90 degrees to the ground should seat fully. If it does not the chamber may be dirty, or the round may be out of spec. If you feel that the chamber is particularly fouled with wax, you may use some kroil on a patch to remove it. It cuts wax and lube build up really well. I do, however, like to fire some fouling shots after using it in my pistol barrels.

You could also take a micrometer or calipers to the ammo and compare the length and diameter to ammo that works well in the gun. Somewhere on here, I compared a number of different type of ammo primarily for length. Sellier and Bellot was not among them but there were length differences between brands and even between individual rounds from the same box or lot.

[rmca]

Ten rounds of ammo donated from the shooter next to me fired flawlessly.

What brand were they?

The S&B are "soft/weak" rounds, so they may not have the power to cycle the gun if there is more resistance from fouling.

When was the gun last cleaned?
Do the rounds drop into the chamber easily?

My guess is just a dirty gun. With cheaper ammo you should clean more often.
Find out when the gun starts to act up (250 or 300 rounds would be my guess) and clean it before that.

Ideally you should clean it very time you shoot it... and yes, I know, do as I say not as I do... ;)

Hope this helps

[SlartyBartFast]

When was the gun last cleaned?
Do the rounds drop into the chamber easily?

My guess is just a dirty gun. With cheaper ammo you should clean more often.
Find out when the gun starts to act up (250 or 300 rounds would be my guess) and clean it before that.

The other ammo was CCI std LRN.
I clean the gun regularly once a week. That means after about 100-160rnds. Three times at the club per week, sometimes I get to go to the firing line 4 times, 10 shots per target. No, I don't get to fire much shooting slow-fire and in a very small club.
Last time, after the disastrous performance of the last half of the previous box of ammo, I had cleaned the gun the night before and went as far as removing the extractor and cleaning it and the spring too.

Going to have to look into a chamber brush. Only have a barrel brush. I run a bore snake through after every shooting session.

[Rover]

A new barrel brush should clean the chamber, but if you're feeling rich get yourself a 6mm brush and bend it 90 degrees. Forget the bore snake, they're useless.

[rmca]

SlartyBartFast

Bore snakes are only clean the first time you use them. And they are pretty useless for anything but loose particles.

Get a new brass brush and run it from the chamber to the muzzle a dozen times. Or, if you can't insert the rod from the chamber end, go in from the muzzle and do the same. Use a brass or a plastic coated rod, avoid steel ones if you can (or be careful when using them). Do it every every 200 to 300 rounds.

Clean the rest of the gun, including the magazine, and lightly (LIGHTLY!!!) oil any rubbing parts. Breakfree CPL is one of the best oils I found for guns. You'll see were the finish is rubbing off..
Cotton ear buds are great to clean hard to reach places. You can also use them to lube the pistol, just put a drop or two of oil in one of them and use it to lube the friction areas.
Every year or two (depending on how much you shoot), take the pistol completely apart (I mean, driving out the pins and removing everything!) and give it a proper cleaning.

Hope this helps

[PFribley]

Recently I was having FTF problems with my SP20RRS. I did the drop in test. Not good. So I really got after the feeding end of the barrel. Cleaned a whole bunch of crap out of there. Used 25mm brush I had.Now all is good with the drop test. Till then I thought I was doing a good job cleaning.

[Dipnet]

Try measuring bullets, especially the area just above the rim, with a micrometer. I bought some Federal Champion sv that would not eject from my S&W m41, which usually eats everything. Discovered that the base of that batch of Federals were slightly wider than remains case diameter, which caused the round not to seat properly.

Don't know if it's relevant, but I've noticed in resizing S&B 45 casings that the brass is relatively hard. Cheers, dipnet

[SlartyBartFast]

Thanks for the suggestions. One day out of curiosity I might start measuring ammo.

Until then, I bought a few hundred rounds of CCI SV LRN. Working flawlessly.

[PASA008]

I have had problems with S&B ammo of various calibers over several years. It seems inconsistent in sizing, bullet length, bullet diameter, OAL. The CCI Standard velocity ammo is one of the most consistent on the market and most accurate. I also find the Aguila Target to be very good.