Copper plated 22lr vs non plated.

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  • BankShot

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    I recently acquired my first two 22lr guns (Older Glenfield Model 60 and a new SW22 Victory). I've been shooting bulk Federal copper plated rounds, but have seen many 22lr rounds for sale that are not plated. Can someone tell me the difference and advantages/disadvantages are between the two?
     

    JettaKnight

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    I recently acquired my first two 22lr guns (Older Glenfield Model 60 and a new SW22 Victory). I've been shooting bulk Federal copper plated rounds, but have seen many 22lr rounds for sale that are not plated. Can someone tell me the difference and advantages/disadvantages are between the two?

    One leaves copper in the barrel, and one leaves lead.

    If I was hunting, I'd chose the jacketed.
    Typically, target rounds are lead round nose.


    Otherwise :dunno:
     

    BankShot

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    One leaves copper in the barrel, and one leaves lead.

    If I was hunting, I'd chose the jacketed.
    Typically, target rounds are lead round nose.


    Otherwise :dunno:

    Thanks for the reply JettaKnight. I'm mostly just plinking with these, so I guess I'll just use what I can find. Not a lot of choices these days anyway. LOL.
     

    CampingJosh

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    The friction of a bullet moving through the barrel creates a lot of heat (not to mention the powder burning). If that heat gets to be too much, the lead bullets can melt a bit and leave lead in the rifling. Copper won't do that.

    Kept to low speeds (subsonic and standard velocity .22 LR), lead bullets won't make a barrel significantly (if any) dirtier than plated bullets do. It's not until you get up to the high velocity stuff that plated bullets are really needed.
     

    BankShot

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    The friction of a bullet moving through the barrel creates a lot of heat (not to mention the powder burning). If that heat gets to be too much, the lead bullets can melt a bit and leave lead in the rifling. Copper won't do that.

    Kept to low speeds (subsonic and standard velocity .22 LR), lead bullets won't make a barrel significantly (if any) dirtier than plated bullets do. It's not until you get up to the high velocity stuff that plated bullets are really needed.


    Thanks for the explanation. I noticed that it was higher velocity rounds that are plated, but I didn't know why.
     

    Whip_McCord

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    I can't think of any accurate target ammo that is plated. There may be some, but I have not noticed any. Of course, they are all standard velocity.
     

    jerrob

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    The friction of a bullet moving through the barrel creates a lot of heat (not to mention the powder burning). If that heat gets to be too much, the lead bullets can melt a bit and leave lead in the rifling. Copper won't do that.

    Kept to low speeds (subsonic and standard velocity .22 LR), lead bullets won't make a barrel significantly (if any) dirtier than plated bullets do. It's not until you get up to the high velocity stuff that plated bullets are really needed.

    I can't think of any accurate target ammo that is plated. There may be some, but I have not noticed any. Of course, they are all standard velocity.

    I have been using copper plated CCI Mini-Mag 40g for years because they seem to run my semi-auto fun guns reliably. I know my guns weren't as dirty, assumed it was the different powder. Also thought it wasn't as accurate, blamed that on my old eyes and shaky hands.
    Thank you both for the solid info.
    Now when I miss, I can blame the ammo.
     

    Whip_McCord

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    I have been using copper plated CCI Mini-Mag 40g for years because they seem to run my semi-auto fun guns reliably. I know my guns weren't as dirty, assumed it was the different powder. Also thought it wasn't as accurate, blamed that on my old eyes and shaky hands.
    Thank you both for the solid info.
    Now when I miss, I can blame the ammo.

    I'm sure at close range most ammo is not too bad, but you can still blame the ammo if you want. Our club shoots rimfire matches on steel silhouette targets from 50 to 200 meters. No one uses high velocity or plated ammo, at least no one scoring in the top 2/3 of the pack. They will not do the job at that distance. I'm cheap, so I use CCI SV ammo, but others shoot much more $$$ ammo. CCI SV shoots pretty well out of my Anschutz Exemplar pistol. I get around 3" groups at 200 meters from that gun. It it was really important, I might pay more for more accurate ammo, but I still beat a few guys shooting the expensive stuff.
     

    BankShot

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    I can't think of any accurate target ammo that is plated. There may be some, but I have not noticed any. Of course, they are all standard velocity.

    Everything I saw that was listed as target ammo was not plated, but as you stated they are all also standard or lower velocity. I don't know if the plating has anything to do with it being less accurate or if it is just because it is higher velocity.
     

    crewchief888

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    i shoot aguila superextra HV (copper washed) and fed automatch HV (lead) ammo in al 4 of my RF guns for steel. ive never noticed any difference in accuracy between them.
    seems like a lot of higher priced ie: match ammo is lead


    :cheers:
     

    BankShot

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    i shoot aguila superextra HV (copper washed) and fed automatch HV (lead) ammo in al 4 of my RF guns for steel. ive never noticed any difference in accuracy between them.
    seems like a lot of higher priced ie: match ammo is lead
    :cheers:
    '

    I'm not finding a lot of choices out there right now anyway. I'll just go with what I can find right now and see how they work out. Thanks for the input.
     

    crewchief888

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    I'm not finding a lot of choices out there right now anyway. I'll just go with what I can find right now and see how they work out. Thanks for the input.

    the only thing ive seen in any quantity, locally, (NWI) has been RWS rifle. $65-$69/500

    it's not in my budget at the moment..

    in the area theres really no 22LR on the shelves. i'm getting tired of searching locally. the online distributors ive been watching have limited quantities, when it comes into stock, and sells out fast. last i checked (friday morning) there was nothing available for under 10-11 cents a round, even remington buckets of bullets were at 12 cnts a round


    :cheers:
     

    BankShot

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    the only thing ive seen in any quantity, locally, (NWI) has been RWS rifle. $65-$69/500

    it's not in my budget at the moment..

    in the area theres really no 22LR on the shelves. i'm getting tired of searching locally. the online distributors ive been watching have limited quantities, when it comes into stock, and sells out fast. last i checked (friday morning) there was nothing available for under 10-11 cents a round, even remington buckets of bullets were at 12 cnts a round


    :cheers:


    Try Bass Pro here: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en They have good prices by today's standard. If you make an account you can start a wish list and it will show you if they are in stock. I put several types of ammo on my wish list and check it as often as I can. I was able to get a 825 round bucket of federal 22lr for $44.99 last week and my son got a 325 round box for $19.99 a few weeks ago. They charge $5.00 for shipping or free with an order over $50.00. It is kind of hit and miss and they go fast, so it took me a few tries to get it. It was worth it for the price though. Good Luck. Let me know if you try it and if you have any luck.
     

    shawnppickett

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    The main difference I've noted, aside from lead fouling, is that my Ruger 22/45 Mark 3 was more likely to have a FTF with a lead round (and the round usually was mangled and hung up in the gun) the copper ones seemed to feed through it more reliably.
     

    BankShot

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    The main difference I've noted, aside from lead fouling, is that my Ruger 22/45 Mark 3 was more likely to have a FTF with a lead round (and the round usually was mangled and hung up in the gun) the copper ones seemed to feed through it more reliably.

    I saw a guy on YouTube saying that he thought that the copper plated fed better in some semi autos. Sounds like that is the case with your Ruger. Everything I have right now is copper plated, so I haven't tried any lead rounds yet.
     

    russc2542

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    I have also noticed slightly smoother feeding with copper plated rounds. the greasy/waxy lube is meant to facilitate going down the barrel not feeding. I also don't get as much chamber fouling (causing failures to extract) from the lube building up on my Smith 2206. it's more accurate with eley or SK (lubed lead) but goes a lot longer between cleanings with armscor or remington golden bullets.
     

    BankShot

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    I have also noticed slightly smoother feeding with copper plated rounds. the greasy/waxy lube is meant to facilitate going down the barrel not feeding. I also don't get as much chamber fouling (causing failures to extract) from the lube building up on my Smith 2206. it's more accurate with eley or SK (lubed lead) but goes a lot longer between cleanings with armscor or remington golden bullets.

    That all seems to fit with what I'm getting from others. The copper plated seems cleaner and more reliable in semi autos, while the lubed lead is more accurate. Thanks for your input.
     
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