A lot of rounds in one day.

[Embalmo]

Guys,

I came thiiiiis close to trying out Eagle Peak for the first time, but it was too cold. I'm in Pflugerville (jussssst north of Austin), and all I've done is Red's, 'cause before I got a .22 and a 9mm, an hour's worth of .380 ammo was all I could afford to shoot anyway. Eagle Peak is the only other range nearby isn't it (that's a pay per day)?

Also, their site says bore swabs only, so if I shoot an insane number of rounds through my .22 revolver will a solvent swab pass through the cylinder chambers, and barrel; followed by a dry swab pass keep me going if I wanna' shoot hundreds of rounds in the same day with cheap Federal? I guess it's a matter of when the cylinder chambers get icky and gritty, but about how many rounds do you guys think can get through it before it needs a swab pass?

When I go more than a couple of weeks without shooting, I start to get irritable, nervous, and anxious.

M. Ball Moe

[dcphoto]

Get a bore snake. Makes cleanup on the range much simpler.

Don't really know how many you could get through your revolver before you have problems. I suspect it's quite a few more than you think; certainly more than you can shoot in a day. I ran about 2300 rounds through my .22 revolver before it decided to get cranky. Of course that wasn't in one day. And I gave it some lube every now and then.

You will save money in the long run if you use eagle peak. When you consider that it isn't any warmer in red's, I think it's a no brainer. Just watch out for the range Nazi RSO's.

[RiverRat]

I've got a year's pass at Lone Star for $65, which is this side of Lockhart (20ish miles from Austin). The owner, Matt, is TexasCHL forum member and good guy. You can spend all day, break in your barrels, clean, whatever....cheaper than a couple of trips to Red's for all year long.

Edit: I prefer to shoot outside, especially with cheap or dirty ammo....you always go home for an indoor range smelling like your gunpowder...or tasting it.

[seamusTX]

I took two young nephews to the range, and they put the best part of 500 rounds though my Dan Wesson .22 revolver in a couple of hours. The revolver was pretty gunky, but it still functioned.

I think the crud would have jammed the cylinder within another 100 rounds. The problem is the accumulation of powder residue on the front of the cylinder and the top strap, not within the cylinder or barrel.

I used to buy that cheap lead-bullet Federal stuff, but now I buy cartridges with copper-clad bullets. They save a lot of clean-up time and elbow grease. The price difference isn't much these days.

- Jim

[Embalmo]

Get a bore snake. Makes cleanup on the range much simpler.

Don't really know how many you could get through your revolver before you have problems. I suspect it's quite a few more than you think; certainly more than you can shoot in a day. I ran about 2300 rounds through my .22 revolver before it decided to get cranky.

Thanks-I think the most I've put through it in an hour at Red's was about 150 rounds, and it wasn't that dirty at all. The manual says that you shouldn't shoot it after 200 rounds without cleaning it, so I was concerned. It's good to know that you were able to put 2300 through it without cleaning it.

Okay-About the bore snake. Do you put solvent on the snake? Does muck accumulate on the snake, and if so, how do you clean the snake, or do you even have to keep the snake clean to make it effective over time? I'm a wet patch, brass brush, dry patch kinda' guy, but I am open minded.

Embalmo

[dcphoto]

Okay-About the bore snake. Do you put solvent on the snake? Does muck accumulate on the snake, and if so, how do you clean the snake, or do you even have to keep the snake clean to make it effective over time? I'm a wet patch, brass brush, dry patch kinda' guy, but I am open minded.

At the range I just use them dry. At home, generally, I will soak the portion of the snake ahead of the brass brush with Hoppes #9. You could also stick a toothbrush in your range bag to brush off the forcing cone and cylinder face every couple of hundred rounds. Although I meticulously clean my centerfire guns, I don't clean my rimfire guns unless they malfunction.

I'll run the snake through the washing machine with regular laundry detergent (hot water) once they start looking dirty. I wash them alone, and I stick them in a small lingerie bag that I keep just for that. I try to do that when my wife isn't home.

[vrentropy]

Guys,

Also, their site says bore swabs only, so if I shoot an insane number of rounds through my .22 revolver will a solvent swab pass through the cylinder chambers, and barrel; followed by a dry swab pass keep me going if I wanna' shoot hundreds of rounds in the same day with cheap Federal? I guess it's a matter of when the cylinder chambers get icky and gritty, but about how many rounds do you guys think can get through it before it needs a swab pass?

When I go more than a couple of weeks without shooting, I start to get irritable, nervous, and anxious.

M. Ball Moe

I would guess it all depends on the gun. You might wanna get a case of federal bulk from Wally World, spend a day on the range, and give us a report as to how many rounds it took to a) lose accuracy, b) cause some gum-up, c) tire out your hand.

I know I have emptied a full 525 bulk box thru my Mark III without any hic-ups in a day. I also was mean to the gun and left her dirty to continue the next time out. I only had time for a couple hundred more rounds that time before I had to go. Then I HAD to clean up just to be nice.

With a revolver, you might never have to. I know between me, my brother, and a cousin we 'used' a New Model Single Six for a whole summer each and every weekend without ever cleaning it. We were using Remington Golden Bullet bulk pack at the time and never had any issues. I couldn't tell you how many rounds we went thru, but it was quite a few.

Biggest problem you might run into is if you get some build-up on the front of the cylinder that causes some binding. If that happens, a wipe with a cloth soaked in Hoppes should help out.

The other possibility is if the barrel gets some leading. IF that happens, there are probably other issues that need to be addressed, but a bore snake will keep things moving for a day.

Good luck and have fun!

[Embalmo]

Child: "Mr. Owl, How many rounds does it take before gun fouling compromises the accuracy and reliability of the firearm?"

Mr. Owl: "Let's see, (Mr. Owl takes out Thompson .45 sub-machine gun with 100 round drum magazine) 1 (single shot), 2 (single shot) 3 (full auto)-THREE!"

M. Ball Moe, Esquire