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Posted: 2/4/2011 6:04:24 AM EDT
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I had one quick question about the conversion kit.. Will shooting .22 ammo out of your ar wear out the barrel nearlyl as quick as if you just shot regular 5.56?
Since most barrels have a life span on them I was wondering what affect the .22 ammo had on them vs. 5.56 Thanks in advance.. SS |
| I'm going to say no since you are shooting soft lead projectiles instead of harder full metal jacket 5.56. It is widely recommended to shoot several round of full power .223 or 5.56 after a session of .22 since the lead can plug up your gas block, this is the biggest concern. Someone with more knowledge and some scientific data will be along soon to clear this up. |
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Quoted:
I'm going to say no since you are shooting soft lead projectiles instead of harder full metal jacket 5.56. It is widely recommended to shoot several round of full power .223 or 5.56 after a session of .22 since the lead can plug up your gas block, this is the biggest concern. Someone with more knowledge and some scientific data will be along soon to clear this up. This about all you need to know/do. |
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Quoted:
I'm going to say no since you are shooting soft lead projectiles instead of harder full metal jacket 5.56. It is widely recommended to shoot several round of full power .223 or 5.56 after a session of .22 since the lead can plug up your gas block, this is the biggest concern. Someone with more knowledge and some scientific data will be along soon to clear this up. What he said! If I ran a .22 in a 5.56 rifle I would try to shoot 2-3 rounds of 5.56 after a session of .22. Truth be 1 5.56 round would clean out anything in the tube; if the rifle cycles the gas ports clean! If not the gun wont work any way and you'll be off to cleaning some other way regardles. That said, I run a dedicated .22 upper from Spikes and skip all the issues with twist, cleaning and gas port issues. |
| My daughter shoots my SP1 carbine with a CMMG kit in it, I'm sure she has close to a thousand rounds through it by now. When we're done shooting for the day, I just run a mag of .223 through it to clean any accumulated lead fouling out and it's good to go. As was mentioned, just a round or two would probably do the job just as well. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm going to say no since you are shooting soft lead projectiles instead of harder full metal jacket 5.56. It is widely recommended to shoot several round of full power .223 or 5.56 after a session of .22 since the lead can plug up your gas block, this is the biggest concern. Someone with more knowledge and some scientific data will be along soon to clear this up. What he said! If I ran a .22 in a 5.56 rifle I would try to shoot 2-3 rounds of 5.56 after a session of .22. Truth be 1 5.56 round would clean out anything in the tube; if the rifle cycles the gas ports clean! If not the gun wont work any way and you'll be off to cleaning some other way regardles. That said, I run a dedicated .22 upper from Spikes and skip all the issues with twist, cleaning and gas port issues. I've had to fire more than 1 round before to get the gun to cycle. Sometimes 3-4 rounds depending on how much .22 I've shot. I would not shoot less than a mag full for two reasons: 1. just to be 100% sure the gun is back to reliable function 2. fun! It's amazing how loud and powerful a mag full of .223 seems after a brick full of .22 |
| I always ran a bore snake through the barrel after shooting 22 LR in my AR's and before shooting 5.56. Heat and friction are what wears out barrels. I have never seen a 22 barrel wear out from shooting. Failing to clean, improper cleaning technique and rust can ruin a 22 LR barrel. I think several generations could shoot 22 rimfire ammo through a chrome lined 5.56 barrel before it wore out. I generally shoot copper clad ammo in my 22 conversions. I think the copper clad bullets are a little cleaner and don't leave as much lead residue on the flash hider. I have had good luck with Federal 36 grain bulk ammo from Walmart. Accuracy varies with ammo and particular twist/barrel. Generally the faster twist 1 in 7 barrels produce the worst accuracy and 1 in 8, 1 in 9 usually do pretty good but produce more fliers in the group than a 1 in 16 twist. I shot a 1 in 12 twist barrel with 22's thinking it would be a lot better than my 1 in 9 twist but it gave about the same accuracy as my 1 in 9 chrome moley RRA and Colt barrels. |
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