I took the Aquila ammo and spread it out on a rag and sprayed it with WD40 then let it air dry. Extraction was greatly improved. WD40 is not a lube.

My tumbler is not rotary so I’ve been thinking about options for me that don't require time intensive wipedown. I like the spray idea. I probably would pick up handfuls in a rag to get the excess off but that might not be necessary. I just picked up a bunch of lead nosed Federal range pack stuff I will try this out on.

I’m certainly going to do something to all my match ammo (it’s not match ammo so much as ammo I shoot at matches lol) 22’s. It really can’t hurt, it’s easy, and so far in my limited experience, it guarantees improved reliability.

I’m not a 22 for protection guy much but I would wipe down rounds for that application as well. I’m thinking of doing a long term experiment, wipe down some rounds even leaving them a bit on the wet side to simulate worst case and setting it aside for a month and then shooting it to see if long term issues exist. Unlike my centerfire SD stuff which I use forever but rarely shoot, 22 ammo has a limited shelf life in my house once it’s in a magazine.

Someone above mentioned 22’s are very well sealed so intrusion shouldn’t be an issue. I’m just curious.

Bottom line. If you NEED 22 ammo to function for match, SD, whatever, I’m convinced some form of what we are talking about is the single best thing you can do besides the obvious clean/lube your gun (lol) and buy quality ammo.

If WD40 isn't a lube then what did it do?

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
I took the Aquila ammo and spread it out on a rag and sprayed it with WD40 then let it air dry. Extraction was greatly improved. WD40 is not a lube.

I ain’t getting between you two on the is it/isn’t it a lube argument. Lol

That being said, cleaning the rounds of excess wax/nasty/gunk is what might be the solution. Lubing can’t hurt of course and I believe it does help. Strictly speaking though, these Aguila rounds were sticky, tacky, not smooth to the touch. In short they were dirty with whatever bullet lube Aguila uses. Simply lubing might not be the solution if the waxy stuff wasn’t removed. The good news is any lube, cleaning, or tumbling seems to easily remove this gunk. If a slick thin layer of lube remains even better.

I suspect but did not test, that if I took one of these offending rounds and merely cleaned it off with a dry paper towel many of my malfunctions would disappear. Wiping it off and applying thin lube as a combo though clearly works. Which is more important? That’s chicken and the egg stuff and I don’t know or care. Lol

Hey now!

I'm not trying to derail this thread, just clarify what the WD40 was used for. It could have been used as a cleaner, which is one of the things that the original WD40 does, but it's also a light weight lubricant.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I ain’t getting between you two on the is it/isn’t it a lube argument. Lol

I was just teasing. I have heard guys go round and round about WD though. Lol

WD 40 is a “water displacement”. You want to know more then looked it for yourself. Not interested in any argument.

Maybe you should read this. Pay special attention to the link labeled tech information. Have a nice evening.

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
WD 40 is a “water displacement”. You want to know more then looked it for yourself. Not interested in any argument.

Slightly off-center for this post, but I have recently purchased 3 additional BX-1 mags (10 rd rotary) for my Ruger 10/22 c. 1979 rifle. This rifle has run flawlessly for decades, eating any fodder I chose for it. BUT, my first trip back to the range was very disappointing.

My new mags would not run. One was just awful.

Frustrated I blamed ammo etc. Went back to older mags.....flawless.

Long story short, my new mags were "over clocked" on spring tension. Apparently too much pressure against the mag lips to allow for effective feeding and consequent ejection. I simply disassembled them, adjusted the tension similar to older mags and loaded them for another trip.

Total success.

Point: there are a lot of factors (including cheap ammo) that contribute to a weapon that will not run. Be thorough and patient as you work things out. It may be the simple things that are the "real" problem, regardless of platform.

Good luck

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ALLEGRO1957,

All true. My Kadets have 10’s of thousands of rounds through them though. I’ve bought some extra mags over the years is about it. So tried and true. Although my Kadet mule frame I upgraded to CGW pro package recently albeit with heavier than normal mainspring. Ever since this change I do get more light strikes than when it was stock. I think the hammer arc being shorter is the cause. It would be an easy fix back to stock but it’s so much nicer when in 9mm form I can’t bring myself to do it. Just bought a Shadow 2 so I’m going to try that out as a mule as well. We shall see. It comes with a 14ish lb mainspring so I don’t hold out much hope. Theoretically I could bump up the mainspring to 17lb and it would probably be fine but it’s an expensive gun to purposely make the trigger heavier. I might play with it to see.