??Best way to clean out waxy buildup in 22 chamber. Causing extraction problem.

yanici

yanici

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I recently got to start shooting my Savage Mark II BTVS 22, bolt action. It is developing an extraction problem that is common to this rifle. I believe my problem is caused by wax buildup in the chamber. Shooting CCI SV. If I clean the rifle I pay particular attention to the chamber and spend extra time with the bore brush there. I use hoppes #9 solvent. After cleaning the gun if it is fired it may start to balk at extracting in anywhere from 20-75 rounds. I need to remove the spent case with a finger or knife blade.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a product that I can swab the chamber with, occasionally, while shooting. The chamber is nice and tight and I like it that way so no reaming. Any ideas are welcome.

BTW, I've already perused Rimfire Central and nothing great there.
 
Where is the "wax" coming from? What ammo are you shooting? Perhaps changing ammo to a different brand (ETA: or to a copper plated round) might solve the problem.

I had trouble with ammo once with a center fire rifle where the ammo had either wax or varnish on the round as a weather sealant (or so I was told later), caused a mess inside the barrel and took quite a bit of time to clean out with various solvents.
 
Last edited:
Remove from stock, and any other plastic parts, use a propane torch, heat it until its hot enough to loosen substance and boresnake barrel. If it is around the chamber lip, use a round brass brush with wire handle and #9. Hoppes will not work when its hard gummy, but soft and a wire will get it out. Wear gloves to protect from heat, ove glove works well.
 
I have heard this being an issue with Remmington Thunderbolt. Have you tried using copper plated ammo? Like the Winchester "333" packs?
 
Another idea would be to use something to remove fouling like foul-out or Lewis Lead Remover. They maybe pricey, but they will fix the issue.
 
i would do the heat it a little with a bbq lighter and then swab it with a q tip trick.

if that dosent work you can allways just take a section of a pistol cleaning rod or something to extend it mount the bore brush on it and give it a whirl with the power drill thats how i clean revolvers.
 
.243/6mm nylon or brass brush, just for the chamber, maybe? It would have to be on a short rod without a swivel handle, so you could pull the bolt and screw the brush into and out of the chamber to get the wax out. It won't be much good for a 243 afterwards, of course.

I assume the CCI SV shoots well enough you don't want to change ammo, of course.
 
KMM696 said:
.243/6mm nylon or brass brush, just for the chamber, maybe? It would have to be on a short rod without a swivel handle, so you could pull the bolt and screw the brush into and out of the chamber to get the wax out. It won't be much good for a 243 afterwards, of course.

I assume the CCI SV shoots well enough you don't want to change ammo, of course.
Click to expand...

This..
I use my worn .30 cal brushes for chambers on my .22's
 
Xylene (usually sold in hardware stores as xylol) will dissolve wax and is a relatively non-toxic solvent. I haven't had to try it, but I believe some xylol on a patch or wool mop of the right size will either remove the wax or soften it so it can be brushed out. CCI SV is well-known for being waxy, BTW.
 
You said you didn't want to hear this, but here it goes. Hone the chamber and open it up. How much? IDK.

But Anschutz knows a thing or two about making ultra accurate rimfires and you never seem them having such extraction problems.

Mine will shoot one-hole groups at 50 yards with the ammo it likes and it has never had an extraction issue. All I use is SK Rifle Match (aka Wolf match Extra) which is waxy as hell.
 
I wonder if the Savage chamber is just rough, and gives the wax a good place to grip to. Another possibility to look into, I suppose.
 
A little update here. I cleaned the Savage 22 thoroughly again. I also removed the spring clip that applies the pressure on the extractors. With the spring clip removed, I gave it a squeeze to tighten it up a bit and reinstalled it on the bolt.

Went to the range and shot 50 (oily) rounds of Wolf MT (oily out of the box) followed by 100 (waxy) rounds of CCI SV. There was no wax buildup and the rifle extracted every round just fine. I think, and I could be wrong, that the oily Wolf ammo lubricated the chamber so that the CCI SV couldn't deposit its wax. Am I crazy? Now I wonder if maybe it would be good to place a drop of oil on the top round in the mag when shooting the CCI ammo.[thinking] Probably one drop on every 6 mags or something like that. It would make for oily mags though, which ain't so good. Anybody got any ideas?
 
Never oil cartridges either!
The case won't grip the chamber walls when expanding during firing, resulting in excessive back pressure on the bolt.
(it will also deteriorate powder/primers)
 
Arto said:
Never oil cartridges either!
The case won't grip the chamber walls when expanding during firing, resulting in excessive back pressure on the bolt.
(it will also deteriorate powder/primers)
Click to expand...

I've heard that. Strange that the Wolf ammo comes with an oily residue on it.
 
I have had the same issue with shooting CCI in my High Standard target pistol. The CCI ammo was WAY too waxy and would cause issues of the spent casing getting stuck in the chamber. Only happened with that ammo as I had tried MANY other brands for bullseye league. I just never shot them again.
 
I'd still scrub the chamber. I had a 93R17 years ago that had extraction problems and had to send it back to Savage where they claimed the chamber needed to be reamed. It functioned 100% after that.
Savage makes accurate rifles but sometimes there finish work in certain areas, such as chambers, could use some work.

And if you're still looking for something to disolve wax, get a small can of Goof Off. http://www.wmbarr.com/goofoff/
 
Not trying to be funny, at least not as funny as some of these replies, but try taking the wax off before you use it, I do. I know some people actually like the build up for varying reasons but I do not. I tumble a brick at a time in walnut media plus a squirt of mineral spirits for about 45 minutes. From the tumbler I put a bunch at a time in a soft cloth with a bit of mineral spirits on it and roll them around to remove any dust. Next is I put them back in the plastic stands, if out of a bulk pack I've keept a bunch of stands to do this, and give them a quick blast of remi-dry lube (stuffs been hard to find lately) then back in the package. It takes about an hour and a half, less if I do multiple bricks as the next one is tumbling while I'm wiping and spraying. As a note, it's not a good idea to do the with hollow points. The media sometimes gets lodge in them and unless you want to inspect each one, avoid them. Also, do not use infused media as it'll stick to the shells, just plain old walnut. As a secondary note, I do this also with .380 ammunition and will often times through a box in with the 22's. There is no wax on them but it really slicks them up for the micros.
 

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