Lil Gun bore fouling

[pistolcalrookie]

I have been using Lil Gun and AR 2205 behind Hornady 158gn XTP in a 20".357 stainless gun and find that the LG fouls the barrel quite badly to 3"forward of the chamber.

At the range I clean with a boresnake and after 9 rds of LG I have to pull really hard to get the boresnake brush section through that part of the bore.

When using AR2205 I do not have that issue and accuracy is good with both powders with high speed loads.

I am still experimenting but looking like I will ditch Lil Gun, any powder that fouls the bore to the extent that I have experienced is not for my gun.

Call me a Pedant but as an ex benchrest bloke I like clean bores and used to clean every 15 rds, significant fouling in 9 rds is unacceptable.

I shoot maybe 80 rds of copper jacket bullets and clean with Sweet's 7.62 solvent on return from the range, I get bugger all copper [blue] off the Sweets patches.

Cheers Richard

[Ranch Dog]

Hmmm… I'm using Lil'Gun in the 357 Mag, 41 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and 480 Ruger rifles without the issue. I'm using heavier than spec bullets.

[jdb]

Ya know pistol, I don't know about your particular load, but it sounds like you could have an ignition problem to me brother. Could be the primers, firing pin or I've had a similar problem because of too light a crimp and fowling would show up in one gun or powder and not another.

But as I said, I don't know about your particular loads. That would just be the first places I looked for an answer to a load specific problem.

It's funny how certain components react to very TINY little differences in condition. A light firing pin strike causing slower ignition that shows up in one powder and not the other, a light crimp that allows powder to travel further down the barrel before it fully ignites...all manner of insanity that the experts tell ya can't happen, but it DOES. LOL

[Ranch Dog]

Good points jdb!

[pistolcalrookie]

I did have light primer strike FTF issues with Palo Verde spring but that seems to be resolved with re-installation of the std spring.
Not sure if crimping is the issue though, cases are trimmed to consistent length and taper crimp set to the point where a kinetic bullet puller needs 6 to 8 hard whacks on an upended house brick [on a concrete floor] to dislodge a bullet. Primers are Fed SPM and properly seated.
A mate of mine is shortly to take delivery of an identical rifle, guess I can experiment with that.
Then again I could spook up the std firing pin spring with a Palo Verde shim ?

[jdb]

I did have light primer strike FTF issues with Palo Verde spring but that seems to be resolved with re-installation of the std spring.
Not sure if crimping is the issue though, cases are trimmed to consistent length and taper crimp set to the point where a kinetic bullet puller needs 6 to 8 hard whacks on an upended house brick [on a concrete floor] to dislodge a bullet. Primers are Fed SPM and properly seated.
A mate of mine is shortly to take delivery of an identical rifle, guess I can experiment with that.
Then again I could spook up the std firing pin spring with a Palo Verde shim ?

Yeah, ya know, if you went back to the factory spring, I'm not sure you'd need to do anything else. I can see where a light spring might give ya some trouble on magnum or small rifle primers. They're thicker metal to be sure.

And yep, it SOUNDS like you're getting a good crimp as well. The only other thing I might try is getting a different primer. Winchester, CCI or just about anything else if you can get them or maybe even small rifle primers. But since your using magnum pistol primers, the small rifle primers probably wouldn't make much difference.

I'd just try a different brand and see what happens. Or maybe even standard primers. I DO like Federal primers and use them all the time, but I have had problems with them from time to time. Guess it just depends on what day of the week they were made. LOL

Maybe you just got a bad batch? Given that Ranch Dog uses the load you are all the time without a problem, I'd be inclined to suspect that was the problem before the powder.