I've been using Wolf .22lr Match/Target ammo on my rifle. No issues with accuracy or reliability, but I notice a yellowish residue on the interior of the receiver and the bolt/bolt carrier. If it was black I would think it was carbon/unburnt powder. It sort of cakes up rather quickly and requires a vigorous scrub to remove. I realize that .22's are notoriously dirty, but I had not seen this before. One non standard thing that I do is lubricate the bolt/carrier with a "Dry" bicycle chain lubricant (with Teflon). Any reason why this might be the cause? Right now I'm in the process of thoroughly cleaning all the surfaces and will lubricate with regular lubricants and see what happens. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
aj
w
Is it kind of gritty, like small flecks of cornmeal? If so it may be semi-burnt powder residue.
Could it be the lube? I've had that happen before, where as the rifle heats up, the lube spreads out & changes color. Or maybe the lube doesn't like the high temps of a firearm.
It's recoil operated, doesn't get that hot in there. It looks more like powdered sugar, except it has a yellow tint and hardens into a fine crust.
I just finished cleaning it and used gun lube. My next visit to the range will validate or discard the lube theory.
Thanks for the ideas,
aj
If you find out it's not the teflon (Finish Line?) after your next range visit, try a different ammo. I don't remember the details but the partially burnt powder thought is that the chemical that determines the burn rate of the powder is yellowish. If the quantity of powder is too low, that burn rate chemical doesn't completely burn. Apologies for not remember the specifics, it was quite a while ago I came across that info.
I'm guessing it is the lube off of the cartridges. I've noticed it from other ammo with a waxy coating but have never used Wolf.
In about 3 hours I'll be heading for the range to confirm or deny my theory. At one time the problem was gun residue (I find .22's notoriously dirty) mixing with some of the lube and jamming the action. I then switched to a dry bicycle chain lube (Teflon based). No more jamming, but the result was the yellowish residue. Today I'll try normal gun oil, used sparingly, and CCI's mini mags and see if there is a difference. If residue is absent, I'll try Wolf again and see if the residue reappears
I definitely hope it's not the Wolf ammo, since it cycles great and gives a consistent point of impact. My money is a strange chemical reaction taking place somewhere somewhere.
aj
Looking forward to the result of your testing.
I had a similar problem with federal auto-match. Fired up most of a case with out cleaning, heavy dark yellow fouling was hard to get off. Went back to blazers and got the same ole gooey black fouling that was easier to clean off.
There is much good written about wolf match/target, but sticker shock is why I never humped up and bought any.
Just returned from the range. Results were close to what I expected. First shot 100 rounds of CCI mini-mags. Two malfunctions (after about 80 rounds) on feeding. Bolt wouldn't close fully. It felt a little sluggish. Field stripped the rifle and bolt felt very dry. Lubed by putting a little oil (very little) on a rag and spreading it on the bolt carrier rails. Functioning back to "normal". Finished the 100 rounds, removed the bolt/carrier and looked for the yellow residue. None present, just the black powder residue. Then fired 100 rounds of Wolf. No problems whatsoever. For good measure fired 100 rounds of Aguila. Again flawless functioning and no pesky yellow residue. You will have what I consider normal amounts of carbon residue. Hey, it's a .22lr and needs cleaning.
Conclusions: 1.Stay away of dry bicycle lubricant. 2. I'll begin (again) using gun oil or it's equivalent (Synthetic ATF fluid has worked for me in the past, but I didn't have any on hand). What seems to work for me is to spread a very thin film and then dry it off.
Rifle used was an AR upper that I built using quality components. Barrel is a CMMG 16" HBAR. Bolt/carrier is a ciener design built by CMMG. Receiver is a VLTOR. Handguard by Troy. Sights by Bravo Company. All this sitting on top of a Colt lower. No problems since completion about 3 years ago (close to 5000 rounds).
aj