Removing wax from Minimags

[Doc_Glock]

I have a lot of Minimags. There is limited availability of other .22 LR ammo right now and I would like to make better use of the Minimags, however some of my guns really dislike the wax residue that CCI seems to like to coat the Minimag with.

Do you reloaders know of any way to bulk dewax these cartridges without damaging them? Wiping them off individually is just too time intensive.

I don't have any reloading equipment or tumblers etc but would be willing to invest to be able to process/de-wax a brick at a time of .22 LR.

79295

Wax ring on the right cartridge. Wiped off on left.

[OlongJohnson]

Pretty sure the wax is there to prevent leading. How many "de-waxed" cartridges have you shot?

Not sure it will help on the Mini Mags, but on another brand where the wax/grease is soft and tends to form a drop on the nose, I've found it helpful to pull the tray out of the box and put it on the bench so all the bullet noses are pointing up, then just wipe all the noses with a paper towel. Slide the tray back into the box and go to the range. In that case, I was having issues with the nose wax gumming up the magazines and causing feeding issues. Resolved the problem nicely without affecting the wax on the sides of the bullet where it does its job.

[Leroy]

I use a small Lyman vibratory tumbler for removing case lube from loaded pistol rounds. It would probably work on the wax.

[Doc_Glock]

Pretty sure the wax is there to prevent leading. How many "de-waxed" cartridges have you shot?

The Aguila Super Extra doesn't seem to have the wax build up and I have shot tons of that.

Essentially my 43C gets gummed up with extraction with the Minimag and I am 99% sure it is the wax. The ammo works fine in almost anything else.

[Wheeler]

Some of the Steel Challenge shooters I used to hang with would use a vibratory tumbler to reduce the amount of wax on their bullets of choice. I’ve run a couple thousand Wax Reduced Mini Mags with no ill effects. YMMV of course

[rdtompki]

I bought some very waxy Aguila several months ago for wife's pistols. I wouldn't even touch them to load mags. Tried to remove the wax with my tumbler but all i succeeded in doing was producing bullets speckled with walnut shell debris. Wonder about a US cleaner?

[willie]

The wax is bullet lube which in .22 rimfire lead bullets is always externally applied.

[Oldherkpilot]

I use a small Lyman vibratory tumbler for removing case lube from loaded pistol rounds. It would probably work on the wax.

You should be judicious in using that tumbler on loaded rounds. That sort of jostling is what breaks down powder and could lead to FTFs or squib loads. My local PD swaps ammo at regular intervals and I think that's common practice.

[OlongJohnson]

You should be judicious in using that tumbler on loaded rounds. That sort of jostling is what breaks down powder and could lead to FTFs or squib loads. My local PD swaps ammo at regular intervals and I think that's common practice.

More particularly with rimfire would be affecting the priming. That's the main rimfire reliability issue in any case.

[MistWolf]

This is how I’ve done it since I was a kid- Get a good pair of dungarees. Dump 100 rounds in each front pocket. Starting just before sunup, hike across your favorite desert until lunch time. Eat a squished sandwich and take a nap. Head back to camp. Bonus points for bringing back a brace of fat bunnies for supper.

Yes, it really does work. Never had a malfunction due to waxy build up, or a misfire, using this method.

[358156hp]

To be totally honest here, there's no way in hell that I'd tumble any rimfire ammo. The idea of the case rims bumping and buzzing around against each other makes me really uncomfortable. I do tumble loaded centerfire ammo, and always have without any incidents at all. As for stripping the wax bullet lube from the bullets, please remember that rimfire ammo is externally lubricated and that lube serves a real purpose as far as feeding and leading control go. If you must remove the bullet lube, the only safe way I can see is to wipe them down individually, one at a time.

[Wheeler]

I talked to a couple of semi-pro shooters to refresh my memory. Both have taken the Mini Mags and used a brush to remove excess wax. One uses a concoction to re-coat the bullets, the other runs them without further changes. Both run tens of thousands of rounds through their guns annually with no ill effects. The excess wax usually fouls the feeding process at the feed lips and ramp.

If the bullets are copper washed, like Mini Mags, why do they need wax lubrication?

[willie]

I talked to a couple of semi-pro shooters to refresh my memory. Both have taken the Mini Mags and used a brush to remove excess wax. One uses a concoction to re-coat the bullets, the other runs them without further changes. Both run tens of thousands of rounds through their guns annually with no ill effects. The excess wax usually fouls the feeding process at the feed lips and ramp.

If the bullets are copper washed, like Mini Mags, why do they need wax lubrication?

Winchester about 70 years ago introduced copper plating called Lubaloy which they put on .22 rimfire ammo and on some centerfire lead bullets. I remember seeing .38 Spl lead bullets with this coating. The .22 ammo with the brass coating was always wax coated also. Perhaps this thin coating by itself did not prevent leading. That is my opinion. Another possibility for the coating is cosmetic in that it identified the brand.

[Leroy]

I think you need to ask yourself why your .22s are having issues with CCI Minimags, in my experience those are in the upper tier for .22 reliability. On the other hand, .22s are on the low end of the reliability spectrum in general, especially autoloaders. What's the issue? I know that every .22, even bolt guns, need the chamber cleaned on occasion, much more often than a centerfire.

[Wheeler]

I think you need to ask yourself why your .22s are having issues with CCI Minimags, in my experience those are in the upper tier for .22 reliability. On the other hand, .22s are on the low end of the reliability spectrum in general, especially autoloaders. What's the issue? I know that every .22, even bolt guns, need the chamber cleaned on occasion, much more often than a centerfire.

MiniMags are mid-tier at best. They are several steps above most of the bulk packaged offerings however. The Velocitors and Stingers are closer to upper tier for reliability.

Now that I think about it, I can't recall ever seeing a Stinger nor Velocitor with a heavy coat of wax on the bullet.

[Borderland]

Put one in the oven at 250°. If it doesn't cook off, and it won't, there's your answer.

Be sure to put a paper towel under it to absorb the wax.

Pro tip. SV is your best bet for accuracy if you shoot CCI 22 LR ammo.

I like it so much I bought 5k.

[358156hp]

I talked to a couple of semi-pro shooters to refresh my memory. Both have taken the Mini Mags and used a brush to remove excess wax. One uses a concoction to re-coat the bullets, the other runs them without further changes. Both run tens of thousands of rounds through their guns annually with no ill effects. The excess wax usually fouls the feeding process at the feed lips and ramp.

If the bullets are copper washed, like Mini Mags, why do they need wax lubrication?

The "concoction" is likely heavy USP Mineral oil from a decent drug store. It's been used in the past to clean dried up rimfire wax debris and provide enough decent lubrication for rimfire bullets.

[peterb]

I think you need to ask yourself why your .22s are having issues with CCI Minimags, in my experience those are in the upper tier for .22 reliability. On the other hand, .22s are on the low end of the reliability spectrum in general, especially autoloaders. What's the issue? I know that every .22, even bolt guns, need the chamber cleaned on occasion, much more often than a centerfire.

In my Ruger MkII, the wax builds up inside the magazines and will eventually cause feeding issues. Periodic cleaning keeps it from being a problem.

[shootist26]

In my Ruger MkII, the wax builds up inside the magazines and will eventually cause feeding issues. Periodic cleaning keeps it from being a problem.Same. I have a ton of bulk packed mini-mags and they all have a very heavy, visible wax coating. Oftentimes I can actually see a white blob of wax on the nose. I need to brush the interior of each mags at 50 rounds to avoid malfunctions. You can feel the following dragging as the wax build up is so bad.

[Doc_Glock]

Further testing proved that the wax wasn’t the issues. The 43c just kind of sucks. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Wheeler]

Further testing proved that the wax wasn’t the issues. The 43c just kind of sucks. Thanks for the suggestions.

I've been quite fortunate with mine. 2289 documented rounds, most of that bulk with a sub 1% failure rate that has been all ammo related.

[358156hp]

Further testing proved that the wax wasn’t the issues. The 43c just kind of sucks. Thanks for the suggestions.

At least you got to the bottom of your issue. That's the real win here.

[shootist26]

Science experiment: can i dip the entire tray of minimags bullet first into a pot of hot water to melt the wax off? Just
deep enough so the bullet tips get submerged.


Its the globs of wax on the nose of the bullets that cause all of these magazine malfunctions in my ruger mkiii

[MistWolf]

Science experiment: can i dip the entire tray of minimags bullet first into a pot of hot water to melt the wax off? Just
deep enough so the bullet tips get submerged.


Its the globs of wax on the nose of the bullets that cause all of these magazine malfunctions in my ruger mkiii

Yes, if you don't mind all the misfires from wet powder.

[UNK]

Clarks has some video about .22s fed from a magazine that might help in this situation. They just dump the bullets in a gun rag cloth I guess the kind that is impregnated with silicone and rub the bullets. Some times they put oil on the cloth too. Dunno if that helps or not.

[Pistol Pete 10]

I had a 541 T HB that would only shoot ammo with soft slick lubed ammo like SK or old Wolf. Wish I knew what they use.

[Duelist]

I had a 541 T HB that would only shoot ammo with soft slick lubed ammo like SK or old Wolf. Wish I knew what they use.

IIRC, SK Jagd and Wolf Match are the same ammunition in different boxes.

[shootist26]

Yes, if you don't mind all the misfires from wet powder.


Even if it's...just the tip?

[MistWolf]

Even if it's...just the tip?

She can still get pregnant

[Pistol Pete 10]

IIRC, SK Jagd and Wolf Match are the same ammunition in different boxes.

Roger that, I have a little of both from before Biden/Covid. First group with CCI STD after shooting the SK is real good, the lube left in the bbl from the SK. After that the CCI will have fliers. Whatever the slick lube is makes a big difference.