[Jeff Higgins]

Yup, the Sweet's 7.62 is ammonia based. Pretty nasty stuff, hence the warnings to be careful with it. For me, it's only a once in awhile, last ditch kind of thing when I see accuracy dropping off. I'll usually just clean with Hoppe's #9, assuming I clean it at all. I can get 30-40 rounds through it before it needs a few wet patches and a dry one. I never brush it with anything. It might get the Sweet's about every fourth or fifth cleaning.

Have you thought about trying one of the new Enduron powders? I've considered it, but my rifle is so well sorted now that I really don't want to start over. It might be worth it for the reduced copper fouling, though. I'm torn. The Swift has notoriously short barrel life compared to other .22 caliber centerfires, and I just don't want to use more of it up working up a new load. It already has over 2,000 rounds through it as it is.

So, a completely unsolicited suggestion regarding your .22-250: Try some heavier bullets. The larger .22 cases seem to thrive on them. Not real heavy - I really like the 60 grain weight. Yeah, it's lots of fun to launch those lightweights at extreme velocities, but the heavier ones actually shoot flatter and have less wind drift at longer ranges, even starting out a couple hundred fps slower. Granted, the lighter bullets are like a death ray out to 200-250 yards or so, but once you surpass 300 or 400, the heavier ones start to shine. It all depends on what you want to do, I guess.