This is kind of a continuation of the long saga I have with my Colt Detective Special, but could be helpful to others.....

I have been trying to figure out if my Colt DS is out of time or not. I pretty much came to the conclusion that I can feel it locking in DA and single action. However, I typically don't shoot it as well as my 442. I did have a flicker of hope the 2nd to last time I shot it as the accuracy wasn't QUITE as bad as I had noticed in the past. I always figured it was me, but my 442 sort of proved that wrong. Then I got to thinking maybe it was picky about what ammo it likes. Then it dawned on me, I did shoot quite a bit of really old, lead rounds through it. My Step Dad had this stash of super old lead rounds. Some of them had like this copper wash over it... but it was clearly not something that was overly thick. He claimed he got this ammo from the Marine Corps, while he was a CHP in the 60's. But I don't know what to believe. I think he was kind of a BS'er.

But the point being is I probably ran oh 300 or more rounds of old lead cartridges through the DS and I never really treated the barrel or cleaned it specifically to get the lead out.

Can a lead fouled barrel be inaccurate? My only confusion to all this is we have shot a lot of .22 rounds through a 10/22 and Colt Huntsman and I don't seem to see a degredation in accuracy. Maybe some of the newer lead rounds don't foul bores as bad as old rounds?

So.... I planned on buying a brass brush for my revolvers but the last time I was in the store I couldn't find one short enough that would allow it to go through the barrel and exit into the frame part. You know what I mean? They're all too long to where you'd insert it and have to reverse it before actually going through the barrel all the way. And I thought thats not good to do.

This was the last time I shot it at 7 yards that got me to thinking it might actually not be quite as bad as in the past. It's certainly not a good grouping, but I had done worse with it in the past. Yes, part of t is I'm sure me. But I typically can shoot the 442 tighter. Sort of..... LOL.

And then one time I did a 7 yard single action test and it just was not shooting as well as I thought it should be for a super light trigger. I don't think it was me either. And I'm pretty sure it's locked when it fires but I do seem to get some off centered primer strikes. But they're not exactly right in the center on my 442 either.... Should they be?

A leaded barrel will shoot terrible groups.As far as 22s go,most ammo has a decent or better lube on it that prevents barrel leading.If you can only get a long bore brush,just cut it shorter with a wire cutter or dremel.Get some copper choreboy and wrap a few strands around it then scrub the barrel out without using solvent.The lead will come right out.Good luck!

I never thought of cutting one... LOL. Thanks for the tip!!!

Leading (bore, chambers, forcing cone, etc) can be caused by several factors. Lead alloys that are too soft for the pressures applied, bullets not properly fitting the forcing cone or bore, inadequate bullet lubricant, high flame temperatures melting the bullet base and smearing lead, probably several others but these are what come to mind first.

Leading in the bore can be difficult to distinguish on casual inspection, frequently appearing as a bright polished bore surface (after "routine" cleaning with powder solvents, patches, etc). Leading on the cylinder face, in forward portions of the chambers, etc, is more easily seen.

Leading is pretty easy to avoid, even with cast or swaged lead bullets, when the bullet is properly fitted to the gun, proper lubricant for the load is employed, and the powder charge is correct for the intended loading. For much good information on these points please see Lyman Cast Bullet Handbooks (any edition) or Colonel E. H. Harrison's excellent "Cast Bullets" (NRA publications).

Dealing with leading when it occurs is not as difficult as some folks try to make it be. A new bronze bore brush of suitable diameter will usually remove the majority of lead (and carbon deposits) when used dry as a first step in the cleaning process, followed by solvents and patches to remove residual crud. Including solvent or lubricant reduces the ability of the bronze bristles to cut through the deposits.

A heavily leaded bore (or chambers, forcing cone, cylinder face) can be effectively cleared by using a well-worn bronze bore brush wrapped tightly with strands of 0000-grade steel wool. This will cut through the leading quickly, and the steel wool will do no damage whatsoever to the bore or blued finishes. This is the method we used in Army armories for cleaning heavily fouled weapons used in training (5.56mm to 20mm). Use the wrapped brush dry as the first step, then switch to solvents and patches, allowing the solvent to work for an hour or two after application to remove stubborn carbon deposits.

I used my 1976-vintage Model 19 S&W for several years of competition in PPC courses, firing tens of thousands of handloaded .38 Special cast bullet loads, frequently 300-400 rounds between cleanings. This is the cleaning method I always used. I seldom spent more than 15 or 20 minutes cleaning the revolver. It is now 42 years old, tight as it can be, looks great, bore is perfect, and it shoots at least as good as it did when new.

I have also cleaned hundreds of US and foreign firearms used at Fort Benning, Georgia for extended training cycles with ammunition of US and foreign manufacture. I have worn out a lot of bore brushes through the years, but I have never worn out a good firearm.

I had leading issues with my 44 SPL reloads. There are many ways to clean out lead or to find the perfect balance in your reloads to limit leading.

At the end of the day I went with the easiest option. I don't reload or shoot plain lead anymore. Haven't had a leading issue since.

I plan to not shoot lead anymore either. I'm not really sure if my barrels are leaded or not..... both the colt and my 442. I found a proper sized brush and cleaned them today. It's really hard to tell if there is any..... But I think I have some steel wool of that size in my basement and I may run a brush with some of that on it through. Just to see.....

Yup. Copper chore boy. I shoot lead and very little else.

The Lewis lead remover I think is the easiest way to remove lead from a bore. I have adapters for 9mm up .44 and they work fine for me.
I've never had a problem with .22 rimfires leading a bore, there not moving all that fast and the limit amount of powder really doesn't super heat the end of the bullet like some centerfires can.

DON'T USE STEEL WOOL !!
GO TO THE FOOD STORE AND BUY CHORE BOY COPPER POT SCRUBBER. DON'T BUY THE KNOCK OFF BRANDS , SOME ARE STEEL WITH A COPPER WASH. I'VE BEEN USING COPPER CHORE BOY IN MY BORES FOR 30 YEARS. COPPER WILL NOT HARM STEEL. UNROLL A CHORE BOY AND WRAP IT AROUND A WORN BORE BRUSH AND RUN IT THRU THE BORE. NO SOLVENT, NO NOTHING. WATCH THE LEAD COME OUT OD THE BORE IS AMAZING. I USED TO DO IT WITH PEOPLE WHO CLAIMED THEIR BORE WAS LEAD FREE. THE LEAD COMES OUT IN SHARDS OR RIBBONS. JP

It should be easy to tell if the barrel is leaded. Make sure the gun is empty, open the cylinder, and then look down the barrel. It helps it have a light shining on the recoil shield as it reflects light down the barrel. You should be able to make out the lands and grooves of the rifling. If you can't see the rifling at all you have terrible leading. If there are streaks of crud running down the barrel there's a good chance you have leading.

Leading can definitely effect accuracy. There are plenty of threads out there on how to deal with leading but I'd definitely stay away from steel wool. Chore boy or something similar is the way to go.

Not all lead loads are created equal. Just because one load leads doesn't mean that all loads will cause problems.

Reference your accuracy with your Colt:
1. try a different grip (s)
2. try factory 158 grain standard velocity.
3. consider the "Super Light Trigger" might be causing you to slightly filch ?

I agree to make certain your copper pad is total copper, not the copper washed stainless steel. Take a magnet with you and test it for a pretty reliable test. Best way is to buy one that says it's 100% copper on the tag! You don't want to be pushing that SS pad down the bore!!!! But the copper works a treat. It can be eye popping if the leading is severe!

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So long ... Ken