What is the best way to get lead out of barrel .Had some poor loads and it left a lot of lead in barrel I tried soaking it and using a bore brush but it does not seem to do the trick. Any and all help would be helpful.

Get some copper chore boy (make sure it's copper),wrap a few strands around a bore brush.Scrub a dry bore with it and lead shavings will come pouring out very quickly.

Here are a few things to try.

Buy pure copper dish scrubbing pads. I like Chore Boy brand. Make certain they are not copper washed steel with a magnet. Tear off a tuft, wrap it around your bore brush and scrub.

Do the same with brass wool. It is in the paint department at some hardware stores, in boat supply stores near docks that lease to larger boats, and at Brownells. While not all Ace Hardware stores have it on the shelf they can all order it through their supply system. $7 for 3 pads. I mainly use fine brass wool to clean stainless steel guns. I like it because unlike metal polish I can rub them till the cows come home without altering the factory original surface.

Buy a Lewis lead remover. I bought my first one about 1974. They work but not necessarily faster then the methods above.

Chore Boy works well and last a good long while so you don't have to buy a ton. As others have said, make certain its the 100% Copper version and you are good to go.

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Who watches the watchers?

I use the chore boy copper pads, but I soak mine in mixture called Ed's Red first. It is 4 equal parts of acetone, mineral spirits, kerosene, and automatic transmission fluid. Swab the bore and let sit over night, then rewet the bore and hit it with the chore boy bristle brush.

Charlie

I too have used the Lewis Lead Remover since the 1970s. Have several set up in the calibers that I shoot unjacketed bullets in: .32, .38, .44, and .45.

They work very well, but just a bit cumbersome. I used to shoot thousands of rounds of lead reloads in training courses, and always kept the tools around, with plenty of screens. Hard to beat.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

The Lewis Lead Remover (from Brownell's) is IMO the easiest and safest way to effectively remove lead from the Barrel, Forcing Cone and Cylinder Charge Holes. As a matter of fact, I just used it not longer than one hour ago on my M586. I was at the range today with a new shooter and I was letting him shoot the M586 with Std. Vel. .38's, +P .38's, BB 158 grain .357 Magnums and the WILD 180 grain BB hard cast lead SWC 357. Magnum. My goal was to demonstrate the variety of different loads the M586 can handle and how different they feel and shoot.

I had some light leading after 160 rounds and instead of scrubbing away for a half hour I used the LLR and in 5 minute the Barrel, Forcing Cone & Cylinder's Charge Holes were spotless once again.

After I had the same experience I started lowering the powder charge and started using Carolina moly coated leadcast bullets. Since the Carolina bullets are hard to find I purchased moly in a spray can. I can setup my bullets nose up and coat them myself.

An easy and homemade formula is 50% vinegar with 50% hydrogen peroxide. plug end of barrel fill with solution let sit no more than 3-5 min. flush with water run brass brush threw and then check barrel. You may have to do this two or three times. make sure that you clean, dry and oil the gun after doing this. Stainless guns are easier than blue guns, if you leave it to long in a blue gun it can start working on the metal. Use gloves and dispose of solution properly. I have found that this is a lot easier than most other methods. YMMV.

ALL THAT RISK OF DAMAGE would make me nervous. Seriously....... try a LLR and you will kick yourself for ever not having one from the beginning. Literally - takes 5 minutes and your done. Just about impossible to damage Bore, Forcing Cone of Charge Holes as long as simple directions are followed.

IMHO if you shoot a Revolver - you SHOULD get a LLR too.

Also in the clean-it-out-by-not-letting-it-in department, I've had excellent (virtually no leading in barrel or on cylinder face) results with coated bullets from Acme, Mo Bullet and SNS.

If you run a session like chief38 described you're almost certainly going to end up using at least some commercial lead loads, in which case the LLR is indeed a superb tool for getting rid if the inevitable residue.

I run lead bullets primarily because two out of the three Ranges I am a member of are indoors and only allow Lead to be shot (fear of ricochet). While the outdoor Range will allow anything I don't want to load two versions of every caliber I shoot - hence the lead bullets.

Lewis Lead remover now days. We used to use mercury, but it's highly poisonous. I don't shoot the volume I used to or cast bullets anymore so I pretty much stick with jacketed bullets now.

Save yourself a lot of grief and get the Lewis Lead Remover....
You will probably need it a few more times and you can even charge friends to de-lead their barrels.
It's a handy thing to have and makes cleaning lead out easy.
Gary

I purchased and got very well acquainted with the Lewis Lead Remover, after buying a Lee 40 cal mold that cast the bullets under size. It's not fun nor easy, but it works.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I must be having some memory parity error or something but didn't those pads used to be called Chore Girl? Was the name changed due to some sexist law suit or what? I had to look up Chore Boy because I sure don't remember calling them that. Did a feminine war break out and I missed it?

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Si vis pacem para bellum.

Actually you are correct ......up until about the 1950's , they were marketed as Chore Girl. Sometimes after that the name was changed to Chore Boy....same product , new and improved name. Have no idea why it was changed !
We showing our age knowing this kind of stuff !
Gary

Kano-Kroil
It is for soaking a rusted bolt, before removing.
You will find it is higher end Hardware Stores,
(Not usually the mart-marts)

It will soak, Between, the Lead/Copper, and the Steel.

After, a thoroughly clean bbl.
Continued use, cleaning is faster.

I Heard about this many years ago,
and decided to try it.
A 870, with one of the first Hastings, fully rifled barrels,
Shooting the 1-1/8 oz 12-3", Lead Slug,
Always cleaned it, after season, and put it away.
(With a variety of the 'wonder cleaners')

8 to 12 rounds a year, wet, patch, brush, wet patch, till clean,
(about 3-4 patches)
Then bore brush, then wet patch till clean
(ONE Patch). Then 2 Dry Patches.

I KNEW, This was a CLEAN Bore.
So wet patch of Kroil, Phone rang. 1 hour later came back, and brushed, and, STRIPS, Yea, Strips, of Lead came out.
Convinced me !

Or, try the Very Old, 'trick', of 1/2 Any ATF Fluid, and 1/2, Acetone. Remember, they will NOT mix.
In a clear container, (I use old soy sauce bottles), and when it sits for 1-5 days, you Will see a separation. Key here is to SHAKE it up well, then apply.

I think it is the movement of the two fluids, that breaks down the residence, and make a very rusted bolt move easier.

The factory, 'Kano-Kroil', does not separate.

I Use the Factory in firearms,
the, 'home-made', for rusty bolts.

Try the Factory, it may work for you.

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Learn something every day...got interested in the Chore Boy/Chore Girl story, and googled it. Tinhack and gwpercle (Gary) are correct, the name did change. At the risk of thread drift, but in the interests of history, here are a few ads from the 1940s and early 1950s:








I also learned that it is well known in some circles as being one of the component parts for building "crack" pipes. Being in the criminal justice profession, you would think I would have come across that somewhere. On the other hand, I may have, and just forgot it. I have been known to forget things now and then.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I hate to say this out loud, Les, but I'll bet you had forgotten. So had I! But the mention of "Chore Girl" rang a loud bell in my head. My first thought was that the Chore Girl may have been an abrasive cleaning powder like Babbo or Comet, etc, but then it seemed I do remember a scrubber by that name. You and Gary then confirmed that there was such a thing. It's humbling to me to have forgotten about so many things, but it makes me smile when something like this jogs my poor memory and I actually do still have enough of the memory stored somewhere in my pea brain to remember it!! Not so much when remembering involves something that is critically important and which did not get filed nearly that long ago! But now everybody knows we are old enough to have been around when things like this were in evidence!!!

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So long ... Ken

After Chore Boys were suggested on this forum about 10 years ago I tried some. Every clerk that sold them to me did so with a nasty scowl and dirty look. I did not figure out why until this was discussed. If I recall correctly drawing meth (amphetamine) smoke through a copper mesh increases the high. I learned to tell the clerk that I use it to clean gun barrels and stainless steel guns. While that is not met with universal approval it makes them less nervous.

Chore Boy strands are stiffer and have sharper edges than coarse bronze wool strands so Chore Boys remove rust, fouling and bluing faster. It is a lot easier to pull a tuft out of a brass wool pad. I routinely use brass wool cleaning stainless revolvers. I seldom use Chore Boys.

Yeah... I have never actually tried the Chore Boy, just seen it mentioned here. I too am a believer in bronze wool. But for getting the lead out of the bores, I have always used the Lewis Lead Remover, which I discovered about the time that I started reloading and casting my own bullets, and also continued when I became a firearms instructor in the revolver era, with lead bullets being the norm for training.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Lot's of good advice here and over the past years I have used most of it. In my case, the final solution for leaded barrels was to choose to never fire a lead round down any of my firearms. I understand the fun and process of casting bullets but I learned years ago that copper plated bullets do not lead the barrel. I made the switch and never looked back. Today, my Lewis Lead Remover is only used to clean the forcing cone area of my revolvers.

Bought a Lewis lead remover back in the 80s when commercial cast bullets were awful beyond 800 fps (at least the ones I bought) At some point my last screen had torn and I tried the chore boy trick.It was so fast and easy I don't even know where my LLR is.

Les,Chore Girl at only 0.10$....humm!can you supply me with 20 casefull of it?
Qc

Thanks there was really good information given