barrel leading

[federali]

Don't Do It.

Back in the late 80s I was a student at the S&W Academy, revolver armorers' school. An instructor brought me a Glock pistol, knowing I had attended the Glock school, for assistance in dismantling the gun. A customer sent the gun to S&W, blaming their ammo for a catastrophic failure. He too tried to clean a heavily leaded barrel by firing a jacketed Hollowpoint through it. You're not supposed to fire lead bullets through a polygonal barrel as it can cause excess leading.
He paid the price.

 

[GBertolet]

Glocks are notorious for leading, due to the polygonal rifling. This can be mitigated by using bullets of proper hardness on the large side, ex .357-.358, instead of the standard .356, in 9mm. Powder coating makes a difference also. My G 17 does not lead at all following this concept.

Although I have no reservations over cleaning SLIGHT leading, with jacketed. It NEVER should be used on more heavily leaded barrels. People on all sides of this issue can agree with this. For those, bronze wool or the Lewis lead remover would be the proper method of lead removal. The owner of the Glock mentioned above, was solely responsible for his own misfortune. An expensive lesson.

I was a R.O. at a GSSF match, and a competitor's G 21 exploded. The magazine was blown out, the grip was split, and a piece of the grip hit me in the face, which required some minor medical treatment. The owner was shooting some grungy lead ammo, and admitted he had not cleaned the gun in a while. A definite over pressurization from a restricted bore. Surprisingly, the Glock armorer hurried over and took the gun, promising they would take care of it. No gunmaker want's negative publicity, even if it is not their fault.

 

[mikld]

I never tried a jacketed bullet to remove lead from a barrel, I used a Lewis Lead and developed loads that do not lead the barrels (all my handguns). First item to consider is bullet to gun fit...

FWIW; I have read about a home made solvent to remove leading; vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. Do not use this. I tried it on my Dan Wesson 44H and left it in the barrel too long (8 hrs,) and it pitted the barrel...

 

[shocker]

Glocks are notorious for leading, due to the polygonal rifling. This can be mitigated by using bullets of proper hardness on the large side, ex .357-.358, instead of the standard .356, in 9mm. Powder coating makes a difference also. My G 17 does not lead at all following this concept.

I bought a cut rifled aftermarket (Storm Lake) barrel for my Glock. IMO, it's easier to spend $100 on a cast friendly barrel than start a science project trying to make polygonal rifling work.
Back on original topic, it's a better idea to brass brush (with favorite gun cleaning goo) the lead out.

 

[fredj338]

Back in the late 80s I was a student at the S&W Academy, revolver armorers' school. An instructor brought me a Glock pistol, knowing I had attended the Glock school, for assistance in dismantling the gun. A customer sent the gun to S&W, blaming their ammo for a catastrophic failure. He too tried to clean a heavily leaded barrel by firing a jacketed Hollowpoint through it. You're not supposed to fire lead bullets through a polygonal barrel as it can cause excess leading.
He paid the price.

I have fired 1000s of lead bullets thru my glock OEM bbls with no issues. You jut have to clean more often. By coating, you even eliminate that issue. Yes, early Glock 40s were being kb when mostly LEO were shooting led practice ammo in them & not cleaning.

 

[GBertolet]

If you pay attention to what you are doing, you can fire lead bullets out of Glocks with no issues. Unfortunately, many do not pay attention to examining, and cleaning their barrels, after every range session, and having properly prepared ammo to feed their Glock with. These people are the ones that you hear of the Kaboom's with.

Yes, Glock 40's were especially susceptible to KB's when improper lead bullets are used. Too soft or undersized. Before I got my own mold, I was give some 40 cal commercially cast bullets to load in a G27. In less than two 10 round magazines, the rifling was invisible. I stopped to check because my accuracy went to hell. Had I had kept shooting, a KB would at some point be inevitable. It took lots of scrubbing to clean the leading out. With my own bullets now, cast of harder alloy, and sized to .402, no leading whatsoever.

 

[rockquarry]

I've never been a fan of Glocks, but I tried a cast bullet load in a Glock that had been trouble free in several 9mm pistols. Chambering the first round locked the gun up tight. This was more than thirty years ago, but it was obvious that the loaded cartridge was too large in diameter for the Glock chamber.

This was before I discovered that .358" cast bullets were more accurate in most 9mm pistols than the .356" bullets I was using at the time. I think Glock only had a couple of models then, a 17 and a 19. Perhaps chambers on newer Glocks aren't so tight. However, I didn't know that cast bullets weren't recommended for use in Glocks, as someone here stated.

 

[stonebuster]

Copper Chore Boy

Never ever put a stainless brush or strips of a stainless cleaning pad in your barrel . Use bronze brushes & copper only cleaning pad strips . Stainless will scratch & damage a bore .

Walmart 100% copper Chore Boy wrapped around a bore brush has worked removing lead for me. I shoot mostly FMJ at the range to avoid leading.

 

[GBertolet]

I found also that .357 and .358 bullets tend to shoot more accurate in most 9mm's, if they will chamber. Most 9mm's will accept .358 bullets.

The chamber support in gen 3 Glocks on up, are better supported underneath, giving a better safety factor. When a Glock KB's, it's usually the unsupported bottom of the case that ruptures, allowing hi pressure gasses to blow out the magazine, and grip. 40's are most susceptible to this, due to the dynamics of this cartridge. I have gen 2's and gen 3's, so I am keenly aware of this.

 

[mikld]

I bought a cut rifled aftermarket (Storm Lake) barrel for my Glock. IMO, it's easier to spend $100 on a cast friendly barrel than start a science project trying to make polygonal rifling work.
Back on original topic, it's a better idea to brass brush (with favorite gun cleaning goo) the lead out.

Not all that difficult, just a bit of info; The Truth about Glocks and Cast

 

[Qc Pistolero]

Shooting is not cleaning whatever the bullet you shoot.I think you'll just iron the lead in the grooves and we all know that once the process of leading has started it keeps increasing.
Clean properly and find what causes the leading would be,as suggested the proper way.
Think of it:we shoot no GC lead bullets in rifles at 1300fps without leading and so why would a handgun be different?If it can be done in a long pipe so can it be in a short one.

 

[Tex1001]

I have been casting and shooting lead-alloy bullets since 1973

I've been doing it since 1967.
The jacketed bullet clean out theory is so logical on its surface but the fact is, when shooting a jacketed through a leaded bore the jacket slides over the lead and irons it into the steel pores, as stated before.
Trying to clean a bore this way never works. Always use a brass scrubber of some sort.

 

[38SPL HV]

...use properly sized bullets and pay attention to hardness, not too hard for lower velocities. I found that a 12 BNH hardness is adequate for my entry level magnum loads (1200 FPS). I’ve pushed Speer lead bullets to 950 FPS without leading.

 

[ACORN]

+1 on the Lewis Lead Remover. I picked one up, in the box, at a dealers $2 “treasure table” in .44 a couple years ago.
I love going through those “junk” piles. Scored a Colt Det. Spec. factory hammer shroud for $1. A set of NIB J frame Pachs. for $5.

 

[jake1945]

JB bore compound works for me along with a stiff bore brush.

 

[dla]

A friend of mine said he cleaned lead from the bore of his 44 Blackhawk by firing a jacketed round through it. I don't think I would do this. Any thoughts out there?

I used to do this with 45acp figuring that the pressure increase would still be well within safe limits of the barrel.
As working pressures go up, I feel less confident of the safety. I dont do it with 44 mag - I use a bronze or stainless bore brush.
I definitely wont do it with a 65Kpsi rifle cartridge.
I know that a famous military experimenter (forgot the name) tested this in rifles.

 

[OKFC05]

This has been argued before, but here is my take on this issue. I cannot fathom on how a softer copper jacket can swage lead into the metal pores, of a much harder steel barrel. The steel has only so many pores. A smooth finished bore has fewer pores than a rougher finished bore does. After they are allegedly filled, then what? If there is any lead swaging to be done, it will be into the softer copper bullet, which will leave the barrel.

In any of my firearms, I have not seen lead forged into steel. The barrels are spotless afterwards. Others will disagree with this, and maybe they are right, but until I see a scientific lab analysis, with empirical evidence, all arguments, pro and con, will just be opinions.

Properly sized bullets to cylinder throat size, virtually eliminates leading, maybe a few whisps at the rifling leade, that's it. I have done my own powder coating, and the bullets leave the bore spotless. If you already have casting and sizing equiptment, for about $25 and an old toaster oven, you too can powder coat your bullets.

OK, look at it this way. Even if you are only soldering a one molecule thick layer of copper and then lead and then copper, the barrel is not clean. A major barrel manufacturer has said half the new barrels he installed replace barrels that were plated with layers of copper and lead, not worn out. Use the electronic Foul Out and see what you are leaving in your "clean" barrels.

 

[glenwolde]

I have a Lewis Lead Remover and don't use it much anymore. I do like the forcing cone tip.

I find that a brass jagged tip and a patch cut from one of those yellow Lead Remover cloths will remove any lead you have in short order as long as it's a nice tight fit to the bore.

 

[wrkerr]

From the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook Third Edition, 1980, page 94.

Just saying.

 

[steelslaver]

Ah, because it is in print it must be fact.

Your only going to smooth the coating of lead down the barrels surfaces. It may well get tightly bonded to the surface. Once coated it is not going any deeper, but can get thicker. It isn't going to get driven into the steels "pores" any deeper either. I can't see how a soft copper jacket will remove it. Show me a jacket bullet that is coated with lead from being fired down a leaded barrel and I will believe you. It sure wasn't blown out in front the bullet. It will keep SLOWLY getting wiped down the bore and some small amounts may leave.

CLEAN YOUR DIRTY BARREL