Lead fouling

[Telecaster]

Unjacketed lead bullets, ugh. I promise to clean the barrel more often! I have lead bullets because they were cheap, but when my 640’s accuracy went south I figured it was time to clean it. Waaaay past time. This picture is after about 6 or 7 soakings with bore cleaner. It’s soaking overnight now, slowly getting better.

 

[gwpercle]

Cleaning Rule #1
Clean after every shooting session . Letting it cake up and bake on is not going to make it easier ... the longer you don't clean the worse it gets .

My Dad insisted guns be cleaned and put away before you went to bed ... it didn't matter if you had fired 5 or 50 shots ...you cleaned them .

You may want to invest in a Lewis Lead Remover !
Goggle the name.

Gary

 

[pistolpete10]

Clean them about every 200 rounds. I once leaded up a 357 with some soft bullets, been careful since then(it was in 1968). If the bullets fit and are a hard alloy, lubed you shouldn't have leading problems. I've got some Hi-Tec coated 9MM bullets to try but I've only shot 25 of them so far. They were a little less expensive than plated bullets. The 25 fired just fine, I'll load a whole box and test for accuracy and see if there is any leading. I shoot almost 100% cast lubed bullets in .38 and 45ACP and light .44's but shoot plated and jacketed in 9MM. I did shoot 1000 lubed cast bullets in a 92FS and a Citadel 9MM 1911 gun with out any leading problems but I clean every couple hundred rounds.

 

[6string]

Prevention is the best medicine

The way to deal with heavy leading is prevention.
That means using lead bullets properly sized to match cylinder throats and groove diameter of the bore. (Have you slugged and measured your bore and cylinder throats?). It also means using the right choice of alloy and lube for the intended muzzle velocity.

Of course this doesn't help if the gun isn't built right. It used to be that revolvers were generally built right, dimension-wise. Timing and alignment are also important. S&W even used to hand lap each individual barrel with a cast lead lap.

Maybe I'm just living in the past....

Sorry for your leading troubles. I hope you can find a solution so you can enjoy all the benefits of lead bullets.

 

[Telecaster]

The Lewis tool is back ordered at Brownell’s. The ammo was mostly Prvi Partisan .38.

 

[Bib]

Strands of copper Chore Boy type pads wrapped around an old cleaning brush work really well. BUT....test the pads with a magnet to make sure that they are not Copper plated steel. I bought some off-brand pads that said pure copper but turned out to be magnetic!

 

[pantannojack]

Is that a magnum?

If you shoot lead in a magnum, you deserve lead fouling.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

If you shoot lead in a magnum, you deserve lead fouling.

I will take exception to this statement. I have fired many thousands of cast lead bullets in .357 magnum revolvers, at velocities in the 1200-1300 FPS range, with no problems at all. As others have pointed out, the bullet must fit the bore, be cast of an alloy appropriate for the velocity intended, and be properly lubricated.

When cleaning the revolvers I am not aware of any solvent that will remove lead deposits. The only method that works is cutting through the leading with a good bore brush (or Lewis lead remover) and this is best done completely dry as the first step in cleaning, followed by normal solvent and patch cleaning to remove powder residue.

Cleaning a revolver that has accumulated significant leading is a bit of a chore, but not a really major project. A good quality bronze bore brush is much harder than the lead, and much softer than the steel in the revolver. With enough passes through the bore and chambers it will remove the leading right down to the steel. Solvents or oils will only lubricate the passage of the bore brush, so the bore brush passes over the leading without cutting it away.

It can be very helpful to thoroughly "lead" a revolver one time. After that the shooter will learn to apply the correct precautions by selecting bullets of correct dimensions, correct hardness, and properly lubricated for use in that revolver.

Edited to add: I regularly shoot rifle calibers with cast lead bullets at velocities in the 2000-2500FPS range with no leading issues. The key issues remain bullet dimensions, alloy hardness, and lubrication appropriate for the use.

 

[Telecaster]

If you shoot lead in a magnum, you deserve lead fouling.

Thank you Mr. Sunshine

 

[6string]

Edited to add: I regularly shoot rifle calibers with cast lead bullets at velocities in the 2000-2500FPS range with no leading issues. The key issues remain bullet dimensions, alloy hardness, and lubrication appropriate for the use.

Yep! If you can use cast bullets in an M1 Garand, driven fast enough to cycle the action yet clean enough to keep from clogging the gas port, then lead bullets (done right) in a revolver (Magnums included) are no problem!

Haven't bought jacketed bullets in years. But, just priced them...Gee Whiz! I think I'll fire up the old lead pot!

But, to the OP (this is where the topic started!): a friend new to shooting bought a new M66. Had tons of leading using Fiocchi 38 special LRN ammo. I cleaned it for him with just a bronze brush and Rem-Oil. He was amazed at the lead chunks that came flying out. We then went to the range with a box of my handloaded cast wadcutters. No problem!

Don't get discouraged!!

 

[chief38]

WOW! That's a super dirty barrel!

It is just my opinion of course but I advocate cleaning a gun after each and every session. By doing that it only takes a short amount of time and it will always be spotless.

In my Revolvers 95% of what I shoot is Lead and my barrels are pristine. Cleaning them after a shooting session typically takes 5 minutes - the Cylinder Charge Holes take a bit more time since there are 6 of them.

When back in stock - you DEFINITELY need to order the LLR!

 

[oink]

The copper Chore Boy idea posted by Bib is a good one. The only problem is finding a true copper one. Most is copper plated. The copper stuff used to be found everywhere but now it hard to find except at gas station convenience stores near neighborhoods frequented by crack heads. The last one I got it at you had to ask for it because they keep it behind the counter as it tends to walk off.

 

[slickracer]

If you shoot lead in a magnum, you deserve lead fouling.

I guess Elmer Keith didn't know what he was doing. And Skeeter Skelton, too.

 

[cowboy4evr]

It also might help if you tumble lubed your commercial cast bullets . Then lay them out on a piece of wax paper to dry . I use a 40-40-10 of Alox , paste wax , mineral spirits mixture . The lube they use is hard , like crayons and that's all it's good for --- is crayons . Regards Paul

 

[gwpercle]

If you shoot lead in a magnum, you deserve lead fouling.

Not True , if done correctly .
See the 41 magnum in my avatar ...
I shoot cast lead bullets in it exclusively ... no lead fouling ever .
Gary

 

[BE Mike]

To be fair, some rifling these days isn't as smooth as it should be. Kroil is a good penetrating product to get under the leading. If possible, fill up the barrel with it and plug it. The longer you let it soak, the better. Using a good new bronze brush and/ or one wrapped in solid copper strings of cleaning pads should get most of the leading out. Keep repeating the Kroil/ brushing chore until the bore is clean. If the clean bore is a little rough, you can use JB Bore Paste/ Kroil to smooth it out some. This gives you some idea: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaPzrAfemIE[/ame]

 

[The Norseman]

Shake it up

For Lead Free Performance.
About a 60%(JLW), 40%(LeeAlox) mix.
You don't need such a big mixing bottle,
just what I started with years ago.

 

[FlyFish]

Another recommendation for Chore Boy. Tease a few strands off the pad and wrap them around a bore brush or mop. All the lead will come out with a few passes - been there, done that. Works as well as the Lewis Lead remover, although the Lewis has the benefit of also removing lead from the forcing cone area, if that's an issue. As others have said, be sure you get copper, not copper-plated, scrubbers which the Chore Boy brand are. Chore Boy does also make stainless steel scrubbers, but they're not copper plated so are easy to identify and avoid.

 

[just plain joe]

On those occasions when I have experienced leading, I started out with the Lewis Lead Remover on a "dry" barrel. This was followed by copper "Chore-Boy" (available on Amazon) with Hoppe's No. 9 .

I clean the revolver/pistol and let some of the solvent in the bore overnight. This usually brings out some of the lead as evidence by cleaning with a patch the next day.

On the very few occasions that the bore did not appear thoroughly clean, I used J & B Bore Cleaning Compound. This removed any remaining deposits.

As an aside, just to be safe, don't leave solvents on the exterior finish on a firearm for extended periods. While I've never experienced it, others on this forum have expressed concern about blued and nickel finishes being damaged by the solvent.

None of the above are "harsh" treatments for removing lead. For me they have stood the test of time.

HTH.

JPJ

 

[jimintheburg]

I too use the coper chore boy on an old bore brush. Recently, I have followed Hickcock 45 statement about firing a few fmjs and I have copper fmj as well as cast lead projectiles so I can follow up w/ fmjs.