Cleaning Out the Lead

The Lewis Lead Remover and I parted company about 20 years ago after I learned about the Chor Boy method. The latter is so much faster. The bore light is a god sent item. I don;t own one mostly because I have never been involved with rifle bulls eye/benchrest shooting where I suspect the tool shines. I just use a flashlight against a clean patch to reflect the light up the bore. Works for handguns,not so much for rifles.

A lot of the need for any of these products can be eliminated by doing some research into why barrels lead and the ways to avoid the problem in the first place. Properly sized bullets using a decent lube is a good place to start. Knowing the diameter of your bore for the gun you are loading for is a good first step. Most firearms today come with decent barrels sized correctly but not all.

After you use the Chor Boy or even a copper brush, A patch with Hoppes will remove any copper that may have rubbed off. The active ingredient is ammonia. Windex will do the same thing. I just have a bottle of Hoppes on my bench..

I think I may have to invest in one of those bore lights Ganderite you have started an itch that may have to be scratched. :>)

Take Care

Bob
 
ChoreBoy on a brush works well. This video is a good explanation.

I bought a 3-pad package of a generic copper cleaner at Food Basics for about $5.00. It is copper - not copper-plated steel.

Just made an important discovery. I decided to put some Kroil in the barrels for overnight, in the assumption that it will loosen the lead for the ChorBoy treatment. I am sure it will, because a lot of lead is coming out on the Kroil patch.
Kroil is a super light penetrating oil. It is literally lifting the lead immediately. I am really looking forward to tomorrow for some fast cleaning.

 
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QUOTE=EHG;16952581]I always wondered if shooting jacketed bullets would remove the lead fouling.

[/QUOTEQUOTE=porpoise;16952594]You could shoot jacketed bullets by the hundreds and the lead would not come out. I am right now using lead out by wipeout it works but takes many applications.[/QUOTE]

My experience has been shooting a wheel or two of 357 mag campros after a lead wadcutter target range session cleans my forcing cone and bore right out.

Mind you, I dont have a major leading problem to begin with...just a minor lead crud ring in the forcing cone and lead streaks around 1" after the forcing cone and streaks at the muzzle. I'd also imagine lead streaking throughout the bore... but I cant see it and I dont have a bore scope. All of that is gone after a handful of copper plated bullets. No amount of standard bronze bore brush and hoppes #9 ever takes care of that minor leading... but the copper plated smartens the bore right up.

Whats the difference between a tight fit chore boy and a copper bullet sweeping the lead out? Nothing IMO.

If I had a serious leading problem or more than a streaking issue, I'd likely not feel comfortable shooting a copper plated bullet through the bore....but at that point its probably not even safe to continue shooting lead through the bore.

I dont usually shoot copper magnums every session... but now afrter figuring out the copper bullet 'nam trick I dont put more than a couple passess through the bore with a brush and hoppes #9 wasting time attempting to perfectly clean the bore. I'll make it a point to finish my next range session with copper plated bullets if I notice extra crud build up and have the bore spotless after that with a couple quick hoopes/sweets passes.

This method of lead cleaning is really a matter of discretion IMO... if youre heavily leaded up, obviously not a good idea. But if you were to use this method regularly from a baselined and clean bore, I'd imagine you'll never have a pressure/safety issue and you'll save a lot of hassle when cleaning the bore.
 
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fiftycalforsquirrels said:
QUOTE=EHG;16952581]I always wondered if shooting jacketed bullets would remove the lead fouling.

[/QUOTEQUOTE=porpoise;16952594]You could shoot jacketed bullets by the hundreds and the lead would not come out. I am right now using lead out by Wipeout it works but takes many applications.
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My experience has been shooting a wheel or two of 357 mag Campros after a lead wadcutter target range session cleans my forcing cone and bore right out.

Mind you, I don't have a major leading problem to begin with...just a minor lead crud ring in the forcing cone and lead streaks around 1" after the forcing cone and streaks at the muzzle. I'd also imagine lead streaking throughout the bore... but I cant see it and I don't have a bore scope. All of that is gone after a handful of copper plated bullets. No amount of standard bronze bore brush and Hoppes #9 ever takes care of that minor leading... but the copper plated smartens the bore right up.

Whats the difference between a tight fit chore boy and a copper bullet sweeping the lead out? Nothing IMO.

If I had a serious leading problem or more than a streaking issue, I'd likely not feel comfortable shooting a copper plated bullet through the bore....but at that point its probably not even safe to continue shooting lead through the bore.

I don't usually shoot copper magnums every session... but now after figuring out the copper bullet 'nam trick I don't put more than a couple passes through the bore with a brush and Hoppes #9 wasting time attempting to perfectly clean the bore. I'll make it a point to finish my next range session with copper plated bullets if I notice extra crud build up and have the bore spotless after that with a couple quick Hoppes/Sweets passes.

This method of lead cleaning is really a matter of discretion IMO... if you're heavily leaded up, obviously not a good idea. But if you were to use this method regularly from a baselined and clean bore, I'd imagine you'll never have a pressure/safety issue and you'll save a lot of hassle when cleaning the bore.[/QUOTE]


Problem #1 has been getting the lead out. The Kroil plus ChorBoy is doing the job, fairly easily (thanks to the Kroil).

Problem #2 is the future. I really like shooting the DRG led bullets. I buy them in quantity and pay about $70/1000. And they are accurate. But how to avoid lead build up. It would be an easy thing to throw a bag of ammo in the bag loaded with CamPro plated bullets. I have bags of those bullets on hand. The borescope would soon tell me if this works.

Thanks for the tip.
 
Those Teslong borescopes are a real eye opener. Saw some things in a Sako 30-06 barrel that may explain why it is just fair in the accuracy department. For the price it is a great tool.
 
fiftycalforsquirrels; My experience has been shooting a wheel or two of 357 mag campros after a lead wadcutter target range session cleans my forcing cone and bore right out. .... Mind you said:
What you describe is hardly a serious leading issue. The minor lead streaking in your bore would become a problem if you continued to shoot ieaqd bullets without removing the lead. The crud around your forcing cone is a combination of unburned powder, lube and lead. Shooting a few plated rounds will blow most if not all of that crud off as you describe. From your description beyond some minor lead streaking you are not experiencing what most would describe as a leading problem.

The difference between Chor Boy strands wrapped around a bore brush and your plated bullets is the time both spend in the bore. The Chor Boy actually scrapes the lead out and you can see the silver slivers as they are outed on a sheet of paper.

As to your leading. If your revolver is set up right you should not experience any leading shooting those wadcutter bullets. Crud around the forcing cone yes but more than that no.

Have you checked the diameter of your cylinder throats? My GP-100 had three cylinders that were less than .357 and three that would not let a .358 bullet pass through them. If your cylinder throats are tight than your .358 wadccutters are going to be less than .358 and you are going to get gas cutting at the cylinder throat and likely beyond. My 686 No Dash Smith was fine. I would assume your revolver has good lock up.

Your plated bullets won't clean up a truly leaded bore. What will happen is you will just press the lead into the bore and if the leading is bad enough raise pressures in the barrel. With enough leading and a heavy load under a plated or FMJ bullet and things can get exciting in a hurry. Like you, I would not recommend it.

With both my .357 revolvers I seldom if ever experience leading using several different lead bullets (From 148gr wadcutters to 200 gr RN). I size all my bullets .358 and use either Felix Soft Lube or lube I buy from Magna for my Lubricator. I actually prefer soft lube but the hard lube for the Star lubricator is what I use for lubing bullets in volume.

The Chor Boy method for removing lead is by far and away the easiest method of lead removal. If you are anal about a clean bore, you can follow up with Hoppes or any other bore cleaner and a clean patch to remove the copper smearing from the Chor Boy.

Take Care

Bob
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Ganderite said:
My experience has been
Problem #1 has been getting the lead out. The Kroil plus ChorBoy is doing the job, fairly easily (thanks to the Kroil).

Problem #2 is the future. I really like shooting the DRG led bullets. I buy them in quantity and pay about $70/1000. And they are accurate. But how to avoid lead build up. It would be an easy thing to throw a bag of ammo in the bag loaded with CamPro plated bullets. I have bags of those bullets on hand. The borescope would soon tell me if this works.


Thanks for the tip.
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That'd be interesting to see how much lead build up there is incrementally over several hundred rounds in a properly set up gun/load and then see just how clean a copper plated bullet is making the bore.

Canuck44 said:
What you describe is hardly a serious leading issue. The minor lead streaking in your bore would become a problem if you continued to shoot ieaqd bullets without removing the lead. The crud around your forcing cone is a combination of unburned powder, lube and lead. Shooting a few plated rounds will blow most if not all of that crud off as you describe. From your description beyond some minor lead streaking you are not experiencing what most would describe as a leading problem.

The difference between Chor Boy strands wrapped around a bore brush and your plated bullets is the time both spend in the bore. The Chor Boy actually scrapes the lead out and you can see the silver slivers as they are outed on a sheet of paper.

As to your leading. If your revolver is set up right you should not experience any leading shooting those wadcutter bullets. Crud around the forcing cone yes but more than that no.

Have you checked the diameter of your cylinder throats? My GP-100 had three cylinders that were less than .357 and three that would not let a .358 bullet pass through them. If your cylinder throats are tight than your .358 wadccutters are going to be less than .358 and you are going to get gas cutting at the cylinder throat and likely beyond. My 686 No Dash Smith was fine. I would assume your revolver has good lock up.

Your plated bullets won't clean up a truly leaded bore. What will happen is you will just press the lead into the bore and if the leading is bad enough raise pressures in the barrel. With enough leading and a heavy load under a plated or FMJ bullet and things can get exciting in a hurry. Like you, I would not recommend it.

With both my .357 revolvers I seldom if ever experience leading using several different lead bullets (From 148gr wadcutters to 200 gr RN). I size all my bullets .358 and use either Felix Soft Lube or lube I buy from Magna for my Lubricator. I actually prefer soft lube but the hard lube for the Star lubricator is what I use for lubing bullets in volume.

The Chor Boy method for removing lead is by far and away the easiest method of lead removal. If you are anal about a clean bore, you can follow up with Hoppes or any other bore cleaner and a clean patch to remove the copper smearing from the Chor Boy.

Take Care

Bob
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Yeah, I don't consider my situation to be a 'leading problem', rather just a by product of shooting lead bullets. It's my understanding that for the amount of "leading"(or should I say, amount of lead in the barrel) I have after a couple hundred rounds fired, there is no reason to change anything... just keep on top of it. Copper plated rounds take care of this no problem based on my eyes/flashlight inspection.

I'd imagine in my firearm I could shoot several hundred of my lead rounds before any sort of intervention is necessary... but between shooting lead and copper interchangeably, I noticed by accident that sometimes my bore and forcing cone was cleaner after a range session based on what I shot that day or finished with. Turns out this copper plated trick isn't something I invented...just happened across it by my own experience.

If one is facing actual leading/severe leading issues(like...lots of lead in a matter of a few wheels or in as few as 100 rounds) then chore boy is likely the method that should be used to get the bore back to clean... but more importantly the bullet size/hardness should be looked at.
Or if a properly set up gun had just been building up lead at a minor rate to an appreciable amount, I'd baseline the bore with chore boy for sure.

In an otherwise properly set up gun/lead load, sending some copper bullets down the bore now and again is adequate for lead control as far as my experiences go.

I'm not 100% sure if "zero" leading is a thing...can this be obtained? Or is some very minor lead streaking to be expected? I've just kind of assumed it's a splitting hairs thing... if your round can be shot several hundred times without accuracy drop off then minor streaking is acceptable/just keep it under control and don't let it get away on ya.
 
fiftycallforsquirrels\\\\\\\As to lead hardness unless you are pushing lead via heavy .357mag loads or top of the chart .38spl softer lead is better than hard lead. The latter often times results in leading due to gas cutting. Soft lead bullets like your commercial wadcutters obuterate better and really do seal the bore. That is why I mentioned checking out your cylinder throats. Rugers are the worst for tight cylinders and Smiths are not immune to tight cylinders either. For me it was the easiest way of improving my accuracy with my GP-100 aside from more practice. :>)

I liken to what you are experiencing to taking the point of a lead bullet and writing on paper. Probably not an exact example but close.

You discovered the best way to clean around the forcing cone. Once in awhile I will put a round or to of .357 jacked through the gun and the icrud takes a hike pretty quick.

Take Care

Bob
 
Canuck44 said:
Come on guys. Just buy yourself a package of 100% Copper Chor Boy pads from the kitchen section of Safeways. Wrap a few strands around a copper/beonze bore brush and the lead will be out in a few strokes. This method is way better than chemicals or the Lewis Lead Remover and quicker too.

Ganderite you know better than to exceed 1100 fps or there about using hard cast lead bullets in the .357Mag. I run water quenched WW alloy bullets through my 9MM all day long at 1150 fps with nary a hint of leading. I size them .357. For the .357Mag bullets sized .358 work well with no leading. I don;t shoot a lot of lighter lead bullets through my .357mag but I have gone uo to 1200 fps with no leading, again with water quenched bullets.

Take Care

Bob
ps Make sure the pads qre 100% Copper. You don't want copper coated pads.
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What he said, thought anyone shooting lead know this method. A friend makes up shoot shells, 5 or 6, with copper bird shoot and says it blasts the lead out well. He states it makeS final cleaning allot easier.
 
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