Getting lead out of rifle bore

I've been using mechanical means to clean my Mossy 590. It gets very dirty after shooting a few slugs, and none of the chemical means I tried proved even remotely effective.

So I cut a piece of an aluminum cleaning rod, stick it into a regular cordless drill with a stiff bronze brush on it, and run it down the bore a few times. I use a cut down shell to center the rod, so it doesn't rub against the bore walls - the primer hole is exactly the right diameter for the rod.

This seems to be very effective, but I am concerned about long term damage to the bore from doing this.
 
kekservative said:
This seems to be very effective, but I am concerned about long term damage to the bore from doing this.
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You're using a brass brush on steel, correct? The cordless drill only moves the brush faster than you would by hand.

Per my post yesterday, some manufacturers of barrel blanks 'hand lap' their rifle barrels prior to borescope inspection and inclusion in a shipment with steel wool. Not fine steel wool - medium steel wool. And the workers lean into the lapping rods they made there with both hands - they make their own lapping rods with a big two handed lapping rod handle... it's a workout to do that for ten hours a day.

And I lapped a scrap barrel blank to the point where it pinned a thou bigger. It took a long, LONG time. Also a long time to see any rounding of the top corners of the lands.

Shotgun barrel steel is not the same as rifle barrel steel (or maybe it is, I don't actually know), and brass isn't close to being of the same hardness. But I doubt you are going to harm it with your bronze brush and/or brass wool.
 
Rick said:
You're using a brass brush on steel, correct? The cordless drill only moves the brush faster than you would by hand.

Per my post yesterday, some manufacturers of barrel blanks 'hand lap' their rifle barrels prior to borescope inspection and inclusion in a shipment with steel wool. Not fine steel wool - medium steel wool. And the workers lean into the lapping rods they made there with both hands - they make their own lapping rods with a big two handed lapping rod handle... it's a workout to do that for ten hours a day.

And I lapped a scrap barrel blank to the point where it pinned a thou bigger. It took a long, LONG time. Also a long time to see any rounding of the top corners of the lands.

Shotgun barrel steel is not the same as rifle barrel steel (or maybe it is, I don't actually know), and brass isn't close to being of the same hardness. But I doubt you are going to harm it with your bronze brush and/or brass wool.
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thank you, this puts my mind at ease
 
I found steel wool works a bit, and Birchwood Casey lead removal cloth better. Shooters choice lead remover is a fraud, and i ruined my 30 30 bore with Wipeout lead remover, although I didn't follow instructions properly. It may corrode lead quicker than steel, but not by much. I think it is similar to peroxide and vinegar. I had ron smith rebore my 30 30 to 38 55. He said to use steel wool on the lead. I am careful now and only shoot lead in guns i have been able to get a load for that i can clean, that means almost no lead. I have rifles that can't seem to shoot lead, at least not by any means I tried.l tried all the cleaners, none of them work at all, its all physical abrasion to get it out. Except for corrosive chemicals , but becareful. I mostly use a bronze brush and sometimes the lead removal cloth, jb bore which i find great for carbon seems to lose its mojo quickly in lead
 
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