Heavily leaded/crudded rimfire barrel
- Thread starter Grouse Man
- Start date
I f it is a .22 LR rimfire it probably is not lead fouled... the velocities aren't high enough to cause that...
...it may be a rusted bore that is fouled up..?
Ar any rate use a new bronze brush on a good rod. Wet the brush heavily with Hoppes #9 and insert it from the chamber pushing it all the way out the muzzle. Wet the brush and pulkl it back through the barrel. Wet it again and now stroke it though the barrel in both directions, always exiting the barrel at each end, several times. Now dry patch the barrel and inspect it. When you first start doing this, if the bore is rusty, it should be evident on the rusty wet brush as it exits.
...it may be a rusted bore that is fouled up..?
Ar any rate use a new bronze brush on a good rod. Wet the brush heavily with Hoppes #9 and insert it from the chamber pushing it all the way out the muzzle. Wet the brush and pulkl it back through the barrel. Wet it again and now stroke it though the barrel in both directions, always exiting the barrel at each end, several times. Now dry patch the barrel and inspect it. When you first start doing this, if the bore is rusty, it should be evident on the rusty wet brush as it exits.
I've been running the brush alternating with Hoppes 9 and Ed's Red. I've not noticed any rust, but a heavy gray.
I've also heard of two other recommendations. Copper wool (aka Chore Boy scrubby) around an old brush. And a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar solution, soaked for 5 minutes at a time, and then scrubbed. Any comments on these two methods?
I've also heard of two other recommendations. Copper wool (aka Chore Boy scrubby) around an old brush. And a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar solution, soaked for 5 minutes at a time, and then scrubbed. Any comments on these two methods?
guntech said:
Your joking right?
Try the foul out, or another heavy duty cleaner for the lead, Hoppes won't cut it. Spray your barrel down and let it sit over night.
Never run a brush back and forth in the barrel. Pull it from chamber to muzzle, remove and repeat.
Just my 2 cents.
Grouse Man said:
Good day Grouse Man
This may be a little drastic, but it worked for me.
As some of you know from the past year, I had made a hobby of reconditioning old Model 1890 Winchester 22 rifles. I remember one being sent to me that was so thick with lead in the bore that I could not even get a 22 brush into it. I tried staring with a .177 and found it tight to get through.
This is what I did: I disassembled the rifle. Using an elastic band and plastic, I plugged the bore on the crown end of the barrel. Using a very small funnel, I poured directly into the barrel some “Outers” Lead Out PLUS, which I bought at Le Baron. I then proceeded to block off the receiver end of the barrel the same way I did the crown end.
I placed the barrel in a standing position (receiver up/crown down) near (but not to close) to my wood stove, which kept the whole thing nice and warm (but not too hot) and left it there for about 24 hours.
The next day when emptied the barrel, you could see that the solvent had definitely dissolved a big portion of the lead just by the colour of the fluid. I then started with a 177 brush, which went in easily, then graduated to a 22 and then cleaned the bore as I would any other.
Good luck
Regards
Robert
gunasauras
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Sounds more like fouling fro the externally lubricated bullets of a 22LR. In any case, it should clean out with the above recipes....
I ran across an old semi-auto .22lr last year that appeared to have no rifling. The owner had never cleaned it and thought it was a smoothbore. A couple of passes with JP Borepaste on .22lr patches and she looked good as new. That JP stuff is the best for heavily fouled barrels.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Ditto on the JB Paste. It is a mild abrasive that will at least score the surface of the fouling so other chemicals can attack whatever is there. It is not supposed to effect the steel; but some target rifle shooters have other opinions.
The other bore cleaner I have used with great satisfaction is RB-17 brand gel. As best I can guess, it is a deoxidant that neutralizes the oxide part of iron oxide, aka rust. Any rust in the bore comes out brown on the patch. Other crud like primer and powder fouling comes out black or grey. It is not a petroleum solvent, but you need to oil immediately after use because it removes all protective grease and oils.
The other bore cleaner I have used with great satisfaction is RB-17 brand gel. As best I can guess, it is a deoxidant that neutralizes the oxide part of iron oxide, aka rust. Any rust in the bore comes out brown on the patch. Other crud like primer and powder fouling comes out black or grey. It is not a petroleum solvent, but you need to oil immediately after use because it removes all protective grease and oils.
David Henry
CGN Regular
- Location
- West of the big road
Foul out
As several posts have allready recommended, I also suggest the Outers Foul Out system. Seeing is believing!.
I bought one of these outfits a few years back and am constantly amazed at the results. For those unfamilliar with the kit it is an electrode that fits inside the bore which is insulated by rubber bands and a bung at one end. Then either the Lead Out or Copper Out solution is poured in to fill the barrel, hook it up to 110 volts and wait. Sometimes it will require several applications to thouroughly clean a filthy barrel but it will not damage the rifeling in any way.
I am not shure what they sell for now but its somewhere between $100 and $200 and money well spent in my oppinion. David.
As several posts have allready recommended, I also suggest the Outers Foul Out system. Seeing is believing!.
I bought one of these outfits a few years back and am constantly amazed at the results. For those unfamilliar with the kit it is an electrode that fits inside the bore which is insulated by rubber bands and a bung at one end. Then either the Lead Out or Copper Out solution is poured in to fill the barrel, hook it up to 110 volts and wait. Sometimes it will require several applications to thouroughly clean a filthy barrel but it will not damage the rifeling in any way.
I am not shure what they sell for now but its somewhere between $100 and $200 and money well spent in my oppinion. David.
For really heavily fowled barrels I use the vinegar and hydrogen Peroxide method, it will take bluing off so work accordingly. Plug the muzzle end with a cork and fill with 50/50 mixture about all the way to the breach end and plug the breach with a cork also. Stand the rifle up in the corner where it won't fall over and let it sit there for about an hour and then flip it over to standing upright for another hour. Pull the cork out of the muzzle and drain it out and remove the other cork. I use a small funnel and a piece of hose and with the muzzle pointed down the sink, I pour boiling hot water down the barrel and you would be amazed at how dirty the water is. Once the water is coming out clear then try the Shooters Choice Lead remover or JB Paste they both work good. It is much faster then using either of these products alone and vinegar and hydrogen peroxide is cheap. Usually one or two passes with the JB Paste after the treatment is enough to be sparkling clean.
I'm basically using all the above methods plus elbow grease and the brush. Hoppes #9, peroxide/vinegar (5 minutes max), Ed's Red, CLP, CR-10, copper wool on a brush, etc. Brush, soak, brush, swab dry with brake cleaner. Repeat with another liquid. One of the CLP treatments yielded a rusty colour.
Light is now travelling down the entire bore, rather than getting soaked up along the way. It's getting clean, bit by bit.
It seems that the peroxide/vinegar mix is still foaming so that means there is still lead present.
Light is now travelling down the entire bore, rather than getting soaked up along the way. It's getting clean, bit by bit.
It seems that the peroxide/vinegar mix is still foaming so that means there is still lead present.
I can't believe all these lead fouled barrels... I just replaced 2 worn out barrels on a couple of Sako .22's, they each had over 140,000 rounds through them... the owner did not clean them that often and there was no lead in them when I took them off. Just the worn streak at 6 o'clock for about 8 inches... he said he never had any leading problems...
