Those of us that handload and shoot cast lead bullets often find ourselves with the chore of removing barrel leading with varying results and to the point where as I've seen some damage to barrels is the result.For the sake of clarity I'll limit this discusion to handgun length barrels.Many of us are guilty of pushing the velocity envelope too far with soft lead or even hard linotype and the end result is that nasty lead build-up that does nothing for accuracy at all. I being guilty of this practise also and decided there must be a better way arouind this problem and then by some quirk of coicidence I was reading iether Guns & Ammo or Shooting Times where a Canadian reader had mentioned this very issue and shared his experiences and his answer to it.His solution was in the loading aspect of the problem and not in the clean-up and his remedy was the use of dental wax as a wad atop the powder charge. What this does is in fact isolate the base of the lead bullet from the intense heat created by the burning powder all the while making the load more moisture resistent also.The method is to place the wax sheet atop the case mouth and press down on it in a cookie cutter fashion with something hard,smooth and flat. I've used this method since 1992 with great results.The source in Ontario is "Unident Ltd.", Rexdale,On. 1-800-268-4667,ask for "Tuftex 2 BP Wax M-SFT 5# (5 lbs.) So the choice is yours,deal with it before or after. jackpine
Remedy for Barrel Leading
- Thread starter jackpine
- Start date
There are a few techniques that may or may not help.
- Cast HARD. As hard as possible. Quench the molds in water, and heat-treat at just under the melting point for a few hours.
-Use a hard high-speed lube.
-moly coat
-Gas check
-wad between bullet and powder, as you mentioned. This works similar to gas checking
-paper patch (or teflon tape patch)
Powders on the slightly faster side are your friend when casting hard. The pressure spike acts to obturate the bullet base forming a gas-tight seal with the bore. Slower powders don't offer this sudden spike, which can lead to gas blow-by/cutting.
- Cast HARD. As hard as possible. Quench the molds in water, and heat-treat at just under the melting point for a few hours.
-Use a hard high-speed lube.
-moly coat
-Gas check
-wad between bullet and powder, as you mentioned. This works similar to gas checking
-paper patch (or teflon tape patch)
Powders on the slightly faster side are your friend when casting hard. The pressure spike acts to obturate the bullet base forming a gas-tight seal with the bore. Slower powders don't offer this sudden spike, which can lead to gas blow-by/cutting.
The dental wax sheet is a new take on it--but sheets of "soft gas checks" have been available for years--I used them in thousands of 41 mag reloads but I just used my thumb to press the disc out of the sheet. I found that it did help reduce leading and with some loads it improved accuracy. With other loads made no difference. In no case did I find that it decreased accuracy. I still use them occasionally in .357 and .44 loads.
There are many factors that cause/contribute to leading but a few of the more important ones are bullet fit in the throat/barrel and correct bullet hardness for the load level you are useing. Factory swaged lead bullets are intended only for mild to medium loads. Hard cast bullets are intended for hi performance loads.
I used to shoot a lot of commercially cast bullets and found that the .38 special full wadcutters always leaded because they were too hard for target velocity loads. If they were pepped up to plus P loads there was virtually no leading.
FWIW, 44Bore
There are many factors that cause/contribute to leading but a few of the more important ones are bullet fit in the throat/barrel and correct bullet hardness for the load level you are useing. Factory swaged lead bullets are intended only for mild to medium loads. Hard cast bullets are intended for hi performance loads.
I used to shoot a lot of commercially cast bullets and found that the .38 special full wadcutters always leaded because they were too hard for target velocity loads. If they were pepped up to plus P loads there was virtually no leading.
FWIW, 44Bore
If you mix vinegar and Hidrogen peroxide 1/2 and 1/2 it will remove the lead from your bore. I have used it for years, truns black and is pushed out by a tight fitting patch. I plug the barrel at the muzzle end, fill up and let sit for about 15min. A cast bullet put into this mixture will dissolve if left over night.
Andy
Andy
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
you can use dacron quilt bating as a wad. I use it in the 45-70 regularly. It reduces leading, and helps get some powders to burn more effectively in the big case.
Be aware that ANY filler or wad should be added to the weight of the bullet for purposes of constructing loads.
Also, with some powders that normally don't burn well, pressures may increase substantially with the use of a wad.
What I'm saying here is BE SAFE, Back off on the load when you start using a wad.
Be aware that ANY filler or wad should be added to the weight of the bullet for purposes of constructing loads.
Also, with some powders that normally don't burn well, pressures may increase substantially with the use of a wad.
What I'm saying here is BE SAFE, Back off on the load when you start using a wad.
