Leading in shotgun barrels

[RatDrall]

After spending a long time cleaning my new barrels (after shooting buckshot and slugs) there is a bit of leading at the end of the barrel. I gave up.

Will a little bit of lead stuck in the barrel hurt anything?

[rcmodel]

Not unless it grows a deep rust pit full of spider nests under it.

Get a Tornado brush and your lead problems will be gone.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=366957

http://www.opticsplanet.net/hoppes-tornado-brushes.html

rc

[RandKL]

Lead in a smoothbore barrel is like scuffs on the soles of your shoes. It's natural....and you don't have to clean it. A lot of old timers (myself included) never intentionally clean the inside of a shotgun barrel. It's pointless.

richard

[DougW]

I clean my Benelli M1 Super 90 after shooting 1oz slugs after every match. The lead build up in the barrel causes a big reduction in accuracy that has caused problems engauging targets over 100 yards. The tornado brush does the trick.

[dispatch55126]

If the lead bothers you, follow this to remove all all fouling:

1. take a pan and fill it 3" deep with mineral spirits
2. put the muzzle in the pan and run a tornado brush from the breech for several passes
3. once the lead is gone, clean as normal.

The mineral spirits work by washing the lead from the tornado brush and it also lubricates the brush so it passes through easier. Every other way I've ever tried tends to redeposit lead throughout the bore. I shoot slugs (non-sabot) through both smoothbore and rifled barrels. It takes me no longer to clean the lead out than it does to clean my 10/22.