Best way to remove leading from gun barrel?

[Corner Pocket]

I took my new Taurus 608 to the range on its maiden voyage yesterday, and I am absolutely thrilled at how accurately the gun shoots. I ran 200 rounds through it and when I got home to clean it, I noticed a substance in the barrel that did not come out with my regular cleaning procedure. I've never seen leading in a gun before, but I think this is leading that I see. Any tips on the best way to remove it? Thanks!

CP

 

[MaterDei]

What is your 'regular' cleaning procedure?

 

[Corner Pocket]

You asked -- <<What is your 'regular' cleaning procedure?>>

Bore brushing with Hoppe's #9, and patches.

CP

 

[CaptMac]

Lead Remover

A Lewis lead remover is the way to go.

 

[dbarale]

A little trick that works well: Chore Boy copper pads.
Cut little pieces and push then down the bore. It will remove leading without hurting the barrel.

 

[Virginian]

First question is what type of loads were you shooting? If you were shooting jacketed bullets, than if it's lead it was already there. Or, it's copper.
If you were shooting lead and the material is gray, a Lewis lead remover works, but swabbing with a wet patch of Hoppes and letting it sit a couple of days and then using a cyclone brush usually does it for me.
If you plan to shoot a lot of lead bullets with loads/at velocities where you get leading, I suggest you start handloading and get some soft gas checks. I put these babies (basically just wax) in my last ten shots and they take out the lead before I ever get home.

 

[Steve C]

If there isn't too much leading I use Shooters Choice lead remover, just follow their directions.

If its a semi auto or stainless steel revolver I've found a patch from a lead wipe away cloth works great but you have to be careful not to come in contact with any bluing as it will take it off too.

I have used a 50-50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar. Clean the bore to take out powder fouling. Plug the barrel, a set of vacuum line plugs from the auto store works well. Hold the barrel vertical, fill with the mixture, and watch the bubbles indicating the chemical reaction. Pour out the mixture when it stops bubbling or 20 minutes has passed, the scum on the top is the lead. I don't pour it down the sink as it is considered a hazardous waste. DO NOT leave this mixture in the barrel for longer than 20 minutes as it will begin eating the steel after its consumed the lead. Rise with clean water, wipe dry and oil as normal.

 

[Curator]

If it is really leading, the ChoreBoy copper scrubbing pad works like magic. Don't buy the stainless steel ChoreBoy, or a copper plated immitation, they will scratch the bore. It is hard to find except occasionally at one of the "Dollar Stores". An easier to find material that has other uses as well is Bronze wool. It is usually found in the paint or marine section at better hardware stores. It comes in fine, medium, and coarse grades.

I use old nylon bore brushes and wrap a goodly pinch of fine or medium grade bronze wool around it before pushing it down the bore. It scrubs lead out like burnt off toast! Bronze is harder than lead and softer than steel. It also works great to remove rust off gun surfaces without taking off the bluing or case-hardening colors.

When cleaning any of my cast-bullet target rifles, the only thing I use is bronze wool wrapped bore brushes. No oil or solvent. That way the bore stays "seasoned" and does not require fouling shots to get back on target.

 

[Corner Pocket]

Glad that I asked the question!

Many thanks for the responses. I went to three places in quest of the copper version of the Chore Boy scrubbing pad. Looks like it's not to be found in my area. So I happened to spot a similar product made by Brawny. (You know -- the muscle guy.) I checked to make sure it is 100% copper, not just plated. It is 100% copper according the wrapper. I bought a pad of it and a bit of application by wrapping some of the copper threads around a bore brush of smaller caliber was all that I needed to have my bore bright and shiny again.

Next time I go to the range, I'll try that tip about shooting a few jacketed bullets through it to clean things out to end my shooting session. Thanks again!

Corner Pocket
'pumped up, jacked up, and stoked in Texas!'

 

[Brian Williams]

Lewis Lead remover, now owned and sold by Brownells.
Choreboy works but a Lewis is easier and more efficient.

 

[eflatminor]

dbarale is right

You really don't need a chemical to remove lead from a pistol barrel. As dbarale pointed out, cutting a copper mesh pad and wrapping it around an old used brass brush will take out the lead. Wrap enough so that it takes some doing to sqeeze the copper mesh into the barrel (some guys secure the barrel in a vise, but it's not necessary). Run the copper covered brush through the barrel several times and you'll see bits of lead fall out of both sides of the barrel. I use no chemicals to clean my IPSC gun, which gets about 30k+ lead rounds per year.

One additional thing you can do to help prevent leading after you clean is to take a patch saturated with gun oil and run it through the barrel. This will pick up the last residue of lead but more importantly, if you then take a clean brass brush, run it through the oil-lined barrel 15 times or so, it will help to make your next cleaning easier by preventing leading. Just be sure to run several clean patches through after this step until they come through clean.

 

[Glock Holiday]

You can always shoot several of cylinders of FMJ thru it after shooting lead wadcutters or whatever.Many times I do that to chase out some of the lead build up.I think it works pretty good for me.Then try some cleaning techniques like the folks above posted.

 

[Ifishsum]

FWIW, I've used the Chore boy copper pads with decent results, but the Lewis Lead Remover does a really great job with one pass, and it's far and away the best method to really clean the forcing cone of a revolver. If you have revolvers and shoot a lot of lead bullets, you won't be sorry you bought the LLR.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The question is, why did you get Lead in your barrel in the first place? With all the quality Cast bullets that are around today it's not that hard to avoid Leading.

Did you shoot Factory ammo or reloads? What kind of bullet were you shooting and at what velocity? I have pushed Hard Cast bullets to just under 1,200 fps without Leading.

If you can give us more information maybe we can figure out how to avoid the Leading so you don't have the problem of cleaning it to begin with...

BTW, does it feel strange to fire a revolver 8X before you need to reload? I know it felt a little strange when I first shot a 7 round revolver, eight must be a trip!! C'mon, where's the photos?

 

[Corner Pocket]

ArchAngelCD, along with the good replies of others, I appreciate your response.

I wish that I had paid more attention to when the leading might have occurred. The first eight shots that I fired from the 608 were factory loads (MAGTECH 148 gr SWC) that I bought a while back. But those eight rounds gunked things up so bad that the star ejector would not eject them properly, and I had to use a wooden dowel pin to push two of the empty cases out. (Not an encouraging thing to see when firing a brand spankin' new gun for the first time.)

I immediately ditched the MAGTECH junk and switched to some reloads that I loaded up recently. These are 158 gr SWC hard cast that I bought from:
http://www.mastercastbullets.com/

I have no idea about velocity, but I loaded them using 3.4 gr of Bullseye in the .38 rounds and 6.2 gr of Bullseye for the .357 rounds.

So I don't know whether the leading occurred with those first eight shots, or what...

Thanks for asking about the experience of shooting 8 shots before reloading. Man, oh man! If I were any happier, I'd be twins! I am absolutely loving this gun!

Corner Pocket

 

[jfh]

I finally located the Chore Boy copper pot scrubbers yesterday, after getting blindsided by the copper-plated knockoffs--fortunately, no scratches. Tried 'em last night, after shooting 250 rounds of fairly warm lead reloads--worked good, but not perfectly--so Brian must have it about right.

I've shot three different lead bullet brands through my j-frames recently---and I've tested all of them for hardness.

1. Penn Bullets are BHN 21. They take less powder to reach obviously higher velocities.

2. Mastercastbullets.com are BHN 15-16 for non-custom orders.

3. The latest LGS brand from a local lead caster is RedRiverBullets.com (no such site exists)--BHN 10-11.

4. And, I've shot the Hornady and Speer swaged 158LSWCs-HPs; currently load the Speers for my "FBI Load" testing.​

Most of the powders used are in the 25-35 range on the Hodgdon burn rate chart--e.g., WSF, #5, SR-4756, etc.

I find the lower or midrange BHN bullet leads the least when it is sized properly--in my 640, the Speer swaged HPs leaded least. So far, all the guns need .358 bullets in the softer numbers, and Penn .357s deliver lower EDs / SDs. The Speer swaged,I believe is .3565--so obduration based on powder burn rate and charge weight, etc., probably plays a part.

FWIW.

Jim H.