can lead bullets push out leading with proper lube?

[1858rem]

in another thread i am considering using round ball in 45 auto......

if i have some leading from the round ball, would a heavily lubed SWC possibly help remove the leading?

reason i ask is i had been coating my SWC with rooster jacket size then shoot, the lee sizer die just pushes the lube from the top of the ribs down into the groves so i didnt really loose any lube sizing. i still had a little lead after a hundred ofr so rounds, then i decided to lube, size, lube again, no leading now and it seemed to remove the leading that was previously there. am i imagining this or is the extra lube actually helping clean out my barrel?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, it is very possible.

A hard cast SWC bullet would easily scrape out softer leading, and it wouldn't be adding any itself.

rc

 

[loadedround]

No. It will just flatten out the leading and make it smoother(and slipperier) and much harder to remove. Not a good idea.

 

[1858rem]

loadedround, id like to point out i shoot cast lead anyhow and do have minimal leading, i wondered if it really was possible that extra lube on my lead bullets was actually cleaning out the leading that was there.

going by rcmodels answer it can, but with hardcast only?

i use straight WW and add a bar of 50/50 whenever i can find some for all my bullets

 

[1858rem]

thinking of going to a alloy of 50% WW and 50% soft lead, would that produce a suitable BHN for 800 fps in 45 ACP and 850 fps in .38spl?

 

[sqlbullet]

Shoot your normal session so as to have the normal amount of leading. Weigh the barrel. Push 5 really hard SWC's of good fit through the bore. Weigh again. If it removed any significant amount of lead, then the barrel should way a few tenths of a grain less.

Richard Lee claims this happened to him when he was testing liquid alox.

 

[1858rem]

interesting claim, i wonder if rooster jacket does the same? i never experienced this while using LLA. i dont have a accurate and large enough scale to test this. all my bullets (except ML) are WW air cooled and just about as hard as i can get them without buying more lead/alloys.

 

[chriske]

I know that the barrels of my revolvers are far more dirty when having had 30 or so lead bullets through them, than after having had double or triple that amount..
In other words, that further shooting , say up to 100 count or so, will clean out some of the residue.

Still, I tend to think along loadedround's lines, and wouldn't rely on shooting-to-clean.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have no experience with loading crap other than powder and bullet in my ammunition, but people who use a granular filler in their loads say that it will scour lead out of the barrel.

CAUTION: Inert filler loading is a whole new field and not without risks.

 

[Walkalong]

CAUTION: Inert filler loading is a whole new field and not without risks.

Worth saying again.

Super Grex (No longer made) would eliminate leading when used as a filler. I never tried it to see if it would clean a leaded bore. Just did not think to try.

I have some Precision Spherical Buffer (PSB) that I would gladly send you some of if you would like to experiment. (Reading up on using fillers would be mandatory of course )

I played with wax gas checks in a .38 S&W with .358 bullets. Without any filler etc it would lead horrible after just a few rounds. When adding a wax gas check to the mix it would not only cure leading, but firing a couple of rounds would clean out a horribly leaded bore.

 

[243winxb]

can lead bullets push out leading with proper lube?

The lube might, alox can clean the barrel because its said to penetrate and lube to keep the barrel from rusting.

thinking of going to a alloy of 50% WW and 50% soft lead, would that produce a suitable BHN for 800 fps in 45 ACP and 850 fps in .38spl?

Yes. with a good lube job.

Inert filler loading

Forget that, stay with what has worked for many years. Lyman cast bullet info.