Cleaning friends severly leaded 45/70 barrel.

[20nickels]

Shooting buddy has an extremely fouled replica trapdoor rifle in 45/70. I suggested the Lewis Lead Remover. He said that only went two inches of the barrel and got stuck. I've never let a barrel go this far and am out of ideas. Any suggestions appreciated. Tks ahead. Nickels.

 

[HOLY DIVER]

dern its that bad?only thing i know to do is brush it/bore cleaner/brush it/bore cleaner......sooner or later its got to come clean?right?

 

[DnPRK]

Get an Outers Foul Out electrolytic cleaner with the lead remover solution. I use it rather than mechanical scrubbing. Just follow the directions and it is perfectly safe.

And tell your friend he needs to shoot properly sized bullets with a cardboard wad underneath or gas check.

 

[Chuck R.]

Try a standard brush wrapped in copper "Chore Boy". It's the stuff used for cleaning pots and pans, it's cheap and in just about every grocery store.

You can make patches out of it, and make it thicker for a tighter fit as the bore cleans up. The copper won't hurt the barrel steel.

Chuck

 

[Hardtarget]

First...I've never had to deal with this level of trouble. Here is my suggestion. Look at several cleaners. Surely some are better for lead than others. Run a very wet patch (or spray), brush good, wet the bore again and let it sit a while. Stand the gun on its muzzle so it will not drain into the action. You'll make a day of it...so clean the rest of the guns while you work back and forth to this one gun. At least then, everything will be in great shape!

I know this is not real help...more like moral encouragement. Good luck.

Mark.

 

[ArmedBear]

Black powder or smokeless?

If it's black, do this: soak the bore with Xylene. Let it sit for a while. Stuff a wad of paper towels in the chamber and ram it through with a stiff cleaning rod or ramrod. Do it again. After it's really dry, start over with Xylene and repeat.

You will see a lot of lead on the paper towels. It will be amazing how much, even if the barrel doesn't appear to be leaded.

This does work, at least with BP and lead. I've done it, and I've seen others do it. Some people say Xylene isn't effective, but they're full of ****.

This one shot kill was made with a .45-70 BP Sharps, after I cleaned it with Xylene and paper towels.

 

[Coronach]

Try a standard brush wrapped in copper "Chore Boy". It's the stuff used for cleaning pots and pans, it's cheap and in just about every grocery store.

And gas stations and carryouts in bad neighborhoods.

Mike

 

[Nhsport]

I have found that lead responds best to a dry brush or dry brush w/chore boy. Any solvent just lubes it up and makes it harder to scrape out.
Copper/powder fouling respond best to solvents with copper being best removed with an amonia type such as Sweets 7.62 or Butches Bore Scrub.

If the bore of the rifle in question is a real mess it might have copper and lead layered upon one another. A copper fouled bore will really rip up lead bullets and tend to cause a mess. If this is the case you will need to use both cleaning methods alternateing.
When you have done your bit of hard work and got down to a cleen barrel shoot either lead or jacketed but be sure the barrel is clean of one before switching to the other type of bullet . I pretty much use one type of bullet with any one particular gun and have found my cleaning chores to be pretty simple

 

[bub524]

You might try soaking it with Kroil for a few days. That stuff creeps everywhere, even under lead and gunk. Has worked for me in the past.

 

[zxcvbob]

Plug the barrel and fill it with mercury and let it soak overnight?

I'd probably try to scrape it out with copper wool. My Taurus .357 leads pretty bad (it's getting better with use) and that's what I use to clean it.

 

[Powderman]

Plug the barrel and fill it with mercury and let it soak overnight?

NO!!!!!

Mercury is a DEADLY poison. Do NOT play with that stuff! Do NOT use it, period!

For heavy lead removal, get a "Tornado" brush. This is the brush with the looped wire ends that are actually soft to the touch. However, they WILL remove lead.

Put it on the end of a cleaning rod, and go through it with no solvent. Keep running it through the bore, all the way out of the muzzle. You will see lead shaving literally pour out of the barrel.

Another way is to use Kroil (www.kanolaboratories.com).

Heavily saturate a patch with Kroil, or better yet, plug the bore and fill it with Kroil. If you're going to do the trapdoor rifle, plug the muzzle and fill from the chamber. Let it sit overnight.

In the morning, let the Kroil out, and start with a bore brush soaked in Kroil. The oil will soften some of the lead, and creep under the bore fouling. It should come out in sheets.

 

[stubbicatt]

When my pistol barrel gets leaded badly, I use a 50/50 solution of simple household vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide. Let soak for 3 to 5 minutes. The lead just globs up and you push it out with a patch. Rinse the barrel well in hot water, and then clean with solvent and oil as usual.

I don't think you can soak a long gun barrel, but perhaps a bristle brush to introduce the solution, wait a couple of minutes and use patches with tight fitting jags to push it out, repeat as necessary.

Works for me.

YMMV.

 

[MassMark]

I've had good luck using LeadAway cloth cut into 10-12 patches and run through the bore many times over. Each patch will come out black in color, then hit with a brush and then solvent, (rinse lather repeat). I'm not sure if he can or does shoot FMJ, but that is my final follow-up. A box of .45-70 FMJ after a good cleaning should do the trick, then (rinse lather repeat)...Good luck!

 

[ImARugerFan]

I suppose if it's that bad, you could try running a .44 brush down it first for a few times.

 

[Khornet]

There's a lead removal cloth

made by Hoppe's or Outers. You cut patches from it and run them back and forth in the bore. It's impregnated with something that really gets the lead out. I've had good results with it.

 

[rustymaggot]

dont use steel brushes. brass only. brass doesnt damage the barrel like steel does.

those tornado brushes are steel, but are relatively mild compared to regular steel brushes.

use lots of solvent and let it sit wet for hours then brush it. repeat till its clean.

might take a long time but itll come out. dont try to speed up the process by using steel brushes.

edit: i havent used the lead removing cloths, that might be a good thing to try.

 

[Curator]

Copper Chore-boy or commercial bronze wool wrapped around a nylon bore brush just like nhsport and ChuckR advised. This takes lead out of the bore as easy as scraping burnt off toast. The copper/bronze cuts through leading without scratching or wearing the bore. What could be easier? Don't add solvent or oil, dry brushing usually is faster and more thorough.

 

[Slamfire]

I shot a lot of Aquila 32 S&W long ammunition through a revolver. After about 100 rounds the lead fouling was so bad you could not see rifling. And I shot that out with jacketed bullets. Worked great.

I have never had this problem with a 45-70, but if I did, I would grab 40 rounds of JHP and shoot them through the barrel.

At least it would sure smooth the lead fouling.

 

[db_tanker]

another vote for the chore-boy and dry bore.


SlamFire1 has my solution for keeping my bores free of lead when I do shoot cast.

I will do all my CB shooting and then fire about 5 or so jacketed slugs and will generally keep them lead free.


D

 

[20nickels]

Tks for all the reply's. Filled barrel with Kroil and 2 hrs worth of regular bore brushes (all we had) and _udweiser. Finished off with Lewis lead remover and more bruhing.