My present method is the armstrong method whereby I soak a brass brush in solvent, like Outers or Hoppes #9 and using my strong arm - scrub and scrub and scrub and .... . What are some of your ideas on removing lead? Thanks...
I get pretty good results with a similar technique using Hoppes #9. There are a few differences...
First, I don't soak my brush in the solvent. Most solvents will work at removing copper as well as lead. Your brush might be brass but is more likely bronze; both are mostly copper. Soaking them in the solvent wears them out prematurely and, unless you wash them between cleaning sessions, soaking the brushes in the solvent just puts junk in your solvent bottle.
Instead, I get a patch good and sloppy with solvent then run it down the bore. I set the barrel aside for a while and just let the solvent do its thing. The wife insists I put rags down to keep the solvent that works its way out the bore from getting on the carpet, etc, but if I put it down horizontally I minimize the mess and keep the solvent in the bore where it can work.
After letting it soak for a few minutes (i.e. when the next commercial break interrupts whatever show I'm watching), I use a dry patch to swab out whatever gunk the solvent has loosened up, then I run a bronze brush through the bore a few times... maybe a half-dozen good strokes.
Then I give it a solvent-soaked patch, followed by a short soak and several dry patches to get it clean and dry.
If it was a short day at the range, one cycle is usually all it takes. Visual inspection tells me if more are required.