617 - 5 Pitted Barrel??

U

UncleLoodis

New member
Howdy.

I have a S&W 617-5, 6" barrel, stainless, 6 shot revolver. Love it...sweet gun. Well, usually I am crazy about cleaning my guns right after shooting them. I made the exception this last week due to personal reasons. Anyway, I was cleaning the barrel this evening and thought I saw some lead deposits in the muzzle end of the barrel. They started about one inch in from the end, and the whole affected area is about 2-3 inches long. Usually a few good swipes with a brass brush cleans it all out, but this was real stubborn. I ran a clean patch through and shined some light in. It almost looks like the barrel has some pitting--but I can't believe that. It's a stainless barrel, I probably don't have 1000 rounds through the gun, and until last week, I always keep it clean enough to eat off of. So I ran a new brass brush through it for quite a while. I also have a scribe that I GENTLY tried to see if what I was seeing was lead deposits. I don't think they are. Anyone ever hear of anything like this? I wish I could take a good picture of it, but unfortunately, I don't think I'm a good enough photographer to try to get a camera shot down the business end of my revolver.

Thanks in advance for the input.

U.L.
 
Sometimes in tight bored pistols they leading can occur in a streak. It basically catches on a rough spot and continues. In really bad cases the bullet can be swaged down as it goes through the really leaded bore and the problem accelerates. I think you just need to soak your gun with lead remover and scub a few more times. I like to use a wetted patch on my brush to clean.
 
I can almost guarantee you it is leading you see. Shine a flashlight on it and it will appear gray in color.

It's going to take a tight fitting bore brush and a lot more than a few swips to get it out.

Jim
 
It's simply not possible for a stainless .22 barrel to get pitted from a week of not being cleaned. I clean the barrel my Walther target pistol at the beginning of the competition season each year and then proceed to shoot thousands of rounds through it until the leagues stop in the Spring, when it gets its second semi-annual cleaning. Then it sits until the Fall, at which point it gets cleaned again. Been doing that for years with no problems whatsoever. I know shooters who have never cleaned their .22 barrels - again, no problems.

So, to get that lead out of there easily, go to the market and get some copper Chore Boy scrubbing pads. Be sure to get the genuine Chore Boy brand because some of the generic knock-offs are copper-washed steel. Tease off a bit from one of the pads, wrap it around a bore brush or swab, put some solvent on if you like, and pass it through the barrel (forcing cone to muzzle, please) a few times. You should see the flakes of lead on the pad and your barrel will be spotless. I have a .45 revolver that leads up like Billy-be-damned, and the Chore Boy works perfectly every time.
 
Thanks

You guys are awesome. :) Thanks so much for the info; I know I can always come here and get some great advice. I will try these ideas and post the outcome. It may be a while, as I work a LOT and have a bunch of family stuff going on. Thanks again.

U.L.
 
Over in the rifle forum a shooter with an old 670 Winchester said the product Wipe-Out was one of the best he's ever seen.

If you want to go old school on the lead a Lewis Lead Remover might do it.

If you want to go high tech an Otter's Foul Out system could do it.

I've always thought the Foul Out was too pricey for an individual shooter but maybe a club could buy one for all its members to use...

Here are some links to the products:

http://www.paulcousa.com/wipeout.htm

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=21587/Product/LEWIS-LEAD-REMOVER

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=24849/Product/WIPE-OUT-PATCH-OUT

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=9704/Product/FOUL-OUT-III
 
Caliber
* 32 Caliber (.312-.313) (5)
* 38/357 Caliber (.357-.359) (5)
* 40/10 mm (.400-.401) (1)
* 41 Caliber (.410-.412) (5)
* 44 Caliber (.429-.430) (5)
* 45 Caliber (.451-.454) (4)
Click to expand...
I doubt a Lewis Lead Remover is going to do the trick in a .22 long rifle revolver. If you get serious lead deposits on a regular basis, it could well be worth your while to try various brands and velocities of ammunition. If they all lead the bore in a serious way, you might want to call Smith & Wesson: you could have a roughly finished bore.

Instead of a .22 caliber bronze bristle brush, you might try a .25 caliber brush, which will apply more friction, but wear out more quickly.

Swearing, by the bye, isn't permitted, but mandated.
 
I'm using Hoppes solvent. I generally have good luck with it.
Click to expand...

I have better luck with Hoppes Benchrest Copper solvent, Sweets 7.62 or Shooters Choice Lead Remover bore cleaner. They all seem to work better than 'ol Number 9.

Read the instructions on each, they most likely have ammonia and should be more aggressive in removing the leading.
 
Leadaway cloth wrapped around an old bore brush will probably clean it out and polish the bore as well.

I'm thinking you have a timing issue. The only 22lr barrel I've seen accumulate a significant amount of lead was an old Iver Johnson that had been shot quite a bit while out of time. The cylinder / barrel mismatch was probably 1/16".

My 22lr barrels get cleaned once a year, maybe.
 
OCD

OK, I'm starting to feel a little obsessive-compulsive now....hahah. I just feel the need to clean my firearms just as soon as I can after shooting them. My father taught me to do that...got it stuck in my head at an early age--and I'm glad he did. I hardly ever have problems with my guns. Again, thanks for all the input!

U.L.
 
Regarding a solvent, I have used with great success a relatively lesser-known solvent called RB-17. It's a biodegradable and basically non-toxic solvent that is death on lead. Scrubbing bores with it produces a disgusting looking gray sludge as it removes the lead. It is highly effective and is great at removing copper fouling as well.
 
Well, if you are religious about cleaning the pistol, have you never seen this before? How old is the gun, and how many rounds do you think are through the gun?

My thinking is that if you always keep after your guns (good 'on ya mate) the ammo you were using the last time out may have been the problem.

If it is something you struggle with all the time, the barrel may need a little touch up work with flitz.

A bulged barrel will show the same behavior as you describe, but I don't think we are there.
 
I'll be darned.

Sport45...that is amazing. I have always thought that keeping a .22 (and other firearms as well) was the only way! There are lots of folks apparently that do not clean their .22s at all! 'learn something new every day'...today it was this (and a bunch of other stuff too).
 
jglSprings, no, I've never seen this before. I doubt I even have over 1000 rounds through the revolver. So, yes, apparently it was the ammo that my bro-in-law was using. I have some lead cleaners on order now. I will post my findings. It was interesting that someone else had a 617 with lead issues too. The gun is only a couple years old. No bulging barrel. Who knows though...if I can get the lead out with the cleaners--maybe I won't do any more cleaning on it! ;)
 
Apologies for suggesting the Lewis Lead Remover...

As Standing Wolf caught it, the link I posted isn't going to do you any good for a .22.
 
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