Blazer Ammo LEAD FOULING

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doc540

New member
Did I miss the memo???

Good grief.

I mistakenly bought a few boxes of Blazer .38 SPL, LRN because, well you know, there wasn't anything else left in the store.

I just shot 100 rounds thru my Colt DS snub...and I still haven't gotten all the lead out of the barrel.

BlazerLeadFouling003-1.jpg


See that last, black patch at the top right by the Hoppes bottle?

That's the last patch I just pulled through!
 
That's incredible, I put three patches, first two with hoppes, then the third with rem oil through a Ruger GP-100 4".
 
Just ordered a Lewis Lead Remover kit from Brownell's.

Looks like I won't be shooting this crap anymore.:mad:
 
All the LRN rounds I have fired have been "dirty" compared to FMJ or JHP rounds. I just thought it was the nature of the beast.

I usually avoid all LRN rounds for that reason. It's too much hassle cleaning my revolvers afterward.
 
I hear ya, Jay, but I shot a bunch of lead wadcutters from Master Cast, and they were nothing like this Blazer crap.

I'm going to sell them or see if the dealer will let me swap'em for something else if and when they get more ammo.
 
Uhh...Doc, maybe I'm missing something, but 'LRN' means 'lead round nose'. The bullets are made of lead and they're NOT jacketed. That's why there's lead in your barrel.
 
It's my opinion that the ONLY advantage to shooting LRN ammunition is the cost savings.

They seem to lead worse than other unjacketed bullet designs, they're not particularly accurate and they don't even punch neat holes in the paper.
 
"Uhh...Doc, maybe I'm missing something, but 'LRN' means 'lead round nose'. The bullets are made of lead and they're NOT jacketed. That's why there's lead in your barrel."

I shot 500 rounds of lead (NOT jacketed) Master Cast wadcutters through the same gun without any significant lead fouling.

Perhaps not all lead bullets are the same, and some companies are loading with softer lead than others.

Perhaps this Blazer ammo is crap and won't ever see one of my barrels again.

"They seem to lead worse than other unjacketed bullet designs, they're not particularly accurate and they don't even punch neat holes in the paper.
THIS
 
Doc

It is probably more likely the powder is the dirty culprit. I shoot whitebox winchester in my 9mm, hardly any smoke..... I have had to use some cheaper (all I can get) Highlander ammo.... there is a puff of smoke after each shot, and the bore gets noticeably gunky earlier. :eek: I'd say highlanser (serbian) ammo uses cheaper quality powder?

If the Blazer ammo is using cheaper powder, maybe it is hotter burning than better powders, melting the back of the unjacketed bullet and leading your barrel? Are they smokey rounds?

Will be great when we can get dependabl, quality ammo again ;)
 
OK; time to start a debate.

What seems to be the problem???

Do you think that lead is somehow going to hurt your gun???

Do you think it's going to dissolve and rust away if you don't clean the barrel 100%???

The lead in the barrel (That's the ONLY place the lead is); isn't doing you, your barrel, or your gun 1 bit of harm. And that's even if you don't clean it that often. Matter of fact, there's another thread going right now about clean vs dirty. You should check it out. And cost or not, I shoot mostly lead. More than half my ammo is LRN or Wadcutters. That includes 45acp, 38spl, and 22lr.

Lead can't hurt your gun/barrel. It's a softer metal than the copper that jackets many others. The most it can hurt is to "Slightly"; and I'm pushing this word; Slightly the pressure in the chamber/barrel if the lead fouls in the rifling of the barrel.

And many who shoot A LOT; will even argue that leaded barrels are more accurate, because any imperfections between the barrel and the bullet are filled with lead and thus the rifling, spin of the bullet, etc.. is better. Basically, the barrel becomes more exact.

So, other than the Yuk it's dirty factor, lead is fine in your gun. I just bought another 1000 rounds of lead ammo. I shoot about 50/50 lead and jacketed.
 
Oh, I guess I'm just one of those anal types who doesn't want to lead up the barrel of my classic Colt, and who is stupid enough to think that if I ever sell it the value might be diminished by a totally leaded-up barrel.

But, then, I over think a lot of things.
 
Doc

In that case, clean it up really, really good, just before you sell it ;) Til then, just shoot it and have fun :D

And stop being so anal :eek: your hands will get hairy :D
 
"If lead was in your barrel you would see slivers of lead coming out with the patches.

That's fouling in the pics."

I dug the slivers out like confetti later.

Couldn't wait for the Lewis kit to arrive, so I relaxed at the bench using some Sweet's 7.62 solvent. Problem solved, but I will NEVER use that crap Blazer LRN ammo again. Live and learn.

WorkBenchColt004-1.jpg
 
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There are big differences between lead bullets - improper hardness and improper sizing and/or lube make the most differences when it comes to leading. What leads in one revolver may not in another.

The Lewis Lead remover makes fast work of lead fouling. One or two passes down the barrel and a twist in the forcing cone are usually all it takes. Once you have one and see how easy it is to clean lead fouling, you won't fear lead bullets any more. I don't blame you for not using Blazer anyway though, I found it to be very dirty all the way around.
 
OK; time to start a debate.

What seems to be the problem???

Do you think that lead is somehow going to hurt your gun???

Do you think it's going to dissolve and rust away if you don't clean the barrel 100%???

The lead in the barrel (That's the ONLY place the lead is); isn't doing you, your barrel, or your gun 1 bit of harm. And that's even if you don't clean it that often. Matter of fact, there's another thread going right now about clean vs dirty. You should check it out. And cost or not, I shoot mostly lead. More than half my ammo is LRN or Wadcutters. That includes 45acp, 38spl, and 22lr.

Lead can't hurt your gun/barrel. It's a softer metal than the copper that jackets many others. The most it can hurt is to "Slightly"; and I'm pushing this word; Slightly the pressure in the chamber/barrel if the lead fouls in the rifling of the barrel.

And many who shoot A LOT; will even argue that leaded barrels are more accurate, because any imperfections between the barrel and the bullet are filled with lead and thus the rifling, spin of the bullet, etc.. is better. Basically, the barrel becomes more exact.

So, other than the Yuk it's dirty factor, lead is fine in your gun. I just bought another 1000 rounds of lead ammo. I shoot about 50/50 lead and jacketed.
Click to expand...


What if you lead up the BBL enough to get a bullet stuck in the bore then you shoot one behind it :P Leads soft right? It wont hurt anything :p
 
You honestly believe you're going to get a bullet Stuck in the barrel because there is "Enough" lead/fouling in it?

Ok, next comment. :rolleyes:
 
I've not heard of getting a bullet stuck due to lead fouling, but I have heard of enough lead fouling building up to cause a catastrophic incident when the shooter tried to put a jacketed round down the leaded bore.

Still, the fact remains that leading is a temporary problem that won't hurt the gun unless it is allowed to progress far beyond what is normal.
 
I've shot thousands of rounds of Blazer 158 gr. LRN through my revolvers,and haven't found it to lead up any more or less than any other brand. And as others have said, normal leading and fouling won't hurt the gun a bit.
 
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