I picked up a new Smith/Wesson model 69 recently. The only .44 ammo the store had at the time was a box of cast lead "cowboy action" rounds. so I got a box of.44 special and a box of .44 magnum.
I went through the magnum box, and about half the special box along with some poly/moly coated handloads (target loads, nowhere near full power), and maybe 20 or 25 full power jacketed rounds. So I've got at most, 150 rounds through the barrel, and it's been cleaned probable every 30 to 35 rounds.
Before I started the last cleaning (I'm still working on it) I noticed that the lands seemed kind of rounded off. The lands seem to have developed lead "shoulders" and there are heavy deposits of lead in the grooves.
Bronze brushes, patches, and "Shooter's Choice" lead solvent (four rounds af 15 minute soaks) barely put a dent in it. The only thing that seems to work is literally scraping it out with small picks, screwdrivers or whatever I can find that'll fit down the barrel and against a land. Unfortunately, none of the tools are effective more than 2-1/2 inched in from the muzzle.
I've spent several hours on this and there's still plenty of lead left in there.
I've had a couple of other guns that had similar issues (one was also S&W) but they had defective barrels right out the box: A 7" S&W 22A had so many tool marks in the bore that after 50 rounds, the muzzle looked like the mouth of a lead volcano, and a Rock Island 1911 that due some some quality control issues, had a bore that was completely parkerized. Both of those went back to the factory. I don't see any issues like that in the stainless steel barrel of the model 69.
How do I get this stuff out of there? I'm hoping to shoot this with a clean barrel before I'm on social security. I promise I'll never run any naked cast lead through it again
I went through the magnum box, and about half the special box along with some poly/moly coated handloads (target loads, nowhere near full power), and maybe 20 or 25 full power jacketed rounds. So I've got at most, 150 rounds through the barrel, and it's been cleaned probable every 30 to 35 rounds.
Before I started the last cleaning (I'm still working on it) I noticed that the lands seemed kind of rounded off. The lands seem to have developed lead "shoulders" and there are heavy deposits of lead in the grooves.
Bronze brushes, patches, and "Shooter's Choice" lead solvent (four rounds af 15 minute soaks) barely put a dent in it. The only thing that seems to work is literally scraping it out with small picks, screwdrivers or whatever I can find that'll fit down the barrel and against a land. Unfortunately, none of the tools are effective more than 2-1/2 inched in from the muzzle.
I've spent several hours on this and there's still plenty of lead left in there.
I've had a couple of other guns that had similar issues (one was also S&W) but they had defective barrels right out the box: A 7" S&W 22A had so many tool marks in the bore that after 50 rounds, the muzzle looked like the mouth of a lead volcano, and a Rock Island 1911 that due some some quality control issues, had a bore that was completely parkerized. Both of those went back to the factory. I don't see any issues like that in the stainless steel barrel of the model 69.
How do I get this stuff out of there? I'm hoping to shoot this with a clean barrel before I'm on social security. I promise I'll never run any naked cast lead through it again