Dodge DeBoulet
New member
I shoot mostly Missouri Bullet Company cast lead bullets from my S&W M&P .40 Full Size. When I get back from the range, I've usually fired anywhere from 200 to 300 rounds.
I clean after every shoot, and examining the lands and grooves of the barrel will often find patches or streaks of lead in the grooves. There's still plenty of bare steel showing, but there are some bumps and other irregularities caused by the lead. They can actually be felt using a small probe.
Brushing, soaking, scrubbing, etc. with conventional handgun cleaning tools and solvents doesn't get it out. The only option I've found that works is to scrub with a piece of "Chore Boy" copper pot scrubber rigged to the end of my cleaning rod. This gets the lead out very nicely and leaves the barrel looking practically brand-new.
The question is, though, whether it's really necessary to scrub everything out before using the gun the next time. Will the lead deposits in the grooves have any measurable effect on accuracy? Am I being too anal about cleaning my gun?
Thanks . . .
I clean after every shoot, and examining the lands and grooves of the barrel will often find patches or streaks of lead in the grooves. There's still plenty of bare steel showing, but there are some bumps and other irregularities caused by the lead. They can actually be felt using a small probe.
Brushing, soaking, scrubbing, etc. with conventional handgun cleaning tools and solvents doesn't get it out. The only option I've found that works is to scrub with a piece of "Chore Boy" copper pot scrubber rigged to the end of my cleaning rod. This gets the lead out very nicely and leaves the barrel looking practically brand-new.
The question is, though, whether it's really necessary to scrub everything out before using the gun the next time. Will the lead deposits in the grooves have any measurable effect on accuracy? Am I being too anal about cleaning my gun?
Thanks . . .