wire brushing lead foulings
- Thread starter waynem34
- Start date
Lead Removal
www.Big45MetalCleaner.com
This stuff works great, better than the Chore Girl, which is pretty good also.
For $5 you get enough for a lot of cleaning. Been around a long time, Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton used it. Two of the "Grand Old Men" of gun writing, and great pistoleros for sure.
Pray and Shoot Daily.
Lee Jones(Celtgun)
"I walk on untrodden ground. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better be alone than in bad company."
GEORGE WASHINGTON, (1732-1799)
www.Big45MetalCleaner.com
This stuff works great, better than the Chore Girl, which is pretty good also.
For $5 you get enough for a lot of cleaning. Been around a long time, Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton used it. Two of the "Grand Old Men" of gun writing, and great pistoleros for sure.
Pray and Shoot Daily.
Lee Jones(Celtgun)
"I walk on untrodden ground. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better be alone than in bad company."
GEORGE WASHINGTON, (1732-1799)
If your barrel is stainless try a tornado brush. Lewis lead removers work pretty well (if they still make them) and something called Lead-Away dissolves it but will also attack your bluing.
Sounds like your bullet lube or bullet diameter needs work. Gas checks could work if you like pushing lead fast
Sounds like your bullet lube or bullet diameter needs work. Gas checks could work if you like pushing lead fast
leading
use 4 OOOO steel wool and kroil on a brush or jag will clean the lead out of the grooves, a tornado brush will grind off the corners of the rifling as the stainless steel is harder then the barrel metal and will NOT get down in the corners to
get the lead out.....4 OOOO steel wool is softer then barrel metal and harder then lead mixes............I don't have 600 listings but do have over 50 years experience shooting lead.................
use 4 OOOO steel wool and kroil on a brush or jag will clean the lead out of the grooves, a tornado brush will grind off the corners of the rifling as the stainless steel is harder then the barrel metal and will NOT get down in the corners to
get the lead out.....4 OOOO steel wool is softer then barrel metal and harder then lead mixes............I don't have 600 listings but do have over 50 years experience shooting lead.................
Friend of mine has a Wilson video where he demonstrates cleaning lead fouling with chore boy around a bore brush as BruceM said. Wilson uses it dry with no solvents. He only uses the solvent on the jacketed rounds. Looked like it would work really well. I've apparently wasted a lot of Hoppe's Nitro Solvent and time in my life. 
The Chore Boy (which is 100% copper and not copper plated steel as some others are, so use a magnet to check before you buy) and the Big 4 Metal Cleaner pads work, as do the Lewis bronze patch devices.
The best way to use those is get the bore good and wet with PB Blaster or Kroil the day before you use them. Those super penetraters get between the layers of lead where the carbon separates them and makes them easier to brush out by any mechanical method.
There is also now a lead solvent by the makers of Wipe Out, called No-Lead.
The advice to add Lee Liquid Alox or (less expensive) White Label Xlox to the bullets is good.
I don't know what kind of gun you are shooting, but if it is a self-loader, try seating your bullets out so far that when you drop a cartridge into the barrel, the case is flush with the breech end of it. This way you are headspacing on the bullet, which I find both improves accuracy and reduces leading significantly. The only limitation is some guns won't let you do that with all bullet shapes before they cease to fit the magazine or feed reliably, so you'd have to try it on your gun.
If you have a revolver, you need to slug the chambers to be sure they are a minimum of half a thousandth wider than the groove diameter of your gun. Meister Bullets makes what looks to be a good slugging kit if you are unfamiliar with the process (but get a micrometer that reads ten thousandths, and don't try to get away with using a caliper for the measurements)? You also need to slug to be sure you have no constrictions in the bore? They are common in revolvers where the barrel screws into the frame. They are also common in lever rifles where dovetails are cut for sights or for the forward magazine tube mount. Constrictions cause massive leading, be they in the bore or at the chamber throat. Firelapping will clear them. Alternatively, cylinders can be reamed.
The best way to use those is get the bore good and wet with PB Blaster or Kroil the day before you use them. Those super penetraters get between the layers of lead where the carbon separates them and makes them easier to brush out by any mechanical method.
There is also now a lead solvent by the makers of Wipe Out, called No-Lead.
The advice to add Lee Liquid Alox or (less expensive) White Label Xlox to the bullets is good.
I don't know what kind of gun you are shooting, but if it is a self-loader, try seating your bullets out so far that when you drop a cartridge into the barrel, the case is flush with the breech end of it. This way you are headspacing on the bullet, which I find both improves accuracy and reduces leading significantly. The only limitation is some guns won't let you do that with all bullet shapes before they cease to fit the magazine or feed reliably, so you'd have to try it on your gun.
If you have a revolver, you need to slug the chambers to be sure they are a minimum of half a thousandth wider than the groove diameter of your gun. Meister Bullets makes what looks to be a good slugging kit if you are unfamiliar with the process (but get a micrometer that reads ten thousandths, and don't try to get away with using a caliper for the measurements)? You also need to slug to be sure you have no constrictions in the bore? They are common in revolvers where the barrel screws into the frame. They are also common in lever rifles where dovetails are cut for sights or for the forward magazine tube mount. Constrictions cause massive leading, be they in the bore or at the chamber throat. Firelapping will clear them. Alternatively, cylinders can be reamed.
A couple of years ago I broke down and bought a Lewis Lead Remover - Brownell's sells them - and I really think it's worth the cost if you shoot a lot of lead, especially for a revolver (due to the forcing cone attachment). There are certainly other ways to remove leading, but few are as quick. One pass with the LLR is usually all it takes to get it cleaned up. I like that.
If you shoot multiple calibers you can simply buy the extra jag set and screens without buying a whole new kit.
If you shoot multiple calibers you can simply buy the extra jag set and screens without buying a whole new kit.
Here's a cheapy and quick way to get the lead out. Use a non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Point the barrel down for it to drain in a well ventilated area. Spray generously until the liquid is running out of the barrel. Have a pre- prepared patch that will go down the barrel as tight as you can force one down it with out sticking. Run the dry patch down the barrel. Watch the lead fall off of the patch. The secret is not the solvent but the cold temp change of dis-similar materials causes the lead to "unstick". The tight patch pushes it off of the steel and out with the patch. But you can't wait to run the patch down the barrel, it has to be right after spraying it. Repeat if necessary but allowing the barrel to warm up to room temp again. It's also a fabulous carbon remover too.