Getting the Lead out....

[drgrant]

What do most of you guys do to de-lead a pistol
barrel? I just bought a pre-lock S+W 686 and the previous
owner mustve shot lead through it exclusively and almost
never cleaned it. I keep using chunks of lead-away cloth but
they keep turning black. I went after it with mpro and a lot of vigorous
brushing and I think I got most of it out..... what a pain in the
ass!

-Mike

 

[Cross-X]

Brass wool on the end of a cleaning brush, soaked with your favorite lead-removing cleaning solution.

Swab the barrel once or twice, let it rest for a few minutes, then start scrubbing!

Another solution, though a bit pricey, is to get an Outers Foul Out III reverse eletrolysis system. Works great!

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Break Free has a foam cleaner that seems to work pretty nicely - fill the barrel with foam, wait 10 minutes, and then do the usual brush+patch ritual.

 

[jhrosier]

Shooters Choice bore cleaner and a wire bore brush.

 

[tele_mark]

I've had good luch with Butch's Bore Shine.

 

[adweisbe]

Shooters choice and a brass brush. I don't follow the scrub only one way all the way through rule. I use the brass brush to scrub stuff loose and a patch wet with cleaning solution (for either lead remover or MC #7) to swab the gunk out and prepare the next layer for attack with the brush. I use hoppes for a bore that has only seen jacketed or plated bullets as I am only removing powder fouling and that is all hoppes seems to handle.

 

[Scrivener]

Lewis Lead Remover.

An excellent tool - only used mine once (learned my lesson and started shooting a few jacketed rounds at the end of each session w/lead), but it was worth the expense to clean out my Security Six.

 

[boomerang]

The lead away patches will always turn black, even when the lead is all gone.

 

[vaccaroja]

if you can get enough of the lead out of the way i would recommend a bore snake. They say you can use it once through the barrel to clear everything to a shine.. but i go through twice to make sure. It great. Its a rope with steel wool embedded in it. i think they are $5 maybe a little more. but its worth it and quicker than a brush.

 

[vaccaroja]

^^^ note i have never had to use any type of liquid first or brush. If its really bad you may have to use a brush first in which the gun is probly extreamly clogged with lead. Then use the bore snake.

 

[TY43215]

Lewis Lead Remover.

An excellent tool - only used mine once (learned my lesson and started shooting a few jacketed rounds at the end of each session w/lead), but it was worth the expense to clean out my Security Six.

+1, I have used mine since shooting PPC in the early 1970s. It is the only sure way I ever found short of using what is now hazardous material.

The hard part of lead removal on a revolver was always the forcing cone and cylinder.

Many of the products listed here will make it look like the lead is gone as they just shine it up pretty. I also use JB Bore cleaner after the lead remover.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=21587&title=LEWIS+LEAD+REMOVER

 

[EddieCoyle]

Mike,

The best way I've found is to use one of these ($2.79 at Wallgreens):

Take some wire cutters and clip the staple that holds the copper pad together, then use scissors to cut off a patch-sized piece of copper scrubber material. Wrap it around a used-up bronze bore brush and have at it. I scrub in both directions until the lead is gone.

For handguns, I've found that this works much better with the barrel dry (no solvent at all). Use enough of the bronze stuff so that it's hard to stuff into the barrel. It takes about 30 seconds of scrubbing to totally clean a badly leaded barrel.

For rifles, I'll squirt some Kroil down the barrel first and let it sit for a while (overnight if I can), then use the bronze wool/bore brush on it.

 

[drgrant]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

I think I'm going to go the Chore Boy route.... I ran into a guy at the
pin shoot today and he had the same suggestion... and he even said in his
case it ended up working better than the lewis remover he had.

-Mike

 

[vellnueve]

I just scrub the hell out of it with a wire brush, hoppes, and mpro. If you clean it after every use it will be much less of an issue.

Although now the price of lead bullets is high enough that I can get jacketed for almost the same price.

 

[Jose]

Although now the price of lead bullets is high enough that I can get jacketed for almost the same price.

Where?

I can buy a bulk box of 500 Oregon Trail Laser Cast (hard cast, not soft swaged bullets that will lead up the bore something fierce) for $25.

Find me a jacketed handgun bullet that costs $5 per hundred and I will buy a ton.

 

[vaccaroja]

Bore snake

 

[vaccaroja]

Built-in bore brushes

Multiple short brushes embedded in the floss pass easily through the shortest action or port
Initial floss area (inside the barrel) removes loose grit and debris prior to the scrubbing action of the brush
Main floss, with 160 times more floss than a patch, supercleans the bore
Brass weighted drop-through cord slips easily down barrel; Grasp and pull the cleaning cord through the barrel



One pull through does it all

No assembly required
Lightweight and compact
No exposed metal to damage sensitive rifling or crown
Solvent compatible
Washable and reusable

 

[drgrant]

I have over a dozen boresnakes and none of them do anything to remove
serious lead buildup.... they just go right over it.

I use boresnakes for cleaning (especially for removing any leftover cleaning/oil
residues) but they're not really a suitable lead removal tool.

-Mike

 

[Scrivener]

I have over a dozen boresnakes and none of them do anything to remove serious lead buildup.... they just go right over it.

I use boresnakes for cleaning (especially for removing any leftover cleaning/oil
residues) but they're not really a suitable lead removal tool.

Agreed. If you've neglected cleaning to that degree, a Bore Snake is not sufficient.

The whole purpose of the Bore Snake is to allow cleaning AT THE RANGE, while the bore is still warm and BEFORE you've hopelessly clogged the barrel with deposits.

I use mine (6) accordingly.

 

[kevin9]

Should one use a cleaning fluid with the Bore Snake, or just run it through plain? I just got one for my SU-16 rifle and the instructions weren't exactly clear on this point.

 

[drgrant]

Should one use a cleaning fluid with the Bore Snake, or just run it through plain? I just got one for my SU-16 rifle and the instructions weren't exactly clear on this point.

I usually end up wetting the front end of the BS with cleaning fluid, around the
bristles or before that even. Depends on what i'm using it for... if I'm
just trying to wipe out residue, then I leave it dry.

-Mike

 

[Jose]

Seriously. I would like to know where to find jacketed pistol bullets for less than $5 per hundred.

 

[vaccaroja]

Should one use a cleaning fluid with the Bore Snake, or just run it through plain? I just got one for my SU-16 rifle and the instructions weren't exactly clear on this point.

you can use fluid with it. the website says it can be used with or without solution.

 

[drgrant]

An update to the saga....

Well, I got some chore boy pads, and they worked great. Then I took the
gun out and ran it and ended up killing it a day later, so off to S+W it
goes. (the teat on the ejector rod got stuck in the star part, and although
I could coax it out, it wouldn't continue to function reliably). So off to
smith it went. Not sure why it got stuck to begin with. All I know is I
fired 2 rnds of corbon .357 and then the trigger wouldn't pull anymore.

Today I also used some shooters choice bore cleaner on my Kimber 1911 after
firing like 200 rounds of lead SWCs through it yesterday. I have never seen
another cleaner work that well on lead... the stuff literally dissolved it like
butter was melting or something.... I only had to use 3 patches worth and
minimal brush scrubbing to get the bore completely clean. (the patches
stopped turning grey/black and I didn't see any characteristic lead
streaks in the rifling. )

-Mike

 

[Patriot]

I got some foam bore cleaner at Collector's on a lark and this stuff is amazing.
Squirt the foam in the barrel and leave it for 30 minutes, come back and clean.
After the first time you get it clean (may have to do this multiple times) you will
only have to do it once when you clean it.

TBP