cleaning lead w jacketed bullets

[mattd]

i'm tired of cleaning lead the hard way. i'll try the fun way. is there a better way to clean lead by shooting jacketed bullets? reduced loads, hot loads, etc?

[pdawg_shooter]

Try paper patching. NO leading to clean out, EVER.

[462]

A topic that has been much discussed.

Give the specifics of the loads(s) that lead, and it's almost a certainty that fellow site members will have a solution. Save the expensive jacketed bullets for better purposes.

If you do decided to try to shoot the lead out, make sure you remove all the copper fouling before shooting lead again.

[Blammer]

hard way to clean out lead?

I just take a bore mop add a few strands of copper chorboy and 3 passes it's clean.

shoot a few jwords through it, should do just fine.

[ukrifleman]

I would caution against using FMJ bullets to clear lead from a bore. Heavy lead fouling could create serious pressure problems when shooting jacketed bullets.
Much better to clear the bore of any lead fouling before shooting high velocity FMJ bullets.
ukrifleman.

[DougGuy]

mattd, there ain't no free ride, it takes some work to match your alloy and the boolit diameter to your barrel.

Other than that, you may find this thread interesting: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?206653-FMJ-after-Lead-Bad

[MT Gianni]

It is better to focus on minimizing or stopping the leading than spending hours cleaning it.

[waksupi]

In a nut shell, a properly fit boolit, and good lube eliminates the leading problem.

[runfiverun]

can't add much to posts 7 and 8.
do the work.

[btroj]

Yep. If you don't get leading then it isn't a problem anymore, is it?

[mattd]

well i am doing the work, and getting leading along the way. got my throats, barrel etc measured. cast some bullets and they measure over size, week later pass them thru the sizer and get no resistance. plus going thru different lubes hoping that helps etc. a lot of people here have helped and i have some things to try. in the meantime it's time to get back to some fun, and maybe get the last little bit of lead film out while i'm at it.

[mattd]

Other than that, you may find this thread interesting: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?206653-FMJ-after-Lead-Bad

i do find that interesting. so not a good idea i guess. i'll continue suffering thru the cleaning process. i cant get the chore boy to work 100%. it pulls out lead, but i still have a film that nothing seems to get under.

[ku4hx]

...week later pass them thru the sizer and get no resistance.

What is the diameter after they pass through the sizing die with "no resistance" and how much oversize is this?

[mattd]

.432-.436 over on a single bullet. and i do get a slight resistance. after a week the seams did barely touch the .431 sizer. measured other week old's and they measure .430-.431. thought i must have messed up the measuring so i cast some more and measured an hour after casting and was at .432-.436.

[375RUGER]

what kind of lead are you using that is shrinking 0.005"?

[Shiloh]

It is better to focus on minimizing or stopping the leading than spending hours cleaning it.

+1

Shiloh

[mattd]

i think the pewter i was adding might have been something else. i'll use real tin and as soon as i get the energy back (i've been working on this too much) i'll cast some more and hopefully have something that is more concentric and holds it size.

[dudel]

Best bet is to work up a load that won't lead. I know easier said than done.

Till it's done, I've found that my Foul-Out does a great job of removing lead. After the foul-out does it's work a few patches are all that's needed.

[MtGun44]

"I know easier said than done.

I disagree, it is pretty easy to do. I haven't had any leading in years.

Good design, correct fit, good lube and you will not have leading.

Bill

[Edubya]

I went through a couple of years fighting with the same problem in two calibers, the 9mm & .44 mag. I tried harder alloy, not sizing, various lubes, etc... I load with a Dillon 550 and was using RCBS dies. I finally went to Dillon dies for the .44 and do not crimp and seat in the same die. This has reduced my cleaning time to about five minutes in each gun. I've enjoyed shooting much more because the clean up is so much easier and accuracy has improved! Not saying that this will solve your particular problem but it certainly made a difference for me and my problems!

EW

[pdawg_shooter]

A "dry" un-lubed paper patch will clean out leading, polish the bore, and since the lead is soft and the paper compresses, no pressure problems.

[mattd]

So just wrap a piece of paper a couple times around the driving bands on a .430 bullet? How big should/can the bullet measure for .431 throats/.429 barrel? Will a mild load work, maybe 9g of unique in 44mag?

[Iron Mike Golf]

My experience is that effort required to remove leading depends on how is got there to begin with. With my guns that had poor (for cast) throat reaming done at the factory (runout or tool marks) that result in lead being shaved, the lead fouling is not bonded well to the barrel steel. In fact, I get "stalactites" that point to the center of the barrel. Almost all of that kind of lead fouling comes out with a dry patch. A dry bronze brush definitely gets it out.

Lead fouling from gas cutting is a different beast. It seems to me to be really stuck on the barrel steel. That's when I reach for either a lead cleaning patch or the Chore Girl.

[fcvan]

25 years ago, I switched lube with a soft alloy in .45 ACP and got some mild leading. I had cast/lubed/loaded a bunch and didn't feel like pulling the loaded rounds or removing and re lubing the boolits. I typically shot 500 rounds each range session and so going through them wouldn't take long to shoot them up. At the end of the range day I would swab the bore with shooters choice and shoot a jacketed boolit. After swabbing/shooting 5 rounds the bore was clean. Back then jackets were cheap. Now I used plain based gas checks in place of factory jackets. I'm not getting any leading but if I do I would use the shooters choice and PB checked boolits and I'm sure it would take care of cleaning out any leading issues.

[mattd]

Now I used plain based gas checks in place of factory jackets.

Can I put standard size GCs on the PB I'm shooting now and just pass it thru the sizer and it should fit?

[JSH]

Worst case of leading I ever had was after I tried to shoot it out with a jacketed round. Took me weeks of patience to get it out. The jacketed bullet seemed to iron it into the grooves.
A bronze brush and then a patch loaded with kroil and left over night has been a good method for me.
Really bad and I use a rubber cork to plug the barrel and fill the whole thing with kroil or eds red and stand it up and let it set. One should place the corked end in a bucket or coffee can don't ask me how I know. Let set for at least over night. I have left some for a week or more. Dump it out, bronze brush and then a dry tight fitting patch.
I usually follow that up with some jb bore paste.
What you describe sounds an awful lot like layer of carbon layer of gilding metal layer of carbon etc. I have ran across this before. Seems like guys go shoot and then don't clean. Then go shoot at a later time and so forth. This builds layer after layer and is tough to get out.
I have used the electronic cleaner in years past and found it worked no faster than wipe out for me. I think the key to wo is to get all the oil and solvent out as the foam has a tough time getting through the petro solvent. Wo sells an excellerator that works. I use rubbing alchol and it seems to work as well.
Wipe out may cause you grief as it has me. It will clean a barrel squeaky clean and may clean fouling out of pits you did not know where there. Kind of like filling pot holes in a road with cold patch. I have a 7-30 that I thought was a pristine bore. It takes around 20 rounds to foul before it starts to group now.
Jeff