0000 Steel wool for cleaning leading out of rifle bore?

[slips73]

Is it ok to use very fine (0000) steel wool to get rid of leading in a rifle bore from shooting cast lead. I have read mixed opinions on this but they were from oddball forums I google searched.

[runfiverun]

it would work but slowly.
using copper chore boy pad [check with a magnet] will get it out quickly and not hurt the barrel.

[slips73]

it would work but slowly.
using copper chore boy pad [check with a magnet] will get it out quickly and not hurt the barrel.

would 0000 steel wool harm the barrel/ rifling or throat at all?

[bruce drake]

Use a copper chore boy. Its harder than lead yet won't score your barrel as its removing the lead.

[slips73]

Use a copper chore boy. Its harder than lead yet won't score your barrel as its removing the lead.

noted just curious if the steel wool will have any detrimental affect, I used it on an older rifle on a heavily leaded chamber, worked great to remove the leading, didnt see anything, scratch wise or worn look on the rifling even though it did touch the rifling about 2" down the bore.

[runfiverun]

no it won't hurt it.
i use steel wool and some oil to lightly polish stuff like the outside of the barrel.
it will take light rust pits off the surface too.

if you get too agressive it could eventually wipe through the bluing but the barrel would be highly polished too,,,, so would look good with a new blue coating.

[slips73]

no it won't hurt it.
i use steel wool and some oil to lightly polish stuff like the outside of the barrel.
it will take light rust pits off the surface too.

if you get too agressive it could eventually wipe through the bluing but the barrel would be highly polished too,,,, so would look good with a new blue coating.

Oh Im talking about internally not externaly I use 0000 steel wool for cleaning up old rifles externally but recently though of it for leading and read some references, such as wrapping some strands around a nylong brush, im referring to the bore/ chamber area.

[Hannibal]

It works, eventually. I have been fortunate, and only had leading twice, early on before I knew the do's and dont's.
As mentioned previously, copper scrubbers, PURE copper, are the quickest and easiest to work with. Wrap a few strands around a bore brush. Pretty simple.
You COULD do lots of things, but why?

[Driver man]

Ive been using it for years. Bronze wool became hard to get here some years ago so I substituted steel wool . I wrap some around a cleaning rod and go to it. I have not observed any damage to chamber's, bores etc. Just use your common sense on how to use it.

[Hannibal]

I have read that people have been using copper and bronze wool for 'nefarious' purposes, so some stores have chosen to discontinue stocking it.

I've yet to see such an approach reap successful benefits, but I guess they sleep better at night. (?)

[FLHTC]

I have read that people have been using copper and bronze wool for 'nefarious' purposes, so some stores have chosen to discontinue stocking it.

I've yet to see such an approach reap successful benefits, but I guess they sleep better at night. (?)

Its hard to find around here but some places carry it. Drug use isn't really nefarious. Lol

[Motard]

Nefarious purpose? I am jus curious. Never heard a use of bronze whool either out domestic keeping. I missed something

[FLHTC]

It is used in crack pipes as a screen to hold the rock as its smoked

[44man]

I have used it forever to clean shotgun bores and to card after blueing. Best ever with a little Hoppe's to clean rust.
I use oooo when refinishing a gun stock too. It hardly cuts finish. It is so fine it might polish lead!

[w5pv]

I have never had a heavy leaded bore but,I ran across this that makes me wonder what is happening I have a 380 Bodyguard that doesn't lead at all with a mid range load of Titegroup(2.4 grains)but lower it to 2.0-2.2 it starts to lead the bore.I used Shooter's Choice FP-10 and it removed the leading nicely.I think the lower charge doesn't obturate(spl) the base of the bullet and the heavier load does.I just got the BodyGuard and have not measured the bore yet.

[Char-Gar]

0000 steel wool wrapped around a bronze brush, will remove lead and will not harm the chamber, throat or barrel of a rifle, no matter how often you use it. This I know from long experience.

[Blackwater]

I'm with Run5. We "moderns" seem to be addicted to trying to find ways to avoid doing things the "right" way. 4/0 steel wool does good for polishing, like 44man said, but for removing leading? Anything coarser is sure to leave some minute scratches in the bore. My guns aren't disposable, so I like to at least try to take care of them, and that means cleaning them quickly and effectively. The best solution is better loads so you don't get the leading to start with. But failing that, nothing beats the old Lewis Lead Remover. NOTHING! It's designed specifically for the task, and along with those Miracle Cloths to clean up afterward and REALLY get the bore shiny clean, I've shot the grungiest target ammo ever, and kept my guns in tip top shape. Why do anything else? Just MHO, of course, and YMMV, but many don't prepare themselves beforehand for a good cleaning job, and that's when they start looking around for something to improvise with. In a real pinch, that's understandable, but continued use of many of the improvisations I've heard of can and likely will do some sort of damage over time. A Lewis Lead Remover will last a lifetime, and the copper screen "patches" aren't all that high, and can be cleaned for a good while to boot, so again, why improvise? Just be prepared. There's just no substitute for preparation, which is why it's the Boy Scouts' motto.

[vzerone]

Bluing is no more then 2.5 micrometres or 0.0001 thick so 0000 steel wool really isn't any more aggressive then something like JB bore polish. Now take those benchrest shooters with their high dollar barrels and many of them will scream at you for even using a brass or bronze brush. They only use patches and solvent. If you mention steel wool to them they may have a fatal heart attack.

For an economical grade rifle or old milsurp there is no harm done especially in conjunction with an oil.

[blackthorn]

I got Bronze wool off Amazon. Lead wool, however is hard to find and when I do it is not from Amazon and is usually shipped from somewhere in the US and they use UPS. Having had some experience with that bunch of bandits, I will not buy anything from across the line if they use UPS to ship!

[Tackleberry41]

Most 'copper' cleaning pads anymore are not, part of it is just economics, they can charge for copper but give you copper coated steel. And yes the crack heads have sort of ruined it for everybody. Some places stop carrying stuff because the crack heads steal it. I worked at a pet store, we would find the little water bottles stuffed somewhere, minus the glass tube. They lock up lithium batteries now due to the meth heads.

Something I have found is the shaving off brass trimming. Not the little stuff, but you go forming brass and you end up with a decent amount of a good size.

[slips73]

thanks for the info guys, I needed to clean some leading in a pinch, I dont live close to any stores (very small town in Central CA right now) and I had been shooting .44spl out of one of my .44 rifles, the load in the rifle caused alot of leading so i scrubbed it with my normal tools, but that didnt work, so I tried the 0000 method which seemed to work fine, but i went a bit into the lands while i was polishing(by hand) and wanted to make sure I didnt damage anything.

[Victor N TN]

Don't anybody use a Lewis lead remover anymore?

[Uncle R.]

Four ought steel wool won't harm your bore. An very wise old gunsmith taught me that trick for lead removal several decades ago, and I've used it a lot over the years.

After I discovered the benefits of Kroil some years back I don't use anything else for minor leading. I run a tight-fitting brass brush soaked in Kroil through the bore maybe twenty strokes. I patch out the loose lead, soak the brush again and giver 'er a few more strokes to thoroughly coat the bore. Then I go on to do something else for maybe a half hour or so.

When I come back to the leaded barrel I run the Kroil soaked brush another twenty strokes or so, then a couple of tight patches get pushed through. If the lead's not entirely gone I run the whole cycle again. It seldom takes more than two or three times to leave the barrel squeaky clean. It sounds complex but actual time spent working at the barrel is probably less than five minutes. The first scrubbing is mostly to score the lead and "break" the edges, the soak time is to let the Kroil get under the lead, and the second scrubbing is to pull the lead away from the steel.

I actually have a Lewis lead remover, bought years ago when I had a lot more trouble with leading. I haven't used it since I don't know when, it's been over twenty years at least. I prefer the 0000 or Chore Boy or Kroil methods. Faster, easier, cheaper. (Don't have to buy Lewis "screens.")

Just my way.
YMMV.

Uncle R.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Back in the day when I often leaded a barrel due to inexperience which has many forms I took a tip from a well known gentleman name Phil Sharpe and used Mercury. There were and are a few plusses and minuses to the operation in the using of Hg and they are well known. If it is handled right it will remove any and all leading completely. Not many people even want to have it around and that is understandable, but it will do the job totally. All of the methods previously described though are a lot safer and less controversial. LLS

[Victor N TN]

Having worked around Mercury for a couple of decades, I don't recommend it to anyone. They say that may be part of the reason for some of my health problems. But I guess not many people have been exposed to it in the quantities that I have. Do what you wish, I'm just saying...

[reed1911]

If a guy is going to go some chemical route, Mercury is the last place I would go. Not only is it expensive compared to many of the chemicals available today, it is more dangerous to use and store. It certainly works, but not a good solution.

[Wally]

I might mention that I bought 100 1" Brass patches to fit the Lewis Lead remover (sans the center hole) for less than 6¢ each. You can also use them with a cleaning rod, a Jag tip, with a thin cloth patch--cleaning from the muzzle end.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-1-Inch-Brass-Pipe-Screen-Tobacco-Smoke-Screen-Wholesale-/271992795133?hash=it



I'm with Run5. We "moderns" seem to be addicted to trying to find ways to avoid doing things the "right" way. 4/0 steel wool does good for polishing, like 44man said, but for removing leading? Anything coarser is sure to leave some minute scratches in the bore. My guns aren't disposable, so I like to at least try to take care of them, and that means cleaning them quickly and effectively. The best solution is better loads so you don't get the leading to start with. But failing that, nothing beats the old Lewis Lead Remover. NOTHING! It's designed specifically for the task, and along with those Miracle Cloths to clean up afterward and REALLY get the bore shiny clean, I've shot the grungiest target ammo ever, and kept my guns in tip top shape. Why do anything else? Just MHO, of course, and YMMV, but many don't prepare themselves beforehand for a good cleaning job, and that's when they start looking around for something to improvise with. In a real pinch, that's understandable, but continued use of many of the improvisations I've heard of can and likely will do some sort of damage over time. A Lewis Lead Remover will last a lifetime, and the copper screen "patches" aren't all that high, and can be cleaned for a good while to boot, so again, why improvise? Just be prepared. There's just no substitute for preparation, which is why it's the Boy Scouts' motto.

[stubbicatt]

The resulting goop is highly toxic, but a 50/50 mix of common household vinegar and hydrogen peroxide will turn the lead to a soft, easily removed compound. Don't leave it in the barrel more than 10 minutes, wipe out with a tight fitting patch. Wear rubber gloves, and dispose of everything properly. Finish with a proper bore solvent, oil, etc.

[gwpercle]

I use some 0000 steel wool wrapped around a brush and any oil on hand.
For rust and heavy duty cleaning coat the brush/steel wool with J-B Bore Cleaning Paste.
Gary

[Tarkid]

You can get bronze wool at marine stores, or bigger boat stores. When you use metal wool for polishing or whatever on a boat you NEVER use steel because the tiny pieces that scatter around the work will leave a zillion small rust spots after the next morning dew arrives. You always use bronze wool. I have only shot cast boolits from my guns for many years. I had one, single bad leading experience, out of a 357 magnum. It was so bad there was a lead cylinder extending out the end of the barrel about 1/8". Bought a Lewis Lead Remover and it worked like magic. This was about 30 years ago, and although I still have it, I've never had to use it since. Those were purchased cast boolits, and after that I ordered a gas check mould for it and have never leaded it since. Nowadays I keep one of those cylinder "mops" for lack of a better word for each of my firearms. If I see any leading, which is rare, I pull off a small amound of bronze wool and wrap it around the mop and run it down the bore five or six times. You can see the tiny flakes of lead coming out. Works great.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I get less leading with slightly softer alloy, and in my experience too light of a load leads more. Also, use or make a good quality lube and for crying out loud, use lube! My lube is 5 parts beeswax, 1 part black molybdenum disulfide grease, and 1 part ATF, Slick 50 or some other high quality oil. Sure, some lube residue ends up on the gun and cases a bit but you're shooting a gun, not making cookies.

Tarkid

[44man]

Something to be said about that. Steel wool is not kind to stainless either. Any particles can start rust.
Yes a stainless gun can rust, not enough chrome in it.

[Char-Gar]

I don't doubt that mercury is toxic as h%&&, but 60 years ago it was not considered so and was common. Now as to leading in pistol barrels, we would fill and empty medicine capsule, purchased at the local pharmacy with mercury and drop that in the case along with a light charge of Bullseye powder. A bullet was seated and the round fired. The leading was brushed out quite easily.

Again this is not a good 2016 practice, but is just inserted here as a historical note.

[Char-Gar]

Tarkid...no flames from me. Most of us who have been around the cast bullet track (revolvers) a few times, have learned that softer bullet lead less than rock hard bullets.

[dudel]

I have an Outers Foul-Out that I use to remove leading. Lifts the lead off the bore atom by atom. Works great, no scrubbing.

[Chris C]

LeadAway patches will get rid of that bore lead in no time. Just make sure the fit is tight. You won't believe how fast it works. http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/210159/kleen-bore-lead-away-gun-cleaning-patches