Lead flakes/slithers

[JeffinNZ]

Team.
So what causes the flakes or slithers of lead that push out of a barrel on a dry cleaning patch?
No leading in the barrel at all but a few flakes/slithers.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

FWIW, I always figured the boolit was too soft, too small, or had too little lube. Changing one or more of those factors, made the lead cellulite go away. BvT

[NVcurmudgeon]

Team.
So what causes the flakes or slithers of lead that push out of a barrel on a dry cleaning patch?
No leading in the barrel at all but a few flakes/slithers.

The only time I ever saw the "slithers" was after firing boolits from a very old Lyman 311291 mould in a Marlin Micro-Groove .30/30. The boolits cast at .311" with a .297" nose. They were sized .310" and produced long groove-sized slithers that were about the length of the boolit. they looked a lot like the curls of metal produced by a lathe. The same rifle does very well with Lyman's Lovern type 311466, which is groove diameter from one end to the other. What is the nose diameter on your misbehaving boolit?

[JeffinNZ]

It's not misbehaving as such. Shoots likes a house fire. Just get the odd slither.

Bullet nose is .305 and I size the driving bands to .314 which suits the SMLE barrel REALLY well.

[Trapshooter]

That happens to me with light loads of Unique in military cartridges (1100-1300 fps stuff). Different lubes, larger / smaller charges, larger / smaller diameter, harder / softer etc, didn't help either. The lead flakes come out easy and didn't cause a grouping problem. I got rid of the lead sparkles by changing the load to 2400 or 4227, but went back to Unique because it wasn't any more accurate, and used almost twice as much powder.

Trapshooter

[docone31]

This is why I want to paper patch my .303. That process also polishes the bore.
I got my die coming, my paper cutter ready, and I am preparing to patch. Probably fill the trash can first for a while.

[405]

I don't think I've ever shot a lead bullet out of a rifle that didn't leave at least a little lead. Once in a while.... until the "Doh!" factor kicks in.... the wrong bullet, pressure, or whatever will really lead up a bore. Something I'd rather avoid. The only lead bullets I've shot that absolutely leave no lead are properly sized and prepped paper patched bullets.

Even with a super load and bullet I can alway get a few very fine, very small flecks or slivers of lead that show on a really tight jagged cleaning patch. Sometimes those are so small that it takes a magnifying glass to see. I also always thought that that lead could either come from small shavings sometimes seen mixed with the lube as the bullet was run thru the sizer or was normally left along the leading edges of the lands as the bullet went up bore. Even the very best of the best loads seem to leave a little even if it is only a "smear" on the bore surface that only shows on patches after all the carbon fouling is gone. Seems like a matter of degree. If it shoots it shoots.

[JeffinNZ]

Thanks team.

It suddenly just dawned on me I have been speaking of the movement of a snake [slither] and not the correct term for the lead [sliver]. One of us is an idiot....:neutral: