Does Jacketed After Cast Really Clean?

[JohnH]

Lately I've been seeing this recommendation a lot, and I've doubts about it's true effectiveness, I suspect it is one of those cast bullet myths perpetuated by word of mouth and lack of practice. In the early 1990's I did this myself, but never was never convinced it actually worked as well as advertised. I've also read several times that the practice actually has the potential of ironing lead into the pores of the metal. I have a revolver with a very rough barrel throat I'm going to run a test on for my own satisfaction, but I'd like to hear what your actual experience has been as well.

[montana_charlie]

I have no experience to relate, but I am as skeptical as you...for the same reasons.
CM

[runfiverun]

i don't do it. i would think a rounded copper edge would iron the lead in not push it out.
i don't think i have ever had enough lead in a bbl that a slight change of size or alloy couldn't get out.
i did a test with lasercast boolits to actually lead up a bll then shot my cast boolits with different lubes to see how many shots of each one it would take to clean the bbl up.
the best way i have found to do this test is with a 45 acp and weigh the bbl before and after each test.

[buck1]

Gas checked boolits will clean lead out a bit. But chorboy does wonders.

[Shiloh]

Gas checked boolits will clean lead out a bit. But chorboy does wonders.

The Chore boy would be my approach. For those who haven't tried one in a leaded bored, forcing cones, or cylinders, They work surprisingly well. Just like the other posters, the ironing of lead into the pores of the metal sound like a logical possibility. Something for me not to try. [smilie=b:

Shiloh

[Heavy lead]

I've always looked at a severely leaded bore as an abstruction and therefore would not shoot a jacketed bullet out of it. I have never used a choreboy, but I do have one, and will try it. I have slugged the bore to de-lead it though and that works well.

[felix]

Best to shoot very, very low velocity cast. Use filler when necessary to protect from SEE. ... felix

[monadnock#5]

I've done it. It works. Jacketed or gas checked both do the job. However, in my case, this is done only when I've started the day with a clean gun, and there are only a few streaks to remove at the end of day. This is NOT the way I would de-lead a severely leaded/maintenance deferred barrel.

[Harry O]

From my experience with a badly leaded 44-40 rifle barrel, NO, it does not work.

I tried some soft-cast lead CAS loads in a Marlin micro-groove 44-40 barrel. It completely leaded up the first few inches of leading in just a few rounds. By the time I realized something was wrong, the lead completely filled the grooves for the first few inches so it looked like a smoothbore. I had some Winchester jacketed 44-40 bullets with me so I decided to "shoot out" the leading.

It did not work. It did spread out the leading further down the bore. It probably made it harder to remove. I spent several days, a couple of hours a day, removing the lead with a brass brush and lead remover.

[454PB]

I've done it and have never seen it fail to remove all but the light wash of lead.

I agree with felix, a safer way to do it is to use a very mildly loaded lead slug or gas checked boolit. Slugging the barrel also removes heavy leading.

[NSP64]

Don't know. Shot some lead after lead to get the lead out and it worked.

[runfiverun]

i ain't about to go buy no flgc's to find out either.

[hedgehorn]

I would think that they (the jacketed bullets) would just iron out the lead in the barrel as well.

[docone31]

I do it. I have had good success with it.
If you want to clean the bore, try paper! The first few shots get the mess out, the rest get the residue.
This is with a "clean" barrel to begin with though. By clean, I mean at least an effort to clean the bore. The paper takes out the rest.

[shooting on a shoestring]

For revolvers, I used to keep a couple of boxes of Cream Of Wheat over a moderate charge of Bullseye with a cast boolit on top. When I'd go experimenting with new loads that might lead, I'd take along a box. They would certainly get the lead out, and once cleaned up a revolver that Dad had traded for, a 3 screw BH that was so full of lead you couldn't see all the grooves near the forcing cone.

I never had any problems, just kind of got away from it. I guess I've solved most of my leading problems.

Also, I've never met a leaded barrel that 30 strokes with a proper stiff bronze brush couldn't take out. For me that's not a big job.

[HABCAN]

Fast-clean for leaded revolvers: fire a cylinderful of 'blank' balloon-buster charges of fast powder topped with COW or seed tapioca and a snug card wad. Voila! Ask me how I know this.

[zdogk9]

I do know that it will bulge a glock 21 barrel

[Le Loup Solitaire]

In a bore that is heavily leaded, shooting jacketed bullets to remove the lead is not considered a safe move in view of the fact that a substantial amount of lead is considered a potential bore obstruction. When it is trace or mild leading, two rounds or more of jacketed bullets will remove the lead, but those bullets will replace the lead fouling with their own copper fouling. That will then be removed by conventional cleaning. Once upon a long time ago one good method used for removing any kind of leading...heavy or not, was to securely cork the breach end of a barrel and then pour in some mercury. The mercury was then sloshed up and down the barrel and/or left to sit for a while. The mercury amalgamated ALL the lead and it all floated to the top...it was poured off into a vial or jar and the lead was skimmed off and tossed. The mercury was saved for the next time you leaded the barrel. You kept both ends of the barrel securely plugged or else you wound up chasing the stuff all over the house. Nowadays the whole practice would produce all sorts of wild hysteria over poisoning, destroying the planet, etc, and besides where would one get the stuff anyway plus it is also expensive to boot. So it is probably better to find one of the "lewis lead removers" or go to one of those kits that remove the lead electronically ("foul out?) and make a New year's resolution to not lead the bore again.....and keep the resolution. LLS

[georgeld]

I'm amazed at so many of you guys with ideas of one thing or another and no one posted the best there is.

Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner!!
Fill a bronze brush with it, make ten strokes, take a ten minute break and ten more strokes, then patch it dry. Should be cleaned to the steel with everything out, copper, plastic, lead, carbon etc. IF it's not, just do it again the same way and it will be.

Just make sure not to get the BW on the stocks as it'll take the finish right off. AND makes sure to oil the metal up real good right then, don't wait as the steel will be so clean it'll suck up moisture from the air and flash rust. IF it does, just clean it all off with BW and then oil it.

[Reddot]

I do it. I have had good success with it.
If you want to clean the bore, try paper! The first few shots get the mess out, the rest get the residue.
This is with a "clean" barrel to begin with though. By clean, I mean at least an effort to clean the bore. The paper takes out the rest.

Can you explain this one in a little more detail please?

[VintageRifle]

I second not shooting a jacketed bullet if the barrel is heavily leaded. I did this once... I will never do it again. Heard a loud CRACK, heart stopped, held the rifle for what seemed like an hour. Never heard a rifle sound like that and I never want to hear it again. I was lucky, a unknown crack had opened up in the stock (now repaired). Further inspection of the old No4 MkI* Enfield revealed no major damage. However... it doesn't shoot the same anymore :( .

PS. Barrel didn't appear to be heavily leaded. The Jacketed bullet did not agree with me.

[waksupi]

Shooting jacketed bullets to remove leading is fine. As long as you don't mind the occassional bulged barrel. I prefer the low velocity lead to remove it, or better yet, shoot a load that doesn't lead.

[DLCTEX]

Reddot: I believe that he was refering to paper patching boolits. Search under "paper patching".

[atr]

I leaded up my .375 S&W pretty good once.....tried scrubbing it out with bore cleaner and brushes,,,,got some of it but couldn't get it all....
then I shot a couple of cylinders full of Jacketed and the leading was gone.

[38 Super Auto]

It works for me. I have reclaimed jacketed bullets downrange and the jackets had a lead coating on them. So, it does work, but I don't know how effective it is. I usually shoot a few jacketed bullets after I shoot cast. I don't have leading problems because I size my bullets appropriately, use good lube, and keep velocities reasonable.

[OLPDon]

I have turned J word around shot them Backassword seamed to do a pretty good job at the range.
Don
PS not to offend any one person, Base first.

[Bret4207]

I agree with OLPDon that a jacketed bullet, with a nice sharp/square edged base, would do it. I don't think a standard loaded jacketed bullet will it all out. Some yes, but not all of it. I much prefer 4/0 steel wool or Chore Boy or better yet, no lead to start with.

BTW- The steel wool helps with jacket fouling too.

[Tom Herman]

I've done it. It works. Jacketed or gas checked both do the job. However, in my case, this is done only when I've started the day with a clean gun, and there are only a few streaks to remove at the end of day. This is NOT the way I would de-lead a severely leaded/maintenance deferred barrel.

+1 for me on this.. I have a Smith 624 and loaded those stupid a$$ Lazer cast "guaranteed not to lead" bullets, and I had worse leading I've ever seen, even worse than running factory soft lead in my RH .45 LC...
Rather than spend an hour after a 30 minute shooting session laboriously cleaning the bore, I found that running a couple of cylinder's worth of Berry heavy plated bullets through the bore scraped it quite well.

Again, I used a gun that was CLEAN before the day's shooting... If memory serves me correctly, I've done this in several different guns in the past, and had good results. YMMV...

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[jonk]

For lightly leaded bores it helps. I suspect that the copper smears the lead to some degree at first, and each one smears it a bit more, making some come out the muzzle. More effective on handguns than a long rifle barrel. There I'd see it just ironing most of it in to the pores. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you have a rough/pitted bore; sort of filling in the holes. ;)

[Cloudpeak]

About time to interject "Cream of Wheat" in this thread. I tried it on some 9mm rounds and it slicked the bore up pretty good. I'd use something besides what I used, a 105 gr SWC as I'd get a very thin sliver of lead in the chamber. I really couldn't think out the mechanics of why this happens but plan to try it with my 124 gr. RN Lee bullets and see what happens. OTOH, after 2,000 rounds in my 9mm STI Trojan, I notice that the bore is staying much cleaner than I remember.

Cloudpeak

[qajaq59]

I use a dry Chore Boy and then the Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner if the barrel is really bad. Between the two, all the lead and copper will come out. But be sure to oil it right away though, as Georgeld said.

[Ricochet]

Yeah, it takes out at least moderate leading. Like 38 Super, I've recovered jacketed bullets that had heavy lead deposits on the jackets. I wouldn't shoot a hot jacketed load in a heavily leaded bore.