Scrubbing a leaded bore

[BattleRife]

I have a collection of old American Rifleman magazines and was flipping through the October 1958 issue looking for something else when I came across this. I thought maybe some here might find it interesting, and evidence that there is nothing new under the sun:

[mdi]

Yep, there some "new and improved" stuff around that ain't really new, just hasn't been talked about for a while...

[flyingmonkey35]

aka choreboy. great stuff

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[725]

Used to be a guy that traded under something like "Frontier Forty Five", that sold a non-steel chore boy product. Softer on the bore. I've used it and it's good for heavy leading. Normally I use "Lead Away" cloth as a patch with Kroil / Ed's Red / PB Blaster, etc. Also good for the face of revolver cylinders, et al.

[swheeler]

Big 45 Frontier metal and bore cleaner. I bought a bag of it couple years ago, it will rub off the rust but not harm the bluing on your favorite gun, worked good.

[725]

Thanks, swheeler. --that's the stuff I remember.

[Mitch]

I think this is one of the best tools i have bought since getting into casting bullets.https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleani...prod21587.aspx I did the choreboy thing and everything else i could think of.If chorboy works for you great.If not give the Lewis Lead Remover a try.

[44Blam]

I was talking to the RO at the range this weekend and he said he takes a brass brush on a rod and puts it on a drill and just runs it up and down the bore. I've got a barrel that is heavily leaded due to pushing lead a bit too hard. I was working on it with a brush with chore boy but I've put in about 2 hours on it and it is much better but still has some lead... Was thinking of doing the drill thing...

[Three44s]

I shudder when someone mentions a brush chucked up in a power drill and cleaning rifling in the same sentence. IMO a brush powered and rotating across rifling is not just less effective but down right damaging. It is ineffective because the bristles are moving at a right angle to the lands and grooves leaving shadowed zones because there will be significant areas of the groove skipped over. The damage comes from the cleaning rod rubbing /scrapping across the lands and top edges of the grooves.

In my experience Copper Chore Boy fitted onto a tight enough brush passing longitudinally up and down the barrel (with the lands and grooves) along with a general or better solvent is as good as it gets ..... run by hand.

I like Lewis Lead Remover for forcing cones and Chore Boy gets the nod and is rotated on a solid rod in chambers, again run by hand.

My .02 worth

Three44s

[poppy42]

I was talking to the RO at the range this weekend and he said he takes a brass brush on a rod and puts it on a drill and just runs it up and down the bore. I've got a barrel that is heavily leaded due to pushing lead a bit too hard. I was working on it with a brush with chore boy but I've put in about 2 hours on it and it is much better but still has some lead... Was thinking of doing the drill thing...

Viniger and peroxide 50/50. Plug one end of the bore, carefully fill the bore. Give it 10 to 20 minutes. Dump it out and rinse the bore with plain water, dry ( heat gun , hair dryer etc). Then a couple shots with a bronze brush. Repeat as needed, the whole process that is. Then clean and oil as usual. NOTE: THIS IS FOR SEVERELY LEADED BORE! Oh almost forgot, if ya get it on anything else besides the bore, clean it off right away. Never seen it happen but I imagine if left on for some period of time. It might discolor some stuff

[Tom W.]

Didn't Elmer Keith plug the barrel of his rifle and use ammonia?

I prefer Kroil. But I finally found out how not to get leading. It took 55 years, but I think I finally got it!

[richhodg66]

I have to wonder what people are doing to get that kind of leading. I never get any serious leading and just about all I shoot is cast. Size and lube appropriately and don't get stupid with velocity = no leading.

Vinegar? Ammonia? Spinning a brush on an electric drill through a rifle bore? All these sound like good methods to ruin a barrel.

[Petander]

Viniger and peroxide 50/50. Plug one end of the bore, carefully fill the bore. Give it 10 to 20 minutes. Dump it out and rinse the bore with plain water, dry ( heat gun , hair dryer etc). Then a couple shots with a bronze brush. Repeat as needed, the whole process that is. Then clean and oil as usual. NOTE: THIS IS FOR SEVERELY LEADED BORE! Oh almost forgot, if ya get it on anything else besides the bore, clean it off right away. Never seen it happen but I imagine if left on for some period of time. It might discolor some stuff

This is known as The Dip. Very easy and effective but should be used with STAINLESS only.

Before anyone mentions "you get lead acetate", yes you do but yo don't need to touch it. Compared to lead exposure during "scrubbing" with all the patches,oil etc... just use common sense.

[25ring]

Take a patch on a jag large enough that you have to tap it through the barrel,soak the patch with turpentine. You'll be amazed at the amount of lead that comes out. FWIW--Mike.

[Petander]

Take a patch on a jag large enough that you have to tap it through the barrel,soak the patch with turpentine. You'll be amazed at the amount of lead that comes out. FWIW--Mike.

Ed's Red.

[mdi]

I've tried a bunch of different methods to remove lead (and worked hard to learn how to prevent it). My latest method is a soak with Kroil, 24 hours or so, and the "chore boy scrub" method. Tough leading I also use a Lewis Lead Remover. A warning; if you choose to try the hydrogen peroxide/vinegar method, be very careful and don't leave the solution in the barrel for more than just an hour, or less. I "forgot" my Dan Wesson 44 Mag had some of this solution in the barrel and didn't rinse it out for mebbe 12 hrs. My gun now had a lightly pitted barrel...

A bronze/brass brush is much softer than a gun barrel so using one in a drill won't do any damage, if used "thoughtfully" and sparingly (but I don't see any advantage to turn a brush in the barrel). There is also a possibility of the muzzle being damaged bu a turning shaft (I have heard of muzzles being worn from soppy use of a cleaning rod rubbing against the crown). Of course this isn't a good idea as eventually the rifling will be "dulled". sharp, clean edges worn down/off. I would not do it...

[stubshaft]

Tommy Bish recommended mercury in the bore.

[Burnt Fingers]

Didn't Elmer Keith plug the barrel of his rifle and use ammonia?

I prefer Kroil. But I finally found out how not to get leading. It took 55 years, but I think I finally got it!

Ammonia works on copper, not lead.

Tommy Bish recommended mercury in the bore.

I wish I had kept that quart of mercury I had years ago. The price of the stuff now is scary.

[poppy42]

This is known as The Dip. Very easy and effective but should be used with STAINLESS only.

Before anyone mentions "you get lead acetate", yes you do but yo don't need to touch it. Compared to lead exposure during "scrubbing" with all the patches,oil etc... just use common sense.

Notice I did say be very careful and wipe off anything bu the bore. No problem with a blued barrel as long as the solution stays in the bore and on nothing else! I actually had I had forgotten all about it. I’ve only had to use it once on a weapon and that was a Polish P 64. Couple weeks back I asked on the forum best way to clean a lead pipe and I was reminded of this 50-50 solution which worked amazingly well!

[Tom W.]

Ammonia works on copper, not lead.

Ok. it was a long time ago when I read that. Chemicals slow my mind some....