Barrel fouling

[scattershot]

I have been shooting coated bullets recently, from an outside vendor. They leave a coating in the barrel that is impossible to clean.I have used Hoppe’s, CLP, acetone, copper chore boy pads ,and everything else I can think of., but it won’t come out. If it matters, it’s a S&W M&P, .40 caliber, loaded to about 850 fps or so. Help!

[Wayne Smith]

Have you tried the plastic remover they sell for shotguns?

[megasupermagnum]

Have you asked the bullet maker about this? I don't shoot coated bullets, but another solvent you may try is MEK. It is a rather strong, and toxic chemical that takes most paints off. I would be careful with it on the finish of the gun. And if you are not already, use a good copper bore brush. Something slightly bigger, like a 44 caliber brush might give you a little more scrubbing power too.

[BigAlofPa.]

Never had an issue with coated boolets.

[Larry Gibson]

I've had that issue with several different types of PC/TH. I use a Lewis lead remover where I can or wrap some copper ChoreBoy around a worn brush so it's a tight fit and Hooppe's #9 on it. Either of those usually work. If not I break out the JBs and use it.

Here's what some looks like on the Lewis....

Attachment 268941

[scattershot]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll try the plastic fouling remover, maybe that will work.

[alfadan]

Maybe some 4/0 steel wool on a patch?

[scattershot]

I’ll try the steel wool next. I have used it in the past on stubborn lead deposits, sparingly.

I had a similar problem a year or two ago, and contacted the bullet manufacturer. He told me that the demand was so great that they speeded up production, and as a result some of the coating was not allowed to cure properly. He replaced the bullets, and all was well until yesterday. After I get this fouling out of the barrel, I may try a lighter load ith a different powder and see if that helps.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[mdi]

I've been using Ed's Red for quite a while, and when mixing tor shotgun barrels, it is recommended to add acetone. So, try acetone. But in all the PCed shooting I've done I get no excessive fouling, when the bullets fit, if they are sized correctly...

[kevin c]

If it's under cured HiTek you're talking about, this thread might help.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ht=Pyrrolidine

I only had minimal fouling with commercially cast and HiTek coated, only with one vendor and only one time. It came out eventually with a lot of elbow grease and a chore boy on a bronze brush (had the problem before I heard about the solvent, so I've actually never used it). That was on a polygonally rifled barrel; manual removal on a lands and grooves cut barrel might be harder.

My own HiTek coated casts, I've never had the fouling at all.

[Jpholla]

Aircraft type paint stripper, or anything with methylene chloride generally takes off coatings that laugh off other solvents.

[rockrat]

Try some Berrymans B-12 chemtool carb spray. Don't get it on the gun itself!!! Spray a bit on a patch and run that down the bore. The chemtool has acetone, mek, alcohol and ether in it. It will take all the oils off your skin too. It will also melt a toothbrush!!

[scattershot]

Well, I finally got the last of it this morning. A combination of two sessions of elbow grease, acetone, and 4/0 steel wool finally did the trick. I’ll check everything about the load, bullet diameter,, etc. before I load more.

Thanks for all the help, and if I find what’s causing the problem I’ll post it here.

[RU shooter]

Blasphemy but just shoot a few jacketed bullets

[RyanJames170]

Out of curiosity did you more or less powder coat the inside of your barrel with the bad bullets?

I’d be curious to see one of the bad bullets besides a good one, maybe there is something we can watch out for.

[scattershot]

Well, I just checked the boolits for diameter, and they were .401-.4015. I’m thinking they should be .402 or better, but I’ll try reducing the load first to check. The fouling was in the last 1/3 of the barrel, which leads me to believe they were a tad fast. I thought they were travelling at 850 fps, but they may be 950. I’ll recheck the data and see.


“ Out of curiosity did you more or less powder coat the inside of your barrel with the bad bullets?

I’d be curious to see one of the bad bullets besides a good one, maybe there is something we can watch out for.”

That’s as good an explanation as any, and I couldn’t tell,any difference visually.

[charlie b]

That low a velocity should not make a difference. PC bullets should be good for 1500 or more even without gas checks.

Sounds like they may be too small.

[GregLaROCHE]

Don’t use those boolits anymore. There’s something wrong with them. Powder coating shouldn’t leave any residue if done properly. That’s one of it’s benefits.

[MGySgt]

The coating is under cured. If you want to use them lube them as a normal cast boolit. You are having the same problem I had with some of my PCed 9mm.
You are so correct it takes a long time to clean it out!

[fredj338]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll try the plastic fouling remover, maybe that will work.

Only coated I have seen do this were the Black bullets from Precision. I think it is a type of moly which is hard to remove.