Chore Boy V steel wool

[RACWIN375]

hi,
I was have a hard time finding Chore Boy !!! and in read old posts a few guy said to use 0000 steel wool on your bore if you think it has been lead fouled HUMMM I have 0000 so I tried it and a lot lead chips out I wrapped a little around a bore brush and dipped the brush in shooters choice I pulled it through the bore about 20 times until no more lead nice and clean now

I found the Chore Boy (girlfriend come home with a 4 pack about an hour after I was done) that stuff is very course and won't it copper the bore???

I think the 0000 did a great job

Rick

:bigsmyl2:

[tomme boy]

Yes it will copper the bore. At least on me it does anyway. I use the foaming bore cleaner after the chore boy scraping treatment.

[fredj338]

You are welcome to use steel in your bore but I won't. The idea of even 0000 steel wool going down the rilfing leaves me a bit cold. No it will NOT copper the bore, unless you can put some serious velocity behind it.

[RACWIN375]

You are welcome to use steel in your bore but I won't. The idea of even 0000 steel wool going down the rifling leaves me a bit cold. No it will NOT copper the bore, unless you can put some serious velocity behind it.

you should see how good it looks !!! all the dumb lines are gone hehe

I use 0000 on the wood with butchers wax on my gun and that is OK I would NOT use a chore boy on the wood to buff a shin into it would you

just saying

Rick

[Bret4207]

We use 4/0 steel wool to polish guns for bluing. The top shooters at the Coors Schuetzenfest used steel wool in their barrels. Considering those 2 items, I'll continue to use 4/0 steel wool in the odd times I need de leading.

[303Guy]

Not sure why steel wool would be a problem. I've been known to use 400 grit grinding paste! Admittedly that was to remove or at least round off rust pit edges. Steel wool is actually quite soft and will wear out in a bore requiring fresh stuff from time to time. It will likely smooth a rough bore in time but I can't see how it would touch a smooth bore. But if in doubt then don't use it. Incidently, it does nothing to remove rust pit sharp edges. The rust pits actually tear off bits of the steel. I wouldn't use steel wool in a good bore without reason either.

[curator]

Real copper Chore Boy is difficult to find around here. I use bronze wool instead. Most hardware stores carry it in three grades in their paint department. Bronze wool will not scratch the bore. It also works great to take off rust without removing the blueing at the same time.

[44man]

0000 steel wool is used after bluing to polish. It will not harm anything.
One caution is to never use it on stainless.
Used on wood, it will remove wood. Slow, but it does cut wood.
The big question is always "Why do you need to remove leading?" You should find what does not lead the bore.
Shooting lead is not a given that the bore will lead. Cure that and there is no need for Chore Boy.

[Texantothecore]

Walgreens is the only place I have found that carries Chore Boy reliably. They also carry Ocedar pure copper scrubbers which are a bit cheaper.

[RACWIN375]

0000 steel wool is used after bluing to polish. It will not harm anything.
One caution is to never use it on stainless.
Used on wood, it will remove wood. Slow, but it does cut wood.
The big question is always "Why do you need to remove leading?" You should find what does not lead the bore.
Shooting lead is not a given that the bore will lead. Cure that and there is no need for Chore Boy.

44man
In working up a accurate load for my M1 carbine with cast bullets I went hot for one type of bullets and I thought I may have some lead fouling ??? and I did

Rick

:Fire:

[44man]

44man
In working up a accurate load for my M1 carbine with cast bullets I went hot for one type of bullets and I thought I may have some lead fouling ??? and I did

Rick

:Fire:
Not saying it is easy but I am sure working with alloys and lubes will cure it.

[RACWIN375]

I'm using store bought cast bullets, I like the Berry's copper plated 110gr .308 it's made for the M1 Carbine and they look like FMJ
I'm finding the casts like less powder then the copper jacketed
the casts bullets start to group tight at 1gr less then the min powder load for the FMJ (13gr) I found some old cast bullet loading data and they are showing 8gr as a starting load and a max of 12gr
the 30carbine load is only shown with FMJ or round nose with two powder loads
I was very happy to find that cast info

Rick

:drinks:

[tomme boy]

No it will NOT copper the bore, unless you can put some serious velocity behind it.

I have a rifle that has NEVER seen any jacketed bullets. Every time I use a brush wrapped in copper mess, I have copper in the bore. You can see it with your eyes. I have to use the foaming bore cleaner to remove it. If I don't, it leads from one end of the barrel to the other. And this is in about 10 shots. So, just because you have not seen it, does not mean it does not happen.

[Sonnypie]

I have a rifle that has NEVER seen any jacketed bullets. Every time I use a brush wrapped in copper mess, I have copper in the bore. You can see it with your eyes. I have to use the foaming bore cleaner to remove it. If I don't, it leads from one end of the barrel to the other. And this is in about 10 shots. So, just because you have not seen it, does not mean it does not happen.

Not even when test fired at the factory? :groner:

[Gohon]

Be careful that 4 pack of Chore Boy your girlfriend brought home is not really copper coated steel. Only real pure copper Chore Boy I've seen comes two to a box..........doesn't mean they don't come four to a box just I've never seen them. ACE hardware carries the pure copper wool pads that works well but takes a little more work that of a strand of real Chore Boy wrapped around a scrub brush. In all the years I've used the Chore Boy method I've never seen copper in the bore after using it........

[tomme boy]

Not every gun is test fired

[fredj338]

I have a rifle that has NEVER seen any jacketed bullets. Every time I use a brush wrapped in copper mess, I have copper in the bore. You can see it with your eyes. I have to use the foaming bore cleaner to remove it. If I don't, it leads from one end of the barrel to the other. And this is in about 10 shots. So, just because you have not seen it, does not mean it does not happen.

Well, we have opp results. I use CB all the time, have never seen any copper left in the bbl. I do use Kroil w/ it, maybe that has something to do with it, but it's impossible for it to actually plate to the steel. How would that happen? Still, my barrels don't see steel brushes or steel wool.

[RACWIN375]

Be careful that 4 pack of Chore Boy your girlfriend brought home is not really copper coated steel. Only real pure copper Chore Boy I've seen comes two to a box..........doesn't mean they don't come four to a box just I've never seen them. ACE hardware carries the pure copper wool pads that works well but takes a little more work that of a strand of real Chore Boy wrapped around a scrub brush. In all the years I've used the Chore Boy method I've never seen copper in the bore after using it........

it says pure copper I didn't test with a magnet
how do you use the chore boy ????

[Sonnypie]

Not every gun is test fired


Sheesh! :kidding: :lol:

[44man]

it says pure copper I didn't test with a magnet
how do you use the chore boy ????
Most guys wrap some around an old bore brush.
I was thinking again---real dangerous! :bigsmyl2:
Someone could make some money if they sold rolls of copper ribbon.

[dnotarianni]

Pure copper chore-boy and scrub or a few jacketed rounds. Jacketed sounds like more fun to me
Dave

[milprileb]

I marvel at the velocity of your ram rod to incur damage by 0000 steel wool or coppering up a barrel with a Chore Boy. I am far slower and have not had these drama.


I could only find Chore Boy at Walgreens and I took a magnet with me to be sure they were all copper. Works fine . Ace Hardware sells bronze wool, you got to ask for it and will probably have to see the manager cause the younger folks are clueless on what it is. Ace stocks it. Now whether they have copper scrub material that surpasses bronze wool for our use is yet to be identified.

Seriously, at the velocity of a round (FMJ or cast bullet) down a bore: does anyone really think they can manually foul up a bore with a bore brush with 0000 steel wool or copper mesh? If you can do that, I am sure you can increase throat erosion and muzzle wear
at the same time.

[Gohon]

how do you use the chore boy ????

The Chore Boy is like a pair of rolled up socks...........turn it inside out, stretch out one strand which will be about 2 feet or more and snip it off. Just wind that tightly around a old bore brush and your ready to do.

I always place a sheet of white paper under the muzzle and push the brush from the breech end. If there is any lead that I couldn't visually see in the barrel, it will show up on the paper.

[HangFireW8]

Seriously, at the velocity of a round (FMJ or cast bullet) down a bore: does anyone really think they can manually foul up a bore with a bore brush with 0000 steel wool or copper mesh? If you can do that, I am sure you can increase throat erosion and muzzle wear
at the same time.

The British had a code to denote pull-cord cleaning damage to the muzzle. Do you really think someone can damage the small edge (crown) and cause inaccuracy by cleaning? Of course they can. I get bargains at the pawn shop that way. I take them home an recrown them and they suddenly get accurate again.

Can a rifle get funnel-shaped wear in the last few inches of the muzzle due to cleaning rod wear? Sure it can. Slugging the bore of old military rifles has shown me this pattern again and again. Obviously the recruits were judged on cleanliness more than carefulness. On a 29.5" barreled Mauser it is no big deal to cut off 4 or 5 inches until it cleans up. On an American sporter with a 22" barrel the situation is more problematic.

When he was still alive Gale McMillan recounted to me a customer that returned one of his custom hand-lapped barrels for inaccuracy after a few hundred rounds. One side of the throat had the rifling worn down to almost nothing. He asked the customer how he cleaned the barrel, the customer said he used a bore guide and a coated rod and exactly the same stroke technique for every stroke. Gale told him to vary the technique some, and lose the bore guide if necessary.

Does steel wool wear a bore down faster than Copper? Of course it does. Enough to matter? That depends on a lot of things, frequency, technique, tightness of the cleaning tool, etc.

HF