Will PCed bullets remove leading?

[Bazoo]

Just like the title says. If I have an un coated load that leads, and then shoot PCed bullets that do not lead, will they remove the leading?

[oley55]

I'll be watching for more experienced folks than I to respond, but my off the cuff answer is "not a chance".

Although I tried "shooting the lead out" with jacketed bullets back in the mid 80's, and was marginally successful, I would not try it today. In that time frame my 44 mag Redhawk developed barrel cracks. I can not say if my pushing jacket bullets over/through barrel leading contributed to the failure or not, but today I have no interest in risking it. An undersized bore brush wrapped with chore boy or bronze wool and Kroil just works too well.

[JimB..]

It has not been my experience that shooting either jacketed or coated bullets will clean a leaded barrel. I’m really lazy and do wish this worked!

[bangerjim]

PC prevents leading..................it does not remove it! Even the so-called " abrasive mate black " will not do anything to your barrels. Clean the lead out the old-fashioned ways and start fresh with PC'd rounds. You will never have leading again......if your FIT is correct!!!!!!!!

[fredj338]

The old myth that firing jacketed bullets removes leading is just that. Certainly wouldnt happen with coated.

[GBertolet]

In the 45 ACP, I find that PC bullets do remove light leading, from the rifling leade. Never tried it on heavy leading though, as my conventionally lubed bullets, don't lead much anyway.

[GregLaROCHE]

You might consider a fire lapping boolit, if you don’t want to get into a lot of scrubbing.

[gnappi]

When I wore a younger man's clothes I knew a master NRA bullseye champion who was the most unbelievable shot I ever saw. When I started shooting that discipline he saw me lose pretty badly and offered me two pieces of advice, which I took.

1. Sell the .38 wadcutter. The sport is won by bullet diameter breaking lines, big bullet, more lines broken less losses.

2. STOP SCRUBBING the bore. Clean the chamber, outside of the barrel, a light patch in the bore to remove powder residue and iol appropriate wear prone surfaces. His logic was... using sufficiently hard lead the bore will lead to one point and stop, subsequent rounds will make the bore self cleaning. He showed me his leaded bore to prove it, he never lost a match, I believed him and never scrubbed a barrel since then, this was in the mid 1970's.

Today for pistols I don't even try to get any better than left ventricle / right ventricle accuracy at 20'-30' or so and I never even look in my bore other than to look for barrel obstructions like a sleeping or dead lizard :-)

[Bazoo]

I’m not looking for how to remove leading advice. I’ve no problems with how to remove leading as I’ve had experience for years with various guns and various degrees of leading.

I have a gun that leads with some loads and not with others. I have a load, that is plain based, but shoots clean. If the gun has terrible leading, and I fire this load, after a cylinder full, the leading is gone. My question is, will powder coated act the same way?

I appreciate the input. I agree with not cleaning the bore as a general rule. I rarely clean other than wiping with an oily and then a dry patch or two.

[popper]

PC will remove some loose leading but not the 'normal' stuff. GC will remove a lot too.

[Dom]

My Marlin 45-70 had some light streaking of lead from traditionally lubed bullets. After 10 or so shots it was noticeably less. After 30 or so shots all traces of lead are gone.

[charlie b]

I find that GC bullets remove a lot of stuff from barrels, including copper fouling. Not enough to be squeaky clean, but, enough to make barrel cleaning easier.

Never noticed if plain base PC bullets do much.

[bangerjim]

Why would you expect PC to remove leading? It is a plastic polymer compound that is slicker than snakesnot, slides thru sizing dies like a breeze with no lube ever required required, does not scrape of anything from sizing dies, flies out of the barrel with no PC removed from the recovered boolit or left in the barrel.

PC may border on total magic for a majority of us shooters, but cleaning barrels from ill-fitting boolits that leave leading behind is not one of them I have ever seen or experienced in many thousands of rounds.

[Stephen Cohen]

I can tell you it raises pressure and have seen two model 29 Smiths with split barrels after firing jacked to do as you asked, while that may not be the reason those barrels split but I have no intention of testing it. The guns belonged to a set of brothers so I guess the apple don't fall fare from the tree. Regards Stephen

[Bazoo]

I shoot leading out with gas checked bullets. It works well. I don’t know that I’d shoot jacketed to remove leading, first because I ain’t got any jacketed most of the time. But second because I expect it would raise pressures.

I never would have expected a plain based load to clean the leading from a bore, but I’ve got a gun and load that does it. So, that got me to thinking about the PC thing. Thanks for the replies.

[G. Freeman]

Will PCed bullets remove leading?

In my experience, no. When I start shooting pc'd bullets through a clean barrel, the barrel stays clean. When lead has already been shot through the bore, the pc'd bullets don't seem to remove any more lead.

[cwlongshot]

Just clean it. Cleaning rods, solvents and brushes are available and sold regularly because they work.
Why recreate the ball here? What an I missing??

I have shot bullseye for over 30 years and completely agree 22/45/45 But not cleaning? :veryconfu To each his own I guess.

CW

[Walks]

2nd on CWlongshot.
If you have a load that "leads" excessively then rework that load.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate the responses. Interesting that some folks have different results. I’m just curious about how pc acts in that area. While I’m not currently PCing, I am in the learning and preparing phase for it. I have all the stuff, except the time.

I agree, loads that lead aren’t good and should be changed. I have some guns that are ornery and some that aren’t. I’m thoroughly familiar with scrubbing lead out.