leading help please

[michiganflyer]

I have a 45 kimber and I am getting leading in my barrel after about 200 rounds.
I am shooting 200 gr swc cast, which don't seem to be that soft. I am pretty mild loads as well, 4.7 g red dot, which is listed in my book at about 750fts.

Any tips?

What is a good way to get the lead out? I scrubbed for almost an hour with a brush to remove it. Hoppies 9 doesn't seem to touch it.

Is there something else that will aid in lead removal?

[docone31]

What size are the castings?
Did you cast them, or they store bought?
You need to know the bore size, and size them .001 over.
Leading is usually caused by improper sizing.
I went for a test years ago. I got some store bought castings for my Commander.
Well, the test was a disaster!
Amazing leading, stove pipes, no accuracy. Today I know what happened, back then I just plain avoided lead bullets.s
Today, all I fire is lead.
I size mine at .452. Might make good starting point for you.

[Down South]

Have you slugged the barrel? That would be the first question. An undersized bullet will cause leading. What type of lube are you using? The wrong lube can cause leading. But first you need to be sure the bullet is the correct diameter for the barrel.

What little leading problems I’ve had were easily cleaned out by wrapping a few strands of copper chor-boy pad around a copper cleaning brush and brushing out the lead.

[michiganflyer]

I cast myself. They are sized with rcbs at .451. I checked with a caliper, and they are right on the money. I haven't shot a ton of jacketed bullets as of yet, and this is a new gun with less than a 1000 rounds thru it.

[putteral]

I second CHOR-BOY copper scrub pad. Makes cleaning any mild leading a snap. You should not be getting major leading in .45 unless you got a batch of undersized bullets. I have shot that load and never got any leading.

[michiganflyer]

I have been using lyman orange magic lube. Ok, I don't mean to be stupid, but I don't know how to slug the barrel. Does anyone know what size cast should be used in a Kimber Gold Match? I assume others have shot cast for that pistol on here.

So maybe the .451 sizer is incorrect? .452 would be better?
Accuracy is very good.
Does hoppes Elite work better on lead?

Thanks guys, you are all so helpful.

[Ben]

As long as it chambers smoothly, usually bigger is better.

[michiganflyer]

No not major leading, but a few spots and to get them out with a wire brush is a pain in the you know what. Do I need to shoot more jacketed rounds to smooth up things?
Someone at the club told me I need to shoot 500 rounds of ball ammo before using lead, and I have shot maybe 100.

[Ben]

Hard to say without a bore scope. If you have a rough barrel, 500 rds of jacketed won't make that much difference in my opinion.

My 1st thought on this leading issue, is that the bullet is " sub - sized " or the alloy is too soft.

On lead removal, I've never seen a liquid like Hoppes that had much of an effect on lead deposits.

Take a good snug fitting Phos / Bronze bristle brush( never use stainless steel brushes ) and wrap stands of the CHOR-BOY copper scrub pad around the bristles making a real good snug fit in your barrel.

Pull this through your barrel about 6 - 8 times. Presto ! ! The lead is gone.



Ben

[docone31]

A lot of times, I fire a full clip of jacketeds after a long day firing.
Makes it easier at the end of the day.

[leadhead]

You also have to get ALL get the copper out of the bore before
shooting cast .
Denny

[RexDart]

I went for a test years ago. I got some store bought castings for my Commander.
Well, the test was a disaster!
Amazing leading, stove pipes, no accuracy. Today I know what happened,

So, what was the problem? I ask as I have a box of commercially cast .40 cal bullets that I can't seem to make work in my XD. They're SWCs, and about every 3-4 rounds, one of the shoulders hangs on the feed ramp. Tried playing with the seating depth, but haven't found a sweet spot yet.

I'd hate to waste them as they're already bought and paid for.:violin:

[docone31]

I never found out what the issue was. I knew nothing about casting, sizing, etc... I had just gotten into reloading.
It could have been a variety of issues.
I got home, reloaded 100 jacketeds and it fired flawlessly. I just figuired 1911 variants did not like cast anything.
Today, my 1911 variants really like castings. They do not lead, fire absolutely like I want them to.
I suspect, my early adventure into cast boolitts, they were the wrong size. I bet, if I had my .452 die then, I would not have noticed anything negative.
The stove pipes did come from the lead filling the bore. It was everywhere!
Live and learn.

[leadman]

I use LBT blue Soft bullet lube for all my cast boolits. This lube will not allow the lead to stick to the barrel so if you do have something causing leading, the lead will come out with just a tight fitting patch on a jag.
I don't know how fast you fired the rounds, but this can effect even a good load if the barrel gets too hot.
I also had a 45 that leaded badly with a commercial bevel base SWC. Did fine with the Lee 200grain SWC.

[mooman76]

So, what was the problem? I ask as I have a box of commercially cast .40 cal bullets that I can't seem to make work in my XD. They're SWCs, and about every 3-4 rounds, one of the shoulders hangs on the feed ramp. Tried playing with the seating depth, but haven't found a sweet spot yet.

I'd hate to waste them as they're already bought and paid for.:violin:

A couple things you could try but some autos just don't like SWCs. Polish the feed ramp and unless you are already shooting hard lead water drop your bullets.

[Echo]

Maybe consider the magazine as being the culprit. If the mag doesn't feed right, there will be problems. Do you have the problem with all magazines?

[LUBEDUDE]

I size mine at .452. Might make good starting point for you.

I agree with Docone, sizing is the most important thing. You should be at .452 for a modern gun like Kimber.
The barrel is .451, so what happens is that hot gases are bypassing the base of your bullet and melting the lead and depositing that lead in the bore. That is why you always want to go up at least 1/1000th from the actual bore size when choosing a bullet size.

One other factor may cause leading as well if going to .452 does not cure it.

1911's were originally designed for hardball ammo and thus known for "rough" lands in the bores. Hence one or two of the posts recommending lots of jacketed firing to "smooth out" the bore. If roughness is truely the problem, then consider fire lapping the barrel instead. Fire lapping compound can be purchased at Brownells or Midway Supply.
A much better solution to smooth out the bore for the softer lead bullet compared to hardball.


Good Luck

Dave

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I have a simple new gun treatment that does not require J thangs...
Valve grinding compound (VGC). Cast up about 50 boolits. For handguns I use straight WW. Make sure they are at least .001 overbore and actually I prefer.002. VGC comes in several grit sizes. You can call it ROUGH Medium Smooth and Finish. There are technical terms and calibrated dimensions....
But Clean the Barrel. Everything totally clean. Push a tight patch through. Is it prefectly uniform or grabby loose spots ? If it is perfect I would start withMediun grit VGC. It it is Illregular Rough. Fire 5 rounds of boolits "Lubed" with VGC. Clean barrel. Tight patch test. How did it feel again ? No Improvement fire 5 more... Move to next least abravsive VGC and repeat... until you fire the final FINISH VGC. You should now have a smooth, even barrel that will shoot cast in a gentlemanly manner. If you really want to slick up the barrell fire 10 more boolits with Metal Polish. Flitz works real nice. Toothpast works but is slower. Just be sure you are cleaning the barrel completly between each grit size.
I have doe this with used revolvers also. You can buy kits but I do not enjoy paying people for stuff I can make. There are all sorts of ways to apply the VGC... (rolling on steel plates). You can even just every shot put some on the inside of the forcing cone (revolvers) before firing(Messy) . Semi autos are easier to just lube the whole boolit.
So that is one way to clean up a barrel.... May not be your problem. But I treat all new guns the same (and most used ones). A smooth barrel just causes aloy less fuss.
God Bless you ! Mike