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Thread: Cleaning lead from bores.

  1. #21
    Boolit Master
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    For a handgun, I've found the Lewis Lead remover is the closest thing to magic I've ever found in cheaning lead fouling from the bore. Might work well in a rifle too with a long enough cleaning rod.
    Frank
    U.S.A. " RIDE FOR THE BRAND OR LEAVE!"

  2. #22
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    I use the brass shaveings from my 44mag brass when I cut them down to 44sp!

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hang Fire View Post
    Bore leading can be a pesty problem at times and thought it would be nice to have a sticky at the top for reference.


    I like many, use the pure copper Chore Boy scrub pads. I cut a section and wrap about an old brass brush and push/pull in a dry bore. Qucikly removes lead as effectively as a Lewis Lead Remover and a lot cheaper than initial cost and the buying of additional brass screens.

    I am sure others use just as effective other methods and would be interesting for their input.
    I like this more than the lewis lead remover, the screens always break apart on me.

  4. #24
    Boolit Grand Master 303Guy's Avatar
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    I had a lapse of common sense and managed to lead my bore on my pig gun. So, knowing about this sticky I came here for a solution. Two things arose; firstly I have an inexhaustible supply of lead from the bore! Secondly, Scotch Bright abrasive pads really do work.



    It didn't get all the lead out but then there was an inordinate amount of lead in there. It actually made the rust damaged bore shine! I eventually added grinding paste to the pads and that did break through to the steel but left a few strips between the lands. Those shot out with a single paper patch boolit.
    Rest In Peace My Son (01/06/1986 - 14/01/2014)

    ''Assume everything that moves is a human before identifying as otherwise''

  5. #25
    Moderator Emeritus/Boolit Master in Heavens Range
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    One of the big advantages of loads with a little COW (Cream of Wheat) filler is that two or three shots will leave the foulest bore bright and shinning clean. It's the fastest and cheapest way I ever saw to clean a bore.
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  6. #26
    Boolit Grand Master 303Guy's Avatar
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    I was thinking about grits. Wheat bran cleans a bore but I don't know about leading. If only could find out exactly what cream of wheat was i.e. actually finding some on the shelf so I can see it.
    Rest In Peace My Son (01/06/1986 - 14/01/2014)

    ''Assume everything that moves is a human before identifying as otherwise''

  7. #27
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    Well, grits ought to work, though I never tried them. And ask for CoW in most any grocery store.
    Molly
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  8. #28
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    COW LOADS is the term.....use know loading data for this not your regular loads

    Quote Originally Posted by 303Guy View Post
    I was thinking about grits. Wheat bran cleans a bore but I don't know about leading. If only could find out exactly what cream of wheat was i.e. actually finding some on the shelf so I can see it.
    Never bothered trying it. From what I have read it applies to cast bollit loads in rifles. I should examine it more and see if I can use it in 38 revolver loads, 9mm & 40 lead bollit loads....... Cream of Wheat is a breakfast cereal (hot, add water and cook for several min.} Paid $ 3.99 for a box wt. is 1 lb. 12 oz. and had a 1.00 off coupon attached. Cream of Wheat is an enriched Farina product.......the name brand product is Cream of Wheat, the generic brand my just be Farina......see if that helps you find it. Afish4570

  9. #29
    Moderator Emeritus/Boolit Master in Heavens Range
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    Quote Originally Posted by afish4570 View Post
    Never bothered trying it. From what I have read it applies to cast bollit loads in rifles. I should examine it more and see if I can use it in 38 revolver loads, 9mm & 40 lead bollit loads.......
    Hi Afish,
    Your answwer regarding CoW was better and much more complete than mine, and I thank you. I guess I was just tired.

    I was the guy who first stumbled on CoW for use in cast boolits, and if you look, you can find an account somewhere here, and another one on the CBA site. Frankly, I've never used it in anything except rifle loads, but I've had a number of people write and tell me that it solved severe leading problems in their handguns.

    I was also remiss in not cautioning that CoW works by sealing the bore behind the bullet, so that no gas can get by and etch the bullet. A little thought will enable you to understand that CoW raises pressures in several ways, some of them important.
    First of all, it raises the weight of the ejecta. This is probably very minor, compared to the weight of the bullet and powder charge.
    Second, it eliminates the initial gas leaking, which would prevent the relief of the initial pressure surge, and add to pressures. How much, I don't know.
    Third, its use reduces the effective case capacity, which also acts to raise pressure, all else being equal.

    Under no circumstances should CoW be added to a load that is already near or at maximum pressures.

    However, these potential problems can be eliminated by the simple measure of working up your loads with CoW already in the formula. For example, you've had good results with powder XYZ in your handgun except that it gives leading that you can't seem to get rid of. Go back to your reloading manual for the suggested starting load for XYZ. Load a few rounds with that charge, but add a little COW on top of the powder. The amount will vary with the size of the case, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/8th to 1/10th of an inch should be adequate. Ideally, the case volume should be pretty well filled, to prevent the Cow and the powder XYZ from mixing a whole lot from handling. Slight compression hasn't hurt anythng in my experience.

    Fire a half dozen rounds and check your results. The cases should eject easily, and show little if any signs of pressure. There should be no trace of leading. If the results are satisfactory, try increasing the powder charge very slightly. Test it again. Keep this up until you're satisfied with the load, or until you begin to see indications of serious pressure problems. Use some common sense: By serious pressure, I mean case swelling and primer flattening no worse than factory rounds.

    Using this work-up procedure, I've actually loaded CoW rounds for the 6.5x55 rifle that were so effective at preventing leading that I could use full power loads for jacketed bullets, and a shooting session would still leave the bore bright, shiney and clean. And I could use loads like this with hard bullets 'as cast': No sizing, no lube, no gas check. The only problem I encountered was that with one mold, I had to size because the unsized bullet was so big that it made the case neck too large to chamber.

    One word of caution though. CoW loads do not leave a protective layer of lube in the bore like ordinary cast bullets will. The bore is CLEAN, and can rust pretty quickly if it doesn't get a mop of some anti-rust run through it. High humidity like a lot of southern areas have will speed this up. Don't let the sun go down without wiping your bore, and you'll be fine.
    Last edited by Molly; 04-03-2012 at 01:31 PM.
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  10. #30
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    COW Loads in pistols....

    IDPA & IPSC matches are in the next few weeks as well as honey do stuff......I would like to try some 38 spec. loads and maybe some 9mm too.... When I do I'll post my results. Thanks for the info.afish4570

  11. #31
    Boolit Grand Master 303Guy's Avatar
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    I've seen Farina on the shelves - thanks, will get some.

    P.S. You how grease is made by mixing oil with a 'soap' to thicken it? (I don't know why they call it it soap - it's the thickener agent used in grease). Well, what about using CoW as the 'soap' and using the 'grease' as boolit lube? Clean and lube the bore simultaneously! (Might not remove leading though - being too little too late).
    Rest In Peace My Son (01/06/1986 - 14/01/2014)

    ''Assume everything that moves is a human before identifying as otherwise''

  12. #32
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    used my 40 S&W cast boolits in my Berretta

    Quote Originally Posted by afish4570 View Post
    IDPA & IPSC matches are in the next few weeks as well as honey do stuff......I would like to try some 38 spec. loads and maybe some 9mm too.... When I do I'll post my results. Thanks for the info.afish4570
    Shot an IDPA match today......Gun performed perfectly using the 175 gr. Lee 6 cav. FP lubed with XLOX (Lars=to LLA) using 4.0 gr. Bullseye.afish4570

  13. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by afish4570 View Post
    Shot an IDPA match today......Gun performed perfectly using the 175 gr. Lee 6 cav. FP lubed with XLOX (Lars=to LLA) using 4.0 gr. Bullseye.afish4570
    these were not COW loads....tradional cast boolit. afish4570

  14. #34
    Boolit Man
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    On the COW system, I was working with a Taurus 4" 66 SS quite some years ago. The object was to fire lap to help correct the loose patterns, abt skeet, at 25 yds. Part of the problem was a crushed thru frame barrel. The cyl throats were o the order of 0.361. Via the NECO system, a plastic wad was to "seal" the bore, etc----good luck. I wound up using plastic buffer material to fill the space between powder and bullet base. The result got rid of the leading, improved velocity noticeably, w/o pressure excess( forgot the load, and accuracy became sub inch at 35yds. Pain to load these so I traded it for a 4" Ruger Security six, never regretted it.

  15. #35
    Boolit Buddy
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    I was reading in Ideal Handbook #17 1906, where Dr. Hudson was using COW in some of his loads to protect the bullet base.

    Good luck

  16. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slowpoke View Post
    I was reading in Ideal Handbook #17 1906, where Dr. Hudson was using COW in some of his loads to protect the bullet base.

    Good luck
    Hey Slowpoke, that's VERY interesting. I didn't know about it. any chance of getting you to post his comments? Thanks,
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  17. #37
    Boolit Buddy
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    OK
    He is talking about a load for 375272 in the 38-55 I believe breech seated.

    "18 grains weight of Sharpshooter, a quantity of the cereal known as" Cream of Wheat" equal in bulk to 10grains of black powder,and a blotting paper wad,put into shell in the order named,seating wad with about 2 pounds pressure. The cereal which was recommended by J. H. Keough of Massachusetts is for the purpose of protecting the base of the bullet against the heat and the amount named should not be exceeded."

    On the next page he list's a load for the 32-40 using 319273

    " 15 grains weight L.& R. Sharpshooter,7 grains bulk of cereal, blotting paper wad."

    good luck

  18. #38
    Moderator Emeritus/Boolit Master in Heavens Range
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slowpoke View Post
    OK
    He is talking about a load for 375272 in the 38-55 I believe breech seated.

    "18 grains weight of Sharpshooter, a quantity of the cereal known as" Cream of Wheat" equal in bulk to 10 grains of black powder,and a blotting paper wad,put into shell in the order named,seating wad with about 2 pounds pressure. The cereal which was recommended by J. H. Keough of Massachusetts is for the purpose of protecting the base of the bullet against the heat and the amount named should not be exceeded."

    On the next page he list's a load for the 32-40 using 319273

    " 15 grains weight L.& R. Sharpshooter,7 grains bulk of cereal, blotting paper wad."

    good luck
    That's fascinating. I really appreciate you taking the trouble to do that for me. Is there any more information like the lube used, any gas checks, thickness of the blotting paper, etc? I'd really like to know everything possible about this load.
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  19. #39
    Boolit Buddy
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    Sorry that's just about it, no gas checks, plain base bullets, the bullets have several lube grooves but he don't say what he uses for lube, no thickness for the wad. I have a couple older Handbooks I will look thru them for you.

    Happy to do it ---- Good luck

  20. #40
    Moderator Emeritus/Boolit Master in Heavens Range
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slowpoke View Post
    Sorry that's just about it, no gas checks, plain base bullets, the bullets have several lube grooves but he don't say what he uses for lube, no thickness for the wad. I have a couple older Handbooks I will look thru them for you.

    Happy to do it ---- Good luck
    And I'm happy that you did it for me. I stumbled on the use of CoW by sheer accident some years ago, but this is the first time I've heard of someone before me using the stuff. Oh well, it isn't the first time I've re-invented the wheel. (BG) If you find any other references, I's sure like to hear about them.
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check