How much dirt from lead?

[Whiterabbit]

oh, and your original question, is it normal? you bet. Try cleaning copper fouling, it's WAY worse.

[bohoki]

yea with mine i just scrub off the lumps that look like skidmarks why make it immaculate if you are just going to shoot it again i guess my goal is to clean it enough so that it wont be dirty enought to jam by the end of my next shooting trip which honestly only about 300 rounds anyhoo since i shoot multiple guns every trip

[rd2play]

yea with mine i just scrub off the lumps that look like skidmarks why make it immaculate if you are just going to shoot it again

I guess I could stop cleaning... When I run a patch on a brush it comes out immaculate, except for thin, dirty stripes. It's obvious that whatever lead is still in there, it's all in the grooves. There's nothing anymore on the bore walls and definitely no chunks.

I'll shoot the remaining lead, and by then the lead solvent and the Chore boy pad should arrive. I'll experiment with those; I'm just curious if those can clean the grooves quickly and completely.

[johnny1290]

I've been working with cast lead boolits under a year, and still have yet to perfect my setup.

I've found it helps to shoot a few jacketed or plated bullets at teh end of the session to help clean out the bore.

I also use a brass brush to clean out the lead from the grooves and it usually comes out with a little scrubbing.

I understand running a lead fishing weight down the barrel will scrape all the lead off of it, I can't remember what you call it, slugging the barrel I think.

[Fishslayer]

Try leaving a Kroil soaked patch in the bore overnight.

[j411701]

Lewis Lead Remover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP69SZDwbjw

[Whiterabbit]

I understand running a lead fishing weight down the barrel will scrape all the lead off of it, I can't remember what you call it, slugging the barrel I think.

You can do it with a lead bullet if you reload or just have them laying around.

rd2play, if you don;t have a lead bullet just laying around, you can simulate it/do it more cheaply as well by using a jag with a cleaning patch pushed on it. A little hoppes #9 on the patch wouldn't hurt anything either.

[chim-chim7]

If your barrel is heavily leaded after 300 rounds, your loads are way too hot. How much velocity are you getting? I used to shoot lead and would go through thousands of rounds before a de-leading treatment was needed. Just a bore snake would be all it needed after a full day of shooting.

Hoppes and other light solvent cleaners are terrible at removing lead. It will get the fluff but not the base. Shooters Choice Lead Remover will dissolve it easily. It actually attacks the lead and dissolves it. 5-10 minutes and your done. Just a warning, you must wear gloves and only use in a highly ventilated area. It's extremely toxic to skin and membranes. Your bore will be completely spotless after.

[Whiterabbit]

If your barrel is heavily leaded after 300 rounds, your loads are way too hot.

OR too cold. OR, the lube isn't effective. OR, the bullet is a bad fit to the bore. OR, the bullet hardness isn't right for the load. OR, the wrong lube was used for the load.