How do you tell if a barrel is leaded?

[Guest Pukin Dog, SASS#55356-Life]

Since I'm hibernating in Wisconsin after the blizzard and have time on my hands, I was thinking of doing some heavy duty cleaning of my guns. I shoot BP with soft lead bullets. I would guess most of my revolver loads don't go over 850 ft/sec and rifle loads 1300 ft/sec.

 

Would these velocities cause any leading? Should I clean all my barrels with a cleaning solution to "get the lead out" (Not to be confused with many radio shows of "Get the LED [Zepplin] out")

 

Or this in the catagory of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it'

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Most folks find that there is NEVER any leading from BP loads. BP itself tends to prevent any serious leading - don't know why, maybe the lower pressures, or the higher burn temperatures. One can usually see leading by using a good bore light and looking at and near the forcing cone on revolvers or just in front of chamber and near the muzzle on rifles. A borescope, if you want to part with $200 bucks or so, even more better. Leading will look like small lumps, especially down in the grooves right next to the lands in the barrel.

 

But, with all my BP guns, a tight dry patch run down the barrel loosens any small specks of leading that are left behind. BP is a wonderful deleading agent!

 

Good luck, GJ

[Sage Creek Gus SASS #64320]

One sign that you have a leaded barrel is if you can't hit the side of a barn from the inside.

 

SCG

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

I'm no expert, but my experience is that lead deposits are apparent when:

 

* You push a cleaning patch though with a jag and bits of lead, sometimes slivers come out with the patch.

 

* Look in the barrel after you think it's clean. If there are any bumps visible along the way, it's probably lead. They usually appear at the chamber and muzzle ends. The grooves of the barrel should be uniform and smooth end to end. If it's an older gun with a pitted barrel, that's another story.

 

* If a load is too light, there may not be enough pressure behind the bullet to make it expand into the grooves of the barrel. A bullet with a diameter that's too small is also prone to leaving lead deposits. Once upon a time I tried some loads at the published minimums, which resulted in deposits that I hadn't experienced before. Since then, leading hasn't been an issue for me.

 

* Accuracy deteriorates

 

I've no experience with lead removers as I've never had to use them. Hoppes #9 takes care of it for me with several passes of a bronze brush. However, I clean my guns fairly often as I switch back and forth between smokeless and BP.

 

Good luck!

[Nate Kiowa Jones #6765]

Black powder fouling is mostly carbon. The cardon prevents the lead from sticking. Sort of like a cast iron skillet that has a well seasoned suface. That surface is baked on carbon. If done right it works better than teflon.

If you clean the bore and you are still getting dirty patches and you think it may be leading one way to remove it is use an old brush wrapped to fit tight with bronze wool (not steel wool). You can usually find bronze wool at any marine supply store or Brownells sells it. Resist the urge to use coreboy pot scubbers. Some are just copper plated steel and can damage the bore.

[That Masked Man]

One sign that you have a leaded barrel is if you can't hit the side of a barn from the inside.

 

SCG

 

Dang, all my barrels must have come heavily leaded from the factory

[Uncertain Tex SASS #69474]

I always heard if you shoot BP you couldn't buy leading....I shoot BP exclusively...with all sizes of bullets and various types of guns...I am not a gunsmith...every few matches or so I wet a patch with Montana Extreme Lead and Powder Solvent....wet and let sit a couple of minutes...next patch has lead flakes on it...like most BP information the "can't happen" explanation may not be so...probably passed on by somebody who hasn't..just the view from my saddle...

[John Boy]

I was thinking of doing some heavy duty cleaning of my guns.

Dog, twice a year I give the firearms a 'deep' cleaning using Astonish Oven and Cookware Cleaner. Add water to to make a slurry. You will be amazed what doesn't come out with just patch cleaning, including any lead.

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21HCw7zkarL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

Ingredients

* Silica Flower

* Water

* Vegetable Soap

* Sodium Silicate

* Glycerin

* Perfume

* Sodium Tetraborate

Non Acid - No Phosphates - No Animal Products

Made by London Oil Refining Co, Leeds, GB

 

Now, some folks are going to raise the hackles on their back because it contains Silica Flower. Well, so does Iosso Bore Paste, one of the best mild abrasive firearms paste cleaners available and used by NRA National Match shooters for their hi-bores.

 

Might add, have a 45-90 that never seems to have a final clean patch. It does now!

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Count me as one who has never seen any trace of lead in any of my revolvers that I regularly shoot Black Powder through. The interesting thing is, I used to regularly get lead and carbon deposits in my Ruger chambers when I shot them with Smokeless. It would always show up right at the point of the chamber where the mouth of the cartridge sits. Really no different than the carbon rings that show up in 357 mag chambers when shot exclusively with 38 Sp. Just the location was different, right at the transition to the chamber throat. I could always scrape at it with the sharp tip of a tweezer and I always got dark carbon and lead flakes.

 

The amazing thing is when I started shooting those Rugers with Black Powder, those carbon/lead rings completely disappeared. Don't believe it if you so choose, but there is just no trace of lead in my chambers. Not that I can see anyway. Same with the cylinder face, no carbon rings at all. Same with my Colts, same with my Remmies and their R&D cylinders. No visible trace of lead anywhere.

 

If there is something invisible there that will be made to appear by some snappy bore cleaner, so be it, but there ain't anything that I can see.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

The amazing thing is when I started shooting those Rugers with Black Powder, those carbon/lead rings completely disappeared.

+1. Yep, exactly.

 

GJ

[Bart Solo]

Every third or fourth shoot I use my Lewis Lead Remover tool. if there is any lead in the barrel it will show up on the Lead Remover screen. It doesn't take much lead to screw things up.

 

Although I clean my guns with Hoppe's #9 and a brass brush every time I shoot, I find the Lead Remover will find some lead. I have been wondering if I should switch off with a different kind of solvent every other shoot.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Every third or fourth shoot I use my Lewis Lead Remover tool. if there is any lead in the barrel it will show up on the Lead Remover screen. It doesn't take much lead to screw things up.

 

Although I clean my guns with Hoppe's #9 and a brass brush every time I shoot, I find the Lead Remover will find some lead. I have been wondering if I should switch off with a different kind of solvent every other shoot.

 

I'd look for a bullet size mismatch to groove diameter first. In my experience, most folks in CAS shooting, with our low velocities and pressures, don't have leading problems that need removal every 3 or 4 hundred rounds unless there is a problem with their load.

 

Good luck, GJ

[Utah Bob #35998]

Howdy

 

Count me as one who has never seen any trace of lead in any of my revolvers that I regularly shoot Black Powder through. The interesting thing is, I used to regularly get lead and carbon deposits in my Ruger chambers when I shot them with Smokeless. It would always show up right at the point of the chamber where the mouth of the cartridge sits. Really no different than the carbon rings that show up in 357 mag chambers when shot exclusively with 38 Sp. Just the location was different, right at the transition to the chamber throat. I could always scrape at it with the sharp tip of a tweezer and I always got dark carbon and lead flakes.

 

The amazing thing is when I started shooting those Rugers with Black Powder, those carbon/lead rings completely disappeared. Don't believe it if you so choose, but there is just no trace of lead in my chambers. Not that I can see anyway. Same with the cylinder face, no carbon rings at all. Same with my Colts, same with my Remmies and their R&D cylinders. No visible trace of lead anywhere.

 

If there is something invisible there that will be made to appear by some snappy bore cleaner, so be it, but there ain't anything that I can see.

 

 

Yup.

[Bart Solo]

I'd look for a bullet size mismatch to groove diameter first. In my experience, most folks in CAS shooting, with our low velocities and pressures, don't have leading problems that need removal every 3 or 4 hundred rounds unless there is a problem with their load.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

Never said I had a problem. I just use the Lewis Lead Remover every 3rd or 4th shoot because I just do. Except for the first time, which was after a year of shooting I haven't found much lead, just some.

 

The truth is I am not a good enough shot not to give myself every advantage. Clean barrels are one advantage I can give myself without much effort.

[Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655]

Dang, all my barrels must have come heavily leaded from the factory

 

Went to Ben Avery last Sunday. It appears there a a slew of rifles and pistols out there with serious leading when shipped.

[Sergeant Smokepole #29248L]

I have shot nothing but BP loads in a few of my cowboy firearms for the last few years. I clean after every match using normal cleaning procedures( hot water and Simple Green). The most that I have ever noticed in the way of leading was a few small streaks of lead pushed out with a tight fitting patch on a jag during oiling with Break Free CLP. I have never seen any lead buildup.

 

Shotgun is another matter.... If I don't use a shotcup, I need to use a tornado brush.... The shotcup (cut off ao Winchester AA wad with base wad and cusion legs removed) is there solely for elimination of shot scrubbing. It isn't really necessary for CAS but I occasionally shoot trap with my BP loads and 150 rounds in a day really messes up the insides and patterns go to hell...

[Virgil Ray Hality, SASS# 37355]

I don't get any leading with BP either. On another gun (smokeless pistol) I tend to get some leading. My solution was to use a Lewis lead removal tool. It works great for moderate leading. I had one smokeless gun that was so badly leaded (due to the ammo) that it was chucking keyholes. I borrowed a friends "Outers Foulout" tool. Its an electric rod and solvent that removes lead and copper by eltrolisis. It is a phenominal tool for removing heavy leading.

[Utah Bob #35998]

How do you tell if a barrel is leaded?

 

 

If you're shooting smokeless....it's leaded.

[Dick Dastardly SASS #45219]

Ho Dawg,

 

Give 'em a spritz of Moosemilk and tug a boresnake thru. Check the floss on the boresnake after the brush. If no lead there, you don't have it. Yer shootin' only Holy Black in 'em guns and they're hittin' what yer pointed at.

 

Of course, having the extra time on your hands till Jimmy the Groundhog warms things up, it's fun to handle yer guns and think about spring.

 

DD-DLoS