Clean your revolver bore !

[Dusty Devil Dale]

Two weeks ago, my wife wanted to go up to the range and refresh herself with her cowboy guns, prior to shooting the Kings River Regulators Fort Miller Shootout.  I went with her to test a new 1873 extractor, and to do some revolver live fire. 

 

I set out five 12" square targets at 7 yards, and we blazed our way through a couple hundred rounds.  

Partway through, I began to miss badly, but with only one of the pistols.

After several rounds, missing 3 or 4 out of five shots, I stopped shooting fast and tested the gun.  Steadying it against a post, and then a table, I continued to miss. 

 

My wife asked if cleaning the gun would help.  I retrieved a bronze spiral brush from the cart and scrubbed the bore.  Then put on a jag and pushed 4 or 5 dry  patches through the bore.  Lots of lead schards apeared on the patches.  When I fired the cleaned gun, it resumed its former precision.  

 

I guess I never worried very much about leading in a revolver bore, especially shooting such close targets.  We all respect the effects of leading on rifle precision. But I confess I often cleaned the revolver receiver and cylinder, but usually neglected to clean the bore.   

 

I learned a painless lesson in our practice.  But then, last weekend at the Shootout, I had the same problem occur again with the same gun, costing 4 misses on close targets in the second to last stage.  The missing immediately corrected when I scrubbed out the bore. 

 From now on, I will carry the tools and solvent and scrub the pistol bores each time I clean the shotgun during matches.  I wonder how many of my misses over the years, were contributed to by barrel leading.

 

Friends are saying to shoot a couple jacketed rounds through the bore to shoot out the lead.  But you can't exactly do that between stages in a match.  In my case, during the Shootout match, consequential  leading re-deposited over only 9 stages (45 rounds).  I never would have expected that. 

 

 

[Tyrel Cody]

What powder are using that is leading up your revolver barrels? Or are you using really soft lead bullets?

 

I’ve only experienced leading once in 14 years of playing this game and it was using black powder and super soft lead(brinell was 7 or 8 best I remember).

 

 

[Tex Jones, SASS 2263]

Tyrel beat me to it.  What type of bullets are you reloading?  The coated bullets are less likely to lead the barrel and make the cleaning easier. 

[Dusty Devil Dale]

36 minutes ago, Tyrel Cody said:

What powder are using that is leading up your revolver barrels? Or are you using really soft lead bullets?

 

I’ve only experienced leading once in 14 years of playing this game and it was using black powder and super soft lead(brinell was 7 or 8 best I remember).

 

 

TiteGroup powder.  The bullets are cast hard lead -- from Badman Bullets.  Like you, I've never experienced this in the past.  I might have to switch to coated bullets, but I have about 11,000 lead bullets on hand that I would like to use.  AND, if it was the bullets, the other revolver should be affected.  So I'm looking into smoothing the bore in the problem gun.

[Sedalia Dave]

1 hour ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

Friends are saying to shoot a couple jacketed rounds through the bore to shoot out the lead. 

 

Good way to damage a gun. Jacketed bullets will not remove lead from the barrel.

[Stump Water]

1 hour ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

AND, if it was the bullets, the other revolver should be affected.  So I'm looking into smoothing the bore in the problem gun.

 

My thinking in reading your OP.  You have a rough spot or spots in that barrel.

 

I would shoot it until it starts acting up again and look at it with a bore scope.  Since it's a revolver you  might be able to see the problem area(s) with a bore light & naked eye.

 

Simple bore lapping might fix it.

 

 

[Eyesa Horg]

I had that happen badly every match when I first started. I was using hard cast bullets from Chey Cast. The recommendation from most Pards, was to get a softer bullet so that it obturates with our low pressure loads. Went to soft cast 12BHN bullets and problem solved. Haven't had leading in 13 years now with soft cast. 

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Ran into this in Police Basic.

Telling my age here, we qualified with .38 Specials.

The Academy bought the cheapest, filthiest reloads they could find.

I think the bullets were swaged out of rope solder.

After one cylinder out the bore, it wouldn't hold a dinner plate sized group at thirty feet.

I looked through my barrel and good Lord! it looked like ICICLES hanging from the roof of that tube!

I always brought a cleaning kit -- between relays my buddy and I would RUN to the back, we set up on a picnic table and we were scrubbing our barrels so hard you'd think we were running Muzzle Loaders!

That night I pulled the bullets on a half dozen of those cheapo reloads. 

Looked identical to Unique powder.

Weighed the charge.

I had 158 gr SWC half jackets.

Loaded my own with half jacket SWCs, crimped over the jacket, visually indistinguishable from the Academy supplied stuff.

Next day my buddy and I shot my reloads.

We went from minute-of-washboiler to cigarette-pack sized groups.

 

[Rip Snorter]

Interesting - similar era, the small / medium sized department I served on had an armorer and a Star Reloading machine.  Loaded target quality for the pistol team and good service equivalent for practice.  I can't recall, but I think duty issue was factory.  I carried Super Vel.  S&W Model 19 was the issue firearm.  I shot matches with that and placed in the league.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I always do a quick cleaning of my guns after I shoot them. 

[Pat Riot]

When I first started out in SASS I got terrible leading from my reloads and manufactured “Cowboy” ammo that I purchased off of local vendors. 
I switched to Bear Creek Supply moly coated bullets and I spiced up my loads to original .38 Special specs. 158 grain bullet at around 850 fps. 
Zero leading after that. 
The same goes for my .45 Colt loads. BCS bullets and standard velocities and all I clean is powder residue. No leading. 
 

[J-BAR #18287]

Leading is influenced by several variables:

 

bullet hardness 

bullet diameter 

bullet velocity 

bullet lubrication

chamber throat diameter

forcing cone diameter

bore diameter

...and probably others 

 

Be systematic in determining which of these (maybe more than one) are causing your problem.

 

 I sincerely wish you luck in eliminating your problem.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

Your seriously doing something wrong !

Powder , Lead  , 

Something is not adding up right  ?

[Kid Rich]

First thing I would do is slug the bore on both revolvers. If the one that is giving you a problem is larger you have your answer. It is almost a guarantee you will have leading if your bore is oversized and you are shooting hardcast.

8 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

Leading is influenced by several variables:

 

bullet hardness 

bullet diameter 

bullet velocity 

bullet lubrication

chamber throat diameter

forcing cone diameter

bore diameter

...and probably others 

 

Be systematic in determining which of these (maybe more than one) are causing your problem.

 

 I sincerely wish you luck in eliminating your problem.

kR

[Pat Riot]

2 hours ago, Kid Rich said:

First thing I would do is slug the bore on both revolvers. If the one that is giving you a problem is larger you have your answer. It is almost a guarantee you will have leading if your bore is oversized and you are shooting hardcast.

kR

In addition to KR’s recommendation check the dimensions of your cylinder throats as well.