Author Topic: Barrel Leading  (Read 632 times)

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Offline scout34

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Barrel Leading
« on: April 28, 2007, 02:06:03 AM »
I've got a 1903 that had pretty crisp rifling before somebody shot some 110gr Speer soft points through it and really leaded up the barrel.  Now it looks like a smooth bore with only a suggestion of rifling.  How can I get all that lead out of there?

Offline gwindrider1

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Re: Barrel Leading
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2007, 05:02:32 AM »
I would suggest you try one of the foaming bore cleaners, Wipe Out, or Knock Out.  Fill the bore with the foam, and let it sit over night.  They work wonders without a lot of elbow grease! ;)

Offline RonF

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Re: Barrel Leading
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2007, 05:11:34 AM »
Or better yet, do it electronically with a Foul Out or similar product.  Actually, they will get ALL of the lead out.

RonF

Offline iiranger

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HARD WAY...
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2007, 05:52:53 AM »
#1). Obviously, you can "scrub" it out with brass bore brush(es)... many and alot of elbow grease. Seems "right" for the person who overloaded the "plinker" bullets and made the problem.

#2). Easiest, and HARD today, fill the barrel with mercury. Hard because getting mercury is no longer easy. Mercury amalgamates with the lead and pours right out... Overnight would do it, IF you can come up with liquid mercury metal... EPA put tons of restrictions on it and you don't pop down to the hardware store for some anymore...

#3). I would look real hard at the black powder bore cleaners because they shoot pure lead bullets and might have something formulated to remove lead quick and a lot. Otherwise, the "carb cleaners" --OLD--  are also known to dissolve lead. It used to be in gasoline. From there, the same chemicals in different bottles, are sold as bore cleaners and enough of any one of them would do the job--see #1). Hoppe's #9 is lame. Shooter's Choice, many times faster. Same chemical is supposed to be in a GM carb cleaner.  Lead dissolves in many, many organic solvents, so you could use Gin or vodka if you wished, but what a waste. Have a party. Get some people to help scrub... (ha, ha).. luck.

Offline Creedmoor

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Re: Barrel Leading
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2007, 06:37:28 AM »
A method I've had good success with is pretty easy to do and as far as I can tell perfectly safe for steel barrels.  plug the barrel and pour a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in.  It will start to foam as the lead is dissolved.  When it stops foaming, it means that all of the lead is dissolved or the solution is used up.  dump it out and pour in some fresh solution,  If it doesn't foam, you're done.  I was very reluctant to try this at first so I made  a couple of tests first.  I took a lead bullet, a steel screw and a blued gun screw and put them in a clear glass jar and added the aforementioned solution.  after a couple of hours the bullet was just a gray sludge on the bottom and both screws were pristine.  So I tried it on an old revolver that had some lead in the barrel.  Bore looks like new and no damage is apparent.  The solution is pretty mild.  You could actually rinse your mouth out with it and have no ill effects.

Offline PlacitasSlim

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Re: Barrel Leading
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2007, 09:31:23 AM »
I have had very good success with a Lewis Lead Remover I got from Brownells. The lead comes out in big strips. The only disadvantage is it is hard to pull through on the first pass.