De-leading a barrel

[m&p45acp10+1]

I am going to start casting lead bullets to shoot in my 45 acp. I have never used lead before. I am needing info on any possible things to look for as to show sighns of lead building up in the barrel. Next I would apreciate info on anything i can do to remove lead from the inside of the barell without damaging it.
I am also new to relaoding, have not yet, am waiting for the molds to come in as there seems to be shortage in the area of any bullets that a person on a ramen noodles, and bread sandwidch budget can afford.
I would like to know this because it is going into my S&W M&P 45. It is brand new, only fired at the factry for the spent shell casing. I may be a bit paranoid, but I do want to keep my gun clean of lead.
I have already melted down a couple of hundred pounds of wheel weights into ingots. Just it is the waiting game for the molds. They are the Lee molds 2 cavity one is 230 grn round one is 230 grain swc.

[keebo52]

This forum has everything you ever wanted to know about cast bullets and barrel leading. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php
Check it out.

[RamSlammer]

If you need to get the lead out . . . nothing better IMHO than the Lewis Lead Remover. http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/sto...l.aspx?p=21587

[T. O'Heir]

Leading is caused by trying to drive a cast bullet too fast. Follow your manual religiously and you'll have no problems.
"...230 grain swc..." Those might, I say again, might give you feeding issues if your pistol is not set up to use 'em. The feed ramp needs to be extended about half way up the chamber.

[C Philip]

If you can obtain some, mercury will dissolve lead and can be used to clean a severely lead fouled barrel. Obviously it's important to take appropriate safety cautions. However it's fairly expensive stuff, and if you use lead of a proper hardness and don't drive the velocity too high without gas checks, you shouldn't need such an extreme cleaning tool.

[Casimer]

+1 on the Lewis Lead Remover - it's easy, and it works.

I prefer using this rather than a brush as it doesn't require as many strokes through the bore. And the lead left on the screen will give you a good idea of how much has been deposited.

[Ruger4570]

I used to have a pound of mercury and I did in fact use it to clean lead out of my pistol barrels. After reading a lot about the toxicity of the stuff I took it to a specialty recycling place and got rid of it. It did in fact disolve the lead, I just didn't want the responsibility of the mercury and its dangers. Too easy to spill or mishandle. Admitidly, it is great for pistol barrels as there is no danger of hitting the crown and rifling with a rod from the muzzle, but as I said it is really dangerous stuff if it gets into your body one way or another.
I now use one of the foam cleaners and they seem to work well and safer too.

[dahermit]

1) Correct lead bullet loads do not lead. If loads are leading there is a cause that can and should be corrected.
2) If there is a small amount of leading noticed in barrel, It is very easy to shoot a few moderately loaded hand load with a jacketed bullets through the barrel. The lead will disappear. Note: Years ago (in the hay day of gun magazines), a couple of the expert writers would dispute this violently...stating that it would and does not work. Nevertheless, when ever I have had occurrences of lead in the barrel or forcing cone, it quickly disappeared after a couple of shots with jacketed bullets. Also note: If shooting a 9mm, it requires a hotter load than a revolver to work the action, therefore it is prudent to just use gas checked bullets to avoid leading.

One further note: The excessive fear of a leaded barrel likely comes from experiences of persons who tried to remove barrel leading with a brass brush. That method is extremely inefficient.

[Kachad]

One thing that I came across when reloading with lead bullets - make sure your flaring your case enough so it doesn't push lead up when you're seating the bullet.

I was being conservative with the flaring during my initial reloads, in order to extend case life. Ended up with excessive leading, but after flaring a bit more, I've decreased my leading significantly.

Stephen

[zippy13]

Removing lead isn't a big mystery nor a major undertaking. Like many things, early detection is the key. Keep a look out for contrasting very shiny spots. As mentioned earlier, if you keep your velocities down, you may have no leading problems whatsoever.

[Sport45]

I just wrap a bit of copper pot scrubber fabric around an old bore brush. Saw it in and out of a dry barrel about a dozen time and all the lead will be out.

[rgitzlaff]

http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm#Lead

Try this. This site has all kinds of other homemade firearm related products as well that I am starting to use. I like to be as self sufficient as possible.

[MDB]

I have found that copper "Chore Boy/Chore Girl" pot scrubbers work very well. With todays global [China] retail shipping you should put a magnet to it and make sure it is 100% copper. A few times through the bore is all that is needed.

[jjohnson]

Oh, yes.

This is one of those rare products that, first time you use one, you just kick yourself for not buying one a long time ago.

Forget all those chemicals or electric/solution systems. This device just tears the lead out physically RIGHT NOW.

If you doubt its efficacy, take one of your "clean" firearms and run one of these through it. You'd be surprised. I'm not saying other methods are useless, but if your time is worth anything to you, this is a great way to get the job done - and it won't hurt the bore. Period.

[brickeyee]

Leading is caused by trying to drive a cast bullet too fast.

Or driving a very hard bullet to slow.

Lead bullet hardness needs to match up with velocity.

Swaged lead bullets are very soft and need to be held below around 900 ft/s.

Fire a hard cast lead bullet this slow and you may have problems with obturation and blow by can occur.

Fire the hard cast at 1000+ ft/s and it should obturate and leading should be minimal to none in a clean smooth barrel.

[Russ5924]

I would NOT shoot reloads in a new gun. If something goes wrong your warranty is void Run a couple hundred rounds of FMJ and then shoot your reloads. That is what I did with my M&P 9MM

[freakshow10mm]

White vinegar and H2O2.

[SL1]

+1 on starting with loads from a reputable factory so that you can check-out the gun's function before you go to handloads, ESPECIALLY if you are new to handloading.

Also I suggest not starting your new gun on lead bullets.

Typically, barrels are a little rough when new, and they smooth-out and shoot more accurately after they are "broken-in" with some shooting. Jacketed bullets wear the barrel faster and make it smoother sooner. Until a bore is smoothed a little, it is LIKELY to lead some.

One way to avoid the break-in is to hand-lap the bore before you start shooting. But, it is easy to do that in a way that causes more trouble than it avoids. So, I usually just shoot jacketed bullets for a while, cleaning the copper out regularly as I go so that any build-up will not "protect" the bore from the smoothing action. If the bore is blued, you can see the wear happening. But, not so easy with a stainless barrel, where there is no contrasting color to show how the high spots are being worn down.

SL1

[GeauxTide]

I've 200gr SWC hard cast bullets and Unique in my Spring1911 for years. It gets dirty, but no leading because of the velocity.

[PCJim]

If you cannot avoid barrel leading, Sport 45 and MDB have it right - cut a portion of a copper Chore Boy scouring pad and wrap it around a bronze brush. Use this in a dry barrel to scrub out the lead. It works quickly, effectively and without damage to the barrel.

Make sure it is pure copper and not copper plated.

[Sport45]

Make sure it is pure copper and not copper plated.

I don't worry about that any more. If the scrubber won't scratch mamma's pots and pans it won't scratch the bore of a handgun. I've put many rounds of copper washed steel jacketd ammo down the barrel of my M1 with no ill effects so I am not afraid of the mild steel used for pot scrubbers. I do avoid the stainless steel scrubbers.

[Xwrench3]

a few cleaning patches with some metal polish paste (simichrome, peak, flitz, etc.) and move it through the bore 20 times or so per patch. repeat until the lead is gone. it works quite well. and the barrel gleams when you are done. also, a good eye loupe will make spotting it much easier.

[tom234]

If you use a Lyman #2 alloy [9# wheel weights and 1# 50/50 solder] you should have any leading at .45ACP velocities.
+1 on wraping a strand of a copper "Chore Boy" pot scrubber arojnd a bronze brush. Here's another interesting "lead" link to read: http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

[Death from Afar]

APPARENTLY- and this is from the error net, so who knows? A jacketed bullet every 50 or so rounds will help in getting the lead out. It may just make more of a mess, but who knows???

Just bear in mind to be a little careful with washing your hands after removing lead. The combination of carcinogenic solvents and lead is very bad for you.

[Sport45]

APPARENTLY- and this is from the error net, so who knows? A jacketed bullet every 50 or so rounds will help in getting the lead out. It may just make more of a mess, but who knows???

I'm in the camp that believes shooting jacketed after lead removes some and irons the rest into the grooves. If the barrel is leaded severely it could be the same as firing with an obstructed barrel. Might be okay for .38spcl or .45acp, but I wouldn't do it with magnum rounds.