Get the Lead Out!

[Stradawhovious]

I'm curious to hear about other people's home remedies for lead removal. I've got my own system, takes a while, but works..... eventually.......

If your remedy involves not shooting lead, I don't want to hear about it. Take your Glock and go sit by your dish.

[DeanC]

[Seismic Sam]

There's a really cheap and easy way to do this. All you need is a common cleaning jag, and one of those "Curly Kate" bronze pot scrubbing pads. Get a scissors and cut off a small amount of the bronze curly stuff, put it over/around the jag, and shove it down the barrel. All those curly bronze surfaces get jammed up against the lands and act like little bronze razor blades and shave the lead right off the steel. You can actually watch the lead shavings fall out of the muzzle (or breech, for a revolver) as you push it through. You owe me a beer at Alary's tonight!!

[usnret]

Kroil works for me.

[JoeH]

Sam has it. The cleaning pads that I use are made by Chore Boy. It's their copper scrubber pads. The jag works as does wrapping some of the pad around an old brush.

[Rem700]

When purchaseing the copper pads make sure they are copper and not copper clad steel, Bring a magnet.

[cobb]

There's a really cheap and easy way to do this. All you need is a common cleaning jag, and one of those "Curly Kate" bronze pot scrubbing pads. Get a scissors and cut off a small amount of the bronze curly stuff, put it over/around the jag, and shove it down the barrel. All those curly bronze surfaces get jammed up against the lands and act like little bronze razor blades and shave the lead right off the steel. You can actually watch the lead shavings fall out of the muzzle (or breech, for a revolver) as you push it through. You owe me a beer at Alary's tonight!!

Yep, what he said, but I do it a little differently.
I will wrap a cut piece of Chore Boy around an old bore brush to clear the lead out of my .45 barrels. I have never tried it with a jag as Sam suggests, but I think I will try it next time to see if I get better results over my bore brush method.

I know off topic, but I assume that everyone here knows that brake cleaner is cheaper than the things marketed by gun cleaning suppliers. Check it out yourself, same thing on the label, but less expensive.

[ComradeBurg]

Mercury is supposedly really good for cleaning guns. Then again I wouldn't recommend using it... ever... for anything.

[MisterOblivious]

Mercury is supposedly really good for cleaning guns. Then again I wouldn't recommend using it... ever... for anything.

But it's so fun to play with and poke at! Tasty too!

[Rem700]

There's a really cheap and easy way to do this. All you need is a common cleaning jag, and one of those "Curly Kate" bronze pot scrubbing pads. Get a scissors and cut off a small amount of the bronze curly stuff, put it over/around the jag, and shove it down the barrel. All those curly bronze surfaces get jammed up against the lands and act like little bronze razor blades and shave the lead right off the steel. You can actually watch the lead shavings fall out of the muzzle (or breech, for a revolver) as you push it through. You owe me a beer at Alary's tonight!!

Yep, what he said, but I do it a little differently.
I will wrap a cut piece of Chore Boy around an old bore brush to clear the lead out of my .45 barrels. I have never tried it with a jag as Sam suggests, but I think I will try it next time to see if I get better results over my bore brush method.

I know off topic, but I assume that everyone here knows that brake cleaner is cheaper than the things marketed by gun cleaning suppliers. Check it out yourself, same thing on the label, but less expensive.

Make sure it is the unchlorinated stuff if useing on SS guns.

[Grifter]

50/50 mix of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. plug one end of the barrel and pour some in. It will bubble some. Let it sit for 30 seconds or so, you dont want to leave it too long, I guess that combo isnt the best on barrels if its left in there a long long time, but it eats lead well. Then just take a patch wet with Hoppes and pass it through. Gets out damn near all of it. Some additional lead removal might be needed depending on how bad it was.

[870TC]

If the bullets are sized correctly for the bore diameter you should get minimal leading. I have 80 rounds through my 30-06, and no sign of leading, just a little powder fouling.

[Stradawhovious]

If the bullets are sized correctly for the bore diameter you should get minimal leading. I have 80 rounds through my 30-06, and no sign of leading, just a little powder fouling.

You're shooting cast lead in your .30-06?

If so i'd think it's a completely different animal than my lswc for my .45. After several hundred rounds (5-600) in a range trip, I get a bit of leading. not terrible, but it needs to go.

[westhope]

Be very careful with "Gun Scrubber" or chlorinated brake cleaners. (The new non-chlorinated brake cleaners do not work nearly as well.) They took the clear finish off my aluminum framed SW 642.

I went back to just Hoppe's solvent and a tooth brush to scrub my guns after my above problem. (But I do keep a can of Gun Scrubber or the old brake cleaner for a few stubborn spots on steel guns.)

You need a pure copper scouring pad to remove the lead from a bore. It does work.

[EJSG19]

I did a fair amount of reading on this a few months ago. Determined that my applications aren't such that I need to worry about a special lead removal operation. However, if I did, it'd be the Lewis Lead remover.

John sells the brass (maybe bronze I can't remember) patches and other parts at GS. Not a whole lot of money though I can't remember what they sell for.

I think manual removal is better than chemical if you are dealing with any sort of subtantial build up.