Heavy leading removal

[JayZuv]

After shooting 50 rounds of .38 special from PPU, I looked at my bore and found that it was coated in thick lead deposits. Certainly won't be shooting that stuff again. After several hours, and a few different attempts, I thought I would share what worked for me to get all of that crud out. Soaking and scrubbing with Hoppes no. 9 made very little progress, so I plugged the barrel at the muzzle and filled the barrel to the breech with Kroil. After sitting for about an hour I drained it, and started scrubbing with a bronze brush. After 10 or so passes I started seeing long strands of lead falling out. I continued, and ran a fresh kroil soaked patch through every 15 or so passes, repeating this until all of the lead deposits slid right out. It may have already been talked about, but Kroil seems to be an awesome product to get stuff out of your barrel that doesn't want to come lose. I have attached a photo of some of the slivers of lead that came out of my barrel after the soak.

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[fortyshooter]

Yeah...that's not good and could have been affecting bullet accuracy. Might want to measure the cylinder throats to see if they are more than .002 over size of bullet diameter. That can cause leading. Maybe try some better jacketed ammo if you can find it. I would think that revolver given it's quality reputation would have cylinder throats and barrel bore size right on the money but you never know.
Thanks for that Kroil cleaning tip!

[JayZuv]

I will certainly do that, I usually only shoot jacketed bullets so this is all new to me

[Rifletom]

Oh man, that is some nasty leading! I don't think I've ever seen that before. Your idea to use Kroil was a good one as Kroil is a very good penatrate. Good stuff. If it was those PPU's, I'd stay away from those. Yuk!

[fortyshooter]

38 Specials can get away with softer lead bullets due to the slower speed vs. a .357 Magnum load. But if bullet diameter is too small for the cylinder throat hot gases can leak around bullet causing leading if the bullet fails to expand enough to seal the bore.
If you are loading your own rounds might try some of the cast lead coated bullets like those from Missouri Bullets or plated lead like Xtreme.
I have same problem with my Ruger Alaskan when shooting my .45 Colt loads. Cylinder throats on that are .455 for a .452 bullet.

[markiver54]

Good to know! Ya just never know what ammo we could be reduced to shooting these days, based on availability. I don't reload, so factory ammo is what I depend on.

[Rifletom]

Good to know! Ya just never know what ammo we could be reduced to shooting these days, based on availability. I don't reload, so factory ammo is what I depend on.

When things settle down and components are more readily available, we need to convert you Mark. It's the only way to go.
What do you think?

[JayZuv]

Thanks for the tips forty, you can imagine the panic that set in when I peeked down the brand new barrel and saw all that. Mark I agree you should give reloading a try. admittedly I still buy factory loads here and there when I find a good deal, but I do like knowing that if I run out of ammo all I have to do is go make some more

[markiver54]

Good to know! Ya just never know what ammo we could be reduced to shooting these days, based on availability. I don't reload, so factory ammo is what I depend on.

When things settle down and components are more readily available, we need to convert you Mark. It's the only way to go.
What do you think?

You may be right Tom. i HAVE saved a lot of 357 brass over the years, so it might make sense for me at some point

[Rifletom]

Whenever you need info on handloading, you'll have a lot of help here.

[markiver54]

Whenever you need info on handloading, you'll have a lot of help here.

Yes, it's great to have that resource here. probably the only reason I will consider it.
When I return home from the cabin, I need to see how my small shop could be re-arranged to accommodate equipment and supplies.
At any rate, I know it would be a tight squeeze.

[Team Roper]

By all means. Take up handloading and your man cave might end up being one big cluster mess too.

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[JEBar]

fully realizing that many folks use and enjoy shooting cast bullets, the work involved in removing a heavy lead buildup in the barrel of one of our family's Ruger 357 GP100's convinced me to stop shooting cast bullets .... we literally have thousands of cast 44's and 357's on hand that will never see the light of day .... at times the jacketed bullets we fire will leave copper type fouling in one of our barrels .... for us, removing it is much easier than removing lead

[Travlin]

I would think that if you are having that much trouble when shooting cast bullets, then something isn't quite right. I have an old model Colt Trooper .357 that I have been shooting my own cast bullets in since 1969 and just a regular quick cleaning takes care of it. I have shot these bullets with a stiff charge of Unique in military .38 cases and .357 cases using Unique and also 2400 powder.

[Team Roper]

In SASS,I shot a lot of cast bullets out of my 38/357 pistols, a lot and all they ever required was a good cleaning ,the same as you would do with any other loading of jacket bullets. Of course, shooting cast 38 specials out of a 357 mag. cylinder usually causes some leading in that area which by using Chor Boy wrapped around a bore brush will easily remove it. There are a lot of lead removing solutions out on the market, some good, some not so good. We find that in copper removers too. Some good, some not so good. Kroil does work pretty good and I have a mix of that with Hoppe's in a 50/50 solution. Montana Extreme Cowboy Blend does quite well for helping to remove lead. Wipe Out's Lead Out does a very good job. Shooter's Choice lead remover was kind of disappointing. JB bore cleaning compound on a patch and wrapped around a bore brush and with a little Kroil added is a very quick solution to removing lead. Finding a system that works is rewarding and often times not any harder to remove then copper, though with copper fouling's, I have found nothing better then the foam cleaners. Wow, do they work.

[Rifletom]

TR, a lot of very good suggestions there. I also use the Kroil/Hoppes #9 50/50 mix. Have for some time now . For most needs, that seems to do the job well. Works good on cleaning wad crud from shotgun chokes also.

[JayZuv]

Will keep those in mind TR. Ordering some Chor Boy scrubbers now just to have handy

[Team Roper]

Will keep those in mind TR. Ordering some Chor Boy scrubbers now just to have handy

Make sure they are the true "Copper" all the way through and not the copper coated steel scrubbers. "Bronze Wool" also works well.

[BigAl52]

Ive used Kroil for years and like it alot. One other thing you can do if you are using cast bullets to reload is take the cylinder on the gun you are shooting and see if the bullet of choice will pass freely thru the throat. If it wont go thru you are going to have leading issues.

[Team Roper]

Ive used Kroil for years and like it a lot. One other thing you can do if you are using cast bullets to reload is take the cylinder on the gun you are shooting and see if the bullet of choice will pass freely thru the throat. If it wont go thru you are going to have leading issues.

Kroil is a penetrating oil. Supposedly, if you let it soak in the bore, it gets under the lead and helps to lift it for easier removal. Mixing 50/50 with Hoppe's, I am not sure that it does anything special but I do it anyhow.