What's the best oil to remove lead from your gun? And prevent lead buildup?

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Somewhere I have a Lewis lead remover but I haven’t used it in years. If your bullets are properly sized and lubricated you won’t get leading. Lead removers just treat the symptoms.

Having said that, Ross Seyfried recommenced using a wad of OOOO steel wool as a patch to remove lead and it works great. Steel wool is unhardened and is softer than your barrel so it won’t scratch it. He used it on his black powder cartridge rifles.
 
Another tip for the lead wipe away cloth. It will darken fairly quickly, taking the target gunk lead etc. away as is it's name. Suggestion, add a drop or two of gun oil first, it will extend the cleaning ability a little bit. Also turn the cloth. I'm not saying getting 2X cleaning, but just suggesting once turning dark will still clean. Think of taking a dime and turning it into $.13...

Be sure to follow up with a secondary oiling or even cleaning as per the individual job dictates.
 
BCR#1 said:
All I use is a piece of chore-boy scrubber pad wrapped around a nylon bore brush.

Bill
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I have learned that this "Mechanical" approach is the best. Be sure to get the Choreboys that say 100% copper on them. If you use the dollar store ones, the arecopper COATED steel, and could pose a bore scratching issue.

Don't use this method for copper fouling. There are a couple great solvents for that.
 
Just buy a new bronze brush and work on it. New because depending on how much lead fouling is in the barrel, you won't have much brush left. Might as well start with a fresh one.
 
peeplwtchr said:
I have learned that this "Mechanical" approach is the best. Be sure to get the Choreboys that say 100% copper on them. If you use the dollar store ones, the arecopper COATED steel, and could pose a bore scratching issue.

Don't use this method for copper fouling. There are a couple great solvents for that.
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Anyone that shoots lead should know this trick. I don't use the copper, I use the silver stuff. Maybe stainless? This is the way to get lead out of your barrel.

To the OP, what kind of bullets are you shooting that you're getting lead? I use MBC bullets and I never have a leading problem. I put 300 rounds of it through my Glock today and not a speck.
 
TonyAngel said:
Anyone that shoots lead should know this trick. I don't use the copper, I use the silver stuff. Maybe stainless? This is the way to get lead out of your barrel.

To the OP, what kind of bullets are you shooting that you're getting lead? I use MBC bullets and I never have a leading problem. I put 300 rounds of it through my Glock today and not a speck.
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Actually don't have lead yet. Just shooting a variety of ammo and expected the barrel to get lead in it. I mean normal usage not like lead from 1 million rounds or lead that won't come out. I'm just thinking ahead.

I've read how lead is and wanted to be ready for it.
 
Aim1 said:
Actually don't have lead yet. Just shooting a variety of ammo and expected the barrel to get lead in it. I mean normal usage not like lead from 1 million rounds or lead that won't come out. I'm just thinking ahead.

I've read how lead is and wanted to be ready for it.
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I get you, but shooting quality lead bullets, coated or jacketed, lead shouldn’t be a problem. If you do get lead, I’m telling you, the chore boy trick is it. Been using that one for 30 years. Just don’t try to tear it by hand. It will cut you. Use snips or even heavy scissors. It literally takes second to remove all lead from your barrel. I haven’t had to do it in any of my guns since I started using quality lead bullets.
 
TonyAngel said:
Anyone that shoots lead should know this trick. I don't use the copper, I use the silver stuff. Maybe stainless? This is the way to get lead out of your barrel.

To the OP, what kind of bullets are you shooting that you're getting lead? I use MBC bullets and I never have a leading problem. I put 300 rounds of it through my Glock today and not a speck.
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I will also say that I noticed that it took 1 less treatment when I used CLP, and let it sit in the barrel overnight, but not a huge differrence.
 
Whether you get leading depends on the quality of the barrel, and how fast you shoot. Thunderbolt causes lead fouling when I shoot it through my Taurus TX22, but not my Walther PPQ M2 22lr. It also doesn't foul my M&P 15-22 rifle ever. For the Taurus issue, I switched to any (Federal, Aguila, Remington, Armscor) copper plated 22lr, and it solved that problem. I have thousands of rounds of all those through the TX22, the copper plating solution is confirmed.
 
peeplwtchr said:
I have learned that this "Mechanical" approach is the best. Be sure to get the Choreboys that say 100% copper on them. If you use the dollar store ones, the arecopper COATED steel, and could pose a bore scratching issue.

Don't use this method for copper fouling. There are a couple great solvents for that.
Click to expand...
BTW- I couldn't find the 100% copper ones in any store, I had to order them on Amazon.
 
C.R. said:
I have an old .22 that must never have seen a brush , she is so full of lead you can hardly see the rifleing I guess im going to pick up some chore boys and spend an afternoon scrubbing it out
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Best make sure they are the real copper ones and NOT the copper coated steel like you find in discount stores
 
Actually don't have lead yet. Just shooting a variety of ammo and expected the barrel to get lead in it. I mean normal usage not like lead from 1 million rounds or lead that won't come out. I'm just thinking ahead.

I've read how lead is and wanted to be ready for it.
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The three .22LR guns I use with lead don't lead foul at all. The bore of rifle (CZ-452) stays so clean that I only clean it out of guilt. The other two are handguns, a Ruger 22/45 and a Ruger SP101 revolver. Neither one leads at all that I can tell.

None of them have ever even seen a bore brush, that I can recall. I clean them with patches only, and without very many of those.
 
TonyAngel said:
I get you, but shooting quality lead bullets, coated or jacketed, lead shouldn’t be a problem. If you do get lead, I’m telling you, the chore boy trick is it. Been using that one for 30 years. Just don’t try to tear it by hand. It will cut you. Use snips or even heavy scissors. It literally takes second to remove all lead from your barrel. I haven’t had to do it in any of my guns since I started using quality lead bullets.
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This is what I shoot.


Screenshot_20200405-162659_Gallery.jpg
 
Aim1 said:
This is what I shoot.


View attachment 906017
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Oh, OK. I can't speak for all factory loads using lead bullets or lead bullets put out for reloaders by manufacturers of ammunition, but all of the ones that I tried were really soft. Maybe they were swaged or just soft cast. In my experience, you get much better results with cast lead bullets by any or all of those mentioned here that THR people regularly buy from. Like I said, I've been using Missouri Bullet Company lead bullets for over a decade and I've never had a leading problem, as long as I bought the right hardness for my purposes.

Everyone is familiar with the "rule" that you should not shoot lead out of a gun with a barrel that has polygonal rifling. When they talk about it, they are usually referring to Glocks and the kabooms that resulted from build up causing guns to fire out of battery after shooting lead bullets. Now, I'm NOT suggesting that you do it. I'm NOT suggesting that it is safe. I'm NOT even saying that it is OK to do so; but, I've also been shooting MBC cast lead bullets out of my Glocks for every Glock that I've owned. I put 150 or 200 rounds through my G48 yesterday. When I was done, I checked the bored and nothing but fouling in bore and the usual crud that bullet lube leaves behind. Otherwise, it looked just like it does after shooting jacketed bullets.

The point I'm trying to make is that if you choose your lead bullets wisely, the subject of this thread becomes moot. And...if you do still have a lead issue, throw a puff of chore boy in you cleaning box.
 
C.R. said:
I have an old .22 that must never have seen a brush , she is so full of lead you can hardly see the rifleing I guess im going to pick up some chore boys and spend an afternoon scrubbing it out
Click to expand...
My old Remington 572 hadn't seen a cleaning rod in nearly 40 years and hadn't been shot in probably 15 when I decided to break it down and clean it. A fellow at a Friends of NRA event had given me a couple tiny samples of an unheard-of cleaner and I decided to try it. All the lead came out like gritty sand in a single pass. I did some research on the stuff and was able to pick the testing engineer's brain on it. It is patented and is a proprietary formulation that has solvents in it as a vehicle for the active ingredient. What it does, according to the testing engineer, is break the weak hydrogen bond between the barrel metal and the fouling in the barrel. It also purges any water or moisture from the bare metal and lays down a microscopically thin layer of a hard protective substance that protects the metal from corrosion and wear.
Since cleaning that old .22, (about 4 or 5 years ago,) I haven't used anything else. Here's a link to a video on their website:
Strange stuff, it ain't cheap, and it really works.
 
Not to do with oil, but involves removing lead from a barrel. Pay attention to 1911 Tuner's posts. This guy really knows his stuff.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/a-fmj-will-blow-lead-fouling-out-of-a-barrel.302172/

Personally, I don't shoot lead bullets anymore. I use Berry's Plated. Not much more expensive than quality lead bullets. And I load them down to mid range levels. For example, my 357 mags are loaded down to 38 plus p levels. 44 mags are at 44 special levels.

The only time I go to factory specs is with 9mm and 45 acp. There has to be sufficient power/recoil to eject the casing/strip a round off the mag.
 
Bwana John said:
Pb + Hg?
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Mercury dissolves lead beautifully, but the amalgam is uber-toxic and does not get flushed out of your body very easily.

This is all you need. A snug fitting bore mop with a couple of strands of Chore Boy wrapped around it. If you use anything other than Chore Boy, test it with a magnet. Copper coated steel will stick to the magnet so it's easy to detect. Bronze wool also works.

9wiBehGX_o.jpg
 
Texas10mm said:
Boretech Eliminator - not an oil but a cleaner
Pipe screens - not an oil but a mechanical remover
http://www.big45metalcleaner.com/ - not an oil but a mechanical remover, much better than a choreboy.
Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar - not an oil but it removes lead very quickly
Mercury - not an oil but it removes leading in seconds
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Mercury was a forbidden thing by the time I was born. So I've never tried it. I've tried the chore boy and Peroxide Vinegar mix.
Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar is awesome in pitted barrels.
I like wrapping a reject case in plastic and gently pushing it into the chamber to seal.
Pour the concoction down the barrel until it's full and wait 5 minutes. Then rinse well and brush it.
I read about this on The High Road. I also read warnings about it eating metal if you leave it too long.
 
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