Talking about cleaning your bore, will firing FMJs remove lead buildup?

[JellyJar]

If you shoot lead cast bullets you are bound to get some lead buildup in your bore no matter how hard the lead alloy may be. So once you get lead buildup will firing FMJs help remove the lead?

 

[HonorFork]

Personally I wouldn't try it.

All my lead loadings have left anywhere from some to a lot of lead in the barrel. I would think that the lead would act somewhat like a partial bore obstruction and raise pressure.

Normally I just run a stainless bore brush for a few strokes and then switch over to a bronze and continue cleaning as normal.

 

[bglz42]

Been doing that for 25 years. Never had a problem. Just blows it right out.

 

[wadcutter45]

I've been doing it for years too. I always end a lead bullet shooting session in my 1911, BHP 9mm, and Marlin 357 rifle with at least 4 or 5 FMjs. I would have no fears of pressure build-up.

 

[Bill_Rights]

But elsewhere (I'll look it up and post links if you want) we have also talked about copper build-up from copper-jacketed bullets. What about that?

 

[harmonic]

I've been following lead w/copper for 40 years. I have yet to see any adverse effects.

Here's another thread on the subject. Pay close attention to the comments of one of our better moderators who is also a pistolsmith. 1911Tuner.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=302172

 

[mustang_steve]

Of course copper will remove the lead, as copper is harder than lead, thus can in essence "scrape" the lead out. However copper fouling is harder to remove.

 

[LaserSpot]

Copper is harder than lead, but a FMJ nose is too round and smooth to do any scraping. Someone in the other thread mentioned "taking a jacketed bullet, grinding the base flat, leaving a sharp edge, then loading it backwards", but that sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

I think your best bet is a stiff bronze brush loaded with JB bore paste: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1160/Product/J_B_reg__NON_EMBEDDING_BORE_CLEANING_COMPOUND

HonorFork's stainless brush will also get it out fast.

 

[Zotter]

With conventionally rifled barrels - it doesn't seem to be much of a - if any - problem.

With polygonal barrels - consensus is "don't do it". At least a couple manufactures that sell poly barrels suggest "bad things" may result. (copper after lead).

 

[toivo]

With polygonal barrels - consensus is "don't do it". At least a couple manufactures that sell poly barrels suggest "bad things" may result. (copper after lead).

I thought that with polygonal barrels you weren't supposed to shoot lead in the first place.

 

[Trebor]

The whole "shoot FMJ to clean out the lead" thing is a myth.

What it really does is lay a layer of copper *over* the previous layer of lead fouling.

Try cleaning a firearm where someone has shoot lead bullets, followed by FMJ. You'll wind up pulling alternating layers of lead fouling (black patches) and copper fouling (green patches) out of the bore. For best results you'll need to keep swapping between lead remover and copper remover as well.

It's just one of those pieces of "firearms lore" that doesn't really work as well as everyone thinks it does.

 

[Tilos]

Lewis Lead Remover
No chemicals
No liquids
No dirty brushes
No waiting

What's not to like?

 

[alsaqr]

The whole "shoot FMJ to clean out the lead" thing is a myth.

What it really does is lay a layer of copper *over* the previous layer of lead fouling.

Try cleaning a firearm where someone has shoot lead bullets, followed by FMJ. You'll wind up pulling alternating layers of lead fouling (black patches) and copper fouling (green patches) out of the bore. For best results you'll need to keep swapping between lead remover and copper remover as well.

Bingo!!!

Been there and done that. Used to fire hand cast lead bullets out of my .303 Savage and a Springfield 03. Both got badly messed up with lead fouling so i fired jacketed bullets in them. The bullet jacket material adhered to the lead really well and accumulated at a rapid rate. After trying to get the lead and copper fouling out the Savage, i gave up and borrowed a friends Outers Foul Out III. It took alternating sessions of Cop Out and Lead Out to get the bores of those guns cleaned up.

Ain't going there again.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Been doing that for 25 years. Never had a problem. Just blows it right out.

+1
Been doing it since 1960.

Now if I had a BADLY leaded barrel, I would not do this. But if you have a barrel that's leaded so bad that you can't hardly see the rifling, you have other problems.

Shooting FMJ after shooting lead bullets WILL remove the lead buildup.
Will firing a few FMJ remove every trace of lead? No, but it will make the barrel much easier to clean.

Just this week I was shooting a couple Beretta PX4 9mm. The lead bullets I was using were too soft and leaving too bad a lead buildup after 5-6 magazines. A mag or two of FMJ removed all the lead buildup.

If not for shooting the FMJ the lead would be a pain to remove.

 

[Mad Chemist]

I noticed the topic of copper fouling over lead fouling came up.
I think it is important to distinguish the fact that, in general, copper fouling is common and expected in many rifles while it is rarely an issue for most pistols due to the large difference in pressure between a typical centerfire rifle and centerfire handgun.

Also, a harder alloy of lead doesn't necessarily prevent leading. Lead that is too hard can lead a bore just as badly as lead that is too soft.

I usually make a habit of firing a mag of fmj through my hanguns after firing a batch of lead. I do this even though I rarely see any visible signs of leading (my Missouri Bullet reloads are just that good) I haven't needed to use any lead remover yet, but I am running relatively light target loads through my 1911 and my j frame. I don't think I would do this with a rifle. It's not that I think it would be especially dangerous (unless you did something incredibly stupid like running a max-load jacketed bullet through a heavily leaded bore), I just don't think this tactic is that effective for rifles.

I could be wrong. Admittedly, I am much more of a pistolero than a rifleman.

 

[jkingrph]

Another copper after lead guy here. I started shooting cast gas checked bullets in myh 30-06 back in 1964 while in college, so I could afford to shoot more. A friend in the Nationa Guard gave me a bunch of LC match plus some AP ammo. The AP had a square groove(cannular) and seemed to be especially good for cleaning a barrel after a round of cast bullets. I usually fire about two rounds of these and have never noticed any leading.

 

[wally]

Been doing that for 25 years. Never had a problem. Just blows it right out.

Me too.

At the end of every hard cast lead bullet session I run 5-15 rounds of FMJ through the gun depending on how long the session was.

I don't clean my guns after every session unless I plan to put it in back int the safe for a fairly long time. Any gun that don't go 1000+ rounds before a take down and full cleaning is required quickly becomes a safe queen.

 

[akadave]

If you've taken the time to learn what your pistol or revolver likes. Make sure the bullets are sized correctly for your barrel. Make sure the powder is fast enough to obturate the bullet then you shouldnt be getting leading. If you are, you are doing something wrong.