I generally shoot FMJ out of my 38 special. I acquired some straight lead rounds in a trade and am wondering if lead rounds are much more difficult to clean up after? (Im talking about the bore clean-up) Sorry if a dumb question, I just haven't shot much lead in the types of guns I use apart from my 22, which doesn't ever seem to get that dirty.
Will lead ammo make my revolver harder to clean?
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Bernie Lomax
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Lead fouling has a reputation for being very stubborn, but it isn't really if you know the tricks of the trade.
Take a piece of a Chore Boy copper scouring pad and wrap it tightly around an old bore brush so that it fits tightly in your bore. Then run it through your bore a few times, dry with no solvent. Taking care of the toughest lead fouling is that simple.
I just used this method myself for the first time recently and let me tell you, I was astounded at how well it worked. I had a shotgun bore that was scuzzed up something fierce from shooting magnum slugs. Just a few passes with that Chore Boy, and that bore looked like it did when it was brand new and I first got it.
One caveat, though: Use only genuine Chore Boy solid copper pads; a lot of the cheap off-brand pads are actually copper-plated steel and will ruin a bore in short order.
Chore Boy: Learn it. Know it. Live it.
Take a piece of a Chore Boy copper scouring pad and wrap it tightly around an old bore brush so that it fits tightly in your bore. Then run it through your bore a few times, dry with no solvent. Taking care of the toughest lead fouling is that simple.
I just used this method myself for the first time recently and let me tell you, I was astounded at how well it worked. I had a shotgun bore that was scuzzed up something fierce from shooting magnum slugs. Just a few passes with that Chore Boy, and that bore looked like it did when it was brand new and I first got it.
One caveat, though: Use only genuine Chore Boy solid copper pads; a lot of the cheap off-brand pads are actually copper-plated steel and will ruin a bore in short order.
Chore Boy: Learn it. Know it. Live it.
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CajunBass
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Lead bullets are about all I shoot and I've never had a problem with it. A regular bore brush and a few solvent soaked patches are all it takes. Most of the time I don't need the brush.
Heavy leading in a firearm is not because you're shooting "lead" bullets. It's caused by lead bullets that are undersized for your bore dimensions and allowing hot gases to blow by and melt the lead. There are two types of lead bullets available. In commercially manufactured ammo most of them are soft swaged pure lead. Avoid these unless you like removing lead from your barrel. The other is hard cast lead bullets which is what most reloaders use and is available on a limited basis in commercial loads. With a properly sized lead bullet leading is minimal. If the lead is alloyed with too much antimony and is too hard it will not obturate or upset when hit by the pressure and swell to seal the bore. I have shot nothing but reloads using hard cast bullets properly sized for many years and the leading I have is very light comes out with just a good bore brush. If you're limited to commercial ammo you might want to avoid lead bullets.
Tallinar
Member
Be careful with the Chore Boy method. I've used it on occasion with heavy lead fouling. I had a .44 magnum SBH that was out of spec between the chamber and bore diameter; could never find a load that didn't lead terribly after much experimentation and it seemed Chore Boy was the only trick that would work.
However, if you wrap too much of the copper padding around your bore brush, it is possible that it will become too tight in your bore and thus too abrasive. I recently scratched the bore of one of my stainless revolvers recently with this - down toward the muzzle. Fortunately it's not enough to inhibit accuracy, but I will never be risking Chore Boy again.
Lead is all I shoot as well. As long as you're using the appropriate bullet, you shouldn't have any real problems. To add to what Drail posted, keep in mind that it is possible to have too hard of a bullet for your application. The harder a bullet is, the more force needed to cause it to obturate (seal the bore to prevent gases escaping). I've experienced heavy revolver leading which I would attribute to using too hard of a bullet with too light of a load - such that the bullet is not obturating properly and gases are escaping past the bullet as it makes its way through the forcing cone. These gases the solder the lead to the bore/forcing cone. I've corrected loads like this using same bullet size/shape/weight - only moving to a softer lead. On the other hand, I've used those same hard bullets in heavier loads and experienced no leading.
All in all, the only revolver I've experience REAL leading problems in was that damned SBH. I've never had real problems since then. Keep in mind also that lead is actually easier on the bore than jacketed ammunition, and in all practicality should actually prolong bore life.
Do a little reading up on shooting lead and then dive in. You won't be disappointed.
However, if you wrap too much of the copper padding around your bore brush, it is possible that it will become too tight in your bore and thus too abrasive. I recently scratched the bore of one of my stainless revolvers recently with this - down toward the muzzle. Fortunately it's not enough to inhibit accuracy, but I will never be risking Chore Boy again.
Lead is all I shoot as well. As long as you're using the appropriate bullet, you shouldn't have any real problems. To add to what Drail posted, keep in mind that it is possible to have too hard of a bullet for your application. The harder a bullet is, the more force needed to cause it to obturate (seal the bore to prevent gases escaping). I've experienced heavy revolver leading which I would attribute to using too hard of a bullet with too light of a load - such that the bullet is not obturating properly and gases are escaping past the bullet as it makes its way through the forcing cone. These gases the solder the lead to the bore/forcing cone. I've corrected loads like this using same bullet size/shape/weight - only moving to a softer lead. On the other hand, I've used those same hard bullets in heavier loads and experienced no leading.
All in all, the only revolver I've experience REAL leading problems in was that damned SBH. I've never had real problems since then. Keep in mind also that lead is actually easier on the bore than jacketed ammunition, and in all practicality should actually prolong bore life.
Do a little reading up on shooting lead and then dive in. You won't be disappointed.
ExMachina
Member
if the copper pad is in fact pure copper, it is not possible to abrade a steel barrel (bullet jackets are--after all--copper!)
the problem is, as Bernie Lomax points out above, some copper-looking scrubbers are not 100% copper
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I shoot cast and swaged bullets almost exclusively and can't remember the last time I had to clean lead from a bore. Actually I do remember, it was several years ago and it was my fault for pushing swaged HP's too fast. Before that, no idea. Leading issues have always been greatly exaggerated and probably perpetuated by gunwriters whose sole purpose in life is to keep jacketed bulletmakers in business.
Thanks guys for the thoughts. In general it sounds like I don't have too much to worry about. I was imagining hours of fruitless toil trying to get the lead out, but it sounds like it is a very manageable (and perhaps often over exaggerated) task.
1KPerDay
Member
Short answer, yes, it is dirtier. Mostly from the lube/smoke, IMO. I recently shot a backup gun match with my smith M37 shooting lead and the gun was filthy after only a couple dozen rounds. Cleaned up quick, though. So not really 'harder' to clean. But more time consuming than a good clean TMJ/jacketed load in my experience.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Swaged bullets are fine as long as they're lubed, properly sized and aren't driven too fast. I like to keep them at 700-800fps. I really like Hornady's 240gr LSWCHP in the .44Colt and .44Spl.
ColtPythonElite
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I shoot piles of MBC hard cast 158 grs. at 1000+ fps out of several .357's with no leading issues at all.
Waywatcher
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The factory Remington UMC 158 LRN shot really clean for me.
My practice reloads using 4.2 grains Trail Boss powder and 158 MBC LRNs shoot exquisitely clean. They are about 1/3 the price of UMC.
My practice reloads using 4.2 grains Trail Boss powder and 158 MBC LRNs shoot exquisitely clean. They are about 1/3 the price of UMC.
ColtPythonElite
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Yeah, a couple of hundred usually has my hands looking like a coal miner and the gun pretty nasty. No big deal. I in my range bag I carry a pack of baby wipes for me and flannel/Rem oil for the gun.
BCRider
Member
My revolvers see lots of lead rounds. I wouldn't say that it's harder to clean them. Just that it needs to be done more often than with jacketed. It really is messy due more to the bullet lube being atomized during the firing. It holds the powder residue and seems to get into EVERYTHING! In particular I find that the cylinder is noticably stiffer at the end of a long lead round session and needs to be cleaned well with solvent that gets into the bushings and flushes out the goop.
And on the double action guns I generally remove the crane and cylinder from the frame every 1000 rounds or so. That lets me totally strip down the ejector shaft assembly to get things back to squeaky clean in the cylinder arbor assembly. Otherwise with all the nooks and crannies it eventually goops up despite flushing it liberally from outside with solvents for the in between cleanings.
And on the double action guns I generally remove the crane and cylinder from the frame every 1000 rounds or so. That lets me totally strip down the ejector shaft assembly to get things back to squeaky clean in the cylinder arbor assembly. Otherwise with all the nooks and crannies it eventually goops up despite flushing it liberally from outside with solvents for the in between cleanings.
Tallinar
Member
I can assure you that I was careful to purchase the correct material. I will hold to my experience that copper Chore Boy wrapped around a standard bronze bore brush resulting in too tight of a fit in a stainless steel bore can produce scratching.
Tallinar
Member
Excellent piece of advice. This works like a charm as well.
Yeah, then you have a leaded bore now plated with copper. Doesn't really solve the problem. And that layer of copper, if not removed completely, will make it impossible to get any oil onto the bore's metal allowing corrosion to begin. Not to mention driving a jacketed bullet down a bore clogged will lead raises the pressure considerably. Not really such a great idea but to each his own. All of my experience has been that it's much easier to remove the lead mechanically with a Lewis type removal tool than to try to get the copper out.
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Most of the jackets on bullets are made of "gilding metal" a copper zinc mixture (brass) which is harder than copper and designed to reduce copper fouling produced by copper jacketed bullets. Now I can see Drail's point if he is still using the copper jacketed bullets, they will definitely produce more copper fouling. Only some premium bullets like barnes x, and winchester fail-safe use the pure copper jackets (to expensive for me). It only takes a small percentage of another metal to change it's consistency like the hardcast bullets compared to pure lead bullets. I wish I had Drail's checkbook and could afford those expensive bullets, but I've had an inexpensive system of reloading and shooting now for 15 years and it has been working great. Loading and shooting hard cast bullets and firing "gilding metal" jacketed bullets at the end to reduce lead build up, making it easier to clean the gun after every outing. I believe his definition of shooting a jacketed bullet out of a barrel "CLOGGED" with lead is an "over exageration", unless he is referring to those that never clean their gun and then shoot the jacketed bullet. Like he stated, "to each his own".
Lonerider357
Member
I shoot Cowboy Action so ALL lead bullets. Not a problem if you keep the velocity down. That's why God invented Stainless guns. After shooting spray with Brake Cleaner let dry wipe with Ballistol or Break Free and your done!! Sometimes I take the grips off and stick them in the dishwasher.
OldCavSoldier
Member
I like to keep my swaged lead bullet loads to 850 fps or so max. Hard cast to below 1000 fps. Never had any trouble with leading if I followed my rules. Break the rules, and I have had leading.....probably why I shoot plated bullets these days.....and I keep them to about 1100 fps max
It is an over exageration but I have seen plenty of people who don't keep their bores clean and then someone tells them to just fire some copper JHP to "clean out" the lead. (usually some pretty hot loads) This is one of the main reasons for all of the Glock problems we hear about. If the bore is not clean the pressure can get into the danger zone pretty quickly. For what it's worth I almost never load or shoot jacketed rounds simply because I AM a tightwad and years of using hardcast lead bullets have provided everything I need in a round. Many years ago I tried the "shoot some JHPs" method and the copper fouling that was ironed into the barrel was a real pain to get out. Sweet's will take it out but it takes a lot of time and repeated applications. As others have said the secrest to using lead is to use the correct size for your barrel (and cylinder throats) and if using soft lead limit the speeds you drive them to.
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