Get the lead out, please!

[Dphar]

Picked up a sweet Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle in .50 looks well cared for bore looked fine at first peek. Then I started wiping it out decided somebody had been shootin them oblong cyclinder shaped projectiles we're afraid to mention on here. Lead fouling really sucks. This rifle has pretty deep grooves too.

Used some Shooters choice and bronze brushes, 3 dozen patches then denatured alcohol so Im down to nothing but dry steel and lead now. No rust not even a speck. Used about half a sheet of the Birchwood Casey lead remover cloth hopin to polish it out (stuffs hard to find these days but it works real good). About 3 dozen more passes with that stuff and its still coming out. Soaked in Shooters Choice overnight, repeated til dry still getting lead on the B/C cloth.

Alternated the B/C lead cloth and dry flannel maybe another 40-50 passes (I'll go broke buying this stuff) still coming out black and gunky.

Anyone know anything faster to try next short of using mercury :barf: I doubt the old lead removal tool with the screen mesh will fill the deep 50 cal grooves and I cant find it anymore anyway.

Home brews? Blow torch? egads! I suspect the lead was deposited from shooting Maxi Balls or similar without proper lube, found this on an Investarms Hawken the guy cast his own slugs for but not this severe and it having shallow grooves cleaned up pretty nice. I guess I could keep dragging it out a few microns at a time with the B/C cloth, 6 hours a day...

Bronze wool still available anywhere? Just not too crazy about using steel wool.

Pull the breech or have it pulled. It should come out pretty easy. If its ever been shot with replica powder this *really* needs to be done. It will surely have a fouling trap at the end of the breech plug threads. Fouling traps and the corrosive subs is not good.
This is a BMR breech. The rust indicates the fouling trap where the breech does not seal the end of the bore but actually has a gap to trap fouling and oil. It was fired with BP since the rust cleaned right off with a wire wheel. The corrosive subs would have eaten pits and crawdad holes, these corrosive elements will even rust under an oil film.

The original Hoppe's #9 is a pretty good lead remover. Better than any of the other stuff I have used and I have used most of the stuff on the market. Shooters choice does not do much. Most modern bore cleaners address copper not lead.
Dry the bore completely then wet a patch that will be TIGHT with Hoppes and push it through.
Steel wool (0000) is OK it will snag the lead and pull it out.
All and all with the deep groove the electrical treatment might be the best.
You won't know what the bore really is until the lead is out since there might be "things" under it. I have shot original BPCR that showed more and more pitting with shooting and cleaning.

Dan

 

[Dphar]

I agree with roundball on the electronic bore cleaner concept. I`m cheap though, so I built one of these.
http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/copperout/index.asp

Never tried it in a muzzle loader barrel, but can`t see why it wouldn`t work. Worked wonders removing crud and old bullet jacket remains from a couple of my old Mausers.

I have limited interest it leaving highly corrosive chemicals in a barrel for 30-45 minutes.
Even a light etch in a bore can REALLY cause fouling problems with BP.
But most old military rifles are pitted to heck anyway I guess. Everyone was using corrosive primers till in the 50s in most rifle ammo.

Dan

 

[walruskid1]

soak it with Kroil oil. that stuff gets under and through anything.

 

[kelleyjk]

after shooting a bit there seems to be less now, still some patches visible using an LED bore light more scrubbing more shooting, at any rate this thing is a tack driver even if there is some lead fouling

I like the deep grooves even if harder to clean