Lead buildup in barrel shooting bare balls?

[Boston123]

So, I have been trying shooting bare balls out of a 20 ga smoothbore trade gun. Mainly with Mike Bellevues method of powder - ball - wadding. I have been using unspun hemp rope fibers for wadding.

Idly l was looking up shooting bare balls from a smoothbore online, and came across people talking about leading in the.bore from shooting lead balls.

Several questions:

1) is this a problem in smoothbores?

I am.shooting an undersized ball, .600 in a 20 ga barrel. When cleaning, my patches come out clean, and reading what I read lead me to believe that if my barrel was leaded, patches would.not come out clean.

2) if smoothbore barrels can grt leaded, how do I clean it? I have a bronze/brass bore brush that I havent used yet, and have been running chunks of unspun hemp-rope "tow" down the barrel as a HC method of cleaning/oiling for kicks. Is there something else I should be doing?

I have only put *maybe* 20 rounds out of the gun since I got it, and cleaned it well after shooting each time (and as above, my patches came out clean), so I am not too concerned about years of lead-build up

 

[Griz44Mag]

Chances of leading a smooth barrel are minimal.
If you do get leading, a weak vinegar solution will work.
There are also several commercial products available for lead removal.
Lewis Lead remover works for my 45 LC which is sometimes an issue.

 

[Boston123]

If you do get leading, a weak vinegar solution will work.
There are also

So, something like vinegar mixed with water, 1:4 or so? Or a would a stronger mix be better?

 

[Britsmoothy]

Boiling water lifts it but if you use lubrication it will be a non issue.

 

[Robby]

I would think leading from shooting an unpatched undersized lead ball in a smoothbore would be minimal. Seems there would be a jet of gas surrounding it on its way down the bore, which helps center it and give it accuracy. Now shooting shot without a cup, that will lead up your bore!
Robin

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Ballistol has helped me lift light lead fouling. If you seat a ball of tow, ram the ball on it and top it with a ball of tow, you shouldn't get too much lead fouling.

 

[mooman76]

Get a brass "Chore Boy" pad. remove a few strands and wrap them around a bore brush and run it up and down like normal. It will peal any lead right off the barrel.

 

[olskool]

i think it could lead. i have been casting and shooting lead in handguns since 1981, the main reason a handgun or rifle leads is because the boolit is not sized properly for the bore, a boolit needs to be 0.002 over bore size. if it is not the hot gas will blow past the boolit and melt a thin layer of lead into the bore, i think if hot gas is blowing by your RB it will do the same thing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Britsmoothy]

i think it could lead. i have been casting and shooting lead in handguns since 1981, the main reason a handgun or rifle leads is because the boolit is not sized properly for the bore, a boolit needs to be 0.002 over bore size. if it is not the hot gas will blow past the boolit and melt a thin layer of lead into the bore, i think if hot gas is blowing by your RB it will do the same thing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

This is true but not necessarily the only cause!
One can write on paper with soft lead. In other words lead will smear on a suitable surface.
Cast bullets as mentioned need lubrication also. Muzzleloaders are the same. A build up of a thin layer of lubricant will stop leading and also go a long way to protect steel. Hence why 22 barrels last indefinitely.

 

[olskool]

This is true but not necessarily the only cause!
One can write on paper with soft lead. In other words lead will smear on a suitable surface.
Cast bullets as mentioned need lubrication also. Muzzleloaders are the same. A build up of a thin layer of lubricant will stop leading and also go a long way to protect steel. Hence why 22 barrels last indefinitely.

that is also true. but i wonder about the heat from BP, it is a good bit hotter than smokeless. interesting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Britsmoothy]

that is also true. but i wonder about the heat from BP, it is a good bit hotter than smokeless. interesting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Hmm, dont know.....it certainly has more volume and time to heat but then again white powder generates much more pressure that would and does like to leak up the sides of a lead slug.
Either way, molten lubrication even for a millisecond will help with what ever powder is used. Oops, DO NOT USE SMOKELESS IN A MUZZLELOADER EVER EVER EVER!

 

[user 49399]

Why would it be any different than using lead shot?

 

[hanshi]

Having fired a fair number of bare ball loads in my smoothbore I can't say I ever noticed anything like leading in the bore.
BP is a pussycat compared with smokeless. The heat & pressure generated by smokeless is way beyond anything one gets from BP.

 

[NorthFork]

Hmmmmmm.......

I shoot bare lead and bismuth shot (no shot cup) in multiple smoothbores with NO and I repeat NO leading. Not sure why that was suggested. As for the original question, I primarily shoot unpatched lead balls over sisal 'tow' in my smoothbores and I have no leading.

At the risk of the wrath of Zonie, I cast a lot of lead alloy bullets for modern handguns. If you screw up and use the wrong alloy, bhn, lube, or are off in size you WILL get leading. I know what leading looks like.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Hmmmmmm.......

I shoot bare lead and bismuth shot (no shot cup) in multiple smoothbores with NO and I repeat NO leading. Not sure why that was suggested. As for the original question, I primarily shoot unpatched lead balls over sisal 'tow' in my smoothbores and I have no leading.

At the risk of the wrath of Zonie, I cast a lot of lead alloy bullets for modern handguns. If you screw up and use the wrong alloy, bhn, lube, or are off in size you WILL get leading. I know what leading looks like.

I have had leading in my smoothbores. Not much and not often but sometimes.
My bores are coated in beeswax and olive oil mind! During shooting a blob of lube is used too.

 

[user 49399]

To better answer the original question, your cleaning method sounds fine. I clean in a very similar way. I don’t believe leading will be a problem for you. I shoot round ball and shot in a smooth bore.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Vinegar will very quickly remove bluing or patina. Use caution if you insist on its use.

 

[NorthFork]

Vinegar will very quickly remove bluing or patina. Use caution if you insist on its use.

100% correct. Excellent 'green' bluing remover if you don't like the commercial chemical bluing removers.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I don't think leading will be a problem. I've never seen a leading problem even with cap and ball revolvers, which shoot balls of groove diameter.

However, shooting as described (powder, undersized ball, wad) will probably result in a rapid buildup of fouling. I did considerable experimentation a couple of years ago, trying to replicate native shooting methods with trade guns, based on what I had read. Trade guns nominally of 24 gauge appeared to run from around .570" to .600", based on actual measurement, as documented in the literature, while the standard "trade balls" were better standardized at about .550". I tried .550" and .562" balls in my .58 caliber/24 gauge Northwest gun, using tow, shredded cedar bark, and palmetto fiber wadding, over powder and ball, and just over the ball. Accuracy was poor, but that's beside the point and I'm a lousy shot anyway. What I found was that fouling accumulated heavily and rapidly. After as little as four or five shots, a .550" ball would not drop all the way to the powder, and had to be rammed. The .562" ball was about the same. If I remember correctly, fouling was worse with just the over-ball wad than with wadding over both the powder and ball.

I suspect, but can't prove, that the excessive windage of the undersized ball allowed a greater buildup of fouling. Ramming the over-powder wad had some minor "cleaning" effect. It is also worth noting that all of those wadding materials are flammable... In fact, shredded cedar bark and palmetto fiber make first-rate tinder for fire starting with flint and steel. Much better than flax tow. In any event, I thought (but could not prove) that the flammable wadding material might contribute to the fouling.

All of this, in my mind, helps explain the pictures of Indians carrying a spare wiping stick with the worm permanently mounted... They probably had to wipe the bore pretty frequently.

However, I saw no evidence of leading at all.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[smo]

My experience has been much the same shooting shot or bare ball...

Fouling buildup in my opinion helps protect the bore from leading.

When cleaning my gun , I clean as I normally would then occasionally use a nylon brush with 0000 steel wool wrapped around it prior applying Barricade to the bore..