Leading Question

[AdamRM]

Howdy

So I’ve been shooting my 28ga smoothie quite a bit, I’ve settled on a load of 80gr FFFg - felt wad - .535 ball and felt wad. At 25 yards it shoots holes touching if I do my part

So it got me thinking, I assume the barrel with lead up a bit, what do ya guys use to clean out the barrel? Or do ya not worry about it? I haven’t found many posts talking about this. Also I was curious, how was cleaning the lead done during the old days if at all?

Thanks!

 

[Britsmoothy]

Boiling water gets lead out.
Use enough natural lube there won't be any though worth a hoot.

 

[AdamRM]

Boiling water gets lead out.
Use enough natural lube there won't be any though worth a hoot.

I have been curious to why everybody uses lube. I always heard it was to cut down on buildup of powder residue. The last time I was out shooting, I didn’t lube the over powder wad just to see if it would get worse, I didn’t notice any growing resistance to loading, but it still got me thinking about the leading problem.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I have been curious to why everybody uses lube. I always heard it was to cut down on buildup of powder residue. The last time I was out shooting, I didn’t lube the over powder wad just to see if it would get worse, I didn’t notice any growing resistance to loading, but it still got me thinking about the leading problem.

Sometimes if the weather and humidity is right you may not get hard crusty fouling. The fouling will stay soft via water in the air. The only thing with that is the salts in the fouling are fluid and thus more reactive with the steel.
If a natural lube is present it helps to separate the caustic salts from the steel.
I also do it because when I get home I may want to leave cleaning until another day.

 

[AdamRM]

Sometimes if the weather and humidity is right you may not get hard crusty fouling. The fouling will stay soft via water in the air. The only thing with that is the salts in the fouling are fluid and thus more reactive with the steel.
If a natural lube is present it helps to separate the caustic salts from the steel.
I also do it because when I get home I may want to leave cleaning until another day.

That makes sense, I live in central Florida, where it’s very warm and humid most of the year. And I always clean as soon as I get home from shooting, so maybe I’ve never had a lot of buildup.

 

[hanshi]

Bare-ball loads such as the one you describe don't appear to cause any leading in the bore of my gun that I can see. I don't shoot a lot of those loads but shoot enough that could "possibly" cause leading; I just can't see it. A wire brush might get it out.

 

[AdamRM]

I plan to lube my over powder wad, I use TOTW mink oil. I very rarely shoot shot, almost always a bare ball, so I’ll lube just in case, but I was curious if anyone has seen significant leading,

 

[AdamRM]

This is how my gun shoots bare ball at 25 yards. I’ve mostly been practicing getting used to flint maintenance and making sure I don’t flinch.

But so far, lubed or unlubed, tow or felt wad, she shoots like this pretty consistently, I’m a happy camper

 

[Daryl Crawford]

I think Ballistol helps clear lead fouling. It may take few cleaning sessions but I've found it helpful with removing it.

 

[Wolfman0125]

Lube also reduces the risk of chain fires in a revolver. It seasons the barrel as it is heated over time. It prevents fouling and corrosion. Consistency is subjective. Also makes cleaning easier. Helps protect from moisture in high humidity and rain.

 

[Travis186]

Tight fitting cotton patches soaked in turpentine is an old stand by. Most cleaners like JB bore past and Iosso will remove carbon, but they just polish lead fouling. Need something that will grab it.

 

[Maven]

I don't think I've ever got bore leading in my ML guns, but if I did, bronze wool or copper Chore Boy wrapped around an appropriately sized bore brush will certainly remove it. Btw, you can do this wet or dry, but if wet, I use something like WD-40 or Ed's Red.

 

[Grimord]

The bronze screens used to clean revolver forcing cones should work to remove lead deposits. I personally use my Outers electric foul out machine with the lead remover solvent to get lead deposits out of my muzzle loaders. Have to say, that I don't have to use it often because the low velocity loads of black powder generally do not leave much of a lead deposit.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Lube also reduces the risk of chain fires in a revolver. It seasons the barrel as it is heated over time. It prevents fouling and corrosion. Consistency is subjective. Also makes cleaning easier. Helps protect from moisture in high humidity and rain.

I understand that proper cap to nipple fit is much more important. If the ball is sized properly to the chamber chainfires shouldn't be an issue since the swaged ball seals the chamber mouth. "Seasoning" a barrel has been generally debunked. Fouling is going to happen regardless of lube or not so is corrosion if not properly cleaned after firing. I don't think lube is going to do much with regards to protecting much of anything in high humidity and rain.

wm

 

[Wolfman0125]

I understand that proper cap to nipple fit is much more important. If the ball is sized properly to the chamber chainfires shouldn't be an issue since the swaged ball seals the chamber mouth. "Seasoning" a barrel has been generally debunked. Fouling is going to happen regardless of lube or not so is corrosion if not properly cleaned after firing. I don't think lube is going to do much with regards to protecting much of anything in high humidity and rain.

wm

To borrow an old Jewish saying, “It may not help…but it vouldn’t hurt!” Lol

 

[tenngun]

Lube also absorbs heat
Should you have a 32f/0c ice cube, and you want to turn it in to a 32f/0c water it takes as much energy as it dose then to boil that water
In a barrel when exposed to the hot flame the lube is a heat sink that absorbs heat with out significantly heating the wad.
As the pressure blows it wants to blow apart the wad and at the same time burn it up. The lube binds it together and keeps it from burning.
I’ve shot plain tow and it throws out little burnin embers, but not so when lined.
I’ve shot grass and it works as the moisture in the grass holds it together and prevents flame
Lube let’s the wad do it’s job

 

[smoothshooter]

Lube also reduces the risk of chain fires in a revolver. It seasons the barrel as it is heated over time. It prevents fouling and corrosion. Consistency is subjective. Also makes cleaning easier. Helps protect from moisture in high humidity and rain.

Whether smearing lube over loaded chambers prevents hang-fires has not been proven. They are caused by problems at the other end of the cylinder, but that’s a discussion for another time.