Lead Fouling?? Question for the Brain Trust

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  • calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    Question for the brain trust; here is the barrel of my Savage 308 bolt action model 10. I think this is lead fouling. Not sure how I did this. Maybe crappy surplus ammo?? Don't know when this happened. Any recommendations for getting it cleaned out? I tried some Birchwood Casey bore scrubber gel over night. It helped but there is still a lot at the end of the bore.

    Now I know why the accuracy is mediocre with this rifle. :facepalm:
     

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    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    Plug the barrel. Fill it with mercury.


    If you don’t have mercury, copper patches.
     

    MaxVO2

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Question for the brain trust; here is the barrel of my Savage 308 bolt action model 10. I think this is lead fouling. Not sure how I did this. Maybe crappy surplus ammo?? Don't know when this happened. Any recommendations for getting it cleaned out? I tried some Birchwood Casey bore scrubber gel over night. It helped but there is still a lot at the end of the bore.

    Now I know why the accuracy is mediocre with this rifle. :facepalm:

    ****If that is a nice rifle with a relatively new barrel that you wish to protect and have last a long service life, I have had really good luck with removing pretty heavy lead fouling using the Lewis Lead Removal system. I bought my sets from Brownwells (they are caliber specific). They use brass screens and a special forcing cone plus rubber plug. It works amazingly well and you follow it up with standard bore patch and whatever cleaner you would normally use plus dry patches, etc...

    I will defer to others expertise on this matter as I generally only use jacketed ammo, etc.. but for cowboy action, which generally use just regular lead projectiles, kinda underpowered for control, lead fouling is an issue.

    There are other methods of removing the fouling of course, but the Lewis system, caliber specific followed up with regular solvent and patches really impressed me. I'm really picky and a bit obsessive about cleaning my firearms after every range outing, but I've also cleaned range friends firearms that were not as carefully maintained and it immediately improved groupings, etc..
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    How would you get lead fowling with a jacketed bullet?
    I've used frontier pads wrapped around brush or chore boy copper wrapped around brush to get lead out of revolvers. Lead bullets, not jacketed.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    If this is a rifle that you have never fired cast bullets , it's probably not lead fouling .

    Default guess would be jacket fouling . Do thorough cleaning with Shooters Choice or equivalent , including soaking , etc , then reassess .
     

    Allen65

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 29, 2013
    7,063
    Anne Arundel County
    How would you get lead fowling with a jacketed bullet?
    I've used frontier pads wrapped around brush or chore boy copper wrapped around brush to get lead out of revolvers. Lead bullets, not jacketed.

    There are other sources of lead besides the sides of the bullet. The fact you're getting it only near the muzzle, the coldest part of the barrel, says it may be condensation of lead vapor, either from lead primers (lead styphnate, lead azide), or lead getting vaporized at the breech end from an exposed base of the bullet. Not highly likely, but possible.
     

    Uncle Duke

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 2, 2013
    11,665
    Not Far Enough from the City
    Try a bottle of Patch Out Brushless Bore Cleaner. It works very well with patches, and one of the other benefits is that the color of the residue removed will tell you what's in there.

    I agree with Biggfoot. My guess is also primarily copper. Bright blue color on patches will confirm that.

    The same company does make a lead specific product. I've not used that though.

    https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101488052
     

    Pale Ryder

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 12, 2009
    6,234
    Millersville
    Outers Foul Out if it’s still available. Used an electric rod and a couple chemicals depending on if the fouling was lead or copper. Otherwise the copper pads on a Lewis Lead Removal.
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,561
    Harford County, Maryland
    Copper typically corrodes as a blue or green. I am going with copper fouling. Sweet’s will eat the copper right out. Eat the barrel, too if you leave it in too long. Dry patch well and oil bore right away after use.

    I have used Breakfree CLP on jacket fouling and patches come out blue until the fouling is removed. Nice thing out the Breakfree is you can leave the bore wet with it and letitsitovernight.
     

    JohnnyE

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 18, 2013
    9,462
    MoCo
    Chore Boy comes in two flavors: 100% copper, and copper-plated steel. I use the pure copper variety, testing with a magnet to check for steel.

    I cut it into strips or squares and wrap it around a cotton bore swab to get good engagement with the grooves.
     

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    calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    Chore Boy comes in two flavors: 100% copper, and copper-plated steel. I use the pure copper variety, testing with a magnet to check for steel.

    I cut it into strips or squares and wrap it around a cotton bore swab to get good engagement with the grooves.

    Thanks. I noticed that some brands are copper coated as opposed to pure copper.
     

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,733
    Socialist State of Maryland
    If you never shot cast bullets, then it is not lead fouling. Use one of the better copper cleaners (bore tech, Sweets, Barnes CR-10) and see what it looks like then. Don't go scrubbing the hell out of your barrel as most guns are ruined by cleaning and not by shooting.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member

    Whelen's cleaning chapter is in book two. I think every gun mag/article written ever since the 40's that's worth a read stems from an excerpt from either volume one or two.
    Even then, much of his work is just an Americanized version of the 1927 textbook without as large of focus/print on the engineering formulary.
    If anyone thinks modern writers and experimenters are mostly breaking new ground, they're wrong. Its just rebranding with often very little acknowledgment.
     

    JohnnyE

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 18, 2013
    9,462
    MoCo
    If you never shot cast bullets, then it is not lead fouling. Use one of the better copper cleaners (bore tech, Sweets, Barnes CR-10) and see what it looks like then. Don't go scrubbing the hell out of your barrel as most guns are ruined by cleaning and not by shooting.

    This right here, especially if you clean from the muzzle and ruin the crown.
     

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