I'm new to cast bullet shooting. All my bore cleaners/solutions are for removing copper and powder fouling. Some even say they won't remove lead fouling.

What's the best(easiest) way to remove lead fouling in the bore.

Product brand and cleaning methods sought.

Thank you.

The only thing that works for me is to wrap an old bore brush with copper strands from a Chore Boy cleaning pad. Then I apply a generous amount of Ed's Red to the brush and scrub away using a coated cleaning rod.
I haven't found anything else that works, and so far this does not seem to harm the bore.

As Max said, "Chore Boy" works well with "Ed's Red" or dry. However, if you don't want to go to the trouble of brewing your own batch of Ed's Red, "Kroil" will suffice: It's convenient, but not as inexpensive as Ed's Red. ...Maven

The best lead remover is to not have leading in the first place. With proper sizing and bullet lube you won't have this problem.
Jim

The Lewis lead remover worked for me! derf

Thank you for all replies.

It seems to me the cleaning recommendations are more of a mechanical or physical cleaning, rather than in a chemical manner.

Has anyone tried Shooter's Choice Lead Remover?

Arkypete, I agree; however, I don't cast my own bullets. Also, the lead fouling that I see is very light, if any at all, and I drive the bullets above 2000 fps. Moreover, it's my unbreakable habit to clean each gun for at least 20 minutes anyway, lead or copper fouling or not, so I may as well use a good recommended solvent/tool to do so. If my cast bullet shooting causes me to clean the barrel for more than 30 minutes, then I'll look into the bullet/bore sizing/lube issue. Thanks for the input.

I have a bottle of Shooter's Choice Lead Remover on the shelf. I don't think it works very well.

I have sized, gas checked, etc. and I get leading. I'm talking about shooting 50-100 rounds of 30-06 at just under 2000fps.

Art
I've found a couple of cast bullet suppliers that produce bullets in two or more diameters. I use some 378 grain gas checked bullets sized .459 in my 45-70, lubed with LBT Blue. There is no leading at all no matter what the velocity. I've found that using 2/1000ths larger then bore diameter and leading does not happen.
Let me know what diameter you are needing and maybe one or two of the suppliers I've found might can help.

The mechanical methods seem to work the fastest for me, when I had leading. In my handguns I can fire hundreds, five hundred, of rounds before I clean the barrel. With my rifles I'll clean more often, but I removing powder fouling and lube build up.
Jim

Art said,"It seems to me the cleaning recommendations are more of a mechanical or physical cleaning, rather than in a chemical manner.

Has anyone tried Shooter's Choice Lead Remover?

Arkypete, I agree; however, I don't cast my own bullets. Also, the lead fouling that I see is very light, if any at all, and I drive the bullets above 2000 fps. Moreover, it's my unbreakable habit to clean each gun for at least 20 minutes anyway, lead or copper fouling or not, so I may as well use a good recommended solvent/tool to do so. If my cast bullet shooting causes me to clean the barrel for more than 30 minutes, then I'll look into the bullet/bore sizing/lube issue. Thanks for the input."

Seems to me that a mechanical cleaning that gets the job done in about five minutes or less would be more preferable than scrubbing away for twenty minutes. For one thing, a soapless scouring pad like the Chore Boy will not harm a barrel. Don't use the Chore girl with soap. Second, that Shooter's Choice lead remover don't. Well, at least not all that well, even on a mild case of leading.I probably shoot about one hundred rounds of cast bullets through my rifles and handguns for every jacketed bullet shot. That means I do sometimes get a leading problem, especially when starting to work up loads for a new gun. usually, using the Chore Boy method, I usually can have a badly leaded bore clean of lead in less than five minutes. A few minutes work after that with a good powder solvent and I'm done. Total time is usually under fifteen minutes total for the whole job.
Paul B.

arkypete, I'm using the Beartooth .418 for my .416Rem and Mt Baldy .512 for my .50BMG; .431 for my .44 Mag and .358 for my .357Mag revolvers. As I said, the fouling is minimum in any one of them. I guess I'll try the mechanical means of cleaning.

Art
Your numbers are right on the money and Marshall over at Beartooth makes mighty fine bullets, which sort of blows my idea out of the water.
I wonder if it may be the powders? I've never run in to the problem with my rifles and pistols using everything from Bullseye to IMR 4831.
One thing all of my rifles that I shoot lead in have in common is the bullet is lightly engraved at chambering.
Jim

I have some lead removal cloth marketed by Hoppes, and Kleen Bore, that chemically removes lead from barrels, forcing cones, cylinder faces, molds, etc. It is not abrasive, and does a very good job. It will remove blueing, so you have to be careful there.

Hi



I've tried the lead remover cloths, as well as MPro7 and Ed's Red to remove leading.



I finally found something better. Brass wool (or brass lathe turnings: the Chore Boy referred to above). Wrap a few strands (don't need many!) around a brush, then 5 passes through the bore. This takes the lead out in nice "shavings" and is very fast.



Finish with a bit of Ed's Red (or use it on the brass wool!). Easiest way I've found to date...



HTH



jpb

I'll go with the idea of one of the lead remover cloths sold by Hoppes, Outers, or Birchwood Casey. For my match barrels I wrap a piece of it around a brush approx. three calibers under the one I'm shooting and run it through. I remove the brush at the muzle and do it again. Two swipes followed by two patches with Ed's Red and a couple of dry patches leaves the bore shining like a new nickle. I've checked this a bunch of times with a bore scope so know it's clean and lead free. I do get leading with my match guns and have to clean the barrel after 15 shots or there abouts or accuracy goes to hell in a hurry.

I don't think I'd try pulling the cloth wrapped brush back in through the muzzle because while they say it isn't abrasive and supposedly works by chemical reaction I'm just not comfortable with the idea that that's the case. If you keep the wrapped brush in a plastic bag or one of those plastic tubes with a cap on the end it'll last a long time and even when it gets black as coal will still work as long as it doesn't feel completely dried out so a bag of the stuff lasts a long time.

Of course I'd suggest a bore guide and the first time a new piece is used it's a little hard to get it through the bore but after it's tight to the brush it goes easy and does a great job of lead and carbon removal with little effort.