I searched and couldn't find anything although, I'm sure it's been addressed. I've only ever reloaded jacketed bullets. Do I need to do anything different with my firearm when cleaning after shooting a hard cast bullet? (I'm looking into a 200gr. hard cast for my .357) Thanks for your time and consideration with what I might assume is a pedestrian question.

You asked a very good question for lead cleaning. Most of the solvents that work very well for copper, don't do much for lead. The solvents will still remove the powder fouling, but for the lead, I cut a lead-away cloth into patches and use them on a jag and push them through the bore and cylinder. The cloth does a great job and is a lot easier than scrubbing with a brush.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=127388

quote:

Originally posted by medium:
I searched and couldn't find anything although, I'm sure it's been addressed. I've only ever reloaded jacketed bullets. Do I need to do anything different with my firearm when cleaning after shooting a hard cast bullet? (I'm looking into a 200gr. hard cast for my .357) Thanks for your time and consideration with what I might assume is a pedestrian question.

Medium
If you clean the barrel and cyclinder to remove copper fouling and buy your hard lead bullets to fit your cyclinder mouths you will reduce or eliminate the leading.
Most commercial casters size thier bullets .357 or .358 and the cyclinder mouths are .359 or .360, creating guaranteed leading. The powder gases blow around the bullet acting like a cutting torch. If the bullet is softer it will expand to fill the cyclinder mouths and keep the gases behind the bullet.
A simple test is to drop a bullet into the cyclinder and check how difficult it is to push the bullet through the cyclinder mouth. If it falls through you will have leading.
The fastest manner of removing leading is the Lewis lead remover, or Hoppes knock off.
I clean my revolvers once a year or every 1,000 rounds even if they don't need it and I shoot nothing but cast bullets.
Jim

The absolute best way to remove leading of any kind from a barrel effortlessly is with Mercury. You mention that word to most people and they jump back. Mercury is no different than powder or primers in the fact all have to be handled carefully. I first use a good, tight fitting rubber stopper in the barrel, then using a small funnel pour in the Mercury SLOWLY until it's full to the muzzle. After a few hours pour it back into the container, clean normally and your barrel will be cleaner than new. You can buy it here. http://www.unitednuclear.com/ It isn't cheap, but it will last almost indefinitely. I rest the entire gun in a large metal pan so if I do ever spill any it will remain contained for easy cleanup. Bill T.

WipeOut works real good if you don't mind an overnight soak, it degrades the alloys in the bullet metal making the remaining lead come out in flakes, works extremely good if you're not in any hurry.

http://www.sharpshootr.com/wipeout.htm

quote:

SPECIAL NOTE FOR ALL SHOOTERS SHOOTING LEAD BULLETS.

We specifically state that Wipe-out does not dissolve lead. Most chemicals that dissolve lead produce a galvanic reaction. This reaction in effect acts like a battery. In most cases it will etch steel ( both stainless and carbon steel). It is for this reason that we don't use chemicals that specifically work on lead.

We use chemicals that will dissolve the other metals ( tin , antimony, zinc, etc.) that are incorporated in most bullet alloys. So we work to destroy the integrity of the bullet alloy, and it begins to come apart in small black flakes. This process takes about 24 to 36 hours.

So while Wipe-Outâ„¢ does not dissolve lead , it will degrade the alloy so that it can be pushed out with a tight patch.