I just inherited several old 22 rimfire rifles that all have severely lead fouled barrels. I've used everything in my meagerly stocked gun cleaning kit. I've run brushes through the barrels over a dozen times and the patches still come out completely lead fouled and I can see the lead in the barrels. They were shot extensively with old non-jacketed bullets, many with the resin lubricant worn off from being thrown in jean pockets over and over. Can I ever get all the lead out?

A few hundred strokes of a bronze brush charged with "J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound" will do the job.
After you arms are dead with fatigue let the barrel soak over night with "Kano Kroil".
Next day start the J-B Bore Bright treatment all over again, eventually you will get all the lead out.
I like to finish off with "J-B Bore Bright".
Then wash everything out of the bore with EEZOX.
Do a final wipe down of all the rustable steel parts inside and out with EEZOX and then your done.
Copy and paste the links below:

https://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.a...0CLEANING%20COMPOUND

https://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.a...J-B~%20BORE%20BRIGHT

https://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.a...0&st=Kano%20Kroil&s=

Correction to the above post.
Next day start the "J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound" treatment all over again.

I've had good luck on lead fouling with M Pro 7.

I haven't tried it on severe lead fouling, but I would suggest just running a wet patch of Hoppe's #9 thru the barrel and letting it sit for a few days. Hoppe's is mild enough that I don't worry about leaving it in a barrel for extended periods. I usually do this on guns I'm putting up for a while. When you go back to them, regardless of how clean you thought the barrels were, they usually have some raised residue in the barrel. Again, I'm not sure this will work on leading, but it is easy to try and find out.

BTW, I've used Hoppe's Lead Out and found it to be nearly worthless.

Finally, if Hoppe's doesn't work, try Blue Wonder.

There is no doubt the JB system mentioned above will work, but it takes a lot more effort. I'm firmly in the minimum energy expenditure required for adequate gun cleaning class myself.

Kroil would be my starting point. SOAK - plug one end of the barrel and FILL the barrel with Kroil. Let stand overnight.

Then brush. Swab a few times, inspect for changes. If none, try again.

In a WORST CASE scenario you can use Lead Away patches. Be WARNED: they WILL remove bluing! Be very careful with the patches - push them through the receiver to the barrel end and you should see slivers of lead stuck to the patch. On my SS revolvers I've used Lead Away with fantastic results.

I also recommend the Kleenbore Lead Away patches or cloth cut into patches. I use this on my blued revolvers after shooting cast bullets. I don't rub the bluing, just run the patches through the barrel. Does a great job and saves a lot of time and labor.

If it's really leaded up, try the Outer's Foul Out.

quote:

Originally posted by Red C.:
I just inherited several old 22 rimfire rifles that all have severely lead fouled barrels. I've used everything in my meagerly stocked gun cleaning kit. I've run brushes through the barrels over a dozen times and the patches still come out completely lead fouled and I can see the lead in the barrels. They were shot extensively with old non-jacketed bullets, many with the resin lubricant worn off from being thrown in jean pockets over and over. Can I ever get all the lead out?

You can save yourself a bunch of elbow grease with WipeOut, it works slowly, but effortlessly, I use it in an inline muzzleloader that gets heavily leaded shooting all lead Powerbelts and max loads of 777, an overnight soak or two and the lead comes out in flakes with just a tight patch.


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.

Kroil. Plug the barrel and fill it.

Rich
DRSS
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