Here is my dilemma, got a Marlin 1894CL 25-20WCF. Thing was darn near new when I got it, hardly shot.
I cleaned in my typical manner, Hoppes, Kroil, Copper remover etc., and thought it was "clean".
Groups say otherwise. Hardly worth mentioning, 3-5" at 100 yards with 10X scope.
I've been shooting both jacketed and hard cast, mainly because I ran out of jacketed bullets.
Not good to mix I know, but it is what it is.

I know have gathered up a small supply of jacketed bullets, so I want to "deep" clean the lever gun and start load development over.
So I bought this Bore Tech stuff called "Rimfire Blend" for my 22s, and have been having similar issues there as well.

Following their instructions:
1. Wet 3 to 4 Bore Tech X Count patches with Rimfire Blend and individually push through bore to remove loose fouling.
2. Next, make 10 to 15 passes with a tight fitting Bore Tech brush saturated with Rimfire Blend.
3. Then repeat Step 1 and let Rimfire Blend soak for 5 to 10 minutes. For badly fouled rifles, extended soak times may be needed.
4. Finally, push dry patches through the bore until they come out clean.
5. Repeat above steps if necessary.

Now I rarely use brushes. Only on my muzzleloader and badly fouled things that I have been gifted.
Have never needed brushes on 95% of my centerfire stuff.
That said, I've never cleaned a bore brush either. That leads to my question.

Step 3, the first patch or two after brushing, comes out looking like chimney soot, black as tar. [Same on my inherited Sears&Roebuck 22LR].
So I wet patch and dry patch until they come out moderately white, and then do it all over again with the same results.
I am making no progress, at this rate I will be cleaning until the 2nd coming of the Christ...

I am concerned that at least some of the "soot" is residual debris left on my bore brushes.
Do folks clean their brushes, and if so, how do you do it?

Am I on the right path here? Or is there something else recommended.
Thus far copper remover is showing no signs, but I will do that again once the lead/carbon remover is pretty clean.

Frustrating...

I have been using brake cleaner to clean bore brushes, works very well. Get it at the parts store.

concock a quart jar of 25% commercial Ammonia, add a cup of Hydragen Peroxide, toss in a copper penny to turn it blue..called blue goop, and its great for bad bores..swab the barrel and let stand no longer then 25 minutes or less and wipe dry..Repeat if necessary. when satisfied oil profusly and let stand until ready to shoot again...

Squeeky clean is not necessary nor is it desirable, keep in mind there has "never" been a deer or whatever killed with a clean gun barrel.

Here's what I do to remove lead from my 45 acp's after shooting a lot of lead bullets:

Go to the supermarket and buy some Choreboy copper pot scrubbing pads. Cut the knot off the end of the pad and wrap some of the pad material around a cleaning brush. Dip in your favorite solvent and run it back and forth in your barrel. The lead will be gone in no time.

A worn out bore brush or one for a smaller caliber works best since the pad material will increase the diameter of the brush.

Use this:

https://www.big45metalcleaner.com/

Somebody used to produce a rounded screen wire copper patch kit to clean pistols..run that copper screen patch down a leaded up barrel and all the lead came out in one or two passes..Worked great and all law enforcement used it and never hurt a bore that I know off..I may still have that kit someplace in my shop but out of patches..Don't recall the name of it.

Ray, I believe you are referring to the Lewis Lead Remover.

I have tried about everything over the years and the method I have settled upon because it works really well it this: Get a bottle of Remington 40-X bore cleaner (is it still available?). Shake well and apply to a tight fitting cotton patch. Push the patch through the bore. You will feel when it hits the lead deposits. Scrub a bit and then push the patch out. The lead will stick to the patch and come out in shiny slivers and flakes. Repeat the process until you don't feel any more sticky spots. It usually only takes a few cycles to clean up a really leaded bore. I haven't tried JB paste but it might work the same? If they quit making the 40-X cleaner I might have to reverse engineer the stuff and make my own.
C.G.B.

quote:

Ray, I believe you are referring to the Lewis Lead Remover.

That's what they're called. I have one and it works but not nearly as well as the chore boy method I posted above. I haven't used mine since a fellow shooter told me about chore boy.

Old timers use to put mercury down the bore.

Have you looked at it with a bore scope? That’s really the only way to know for sure.

If you think it’s dirty brushes, buy a new one and see.

I do know old guns can get layered and it can take a lot to get it all out.

Tom, I plan to pick up a Choreboy pad very soon and give your method a try. Thanks for the tip.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Ray, I believe you are referring to the Lewis Lead Remover.

i still have mine somewhere from many years ago. was a huge PIA to use and switch screens and calibers etc

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Old timers use to put mercury down the bore.

my grandfather had a baby food jar full of it. when it got too dirty he "cleaned" it somehow and reused it. got the lead out fast and like magic it worked so good. would put a rubber stopper in one end of the bbl, fill it up w/mercury, and pout it out the next day. mirror finish bore.

I used Mercury way back when, it worked like a charm, took it to school and played with it, we all did, It killed us all!! NOT..SAME WITH LEAD SOLDIERS, KILLED US ALL, BUT NOT YET!!

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
Here's what I do to remove lead from my 45 acp's after shooting a lot of lead bullets:

Go to the supermarket and by some Choreboy copper pot scrubbing pads. Cut the knot off the end of the pad and wrap some of the pad material around a cleaning brush. Dip in your favorite solvent and run it back and forth in your barrel. The lead will be gone in no time.

A worn out bore brush or one for a smaller caliber works best since the pad material will increase the diameter of the brush.

That is what I do. A couple strands from a copper Sos pad wrapped around a bore brush knocks it out quick.

I know some use chore boy cooper pads and put a strand or three on their bore brushes along with their favorite solvent to scrub out lead
make sure it's cooper not a cheap imitation
the reason is the cheap is just plated or maybe colored cooper not real cooper

I use KROIL----works great!

Hip

Old timer's trick: after shooting lead bullets follow up with a cylinder/mag/etc or two, of jacketed (hardball). Works on 1911s, 9mm, .38/.357 etc. What lead is left comes off rather easily.

Hip, I agree, that Kroil is great stuff, one helluva a lubricant + penetrator. I used to buy it by the case in the aerosol cans.

Yeah, I heard that it penetrates real well and that it gets between the lead and the barrel so that it is easy to remove. I tried it.

WORKS FOR ME!

Hip

Just used the Choreboy method as described here.
Have n OLD Savage 410 single shot which was a birthday present to me when i was in 4th grade. Used it to take grouse, rabbits, a few ducks, and one pheasant. Have not used it much in recent years, but its still in pretty good shape..... better shape than myself.

I recently noticed 'stuff' in the barrel which was either rust or lead fouling. About one-third of the way from the chamber to the muzzle. Decided to try the Choreboy method.

My bride bought me some copper pad stuff which was copper-coated steel. Had been exported from a large Asian country west of Japan. :-) I later hunted down some of the real copper stuff.

Cleaned the bore well with Hoppe's and wrapped some of the copper round a 35 caliber bronze brush.
Some of the 'stuff' came out right now. A few minutes of scrubbing, including some slight sideways pressure on the cleaning rod did the job.

We get some good advice here on AR.

NOT a good idea to use a Choreboy pad, they're made of copper plated steel. The Frontier Big 45 pad it the ticket, they're made of a proprietary metal, won't scratch the bore no harm bluing when used to remove rust. And NO THEY'RE NOT THE SAME AS A CHOREBOY, don't let anyone tell you they are ! Lewis lead remover is also a very effective means of removing lead. I removed the t-handle and made a rectangular plate for mine, screw the rod into the plate place on the floor and stand on plate with both feet. Much easier to draw the brass patch and plug thru your gun's bore.

I ended up with 2 different kinds of 'copper' scrubber stuff.... One was labeled 'copper plated' [ or some such ] and the other as ' pure copper'

The pure copper scrubber didnt react to a magnet, but the plated one did.

The one i used effectively didnt react to a magnet.