A friend recently brought over a smoothbore shotgun he inhereted which had been used exclusively to shoot lead slugs, and apparently hadn't been cleaned (EVER), and asked for some help. Since everything I shoot is either jacketed or saboted, I've never had to deal with an extreme case of lead buildup in a barrel.

What's the easiest way to remove it??

I've been trying soaking in good ole' Hoppe's #9 for an hour or two at a time and scrubbing with a brass brush, but progress has been slow.

Anyone have any other suggestions (solvents, brushes, electrolysis, dynamite, etc)?

Hey Joe,

I mostly use a lubricating penetrant that a friend gets for me. It comes in bulk so I really don't know what the name of it is. I'm sure something like Kroil would do the same. I wet the barrel let it sit 5 mins. and use a bronze brush. It dosen't melt the lead away like other cleaners, it gets under it and lifts it out in chuncks
I once leaded up my 44 mag pretty bad running soft bullets a little to fast. This penetrant did the job in about 25mins.
One thing to remember though, keep the penetrant away from any screws you don't want to loosen.

After lotsa elbow grease and #9 and CLP and Kroil, we finally scrubbed the lead out of his barrel. Still wondering if anyone has a better way?

There are solvents out there that help remove leading, maybe from Shooter's Choice? (Working night shift, can't remember...) I've used it with success in handguns though. Soaked it a while and scrubbed with a bronze brush. There are also lead removal kits using a bronze screen patch that you pull through the barrel.

Only way I've ever done it is with a bronze brush and good old fashioned elbow grease. In my smoothbore shotgun I use a little solvent on a patch, a bronze brush followed by clean patches then a final coat of gun oil...and of course the liberal application of elbow grease.

Had a mate that used to use MERCURY on his revolver. Would plug up the barrel and pour it in...leave it for a bit then pour it out along with most of the lead. I certainly WOULD NOT recommend this method.

Cheers, Vince

Joe,
The very best chemical to remove lead that I found is RB-17. Use a bristle bore brush dipped, to first coat the bore, then let it sit for 20 minutes, then scrub with a bronze brush. Repeat a couple of times and the bore comes to a mirror. RB-17 will penetrate the pores and remove everything, including shot cup plastic.

This is the site; it is not sold in stores:
www.rb-treasures.com/product3.html

I have used RB-17 for about 20 years now without ill effect on blue or metal.

I use Shooters Choice on all used guns that I buy. It is a ritual. I plug the chamber, pour the bore full and sit the gun upright in the corner. I return to the gun in a week, pour the Shooters Choice out and scrub the bore with a bronze brush and 99% of the time the bore comes steel bright and back to new condition in one application. Shooters choice will remove both lead and copper in this manner. I have been using this method for about 25 years without ill effect.

#9 makes you gun smell good, from the banana oil, that is about it.
Ed

Sweets 7.62 will get it out use a nylon brush( It will destroy a bronze brush) and oil the barrel when done it's one of the most potent cleaners I no of .
Joe

Thanks for all the help guys!

It was Shooter's Choice Lead Remover that I had used. They warn that it can harm paint, varnish and plastics. Also don't leave it the bore overnight.

Let us know what you try and how it works. I love the first hand info available on here!

It depends. Severe leading can be removed with a combination of Shooters Choice solvent patches run down the bore. Then run a snug brush with J B Bore Cleaner back and forth through the bore. Follow that with Remington Bore Cleaner applied to a patch and wrapped around a brush and run back and forth through the bore. Run more Shooters Choice patches down the bore. Finally. warp a lead wiping cloth strip around a brush and run it up and down the bore. Conclude with more Shooters Choice patches, dry patches and oil patches. It the leading does not come out, it ain't going to come out. All the best...
Gil

We have been talking about slug guns a bit. After my camo painting, I took mine out to shoot. When I returned home, I cleaned the bore since it had been a while. Nice and shiny, but I could see some distortion in the shine. I scrubbed with a bronze brush and Hoppe’s solvent. It ruffed it up some but nothing came out. I started running a tight patch through and to my amazement, slivers of lead came out. Some more than a ¼-inch long! They were getting caught in the fabric weave of the patch and being stripped out – and they kept coming. I kept using the bore’s reflection to determine if it was clean yet. There was one spot that just wouldn’t come out no matter how much scrubbing I did. Figured it was a pit then noticed it was sticking out not depressed in. Used an alu arrow shaft to knock it out. I’ll have to try some of the methods above after the next round of shooting – and not let it get so leaded up!