Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

Well got to go out shooting again this morning - I wanted to shoot the Renegade for it's sophomore run - see if it would should as well as it did last week.... One thing I did decide today, I am going to replace the factory black steel sights with a set of fiber optics. Saturday when I was shooting the sun was at my back and everything was lit up pretty good. This morning it was much darker and the drizzling on and off - seeing clay pigeons @ 100 was really difficult...

Next, yall know I am an ameture at this conical shooting and I have some concerns... I do not remember patches coming out of the barrel with as much lead on them as there was this morning. When I was shooting the GM stainless barrel - I really do not remember flakes of lead on the damp swab after a shot, I do not even remember them being the on Saturday the first day I shot this new (used) barrel. But! today after the very first shot really a lot of real bright lead flakes came up with the swab patch. I flipped it over and swabbed again and again more lead. I shot it 15 times this morning and each time there was flakes of lead... the amount of flakes did seem to taper off a bit the more I shot. After shooting Saturday I really worked the barrel hard to get it clean, but I did keep getting gray patches out of the barrel.

Question? taking your best guess is this lead coming off the bullets I am shooting or could it be old lead in the barrel flaking off?

I did use JB's borecleaning compound (100 strokes) Saturday also. Now here is another odd part I swear the barrel is getting smoother, as you push the conical down there are two ruff spots, right at the muzzle and a spot just before seating... I thought these were some mild pitting from the previous owner, but I honestly think they are getting smaller... could this be lead fouling? When you drop the bore light down you really can not tell much everything looks bright...

So the obvious question what would you use to free really old lead fouling if that is what it might be... I am taking it to the garage now and going to saturate it with Butch's....

Added note - this barrel does have the "W" for a Douglas barrel...

Here is a pic of the gun - it is really impressing me - you should have seen the shot it made today on a clay bird @ a 100 - even with these terrible sights....

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

Could be both, old lead and new. Clean it out good and try again. You might try useing an over powder card to protect the bullet base next time.

Where did the snow go??

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

I've found the same thing in a number of rifles when I shoot conicals. I think a lot of it is the bullet itself. Some conicals like Buffalo, I never get lead flakes. On the ones I cast, I seldom get any flaking, but on Dan's BullShop concials I will ocassionally get the little metal flakes on patches. All you can do is clean the barrel at the end of the day like normal.

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

goatbrother

That is the one spot that is totally melted out, right next to the road on the North end under those two big cedar trees.... still mostly snow covered out in the opening....

This is the gravel pile 75 to 85 yards down range... Birds on the left 75 and birds on the right 85

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

You been telling us about those clay birds you been breakin. We didn't know they was a foot in diameter!!!!!!

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

Sabotloader - lead oxidation occurs pretty quickly. If your conicals are new and shiny, take a pen knife and shave a flake from the conical. Note the color differential side to side. How does it compare to the "lead flakes" coming from the barrel? If the flakes are old, one side may be dull, the other shiny. I'd guess the flakes are from the shot you are taking now. Also, the constriction you note at muzzle and near seating are likely from different causes. There is probably very little lead near the seat, more likely pitting from having been left uncleaned at some time in its life. Shouldn't have much impact on performance but difficult to make smooth. The muzzle end sounds like fouling as you shoot. Was it easy to load the first couple of conicals before you became aware of it? One thing I think may be important to keep in mind. You and I and others who frequent this site, in terms of the frequency with which we shoot, are exceptions to the rule. If that barrel was "used", it was likely used very little, suggesting the things you're encountering are more likely the result of neglect than overuse. It's obvious from your targets the barrel will perform. But could you get that truck washed! Geez...:D

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

And already dead on the ground....LOL!!!

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

Cdad

I know they have different standards over thar in Washington - you guys have got to pass the WASL's, and theyare having problems with the math section of that test... but if you think they are 12" in diameter - no wonder your fish story's are so hard to beleive... When you get here on Friday I am going to set one 100 yards down the road in front of my place - then yu can tell me thay are ... I will loan you my 10 power Nikons and there is a 20 power Burris spotting scope in the truck... with that you might make it look like it is a "foot in diameter" Well since you still have 20 years to go before retirement maybe we can fix this disability.... It is a tuff job but someone has got to try...

mike

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

Sounds to me like the gauntlet's been thrown.

Are we going to be treated to pictures of the targets following the shoot off?

RE: Strychnine Gravel - lead questions
 

yeoman

Thanks for the information... makes good sense...

\

Wait a minute it is the cruddy time of the year up here.. and the road I have drive in to the sight is a logging road surfaced withsoft readly available rockinstead of basalt like I recommended, we the FS chose to use the cheaper stuff and when it get wets it throws stuff all over + Strychnine road from the Palouse River road is really a mess - melting ice and snow, water filled ruts down the gravel - I am lucky I made it there, but you make sacrifices to be able to shoot....

Maybe if Cdad has time, his son is in a wrestling tournament over here can run out and have a one shoot-off - loser washes my truck... sounds good to me. With the tourney we may not get time to shoot, but he is coming back this summer to shoot ground squirrels and I can get him then for sure, problem is he is so darn competitive he won't let it go.....

mike