statjunk

I'm going to have to clean my Marlin Guide Gun soon and have some questions.

Can someone provide the pros and cons of cast bullets?

Do cast bullets leave more or less fouling in a barrel than a copper jacketed bullet?

What is the damage of leaving lead in a barrel?

What should I use to get the lead out of the barrel? Is it any different for a lever action rifle?

Thanks

Tom

Rifle Loony

Investigate a product called Ultra Bore Coat...

I strongly recommend treating your bore with it and you'll likely have not a thing to worry about as long as you run the cast stuff properly.

Call Doug Burche and talk to him at Ultra Coatings Inc.......

http://www.ultracoatingsinc.com/
425 S Kansas Ave
Olathe, KS 66061



Phone:
913-764-7707

Fax:
913-829-5572

Doug:
[email protected]

Bill:
[email protected]

harter66

Pros cost cast bullets are about half the cost of jacketed much less in some cases and you can mould your own for even less. My 357 costs me about 5 bucks a box and my 06 is about 6. You didn't say what cartridge you have you may not even change your ballistics (45 70ie).

Keep them around 1800 fps you shouldn't have much more than with jackets.

Getting the lead out well that's a whole volume of its own. I'm yet to find 1 that works in every 1 every time.

statjunk

Rifle Looney,

Have you personally used this stuff? I'm very tempted to try it out. I'd probably start on a muzzleloader first to see if his claims of elimenating the crude ring are true. If that is true it would be worth twice what they are selling it for.



Well guys I still haven't had anyone suggest what I should do about cleaning the rifle right now? I have Hoppy's 9 copper solvent. I'm thinking that's not going to do it.

Also in a lever gun how do you keep the stuff from running down into the action?

I already purchased a brass muzzle guide for cleaning from the muzzle end.

Thanks

Tom

Rifle Loony

Yes I've used the stuff on several rifles, including a ML...can't say for sure it would help a cast bullet rifle/pistol but with it's inherant abilities to fend fouling I'd bet a farm or two that it would work there too.

The newest version is a clear liquid now,and will not change bore dimensions as the stuff penetrates the metal more than anything. The old version had more fillers and was a gray color which caused some folks a little trouble with fouling until it had been shot and cleaned a few times. Now the stuff has no such ill side effects.

It needs to be applied just as Doug dictates it to be applied, and over clean metal. A JB bore paste treatment and copper solventis usually all that's needed to clean up a copper fouled bore in preparation for the UBC. After the UBC treatment "cleaning" is literally a snap.

Doug has also personally told me that UBC can be used to treat bullets and function as a moly sort of treatment, I'venot tried that yet, and maybe won't.

I believe it will GREATLY reduce your lead fouling with cast loads, as well ascorrosion PROOF the metal. His testing of the product determines that UBC only really needs to be applied ONCE, unless you feel like doing a refresher later on down the road. One kit has enough in it to do several rifle bores, a good bang for the buck.

Lotsa benifits, and yes Doug Burche is a goodfriend of mine...............

statjunk

You state that butches bore shine is good for copper but what should I use to clean out the lead from the cast bullets?

Are there any foams out there that will knock it out?

Thanks

Tom

Rifle Loony

Never used Butch's....Barnes CR10, and Sweets.

Barne's stuff winshands down for copper.

Never had a lead problem beyond a neglected.22 rimfire, and all that takes is two beers worth of a wire brush and any handy solvent......

Gas Checks, and good lubealways helped me out in that regard, regarding CF's....

Maybe the Lead Foul Out system is something to look into?

Badly leaded pistols, and probably rifles,can be cleaned out with a lead remover, basically a bronze screen thing that scrapes it out.....

HEAD0001

Basically what you do not want to do is shoot cast and jacketed bullets in the same rifle. If you shoot one, then you need to completely clean the other out of the bore. I use Butch's, Sweet's, and Barnes cleaner. I will never put a brush in my barrels. I simply apply the cleaner, let it soak in and patch it out with a tight fitting jag and patch. Then I repeat until clean. Pretty simple procedure. If the bore is really fouled bad I will use the Sweet's, that is some tough stuff. Let it soak for a minute or two. But do not let it set too long, and make sure you get it all out of the barrel. Cleaning a lever action is no big deal. Just take the bolt out. If you do not know how to do that-well it is simple. Just go to the Marlin Forum and they have illustrated step by step procedureon how totake the bolt out.

Thispro to casting your own bullets is simple. I pick up a bucket of WW at the tire store. I can shoot 500 rounds of 45-70 for $100. that is pretty simple. The bullets shoot well if you do your part. And they perform well on game. The con-well I can not think of any?? Maybe the fact that you will have so much fun shooting them that you will have to buy more powder and primers.

As far as amount of fouling. The amount of fouling is inherent to your rifle and the bullet and load you pick. But it is also closely tied to the proper sizing of the bullet.

As far as a coating inside of a barrel?? Well I have no personal experience with these coatings. But I have been reading a few good reports on certain coatings to make the bore more "slick". Tom.

[email protected]

Get some of those brass scrub pads like used for cleaning pots and pans, unwrap them and cut into strips that will wrap around a worn bore brush. Adjust the size untill they fit snuggly in your bore, simply scrub back and forth a few times and you will be amaized at how wellit works.
By all means do not use the stainless steel pads as they will ruin your bore quickly.
I got this receipt from Marshal Stanton of Beartoothbullets.com. He also offers a booklet that will help anyone wanting to maxiumize their enjoyment of shooting lead bullets, I recomend it as a must read. Glenn