doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun powder accumulations in barrels during use

I think the culprit in the cone and just past the cone is lead.

The pellets are under great pressure, and leave a lead film almost like plating. Moisture trapped under and in along with the primer residue is what corrodes that area of the barrel.

I'm a big fan of a really stiff tight fitting bronze brush, rotary driven if necessary to get that lead out.

This crap about the barrel only being as dirty as the last shot is just that... crap. The lead builds up until removed. Easy to prove. Clean with just a Tico, or a pull through and put it away for a month. Now look just downstream from the forcing cone. Note the streaks of black. This is especially noticeable with a 410.

Yes, chrome is slicker and easier to clean. The lead does not stick to it as much.

The place plastic residue is found is in the choke cone.

Evidently you are referring to fibre wad loads, not plastic shot cup loads. Either that or, the loads you use have short cup petals.



I disagree, it also builds up in the chamber.

SRH

No, I use plastic wads like everyone else. They don't completely contain the shot charge, there is plenty of lead contact with the bore.

The pits Drew observes are in guns that could not have seen a plastic wad until the 1960's.

Undoubtedly the actual corrosion was caused by salts left behind by the older primers, but once a pit starts and gets covered over with a coating of lead it's hard to get clean. It's a little galvanic cell that keeps turning iron into oxides.

I did used to load 20 gauge spread loads with BPI X inserts and WWAA20 wads with the shot cups trimmed off so the X wad would fit. I didn't have a serious problem with them until I loaded a couple boxes for a friend with a Model 23. The lead was deposited in his barrels in sheets. The leading was so bad, I was afraid it would act as an obstruction. I no longer load those! That was 6% Sb Remington shot by the way, not some cheap crap.