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Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 22 Mar 2015 08:52
by Ranch Dog
I don't clean my barrels much at all once I have my Aloxed bullets spitting out of them but sometimes during load development I have a mess that needs to be cleaned. I started using Shooter's Choice Lead Remover and it seemed like it was working better than anything that I have tried to date but I didn't not have a real measure on its effectiveness other than a "I think so."

It was a heavy rain day yesterday so I was cleaning up some tools in my reloading room and came across a file I use with cast bullets that I'm going to measure the BHN on. The LBT tester needs a very flat base for accuracy in the measure and I use one particular file to achieve that. There was no longer any "rasp" to the file, it was slick with lead. I started to use a bronze brush and quickly realized that the task would take all day. Then I thought about a test of the Shooter's Choice product. I swabbed some on the liquid on the face of the file and let it sit. The lead immediately started to dissolve so after near three minutes I started on it with the bronze brush. The lead simply curled up and flaked off. Within another three minutes there was no lead on the file or brush. It was just a wet residue on the wax paper which I flushed off the file with WD-40. Crazy performance!

Here are some pictures, the only mistake was not taking a before picture but honestly I didn't think anything would work like this.

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Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 22 Mar 2015 22:19
by Archer
Good to know.

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 23 Mar 2015 14:11
by akuser47
Awesome really effective

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 23 Mar 2015 15:36
by ole single shooter
Very impressive and practical test. I'll be on the hunt for this product.

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 25 Mar 2015 22:16
by Moon Tree
I have a file in the same condition. I will be shopping for this product. Thanks RD

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 04:51
by Archer
Bud who owns the shop has a friend who's helped him out who happened to have a little problem with a .40 S&W barrel that his son shot range lead rounds out of and leaded the heck out of the barrel.
Bud says 'just take it by the shop and tell the guys I said to clean it for you.'
So I end up pitching in as the day was a little slow.
NASTY! Shop didn't really have a lead remover chemical and didn't have a Lewis tool so I ended up scrubbing with a brush and using the solvent they did have and running a mild steel pick down the grooves and getting chunks of metal out of the barrel. The guy claimed he'd already spent a couple hours at it and I was still getting flecks and chips out the size of grains of Unique.

Had one of the guys order the Shooter's Choice Lead Remover.
I got a bottle, he got a bottle, the shop got a bottle and the forth one went on the shelf for sale.

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 25 Nov 2016 08:22
by Ranch Dog
Recently there was a topic for lead removal where I recommended this product, I think Archer did as well, and I wanted to post some cleaning results that took place that day but I could not find the topic. So instead, I returned to this older topic.

I'd been trying to work with my Rem 722 with cast bullets and not seeing much success. Kind of what I expected as I've been through this for years with different rifles in this cartridge. I think it is perhaps the toughest cartridge I've ever attempted to set up with lead.

The rifle in question had at least a .0015" coating of lead in the barrel. It took seven patches to clean it down to bare metal.

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I wrap a patch around the appropriate brush, soak it in Shooter's Choice, and then swab the barrel with it. Back in forth slowly. Patch #1 really doesn't indicated the level of cleaning that takes place with this saturated patch. Need need something on the floor to absorb the liquid metal that is going to flow out of the barrel. You also want to make sure the muzzle is pointing down so that this liquid doesn't run back into the action or it will need to be cleaned out.

I just keep working that first patch until stuff stops flowing out. Patch #2 did a little clean but there wasn't a whole lot left. The patch is yellow in color, that is the color of the product. It saturated the barrel with the liquid again which I then let sit for a couple of minutes but don't let it dry. Patch #3 picked up the stuff left behind from the first patch. Patch #4 saturated the bore again but produced indicated little left behind so I left it for a couple of minutes and then ran patch #5 through. It was done. Patches #6 & #7 are just cleaning the product out of the barrel.

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 26 Nov 2016 20:19
by Clutch80
Did you wrap the patch around the bore brush for all passes or just those with the first patch? I've got a 30-30 that I'm trying to clean out for my brother-in-law and this may be the answer.

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 27 Nov 2016 07:07
by Ranch Dog
Clutch80 wrote:Did you wrap the patch around the bore brush for all passes or just those with the first patch?
Morning Clutch. I have a patch on the bore brush for all my cleaning.

Re: Shooter's Choice Lead Remover

Posted: 27 Nov 2016 11:58
by Archer
I've wrapped the brush as RD does on occasion. It's one of the few things I find the Hoppe's nylon brushes to be good for. (Also one of the few places their tornado brushes will do anything useful at all.)

I usually prefer to run a jag with a tight patch. Midway sells a jag set that works well for me.
I typically try to run bronze or brass brushes through the bore bare since running a patch over them seems to squash them down and they don't usually spring back very well.

Getting lead out is a bit different from cleaning out copper or powder fouling though.
One of the things I like about the Shooter's Choice product is that it minimizes the potential for unwanted lapping or damaging the crown with the cleaning tools.