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mjoplin wrote:Mr Frog, I will definitely try your cleaning methodology. That barrel looks great!

If you use Copper Chore-boy, make you use that brand only. Cheap imitations are steel with a copper wash coat and are hard on a barrel. Make sure you get the copper one only.

Also, I rarely use Flitz to polish the barrel. Since it is a polish, it thus has mild abrasive qualities. I am not saying it will make the bore larger, I am simply saying that I avoid overusing it.

LTUME1978 wrote:BTW Frog, that barrel is REALLY clean. What do you use to get it that nice looking? Looks like an M&P barrel?

That is a Para Ordnance 14-45 barrel.

I used copper chore boy over a bronze brush to get the lead scrubbed out with good old Hoppes. Then, for that picture (not every cleaning), I also ran some patches with Flitz through the bore.

The Lee FCD has a carbide sizing ring to post-size the loaded round and make sure it chambers. Works just fine for jacketed rounds.

However, brass is elastic compared to lead. The FCD has to size the case slightly smaller than standard case size because the brass will "spring back" slightly and end of the standard size. However, the lead does not spring back -- when it is sized smaller, it remains smaller while the case returns to spec. Now you have slightly undersized bullets. An undersized bullet will creating leading because the combustion gases will escape around the outside of the bullet instead of getting sealed.

Don't take my word for it. Built some cartridges using the regular seating/crimping die. Built some with the FCD. Pull the bullets in both and measure the diameter.

This shows what happened shooting lead bullets that were 0.450" in one of my guns. Shooting 0.452" bullets gives no leading.




After cleaning . . . .

Andy has said about everything I would have. Just wanted to add don't use the Lee Factory Crimp die for lead rounds. Use your ordinary seating/crimping die to do both at once. The Lee FCD can potentially contribute to leading issues.

The single largest seller of lead bullets across all calibers is the 200 gr LSWC design. Millions and millions have been sold for decades. A round nose design is a good way to get started, but I'd suggest trying 50 or so of the LSWC as well to see how your gun likes them.