Thunderbolts = leaded barrel.

[DocAitch]

Nobody's tried dipping that nasty ammo in Liquid Alox? (see third post). It really works well.
Severe leading with key holing with Rem Target 22

Bore lead poked out with aluminum cleaning rod, then brushed with bronze brush and Kroil

Dipping in liquid Alox. I hung these to dry but realize that they would have been less goopy if I let them dry resting on a paper towel.(The only Alox needed is in the shank of the bullet)

300 treated rounds with no leading, same Ruger Mark II (which had many K rds prior to this ammo)

DocAitch

 

[Mark K]

Nobody's tried dipping that nasty ammo in Liquid Alox? (see third post). It really works well.

Not being a reloader, I'd never heard of Alox. Might be worth a try. I see it available from Brownell's. Anywhere locally?

Besides the 500+ rounds of Thunderbolts I still have, I also have 250 rounds of Blazer, 100 rounds of Remington Target, and 325 rounds of Federal Champion. Opinions on those?

 

[AntiGun]

Not being a reloader, I'd never heard of Alox. Might be worth a try. I see it available from Brownell's. Anywhere locally?

Besides the 500+ rounds of Thunderbolts I still have, I also have 250 rounds of Blazer, 100 rounds of Remington Target, and 325 rounds of Federal Champion. Opinions on those?

The others should be good to go. I prefer Federal but it's hard to picky about 22 today. I have a few bricks of golden bullets that are working just fine aside from the golden spray they leave behind.

 

[DocAitch]

I've had no problems with Blazer or Federal Champion, but the ammo shown above is Remington Target.
I bought my Alox from Midway (case). I don't know who has it locally.
DocAitch

 

[Mark K]

the ammo shown above is Remington Target.

Yeah, I'd noticed that when I did my "inventory" yesterday, and not with pleasure -- should have noted it. But just 100 rounds.

Good to hear your opinion on the other stuff.

I guess Alox is a lubricant used mostly for cast lead bullets? Thin enough (bore diameter-wise) not to cause issues?

 

[AntiGun]

I found this appropriate:
Natchez has you covered for Thunderbolts and the clean up.
500 Rounds of Remington Thunderbolt .22LR plus Outers 28pc. Cleaning Kit
$49.99

http://www.natchezss.com/product.cf...ce=pj&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=43737

Someone got a clue but did they include a hammer and chisel?

 

[DocAitch]

Alox

No problems with function in my Buck Mark or my Rugers,the coating is thin. The method that I used left a blob of Alox on the bullet tip, which goops up the magazines.
If you dip it and let it dry with the bullet tip resting on a paper towel (the Remington Target is packed with a plastic rack so I leave them in the rack and dip as illustrated), that shouldn't be a problem. I am going to do it that way for the last 500 rds or so.
It is really no big deal to clean the mags, however.
DocAitch

 

[Mark K]

OK, I just ordered a couple bottles of Alox from Midway.

I suppose I can use an old plastic 100-rd box with the "rack," fill the box up to bullet level with Alox, and dip a rack of rounds at a time. Absorbing the excess off the bullet tips on a paper towel as they dry.

Does that leave the rest of the Alox clean so it can be poured back into the bottle and re-used?

 

[DocAitch]

That is exactly the set I use( I gave up on the tinfoil).
I pour the left over Alox back into the bottle, there shouldn't be any problems.
DocAitch

 

[Mark K]

Well, I had the opportunity to go back to a range again yesterday; after dipping the Thunderbolt bullets in ALOX (in a makeshift foil tray), absorbing the excess on a paper towel, and letting everything dry. Same Colt/Walther 1911-22 whose bore it took me three days to clean out before.

Good part is, after 100 rounds, there was no lead fouling in the bore at all that I could see. Powder fouling, yes; but nothing that didn't come clean after a normal CLP bore brush and patch cleaning.

Bad part was, it was a 90-degree day, and the ALOX was really, really sticky -- almost gooey -- on the bullets. Not pleasant when loading mags.

But at least the Thunderbolts are usable now. I've got about 400 left. But no more after that, thank you.

 

[kmittleman]

So, you've never noticed that they're dirty, inconsistent, and seem to shoot sparks in the air from the unburned powder? :-P

X10. All of this and my Buckmark gets it's barrel clogged up after 50 rds. Oh and don't forget about all of the duds.

 

[Flametamer]

One of my boys checked out my old Remington 552 (my first gun from circa 1963) for a day's fun. He shot a brick of Remington Thunderbolts through it - well, almost a full brick - before he noticed problems. After 450 or so rounds, every shot was keyholing. He brought it back to me complaining, and I (safely) took a look down the barrel. Bright, shiny, but NO evidence of rifling. This thing is really, really leaded! A new .22 bore brush would not go down the pipe. No way... A rod barely fit in by itself. I don't see how a bullet could have run the pipe.

So, he has spent 30+ hours brushing the barrel with old brushes wrapped in chore boy pad and Rem 40-X cleaner. 4 chore boy's, 5 brushes, and 2 bottles of 40-X yielded lots and lots and lots of dense black gunk, and a new brush will now run through very, very tightly, but no rifling in sight yet. (Tornado brushes did nothing useful.) I chucked the rod into a drill and that increased the removal rate, but this is still taking a looooooong time.

I tried the 50-50 mix of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. Seems to work well dissolving the lead, but only takes a couple of molecules deep at a time. With this much lead, the chemical approach does not seem to be all that helpful... Not to mention the need to safely dispose of the lead acetate that comes out of the barrel...

Also made my own electronic cleaner - homemade Outers Foul Out - and ran that for a while. Instructions to do this are online in several forums. Lots and lots of gunk, but again, chemical treatments only act on the exposed outer layer of lead. A .22 barrel won't hold much chemical, so it is exhausted rather quickly. At least with the brushing, I can see scratches come and go with each succeeding inspection...

I remember my grandfather cleaning a heavily leaded black powder rifle with liquid mercury. Worked fast, very fast, and was very effective. I'd love to do this, but cannot locate any liquid mercury. I worked safely with it in my lab years ago, and am well aware of the health and environmental impact of Hg. (Played with it as a kid without problems, but that was probably dumb luck and occasional exposure.)

Anyone here have other ideas, or a line on some mercury?

This gun has always been a real tack-driver, and lots of fun to shoot. I won't give up on her, even if I have no other option than another hundred hours of scrubbing.

Larry

 

[Mark K]

Anyone here have other ideas

See my Post #57 above. Any way you can take the receiver off the stock, disassemble it further as much as you can, and find a large plastic container long enough to hold the barrel and receiver? You could tip the container at a 45-degree angle and lay the barrel upside-down along one side, then put in enough CLP to cover it. It would take a lot of CLP, but might still be do-able.

Like I said, for my 1911-22 barrel (granted, a fraction the length of yours), it took a 20-hour soaking in CLP, then some brass brush scrubbing, then another soak and more scrubbing. But it got it.

Over the weekend, I fired about 80 rounds of the ALOX-coated Thunderbolts out of my old Remington 581 bolt-action. First time the rifle had been fired in about 45 years. No fouling to speak of; bore cleaned up nicely with regular bore brush and swabs.

 

[rico903]

I found this appropriate:
Natchez has you covered for Thunderbolts and the clean up.
500 Rounds of Remington Thunderbolt .22LR plus Outers 28pc. Cleaning Kit
$49.99

http://www.natchezss.com/product.cf...ce=pj&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=43737

Someone got a clue but did they include a hammer and chisel?

Do yourself and your gun a favor and never use those 3 piece rods in them. Plenty of info on the web and rimfirecentral.com. And that sh*t combo Natchez is selling would never go in one of my guns. Bullets or rods.

 

[AntiGun]

Do yourself and your gun a favor and never use those 3 piece rods in them. Plenty of info on the web and rimfirecentral.com. And that sh*t combo Natchez is selling would never go in one of my guns. Bullets or rods.

Thunderbolts, never again.

I do use 3 piece rods(not Natchez), but only a single section as the barrel is short.

 

[AntiGun]

...
I remember my grandfather cleaning a heavily leaded black powder rifle with liquid mercury. Worked fast, very fast, and was very effective. I'd love to do this, but cannot locate any liquid mercury. I worked safely with it in my lab years ago, and am well aware of the health and environmental impact of Hg. (Played with it as a kid without problems, but that was probably dumb luck and occasional exposure.)

Anyone here have other ideas, or a line on some mercury?

Elemental mercury can be used carefully but the organometallic compounds are nasty. You probably already know that. I wouldn't do it at my house but would happily clean my bores with it in a controlled environment. I had 5 kilos of elemental mercury at my old lab and no one dropped dead but precautions are needed.
http://www.sciencecompany.com/Mercury-Metal-quicksilver-3X-Distilled-12lb-P16388.aspx $130 shipped for 1/2 lbs.
I'm not recommending it to anyone but it's there.
ETA:http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-smithing/193276-liquid-mercury-lead-removal.html

 

[Flametamer]

Thanks for all the great replies! Validates my decision to join the forum.
I generally prefer solvents for cleaning and lubricants for lube; I'm not a fan of the combination CLP products, although I do use CLP in the field. Mark K, your experience with CLP intrigues me (I somehow missed your #57 when reading through the thread earlier).
Based on the results posted at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdYWQfbC5Og, I wouldn't expect CLP to have a chemical advantage on lead. Possibly due to different manufacturers' CLP formulations, possibly due to penetrating under the lead...

Given the thickness of the lead I have, I no longer think that the chemical approach is viable. Hg is probably the best bet chemically, but $130 a half-pound is pretty steep (thanks AntiGun). Probably faster to switch back to Hoppes #9 and keep brushing. I think he's getting close....

Have not had any problem with the 3-piece rods, but will look into this as well. Thanks for your help!

 

[Pinecone]

The problem with 3 piece rods is, the joints are seldom exact. Leaving a ridge which can damage the barrel at the crown and the throat.

I would use the vinegar/peroxide method, and just get a container large enough for the barrel and slosh it every few minutes. But do NOT leave the barrel in for too long, it WILL attack steel after the lead is removed.

 

[Flametamer]

Thanks Pinecone. Another hour of brushing last night. Progress is slow....

 

[Pinecone]

Personally, I would cobble up something with a small pump and pump the solution through the barrel. This would also keep it off the exterior.