next to my .45 RIA



So I only ran about 160 rounds through my little Colt 1911-22 yesterday (rapid mag dumps on steel) and started cleaning this morning. I got to the barrel and first thing I notice was the brass weight of my Boresnake would not even fit in the barrel. Big wtf moment, because every other time it drops straight through and one pull gives me a shiny like-new barrel. I looked down the barrel this time and it looked like a freaking sewer with a whole mess of crud obscuring virtually all of the rifling. I thought maybe it was carbon so I gave it a Hoppes treatment for 10 mins but it was as cruddy as ever (chunks in there too).

I'm freakin out at this point so I get my steel GI cleaning rod and brass brush and forcefully jam it down the barrel. Long story short it's stuck half way in there, then I use tremendous force and reverse direction of the brush and yank it out
All the brass bristles are coated in fine powdery metal so I'm thinking "please don't be shavings of my barrel or something", I hope its lead buildup, I have never seen such observable massive lead buildup like this if that is indeed the problem. This gun has never had an issue before.

The only difference in yesterday's shooting was I was blasting away with Winchester superX plated ammo 100 rd pack (you know the kind in the plastic red box?) I normally shot Remington Goldens thru it because it cycles those most reliably. & have always fired clean for me.

So I'm asking if any of y'all have ever had a problem like this? Can you diagnose what ails my favorite pistol? did I just ruin my barrel? Concerned


Btw: I'm letting this thing soak for hours in no.9 if need be to see if that fixes it, but something tells me it won't

Nah...not ruined...you just leaded the shit out of it...and it will take a month to clean it...

I did the same to a Chiappa 1911-22...first time out shooting with Winchester bulk-pack....and you know the rest......Same ammo left a bunch a lead in my Browning Buckmark...I gave that shit away(Free .22 ammo? Sure you can have the whole box dude)

Can maybe take a section of brass cleaning rod and poke some of the lead out. The just keep cleaning. If you don't get it all out it will lead back up quick.

Ah, months? hmmmm.

Is there a good product out there that will eat and dissolve the lead?

Or is it possible to shoot out the lead with more ammo??


How do you like that Chiappa? I considered one but it looked too crudely made and felt like a toy in my hand which is why I went with the "Colt" 22

NOOOOO....Don't shoot it anymore until you get the lead out!...Even if you get MOST of the lead out...the gun will start leading the bore again where there is still lead in the bore.

Best bet is some 'lead-away' patches...and a Lewis lead remover style device. I used a .17 caliber cleaning rod with some small brass screens from the hardware store. Cut the brass screens small enough that the .17 cal rod will push them through the bore with a tight fit. The brass screen will clean the lead out...and won't take a month(probably). Can try some various bore cleaners..may help...also the little stainless steel coiled bore brushes work well for scrubbing lead from handgun bores(and revolver chambers)..it you can find those style bore brushes

You know...I own the same Colt Government Model 22 pistol and have had no issues with leading. But like I mentioned..I certainly had issues with that one particular bulk box of Winchester ammo through a couple other .22 handguns.

The Chiappa...or 'Cheapa' as my son calls it...ain't too bad a plinker...but it certainly isn't the equal of the Colt/Walther/Umarex .22 pistol. Not all that accurate but good enough for plinking and practice. Not too bad for reliability with good ammo(CCI Mini-Mag)...The magazines are cheesy..the gun itself is pretty cheesy. I do like the Chiappa 1911-22 but I soon bought myself the Colt .22(and kept the Cheapa)

Remove barrel, .17 cal jag, some GOOD bore cleaner and chore boy copper wool [not the cheapo copper coated steel crap]will clean it out fast. I mean the lead will come out in chuinks. Find and buy some Lewis lead remover cloth or similar to finish up. It will take less time then you think. Spraying some Kroil down the bore and letting it sit a day or two will loosen up the lead.

A poorly finished rough .22 barrel will build up lead quickly, a quality one that has almost a polished appearance inside can go a long time with just a couple swipes down the barrel to swab out the loose carbon and shavings.

I bought a S&W 22 for a song that had a barrel like that. I guess it was a series of squib loads. Have fun cleaning it out. Nothing like 2 hours worth of hammering a ramrod through that shit, soaking and oiling.

Suggestion. If it is really bad, it might be quicker to thread a long screw into it then pull the crap out.

Prolly not ruined.  I let a ruger 22 go WAY to long between cleanings once.  Lead looked like a flower bud at the muzzle.
 Chuck the bbl in a vise and get scrubbing.

I'll bet a shiny new quarter that you were shooting Remington ammo - probably Thunderbolts.

They are getting a really bad reputation - I had to help someone get their S&W M&P-22 working again after shooting some of them. I put a length of cleaning rod in a vice, and forced a brush through the barrel. A piece of lead about 2 inches long that looked like a soda straw came out of the gun.

Good luck,
Bob S.

wrap the barrel in leather, mount in a vice, hit it with a blow torch.

Drippy drippy

I've shot hundreds of Remington's through this gun, it like them the best. If you had read my post you notice I was shooting red box Winchester SuperX for the first time and I suspect that is the culprit.


The problem with theColt 1911-22 is that the barrel is fixed to the frame, so I can't be too forceful with it.

The Colt barrel is removable...I've not removed mine...however the barrel is a built-up assembly that's sandwiched to the frame itself. I really don't see any need to remove the barrel to clean the lead from it. Just don't pound too hard or blow-torch it.....I can't say it's a good idea to clamp the barrel in a vise either...the barrel and it's cover/sleeve is pretty thin looking...

Can't say I've ever had that issue with any of my 22s, but using a  "blow-torch" or "pounding something through the barrel" are reasons I don't buy used guns.

somebody sold me a 10/22 with some leading....

I sacrificed a couple rods tapping the lead out.

I'm getting the flakes out little by little with cleaning rods, I may try that copper wool suggestion I read about, then perhaps onto some lead remover. Thanks to all members here, you have been so  helpful

Seriously..Bebop down to the store and get a .17 cal cleaning kit..then off to the hardware store for some brass screen/screens(or the 'chore-boy' pads like I can never find..)....figure out how large a chunk of screen you can push through the bore....push some brass screen through...and then push it through again and again...graduating to larger hunks of screen as needed. This will clean it out fairly quick

My Eaa was leaded up pretty bad and a brush was doing squat so i uses a piece of one of these and voila.

Couldn't find chore boy anywhere, but ace hardware had bronze wool. I used that and it got all of the lead fouling out of my barrel, shines like a mirror now. Those were some scary few days.

KROIL is pretty good at getting between the lead and the barrel. I wouldn't soak the entire gun but if you can rig it so the barrel is soaking in KROIL for a couple days, it should be much easier to remove the lead.

I have the same gun as you and have had the same problem. Looks like chunks of lead fouling the barrel. Don't know if it is the ammo that I shot through it or what? I was shooting Hi Velocity Winchester. Just have to clean it good after shooting it.