My 1911A1 clone is fitted with a stainless steel Wilson Combat barrel. I shoot between 150 and 250 rounds every outting and clean my guns after every outting. I load my own ammo and usually load/shoot only total copper jacketed/plated but lately I've used some FMJ with exposed base. When I clean the barrel I run a few patches soaked with Hoppe's 9 on a jag (not a slotted eye tip) then a bronze brush thru it that gets the powder residue out but there are lead and copper color stripes still in the barrel. For that I use a foaming cleaner that appears to get the copper out. Looking down the breach end of the barrel with a pen light I can still see lead colored stripes in the corners where the lands meet the grooves. Then I'll run tight patches with ISSO on them back and fourth and the patch comes out black. Most of the barrel surface looks polished and shiney but still some lead gray stripes remain.
I spend a good amount of time cleaning and caring for my guns and never do a rush job.
Do you guys get all the lead & copper out? If so, How?
Do we need to get all the lead and copper out?

This past winter I removed the muzzel device from my stainless steel AR15 barrel then cleaned the barrel as usual with a bronze brush, Hoppe's 9 patches and ISSO. I remove all traces of ISSO with orange degreaser. Then I got the barrel bore real wet with Hoppes 9 and left it that way for 3 months. After the 3 months I ran a dry patch thru it that came out full of green guuk. I continues to run wet then dry patches thru it until clean. Now I think its clean. The type of bullets that I load for the AR do not have exposed bases so I figure there in no lead in the barrel.


Have you ever tried a 'Lead Cloth' cut into patches to clean your stainless steel barrel bore?
What do you like for removing lead traces from the barrel bore?

Thanks For Your Time
   -VonBarky-

Edit for spelling and punct.

Breakfree foaming bore cleaner will get all the crap out, it works really good.

First buy BRONZE bore brushes in bulk from Brownell's.
Bore brushes get "used up" fast by friction and the bore solvent.  When they start feeling loose, pitch them.  To make them last longer, wash the solvent off before putting them away.

To clean, use bore solvent and a good brush to make about 20 passes through the bore, then one or two soaked patches.  
Allow to soak for at least 30 minutes, then soak a clean patch and run it straight through the bore and out the end.  If the patch has blue or green stains, the bore is still copper fouled.  Allow to soak another 30 minutes or so and continue until a patch comes out without stains.

Some pointers:
"Pumping" a patch up and down a bore does nothing.  A patch is just to carry solvent in and out of the bore.
If you pump a patch up and down a bore it gets steel stains from friction.  Many people think this is fouling and complain that no matter how much they clean the bore is still fouled.

To remove lead, buy a Lewis Lead Remover kit from Brownell's.  This is a tool designed to remove leading WITHOUT damaging a bore.  It's been around since the 40's.
Watch the video too:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=21587&title=LEWIS%20LEAD%20REMOVER

After using the Lewis tool, brush the bore with a bore brush to remove the last remaining lead in the corners of the rifling.

Some shooters get SOLVENT PROOF tubing and make a long narrow tube that will hold an auto pistol barrel.  They brush out the bore and run one soaked patch to remove the filth, then put the barrel in the tube and fill it with Hoppe's Number 9 bore solvent and let soak overnight.
Pitch the used solvent.
Usually, this will remove any remaining copper fouling.

You can use patches made from a lead removal cloth, and they do a good job, but they still don't get the leading out of the corners of the rifling.  You still need to brush.

NEVER use stainless steel bore or chamber brushes.  These are for gunsmiths to use on bores and chambers so bad, you have nothing to lose.

Use a hobby paint and solvent transfer bulb or a large eyedropper to apply solvent to patches and brushes.   This prevents contaminating the bottle of solvent.

Do you know what dissolves Lead really well? Mercury! If you really want to remove all of the Lead from the barrel get some pour it into the bore and let it sit for a few minutes. Just make sure that you do this outdoors as some people consider the fumes highly toxic.

WTF, over?

I just use a regular bore solvent but what I said IS true!