Mark 1

gabby · Post by **gabby** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:05 am

Toy,
I remember reading your post about the S&W 22 awhile ago.
I am putting an order into Brownell's right now to get the Lewis Lead Remover.
Thanks Bullseye.
One thing I did start to notice before the gun started shooting eraticaly was a lot of smoke coming out of the barrel. There were three of us shooting our variuos rimfires and all using Thundrbolts. We all had a slight sore throat at the end of the evening.
This is an indoor range with ventilaton.

gabby · Post by **gabby** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:25 am

Problem...
I called Brownell's and talked to a tech guy.
He said Lewis doesn't make a system for 22's.
He recommendid a couple things.
-An Outters Foul Out System ($131.00-ouch)
-Shooters Choice Bore Cleaner using a heavy bore brush (084122022)
-Bore Tech Cleaner using a heavy bore brush
I put a call into Ruger but they weren't open.
What now???

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:23 am

I see that now when I went to the Brownells site. They bought Lewis product line in 2003 and they may have dropped the 22 sized kit. I have used them in the past on some 22 target rifles but that was a long time ago. Since you have a stainless Mark III another product you can try is the Kleenbore lead-away cloth. It has a chemical treatment on it to remove lead. You can cut off 22 sized pieces and run them through the barrel with a cleaning rod and Jag. Be sure to thoroughlly clean out the barrel with solvent, like Hoppes #9, after using this product or corrosion can form if the metal is exposed to moisture.

The chemical compound on the Kleenbore cloth will quickly remove bluing, so using this product on blued pistols requires some care and quick swabbing with a solvent rag if it gets on the pistol's finish.

R,
Bullseye

gabby · Post by **gabby** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 2:17 pm

Here is a photo of a hunk of lead (next to a 22) that I pulled out of the Mark 3 barrel.
I ran a soaked rag of Hoppes #9 through the bore (rod wouldn't even go through the barrel all the way).
Let it soak for a few minutes while I cleaned my Mark 1 then put a brass brush on the rod and in one pull got this hunk.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:44 pm

Well, there's your problem right there...

Looks like you've found the source of those keyholes. Keep scrubbing and using the solvent, you'll get it all cleaned up.

R,
Bullseye

gabby · Post by **gabby** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:28 pm

I think I got it cleaned out now.
All I had was Hoppe's but it seemed to do the trick with time.
Do you think this was from one bullet or it started to build up and just got worse with more shooting?
Is this a common occurance with rimfire and or Thunderbolts?
Do you think this has hurt the new barrel on the Mark 3?
I have read a lot on cleaning chemicals and methods since this happened and will now also look into maybe using Bore Tech (rimfire solvent) or Shooters Choice (lead remover) in the future. These are both designed to remove lead more so than Hoppes.
Also have learned about Kroil, RB-17 and JB Bore Compound.
I don't want to take this too far but it really isn't too involved using any of these. Just one or two more steps.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:50 pm

That build up accrued over the shooting period. As the lead built up the bullets were being squeezed to a smaller diameter. The smaller diameter cause them to bounce down the barrel and tumble through the sky, kind of like a musket ball.

Thunderbolts have a bad reputation for exactly the kind of build-up you experienced. Your barrel's fine, the bullets were being deformed.

R,
Bullseye