Dang .38 special rings in my GP-100!!!!

[rhatimi]

Allright I made two mistakes, I shot .38 specials out of my Ruger GP-100 .357 mag! Normally this should not be a big deal. Thats where I made my second mistake of using Winchester "White Box" .38 special ammo. This stuff is horrible! I have spent the last three hours cleaning the barrel and chambers with Hoppe's 9 bore solvent, Break Free CLP, and running lead-away cloth through the barrel/chambers to get rid of the tar like byproduct of the burnt powder. I got the barrel pretty well cleaned as well as the forcing cone (which had a solid layer of fouling inside and out!). However despite all my efforts I can't get rid of the darnd burn rings inside the chambers. The rings are composed of small granulated fouling agent from the fired cartrages, and will not budge with the cleaning methods mentioned above.

What do you guys suggest?
Thanks.

 

[pisgah]

Are you sure you're not just seeing the "shoulders" at the fronts of the chambers? There's not a chance you have residue left in there, assuming you've cleaned the way you've described.

 

[Stiofan]

Personally I suggest not worrying about it. My GP100 Stainless is now about 24 years old. It still shoots great. I've never shot too much .38 but sure there are rings in there, and I don't even think about them. Doesn't affect performance and I can't see them from the outside anyway.

As long as you've cleaned it up well you should be fine.

 

[Skalkaho Slim]

Chuck up a .40 caliber rifle brush in the Dewalt, swab the chambers with whatever you like and let 'er rip.

Not too fast though. ;)

Takes about 10 seconds.

 

[bub]

If you have any used .357 cases, just shove them into the chamber and Voila!, the case mouth scrapes out most, if not all, of the .38 "crud ring". Even better is, if you reload, SLIGHTLY bell the mouth of a .357 case until it fits the chamber tight, then shove it in. Works even better than oversized brass brushes!

Bub

 

[rhatimi]

Are you sure you're not just seeing the "shoulders" at the fronts of the chambers? There's not a chance you have residue left in there, assuming you've cleaned the way you've described.

Im sure its not the shoulders, The fouling starts right behind the shoulders of the chamber and smears around the inside creating a ring. The fouling is visible as grains of unburnt powder or residue.

 

[s4s4u]

Chuck up a .40 caliber rifle brush in the Dewalt, swab the chambers with whatever you like and let 'er rip.

Not too fast though. ;)

Takes about 10 seconds.

That's what I do, or did, I don't shoot 38's anymore. I load 357 brass down to 38 data.

 

[jimbo1096]

I'd say to drop a 357 round in the chamber and if it falls in completely and doesn't stick, I wouldn't worry about what I thought I was seeing. If you are really really particular, then the 40cal brush in a drill method will work fine. If it's still there after that, then it's not gonna come out. jm2c

 

[twobisquit]

I dont worry about it unless I have trouble chambering a .357. A couple strokes with a brush cures it. I shoot thousands of .38's through my .357s.

 

[GP100man]

Take 357 case & flare a little , just enuff to fit tite in the chamber , it`ll scrape it off & remember there is a bevel to transition from case dia. to bullet dia.

 

[surveyor47]

Sounds like you need a Lewis Lead Remover for the barrel.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=375/ ... ad_Remover

For the chambers, every now and then I chuck a 41 brush into my cordless drill and run it at low speed to get the 38 rings out. Break free on the brush seems to loosen the crud pretty quickly.

 

[J Miller]

You can also take a worn brush and wrap some copper scrubber around it and scrub it out that way.

Chore Boy is the brand most recommended, but make sure it's the copper version. There is a version made that looks copper but will attract a magnet.

Don't use solvent, in my experience it acts as a lube and just slides over the lead and fouling.

Joe

 

[DeletedMember275]

Clymer at least used to make what they called a 'Delead Reamer,' which was intended to resolve this very problem. Brownells used to carry them, but it appears they no longer do so. The Clymer website doesn't list them either, but that doesn't mean that they no longer make them.

I'd suggest giving Clymer a call or e-mail and inquire about one, if it really bothers you.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

You can clean the crud and carbon out with a brush and solvent but burnt marks are forever. aaaaah sorry about that, it's a gun.

The bloom is off the rose or something like that. :(

...Jimbo

 

[tomiswho]

I used to chuck a bore brush with a lead cloth patch wrapped around it for cleaning the cylinder of my .454 after shooting .45 Colt ammo. It got rid of the "rings" fast. Now I just down-load .454 cases with cowboy bullets, no more problem. My GP-100 sees mostly .38 Specials, and I've never had to do anything but normal cleaning - the .357's "snick" in the cylinder like they are supposed to.