How often do you clean lever gun after shooting lead bullets?

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Floralys

Well-Known Member
Hi!
I am curious on your thoughts about how often you should clean lever gun after shooting sessions, using lead bullets (not pure lead, alloy lead).

The reason I am asking is that I was told that the dirtier the gun, the better it will cycle ( in my case Marlin 1894 model 44mag, shooting mainly indoors range so downloaded ammo ).

And lead fouling is not easy to achieve as long as you are not using some dodgy lead bullets that would melt in the barrel.

Now I do clean my rifles after use regardless but it got me thinking that maybe excessive cleaning would be hurting the rifle.

Thank you!
 
I've a marlin in 45-70 shooting lead I personally have never left it for ages but I can't see it been detrimental from a corrosion perspective.
The only thing I have thought is the rifling is very fine, perhaps that could fill up with lead and basically become a musket.
The main problem I've found is inside the mag tube going rusty and it not feeding correctly.
 
If them bullets are lubed adequately with a good lube you won't need to clean the barrel like you don't clean your 22!
If you are cranking up the lead loads add a fire wall like card discs stamped from corn flakes box's or pop cans.
Oiling a mag tube regularly is a must.
 
Smellydog said:
If them bullets are lubed adequately with a good lube you won't need to clean the barrel like you don't clean your 22!
If you are cranking up the lead loads add a fire wall like card discs stamped from corn flakes box's or pop cans.
Oiling a mag tube regularly is a must.
Click to expand...
Adding a firewall? Like copper gas checks but with cardboard? Huh that’s something I should try that, thanks!

Also how would you normally oil magazine tubes? Do I need to take it apart, and use oiled patch to lubricate it? Or just adding a bit of oil on follower?
 
Floralys said:
Adding a firewall? Like copper gas checks but with cardboard? Huh that’s something I should try that, thanks!

Also how would you normally oil magazine tubes? Do I need to take it apart, and use oiled patch to lubricate it? Or just adding a bit of oil on follower?
Click to expand...
Just add it to the tube any way you can . If it's gotten rusty it ought to come off and be cleaned up.
Yeah, add a disc to the back of the bullet but make sure if the case is not full it stays on the bullet.
Some guys make what they call grease cookies. They melt a bees wax and add olive oil so it still sets stiff.
They paint the melt onto grease proof paper and put another sheet on top. Once set they stamp little wads that upon firing add more lube to the back of the bullet to resist leading.

For gallery rifle it may not be required at all.
 
I think if the lead is of sufficient hardness for the velocity it will be driven at and the bullet is sized and matched to the bore then leading as such shouldn't be a problem. Assuming that the bore is good. Certainly I never got leading in my Winchester 94 in .44 Magnum firing "GM Bullets" brand hard cast bullets at just over 1,000fps velocity with a charge of Green Dot. Which was good as the Winchester was a PITA to strip down for cleaning from the breech end so it only got cleaned infrequently and that from the muzzle end.
 
Smellydog said:
Just add it to the tube any way you can . If it's gotten rusty it ought to come off and be cleaned up.
Yeah, add a disc to the back of the bullet but make sure if the case is not full it stays on the bullet.
Some guys make what they call grease cookies. They melt a bees wax and add olive oil so it still sets stiff.
They paint the melt onto grease proof paper and put another sheet on top. Once set they stamp little wads that upon firing add more lube to the back of the bullet to resist leading.

For gallery rifle it may not be required at all.
Click to expand...
Cheers! didn’t know that!
 
When I was regularly shooting gallery rifle and shooting 2-300 rounds of cast bullets a week I would clean my Marlins every month. Barrel leading wasn't really a problem it was mainly to clean any crud out of the action to ensure smooth operation and to very lightly lubricate. Once or perhaps twice a year I would give them a thorough clean which included running a brush down the magazine tube. I can't say that I've ever heard of anyone having any issues with rust inside the magazine tube before. That rifle must have had one hell of a soaking at one time. I would never think of oiling the inside of the magazine tube other than the very merest wipe with an oily patch on a jag and wiping over the magazine spring.

While I am familiar with copper gas checks and even paper patching I've never heard of paper cookies being used in this way before. It sounds more like something associated with muzzle loading guns. Most competitive gallery rifle shooters use cast bullets but there are a few who compete at national level who use swaged gas checked bullets.

I can't agree with the advice about "the dirtier the carbine is the better it will cycle".
 
Of interest...
In the link below check the comments by Ed Harris. He describes a soft gas check etc.

Gas Check Alternatives

I remember reading about some device that allowed you to punch out gas checks from aluminum drink cans - I think it
forum.castbulletassoc.org forum.castbulletassoc.org
 
I use a pull through in all my lever actions but wipe out the actions with cotton buds that my missus buys for the bathroom
 
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