leading problem/smooth bore

[jim m]

cleaned my smoothbore today after hunting [ fired two shots]. load was 70grns 3f, 4 over shot cards, equal volume of #4 shot, 1 over shot card. barrel is jug choked, and I get an excelent pattern with this load. the problem is when I cleaned today I noticed a large amount of lead on the patches. never noticed this before. with the amount of lead I'm thinking it was a build up. finished cleaning the wraped steel wool around jag and polished the bore. any ideas as to what could have caused the lead build up. I've shot less than 20 rounds thru this gun

[Dphariss]

I would go to a slower powder. FFG.
FFFG may be accelerating the charge too fast and increasing the pressure on the shot against the barrel.

Dan

[Daryl]

I concurr on the powder choice and your use of 0000 is about the best for removing lead.  After water washing, try dry brushing with 0000 wool, tip the gun down and tap the breech with a starter knob. Then wet brush with a PB solvent with 0000 wool and patch out the bore, re-oil and you're done.

[arcticap]

Could the residue be caused by the graphite that's used to coat the powder and some brands of shot?
Although it may look like lead residue, maybe it's not.
Are there silver particles on the patch or is the patch simply gray?
If it is lead then maybe the shot is too soft.

For instance, Lawrence Brand chilled shot advertises that it's coated with graphite.

Highly polished, uniformly round, accurately sized and consistently dense. Graphite coated. Choose from shot sizes 4, 5, 6, 7-1/2, 8 or 9. Comes in 25 lb bags

http://www.gamaliel.com/cart/product.php?productid=3386&cat=402&page=1

[jim m]

shot the 20ga today, and used 2f. cleaned up great with no leading. guess the 3f was just a little to hot. getting older and slower but still learn once in a while. ya know even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while, and this old hog is blind in one eye and cain't see out of the other

[wwpete52]

I use to cast round balls for my smoothbores using wheel weight lead. It harder and I don't think that it's bad using them since it's a smoothbore.

[Daryl]

WW's work great in smoothies and in shallow grooved, long twist rifle barrels of .58 and larger.