Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Checking for rifle barrel leading

With great respect Mickey:

I understand salt, water and fingerprint sweat is softer than barrel steel as well.

Its not the abrasion or wear that steel wool can cause (I agree with you, it isn't appreciable inside a barrel, but it can and does easily scratch blueing on the outside), but if I felt the need to use steel wool, I'd also feel the need to oil the snot out of everything immediately!

Steel wool dust and fibers attract a pile of moisture and can rust quickly, because its pretty cheap steel matter.

I don't see the need when better options are out there. Perhaps living in a humid area, I've seen steel wool still in the package with some rust. Using it (not on a gun) looked like going down an Alabama road

I must live in a dry part of Alabama (like one of those exists!) but I've never run into a problem. Now, admittedly, I don't leave steel wool in the barrel inside a cabinet set up for rust bluing so that may be the reason. If you scrub a barrel with steel wool and J-B and then patch the barrel out as you normally would why would you expect, much less find rust in the barrel?

The Alabama road reference was the color of the road dust(grins)! We don't have that shade here.

You could make the same argument in using corrosive primers or anything else that attracts moisture, but WHY would you, especially when there is no need?

I realize folks have been doing this for years and its no business of mine what they do with their stuff, but leading a barrel up and "fixing" it with steel wool is horse after the cart.

(I take it you've seen some "rust bluing art"?