Skout Barrel Collecting Lead

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Bodacious

Bodacious

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Jan 4, 2022
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I have a 35” Skout Epoch in .22 cal. With the pellet barrel.
Shooting JTS 22.07 off bench. Accuracy can be stellar out to 100 yards when the barrel is in its happily seasoned state. However it only shoots fantastic for 40-50 shoots before the barrel collects large amounts of lead, mostly within the first 10” near the breech end.
I understand that JTS pellets may flake more than JSB and other brands. I’ve tried 25.39’s in both JSb and JTS and neither are as accurate as the 22.07’s, tested at 875-1050 fps.

The biggest inconvenience is that once the heavy leads deposits are removed, it may take 16-30 shots before the barrel is back to superb accuracy , only to fall off again. I’m hoping to get a few tins of JSB 20.83’s this week to test with.

I easily have 7000 rounds through this rifle, so I’m familiar with this Skout.

My question is basically what products remove lead in this new barrel the best?
Also I find it best to clean before accuracy falls off too far, it seems to recover from the cleaning quicker.

I talked to Skout and they recommend Premium Quality Starting Fluid.

I’ve used Balistol, Super OCG, Starting Fluid, Brake Cleaner, and Birchwood/Casey Gun Scrubber.

I really think that a bore cleaner like Shooters Choice or similar might brake the lead up quicker. But I really need to go after a repair for the cause rather than repair the effect.

Hoping to hear your suggestions and solutions.

Thank you.
 
I am going to watch this with interest…….

My Epoch will arrive tomorrow. They told me about the Premium Starting Fluid for cleaning the barrel as well as silicone spray for the pellets for lubrication purposes.. I personally am NOT going to spray the pellets directly with the silicone, but rather spray a flannel cloth and then roll the pellets on the cloth and return to the tin. You may already be doing this. IF not, it may be worth a go.

I any event, good luck with the leading And removal.
RK
 
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6 or so years ago I had a gun (standard Lothar barrel) that loved Crosman Premier pellets. Premiers are very similar in hardness to the JTS lead formula. Prior to the Premiers it did pretty good with JSB pellets. So I shot it for about two years, solely with the premiers. And in a similar fashion to yours, it required the proper amount of seasoning but would also lead up and then accuracy would stop south.

I eventually ran out of of those Premiers and could never get the barrel to shoot JSB lead very well again.

I'm NOT a fan of hard lead pellets like the JTS and old CPs. From my limited experience they tend to foul up barrels and make a barrel very hard to switch to a different lead composition pellet. The only thing going for hard lead pellets is that they withstand the rigors of shipping quite well.

As for your Skout barrel.....if it was a normal steel barrel I'd recommend lapping the snot out of it to try to smooth it up enough to minimize the leading up. BUT I understand the Skout barrels are aluminum, with a tougher coating in the bore itself ......as such I wouldnt recommend very aggressive lapping.....
 
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Bodacious said:
I have a 35” Skout Epoch in .22 cal. With the pellet barrel.
Shooting JTS 22.07 off bench. Accuracy can be stellar out to 100 yards when the barrel is in its happily seasoned state. However it only shoots fantastic for 40-50 shoots before the barrel collects large amounts of lead, mostly within the first 10” near the breech end.
I understand that JTS pellets may flake more than JSB and other brands. I’ve tried 25.39’s in both JSb and JTS and neither are as accurate as the 22.07’s, tested at 875-1050 fps.

The biggest inconvenience is that once the heavy leads deposits are removed, it may take 16-30 shots before the barrel is back to superb accuracy , only to fall off again. I’m hoping to get a few tins of JSB 20.83’s this week to test with.

I easily have 7000 rounds through this rifle, so I’m familiar with this Skout.

My question is basically what products remove lead in this new barrel the best?
Also I find it best to clean before accuracy falls off too far, it seems to recover from the cleaning quicker.

I talked to Skout and they recommend Premium Quality Starting Fluid.

I’ve used Balistol, Super OCG, Starting Fluid, Brake Cleaner, and Birchwood/Casey Gun Scrubber.

I really think that a bore cleaner like Shooters Choice or similar might brake the lead up quicker. But I really need to go after a repair for the cause rather than repair the effect.

Hoping to hear your suggestions and solutions.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Couple of questions,
How are you cleaning the barrel presently? Pull through?
Are we talking about the shiny silver bits or the black graphite powder?
If you are using a pull through patch, are the patches getting cut up or torn?

I think you are right to get into a routine of cleaning your barrel before you notice any falloff in accuracy.
As far as lubing the pellets, just spray a little on the foam that comes in the pellet tin

In the past, i have used solvents to remove the lead from the barrel, but most of the rifle tuners disagree. They will use a CLP(clean,lube,protect) like balistol.
For a bore polish, i used Simichrome..safe for aluminium ..edit
 
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thumper said:
Aren't these barrels coated internally with some moly type stuff?

A friend of mine has one that I worked on and he mentioned it, but I never inspected the bore close enough to see.
Click to expand...
Yes , the coating is not really a coating, it is mixed with the alloys as I understand it. Skout says it will not wear off. I looked at mine through a bore camera, it has kind of a refrigerator pebbled finish throughout the barrel. The Lead collects near the inlet of the breech (about the first 8-10" as I see it.
 
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Roadking said:
I am going to watch this with interest…….

My Epoch will arrive tomorrow. They told me about the Premium Starting Fluid for cleaning the barrel as well as silicone spray for the pellets for lubrication purposes.. I personally am NOT going to spray the pellets directly with the silicone, but rather spray a flannel cloth and then roll the pellets on the cloth and return to the tin. You may already be doing this. IF not, it may be worth a go.

I any event, good luck with the leading And removal.
RK
Click to expand...
They did not mention the the silicone treatment to me. Are you using a spray type silicone or liquid. What brand did they recommend?
 
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manabeknives said:
Couple of questions,
How are you cleaning the barrel presently? Pull through?
Are we talking about the shiny silver bits or the black graphite powder?
If you are using a pull through patch, are the patches getting cut up or torn?

I think you are right to get into a routine of cleaning your barrel before you notice any falloff in accuracy.
As far as lubing the pellets, just spray a little on the foam that comes in the pellet tin

In the past, i have used solvents to remove the lead from the barrel, but most of the rifle tuners disagree. They will use a CLP(clean,lube,protect) like balistol.
For a bore polish, i used Simichrome..safe for aluminium ..edit
Click to expand...
Patchworm pull throughs, also removing the barrel for deep cleaning and using a nylon brush entering from the breech end in the bad areas. I also have polished the barrel to see if that would help with bore paste using multiple .22 mops in the process. It will pull sometimes solid lead shavings or flakes at times.....balistol seems to do the best for the dark graphite residue.
I don't mind cleaning it as much as I hate when it takes 20 plus shots to get the barrel leaded back in for superb consistency.
 
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Bodacious said:
They did not mention the the silicone treatment to me. Are you using a spray type silicone or liquid. What brand did they recommend?
Click to expand...
They sent me a photograph of what the fella was using. It is Liquid Wrench Silicone spray Black and Red aerosol can.

9C91B528-0274-4746-B625-F12ACDC5B551.jpeg
 
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Something is too sharp if you are getting shavings.
I'd go back to doing another bore polish in a progressive manner..do 50-100 strokes 1/3 barrel-50-100 2/3- 50-100 full
Follow it up by waxing the bore as described by Motorhead ..repeat the waxing
edit
the thing that is bugging me is the barrel is aluminium, it will not hold an edge like steel, and you have over 7k of rounds through the barrel. i wonder what is shaving the lead?
 
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Bodacious said:
Patchworm pull throughs, also removing the barrel for deep cleaning and using a nylon brush entering from the breech end in the bad areas. I also have polished the barrel to see if that would help with bore paste using multiple .22 mops in the process. It will pull sometimes solid lead shavings or flakes at times.....balistol seems to do the best for the dark graphite residue.
I don't mind cleaning it as much as I hate when it takes 20 plus shots to get the barrel leaded back in for superb consistency.
Click to expand...
I don't know what kind of bore paste you are using, but it sounds like you might need to try something a little more abrasive. Since the issue is persistent in the same area of the bore, you are probably getting the lead out, but the problem in the metal surface remains. You have shot it enough to prove that it isn't a matter of breaking in. Fixing a metal problem in the bore is difficult, sometimes not feasible. I don't think you will do any harm with a more aggressive polishing, maybe followed by wax. Ultimately, the decision might be, do you like the barrel enough to keep it?
 
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manabeknives said:
Something is too sharp if you are getting shavings.
I'd go back to doing another bore polish in a progressive manner..do 50-100 strokes 1/3 barrel-50-100 2/3- 50-100 full
Follow it up by waxing the bore as described by Motorhead ..repeat the waxing
edit
the thing that is bugging me is the barrel is aluminium, it will not hold an edge like steel, and you have over 7k of rounds through the barrel. i wonder what is shaving the lead?
Click to expand...
I have to agree with what you are thinking. WHAT and WHERE are the shavings being manifested. The aluminum barrel has attributes that don’t apply to a steel barrel.

ALso, Skout is very proactive with any problems. I think the OP should contact them. Just my 2cents.
RK
 
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thumper said:
Might be asking the obvious here, and I may have missed it/misunderstood, but have you tried lubing your pellets?

I found it to be beneficial in most of my guns.

White Lightnin' bicycle chain lube is my preference.
Click to expand...
This new barrel does not like lubed pellets IMO, I’be tried a couple of pellet lube aids that have helped me in the past with different rifle barrels.
I am going to try the suggested silicon spray that was posted by another helpful member and recommend by Skout.
 
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