I have been casting my own bullets for several years, and have had a little  but only a little success at keeping the leading under control.  Two years ago I started using uncooked Cream of Wheat cereal as a case filler, with some success.  But that's kind of a pain in the neck, adds complexity to the loading process, and doesn't always work e.g. for handgun loads.

I recently came across a great article on removing the lead in the bore once it's there:
http://www.gunreports.com/special_reports/accessories/Removing-Lead-Fouling189-1.html

It got me to thinking, so I finally splurged and bought one of those electronic lead & copper removing systems, in my case the Outers' Foul Out III.


Here is my recently-arrived system, hard at work cleaning a leaded-up XDM40 barrel sitting in a vice.  The system comes with everything you need to do your reverse electro-plating bore cleaning:
1) electrode rod and electrical cleaning unit
2) Cop-Out and Lead-Out copper and lead removal solutions
3) Bore plugs for sealing the bore to hold the cleaning solution, and o-rings to prevent the electrode from touching the barrel and shorting out the process.

The "cleaning" LED comes on when current is flowing and plating lead/copper onto the center electrode.  "Overload" LED comes on if too much accumulates on the center rod, prompting you to stop cleaning and wipe down the electrode again.  "Clean" LED comes on when current flow drops off, indicating that there's no more lead or copper in the barrel to be removed.

I am pleased to say that so far it has lived up to expectations, especially with the lead removal.  I had several pistol barrels that I had tried my old way of scrubbing and scrubbing with bronze brush.  THere was ALWAYS a leetle bit of lead stuck in there somewhere that just wouldn't come out.  The Foul Out system got every single bit of it out.

One refinement I've learned over my first week of having it is to use the bronze brush to try and get the worst of the leading out, then use the Foul Out system.  The system will get the lead out, but it will take a lot longer if you use the Foul Out to remove "bulk" lead as well as the tiniest spots.  The XDM40 barrel in the cell phone picture took about 2 hours, one changeout of the electrolyte solution when it got too dirty or used-up, and about 7 or 8 stoppages to pull the electrode out and wipe off the accumulated sponge lead that overloaded the circuit.  I thought it would never get done, but it just steadily kept pulling and pulling and pulling lead out of the bore until finally there was no more.  When I bronze-brushed out the easy-to-remove lead and then used the Foul Out system, it only took about 15-20 minutes to totally clean up the bit that the brush wouldn't get out easily.

Mine ran me about $100 at Midway USA.  It's possible to make your own for next to nothinghttp://surplusrifle.com/reviews/copperout/index.asp, but I wasn't in the mood for that and just bought an off-the-shelf solution.

If you have leading issues, consider getting one of these.  I am very pleased.  Note- you must FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS or it won't work.  In particular, clean the bore with solvent to remove powder, then degrease the bore, then use the system per the directions.  Monitor performance at recommended intervals (15-30 minutes for lead removal, 60 minutes for copper).

As an extra bonus, this system removes copper fouling as well, just use the "Cop Out" instead of the "Lead Out" solution.  The copper removal rate is a but slower than for lead, and the copper has to be sanded off of the electrode instead of just wiping off with a paper towel as for the lead.  Whether removing copper or lead (I've used it for both since getting it last week), this is almost a no-work solution to the lead and copper fouling problem.

Initial review: so far,  

Okay, that's cool... Don't go and make me want one.
How long does it take to set up, get it going, and to get that Clean light to come on?

After you do it the first time and learn the steps, setup is maybe 5 minutes or less.  First time might take 20 minutes.  Have a vice or something handy to hold the barrel or firearm vertical, and have that be within reach of a 110 volt outlet.  The kit comes with a nice little cup to use to pour tiny amounts of electrolyte into the bore without overflowing it.

For lead, on time is anywhere from 20 minutes to up to 2 hours, with you needing to tend to it about every half hour.  Little bit of lead-20 minutes, stactites/stalagmites of lead, couple of hours.  Sponge lead builds up really quickly on the electrode, but will easily wipe off with a paper towel.

For copper/rust, I'm still figuring that out.  I had a Kahr CW9 barrel that I de-coppered just for giggles, I wasn't even sure there was any copper in it.  Sure couldn't see any by eye.  The barrel maybe had 500-1000 rounds of jacketed ammo shot through it a few years ago when I bought it, and thousands of rounds of lead since then.  It took maybe 45 minutes of de-coppering for the "clean" light to come on, and I'll be darned if there wasn't a bit of copper plated onto the center rod electrode.

I just now tried the copper thing on a 1939 Mauser K98 I've had, who knows if it has ever been properly cared for.  (Strong rifling but looks like little pits in the grooves to me).  That took about an hour and a half, and changing out the electrolyte solution once, until the clean light started to go on.  You're supposed to start with a clean and degreased barrel, which I did.  Solvent patches came out clean, then some brake cleaner to degrease it, and then dried it out and in went the Foul Out unit.  Hour and a half later, done.  After that, it looks like it loosened up a little bit of crud as some dirt did come out, but not as much as I was hoping for.  I have visions of doing regular cleaning and this thing and then at some point presto!  The bore will be immaculate.  Probably not going to happen though.

I think this thing was worth it just for being able to easily and surely get the lead out.  I don't know how much, if any, of a copper fouling problem I've had, but I feel better trying to get it out this way than me scrubbing hard with various solvents and brushes (and maybe screwing up the crown or something).

It's still working well.  One suggestion for anyone thinking about one: keep the instructions handy and read them periodically.  I have a bad habit of thinking I remember what to do and in what order, and there are a few things to do some of the time that you don't want to forget.

E.g.
-at least for copper cleaning, check the color of the solution after 30-60 minutes to check for corrosion products being removed
-replace the cleaning solution every 2-3 hours during extended sessions.  My experience is leading me to replace it after 2 hours not 3, since with worn-out solution the unit says it's cleaning but the rate of lead removal slows waaay down.  Fresh solution after 2 hours and re-wiping the bore out seems to help it get that last little bit so that the "clean" LED will come on.

One last recommendation- when you buy it, go ahead and buy a quart each of the Cop Out copper removal fluid and the Lead Out lead removal fluid.  The unit comes with 8 oz of each but that's only enough to last me maybe 2-3 months of use.

I've wanted one of these for a long time. You guys are going to kill my wallet!