Daryl,
You are not stealing any thunder, the idea of this forum was for all of us to contribute and share the knowledge we all have, to make all of us better shots, or to load more accurate ammunition without the mistakes.

And your post is exactly what we needed.

I too have found my only use for bronze brushes in removing lead from leaded barrels, don't use them for anything else.
I'm also not afraid to get into a barrel with a bit of 0000 steel wool, most people would faint at the thought, but it does work.
Since changing over to LBT Blue soft lube, I don't really have leading as a major problem anymore, but occasionally I will get a few lead shavings around the throat area.
I use a homemade solvent called "Ed's Red", which some will be familiar with, it contains Acetone solvent, which reportedly can get between barrel steel and lead, and it simply wipes out, which it does do.
If I'm really lazy and in a hurry, I just shoot two jacketed loads through the firearm, that gets lead out as well!
My 12 bore gun that has a rifled barrel that leads quite badly, which will be the subject of another topic, in it I will break out the good old Lewis Lead Remover, which uses a very thin copper mesh circle and is pushed or pulled through the bore, removing slivers of lead like you wouldn't believe.

I agree with everything you have written about lube, lead hardness and big bores being easier to get to shoot cast bullets in than small bores. The most frustrating cartridge I've ever tried cast bullets in was a 222 Rem, talk about pulling your hair out!

Regards,
David.