Black Powder revolver maintenance.

Skinny 1950

Skinny 1950

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I have a couple of Black Powder revolvers which I intend to shoot a lot. I have had some trouble with one of them and have had it apart. It seems that a lot of crud gets into the trigger/hammer action on both of them and it builds up. Is it normal maintenance to take these guns apart for cleaning after a few hundred rounds or is there some cleaning fluid that I can flush them out with. Thanks for any advise on this.

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Should I run hot water through the trigger/hammer and frame. I don't want to damage the solid wood grips or rust anything inside. Thanks
 
Many folks swear that if you stay with lard for packing the cylinder against chain-fires it'll clean easily with soap 'n water.
Petroleum based lubes are supposed to be harder to clean. I've discovered a Made-in-Sask gun oil that is mostly canola-oil. In the frame of encouraging Canadian dollars to stay at home; I use it exclusively.
It seems to work for me. But I also use boiling water only as well.
I broke mine down totally at 200-300 because I didn't want to hit my grips with boiling water.
 
I shoot my Uberti 1860 every week. About once a month I take it completely apart, scrub everything with dishsoap and lukewarm water, using an old toothbrush and mascara brushes for the hard to reach places. Then oil it and reassemble. It works perfectly for me every time.
 
Get into the habit of cleaning any black powder cap and ball revolver every time you shoot it. They clean up easy if you don't let the crud build up and harden.

I use warm water with a good squirt of dish soap. Scrub the barrel and cylinder chambers with a bore brush while holding it in the water. When it's clean, drain the sink, and fill with HOT water. Leave the parts in the HOT water just long enough to get heated up, then remove and shake out excess water. Lay it on a dry hard surface like a counter top. Metal will dry quickly because of the heat it retains from the hot water.

Make sure the parts are dry before oiling, because the oil can trap moisture against the metal and you get rust even though you oiled it.

Frame probably doesn't need to be stripped and cleaned every session but your choice. I do with mine. Do not submerge wooden grips in water, it will do damage eventually.
 
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I use vegetable lard to pack the chambers and have been using hot soapy water to clean the barrel and cylinder but it looks like I will have to take it apart after a few hundred rounds to clean the internals. OK now I know that this is normal and can prepare for it. I hate to take a brand new gun apart but it is not all that time consuming and I will be able to keep an eye on the internal parts. Thanks for the help on this.....I feel a lot better knowing what to do.
 
I used too just take the grips off my Rem. '58. Remove cylinder and immerse everything in hot soapy water. After scrubbing and rinsing put it in the oven until pretty warm to dry internals. Then oil when cool. Worked for me for many years.
 
So general consensus is for day to day shooting break of the bigger parts for cleaning with hot water. Oil after.

Every month or 200/300 rds break the gun down to basic pieces and repeat and oil?

Was trying to think that one over, as I break my ML down a long way after each session... but it's a lot more basic and easily done than a revolver.
 
It looks like I only have to undo 3 screws and the grips will come off...immerse the frame and all in hot water and scrub....w:h:

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As long as the guts have been sprayed with G96 or similar, you needn't strip the gun right down every time. I shoot nothing but BP out of my .45Colt Uberti, and find that every 200 rounds or so, it's good to strip and clean all of the internal parts. I've never used water to clean it, just a nylon brush soaked in cheap Field's window cleaner, followed up with Hoppe's No.9. It takes only about 20 minutes to detail strip and clean, and I've never had rusting issues.
 
Skinny 1950 said:
Should I run hot water through the trigger/hammer and frame. I don't want to damage the solid wood grips or rust anything inside. Thanks
Click to expand...

You should disassemble the action (trigger and frame) to clean. Black powder is corrosive, pyrodex (clorate based) moreso.
make sure you have invested in screwdrivers that fit the screws, use hot water and a soft brush, dry and oil lightly before reassembly.
I have purchased several B.P. revolvers that have only had the barrel cleaned and the springs and action needed a rebuild.

If you don't have the time to clean it properly immediately after use - you don't have time to shoot it.
 
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