Do I have what it takes?

[Gatorade96]

A couple years ago I inherited a good bit of my grandfathers shooting stuff. I am now making my way to the black powder portion. I am not new to firearms but have never dabbled in black powder. So, I believe this is a CVA Wells Fargo .32 cal percussion pistol. Looks like it has been fired in the past so it will get a good cleaning first. Would a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner be a good thing for the barrel and the cylinders? The main frame would require disassembly and I don’t want to go that far yet, so just a good cleaning for that. There is a nice kit that has all the measures and some tools. An unopened jar of lubricated patches, a tin of percussion caps, some Pyrodex, and some FFFg. I do need some .32 cal balls as I only have .36 cal. Those may work for some of the other pistols and rifles but I figured the pistol would be a good starting point. I’ve seen a few videos on YouTube on how to load the cylinders so I got that going for me. So am I missing anything? Is this the correct powder? What don’t I know? Thanks for the replies!

 

[Kansas Jake]

First off, the lubricated patches are not needed for a cap and ball revolver. Both the Pyrodex P and 3f black powder will work fine. I don’t have experience with ultrasonic cleaners so I’ll leave that answer to someone else. I’m sure others who shoot a 31 caliber will chime in with information on loading. The gun would be called 31 caliber and take a .320 ball. An anomaly in Muzzleloaders is rifles are classified by bore size and take an undersized patched ball. Cap and ball revolvers take a slightly oversized ball.

 

[bang]

Hot soapy water will clean black powder. Alcohol will displace moisture. Light oil to protect. Heavy if for storage.

 

[TrapperDude]

I would test that nipple wrench on the nipples of your revolver. The one in your picture looks like it is one I saw advertised for rifle nipples when I was searching for nipple wrenches for my own revolver, and it may be too big to fit the recesses for the nipples on your revolver. If it does fit the recesses, then you are good to go. Lastly, if that is a CVA nipple wrench that does fit, you may want a second one because the metal is pretty soft, and the engagement surfaces deform with use.

 

[hawkeye2]

The ultrasonic transducer will work fine, hot water and Dawn dish detergent. You can also clean with patches and hot soapy water, either way will work but you may need patches after the ultrasonic cleaning. I use carb cleaner or brake cleaner to flush out the action, get rid of the old oil or grease and then lube. If you do that don't get any on the grips as it can damage the finish.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The screws in these revolvers are often very soft. A set of gunsmith screwdrivers are best for fitting the screw slots so they are not marred during disassembly and reassembly. Even then some of the screwdriver bits will have to be worked on to fit properly. Time doing that will save some grief during maintenance. You will need a nipple wrench sized to fit the smaller nipples found on the small revolvers. You will need a revolver cleaning rod with a cleaning jag for cleaning the barrel after shooting.

You seem to have some items for rifles that are unnecessary for revolvers. Especially those plastic wrapped bullets and the bullets for rifles pictured.

 

[Gatorade96]

Yes, those are for after the pistol! One step at a time!

 

[smoothshooter]

Hot soapy water will clean black powder. Alcohol will displace moisture. Light oil to protect. Heavy if for storage.

View attachment 136106View attachment 136107View attachment 136108
A couple years ago I inherited a good bit of my grandfathers shooting stuff. I am now making my way to the black powder portion. I am not new to firearms but have never dabbled in black powder. So, I believe this is a CVA Wells Fargo .32 cal percussion pistol. Looks like it has been fired in the past so it will get a good cleaning first. Would a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner be a good thing for the barrel and the cylinders? The main frame would require disassembly and I don’t want to go that far yet, so just a good cleaning for that. There is a nice kit that has all the measures and some tools. An unopened jar of lubricated patches, a tin of percussion caps, some Pyrodex, and some FFFg. I do need some .32 cal balls as I only have .36 cal. Those may work for some of the other pistols and rifles but I figured the pistol would be a good starting point. I’ve seen a few videos on YouTube on how to load the cylinders so I got that going for me. So am I missing anything? Is this the correct powder? What don’t I know? Thanks for the replies!

Ultrasonic cleaner not necessary.
Isopropyl alcohol ( (70%) works very well. As does a water-soluble oil/cleaner called Ballistol.
Brushes are very important. Conventional bore brushes for the chambers and bore.
Artist brushes and cheap auto supply parts cleaner brushes are a necessity for cleaning the nipple recesses at the rear of the cylinder and in the bottom of the chambers on the inside.
If you use the alcohol do not forget to apply Ballistol or some other kind of oil to all metal surfaces because the alcohol will remove any residual oil that was there.
PROPER FITTING SCREWDRIVERS AND NIPPLE WRENCH ARE MUST-HAVE ITEMS.
Use a little anti-sieze on the nipple threads when re-installing them.
You will thank me later.

 

[Boston Bill]

I would test that nipple wrench on the nipples of your revolver. The one in your picture looks like it is one I saw advertised for rifle nipples when I was searching for nipple wrenches for my own revolver, and it may be too big to fit the recesses for the nipples on your revolver. If it does fit the recesses, then you are good to go. Lastly, if that is a CVA nipple wrench that does fit, you may want a second one because the metal is pretty soft, and the engagement surfaces deform with use.

Definitely get the Ted Cash nipple wrench. I love mine!!!

 

[Boston Bill]

And Track of the Wolf is probably one of the best black powder provision suppliers.
I buy 99% of my black powder supplies from them.

 

[TrapperDude]

Definitely get the Ted Cash nipple wrench. I love mine!!!

I actually bought a set of spare nipples just because of the wrench that came with them. I think it’s from Taylor's of memory serves. That has some very properly hardened steel, and it has a nice and long perpendicular lever to bust loose the nipples for cleaning.

If, God forbid, I loose that wrench, the Ted Cash one is the way I'll go.

 

[TrapperDude]

Ultrasonic cleaner not necessary.
Isopropyl alcohol ( (70%) works very well. As does a water-soluble oil/cleaner called Ballistol.
Brushes are very important. Conventional bore brushes for the chambers and bore.
Artist brushes and cheap auto supply parts cleaner brushes are a necessity for cleaning the nipple recesses at the rear of the cylinder and in the bottom of the chambers on the inside.
If you use the alcohol do not forget to apply Ballistol or some other kind of oil to all metal surfaces because the alcohol will remove any residual oil that was there.
PROPER FITTING SCREWDRIVERS AND NIPPLE WRENCH ARE MUST-HAVE ITEMS.
Use a little anti-sieze on the nipple threads when re-installing them.
You will thank me later.

I use q-tips with olive oil to clean the nipple recesses with some good effect. Screwing the q-tips into and out of the threads gets them thoroughly cleaned out. I then use the q-tips around the rear, exterior recesses, augmenting them with pipe cleaners when the stubborn spots of fouling don't respond to the cotton.

 

[ZUG]

That's a nice little revolver Gatorade96 . As others have already said you will NEED a GOOD nipple wrench AND a GOOD set of gunsmithing screwdrivers - I prefer the ones that have the magnetic handles with the replaceable tips from Brownells and others. That Pyrodex looks OLD and may not give you proper velocity or even ignite. Give it a try but don't expect too much out of it. The real black powder on the other hand will work just fine. I would disassemble the pistol completely and give it a good cleaning then lube up the internals (LIGHTLY) with gun oil (3-in-one will work also). # 10 percussion caps are the cap size for that revolver. #11 are a bit large and may give chain fires. Measure the cylinder bores and get lead balls that are 0.005" diameter larger than the cylinder bores. Without a rammer on that revolver it will take a bit of effort to push the ball into the cylinder with the gun's arbor. Good luck with that revolver, be safe and have a good time

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