Going back to Pyrodex for Revolvers!

[t.l.a.r. eng]

I find in my rep rem that shooting 30gr pyro p that after 2 cylinders I need to clean ... Need to get some of that lithium grease stuff ... Wonder what the old timers used?

For what it's worth, the older gentleman that lets me shoot at his place has mentioned several times that if water wasn't readily available, the old timers would use their canteen water or at last resort, urinate on the offending piece to loosen it up. :shocked2:

His story, not mine. :surrender:

I find with my Remington, a couple of squirts of Remoil on the pin lets me shoot all afternoon without the mess of cleaning grease mixed with black powder when done. :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

Every time I hear the old story about some hunter out in the field peeing on his rifle or pistol to clean it up, to loosen it up or to cool it off I can't help but think that it's a bunch of hooey.

I can't imagine any man at any time in history who knows a thing about guns and likes the gun he owns urinating on it.

The expression "P1SS ON IT" is far from new and it is always used as a disparaging remark towards whatever "IT" is. :hmm:

 

[aeatwood]

Most of my guns seem to prefer 2F to 3F. Could it be that 3F leaves "harder" fouling? Greased or oiled, I never had much problem w/ my Colt copies. My Remmie's were reloaded by swapping cylinders during Sass matches, so I just gave the cylinder pin a quick wipe in the process.

2 spare cylinders plus a cart-mounted loading stand is the ONLY way to go. :thumbsup:

 

[Don]

The first and last time I used real black was in a .50 cal rifle of mine. I shot it once then ran a patch down the bore and got my ram rod stuck because of all the fouling. It ended my range session and took me an hour to get that ram rod out. I can shoot 3 or 4 shots with Pyrodex before the bore gets tight enough to warrent swabbing and I've never had a ram rod get stuck using Pyrodex. Sorry but I'm practical before I'm a purist. Thats why I prefer percussion guns over flinters.

Don

 

[plastikosmd]

When I first started with BP, I figured pyrodex was the way to go. I started with a ROA and some #10 caps. I had some issues with ignition, at times, cap related as they were hard to seat and at times the powder. I also had to deal with cleaning issues, rust after a period of time etc. I would find myself checking the ROA for rust every 6 weeks or so. As I got into precision BP rifles I made the switch to 'real' BP. I noted a difference at once in regards to cleaning etc. Maybe it is the moisture content where I am, dunno. The BP cleaned easier, never rusted etc. Fouling was never an issue with either powder. I took what I learned in the rifles and tried it in my pistols (by this time I went up to 11 caps on the ROA, solving many ignition problems.) For me, the BP has been a blessing. I figure there are other variables at play where some have success with one product, others with another. There is probably no right or wrong answer, just what works

 

[CaptainKirk]

If you don't have lithium grease available (and there's no reason you should NOT..a 5 lb. tub will last years and I carry an empty cap tin full of it with me with my other possibles in the field) one can use Rem Oil, Crisco, or any other ball/patch lube. The secret is, on the Remmies, to pull the cylinder after each round or shooting, run a rag over the pin, smear a dab of lube on the pin and slap the cylinder back in. Takes all of 10 seconds on a Remmy and will keep you shooting all afternoon. And you can still get the cylinder out after you get home! Your cap tin of grease should last you through several hundred rounds.

 

[smoothshooter]

I must say I have not had the problems with fouling when using black powder (in my case 3f Schutzen) in my 1860 Army or .36 Navy Uberti's that some here are apparently having. I use a lube I mix on the stove of approx. 4 parts cooking oil and 1 part bee's wax on the cylinder pin and on the felt wads under the ball.(I quit using grease over the loaded chamber holes years ago with no regrets). I also put just a little on the rear face of the frame where it rubs on the cylinder.I have gotten as many as 96 shots shots without having to remove the cylinder for cleaning other than wiping or brushing a little of the fouling out of the hammer slot every 24 or 36 shots. My guns have fairly close barrel-cylinder gaps, so I wipe the face of the cylinder with a saliva-moistened finger or a damp rag after shooting 4 or 5 cylinders full. This last takes about 5-10 seconds. Most reproduction percussion revolvers come from the manufacturers with flash holes in the nipples that are much too large, causing excessive ammounts of fouling to be blown back into the rear frame area, and probably increasing the likelihood of a chain fire if a cap is not fitted to the nipple properly. I have learned the hard way to just replace the nipples right off the bat with some from The Frontier Shop if the holes on a new gun look too large.The owner of this enterprise speaks percussion revolvers fluently and sends me the proper replacement nipples every time when reqiured. Using small-holed nipples seems to pretty much end the issue of fired cap fragments being blown down into the hammer slot and causing problems as well. - Smoothshooter

 

[Rifleman1776]

Every time I hear the old story about some hunter out in the field peeing on his rifle or pistol to clean it up, to loosen it up or to cool it off I can't help but think that it's a bunch of hooey.

I can't imagine any man at any time in history who knows a thing about guns and likes the gun he owns urinating on it.

I can't imagine someone not using urine if the need arose. As for "likes" the gun, I don't believe those folks quite fell in love with their guns the way we do. They were tools. If something needs fixing in a survival situation, you fixed it with whatever you had. Even in modern wars (WW1/WW2, etc.) urine was used for cooling machine guns when water ran out.
Man, when times are tough you do wat ye gotta do.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I've had similar experience, Pyro has it's good side with bit more velo -equal charge volume and not as bad fouling but the few times I've paper printed my revolvers to set the sights the real deal BP grouped tighter.

 

[pargent]

yeah idont clean my navies or dragoon during a match maybe a wipe over externaly,the most i have done is an 80 shot string and no binding :thumbsup: