How often do you do a complete disassembly for cleaning?

[Old-Duckman]

The title pretty much says it all. Watched enough videos to realize that there are surely various opinions, some seem to never do a complete disassembly…just wondering if there is a consensus here or not.

 

[maillemaker]

I shoot in N-SSA competition so my revolver is getting shot at least every other month. I typically do a "dunk clean" of my Remington New Model Army. One screw removes the grips, and one screw removes the trigger guard. Then the cylinder is removed and the gun scrubbed in the utility sink along with the cylinder and trigger guard. I use pipe cleaners to get up into the action as best I can. Then rinse. I then use a blow gun with my air compressor to blast out the water out of all the nooks and crannies, and I use spray oil with the straw applicator to inject oil up into the action. I do a final rub-down with Ballistol.

I do a complete disassembly once a year. At that time I'll pull the nipples also, and re-apply anti-seize.

 

[SOLANCO]

Depends on what I am cleaning. I don't like leaving black powder fouling in a gun. So, after every firing session. Gas operated unmentionables also every session. EDC weapon after every firing session and a quick go-over every week or so.
Otherwise just the bore and a wipe down. Weather depending.

 

[user 48679]

For over 35 years, I've cleaned my BP revolvers after every shooting session, like the pioneers - usually via removing the grips, dismounting the cylinder/barrel/etc and running the metal parts through my home dishwasher clean cycle w/o detergent ( when my Green-Eyed Monster isn't home ), removing the parts before the drying cycle.

After the warm metal cools a bit, I give the parts an oil bath/shower; then run the empty dishwasher through a complete cleaning cycle (with detergent)

No issues afterwards, with either the guns or the appliance.

 

[Stantheman86]

I'll admit , I rarely take them down to detail clean them, it does more harm than good in my opinion

I stick the plastic hose of B/C Action Blaster into the hammer gap, bolt cutout and trigger cutout and let it run into a foil baking sheet . Then I'll let a few drops of Wonder Lube drip down the hammer

I had to completely strip 2 Pietta 51 Navies like 30 times this week to fit new hammers, bolts and hands. Screws started going in wonky, screw slots were getting mildly buggered even with my Grace screwdrivers, etc etc I really think it's overkill to do this every time you clean

Just blast it out, clean the gun normally and go watch a Western

Who is sitting at a table for an hour taking apart a repro cap and baller and cleaning every part , every single time. It accelerates wear , at least in my opinion. The steel used by the Italians is mild and the screws don't like being threaded in and out 100s of times

 

[Surfinator58]

I completely take down my Flintlock every time it spends the day Outdoors but that's just me

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Always.

 

[Rifleman1776]

There was a similar thread here on this subject recently. Do a search for it. I believe it depends on the type of rifle you are using. A patent breech, like the TC 'hawken' comes apart easily. You can take down any time you want. On the other hand, removing the barrel from the stock of a fine longrifle is a much tricker proposition and comes with a risk of breaking the fragile stock. In nearly 50 of using my flint longrifle I removed the barrel only once. So, my answer would be very seldom as there is really no need to.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

I take it a part, and clean it, shoot spray everything with Windex.
Then I use compressed air and blow everything out of the receiver.
Next time I shoot it, I will take it down and clean the poogies out of it, and see where more jeweling is needed.

 

[BatBoy]

At a minimum the barrel, cylinder, nipples get a good cleaning. The rest of the revolver gets a wipe down. That’s only if I’m short on time and plan on cleaning the next day.

Most times I completely disassemble and clean.

Only cleaning agent I use is hot water; hot enough to evaporate on it’s own. Then a light coat of bore butter on the metal to protect the metal.

For lubrication I lube the barrel with bore butter. I use a beeswax/tallow blend on the Arbor. I then put a drop of olive oil on all the pivot point in the trigger group.

Nipples/cones have a new application of antiseeze every cleaning.

 

[Bad Karma]

The title pretty much says it all. Watched enough videos to realize that there are surely various opinions, some seem to never do a complete disassembly…just wondering if there is a consensus here or not.

I disassemble every year or two. I shoot nearly every day and clean the chambers, bore and external surfaces every few days. Sometimes a week or two may pass when I’ve been shooting one particular gun most every day and I won’t clean that one for the duration. I used to just hose down the action internals thru the hand window and the trigger window with CLP or Eezox every time I clean but then someone told me about Mobil 1 Synthetic grease and now I pump the action full of that and move on. Fouling doesn’t penetrate and even if it could it can’t cause corrosion if it’s encapsulated in grease with no access to oxygen.

 

[45D]

Never. Of course!!
But if I did shoot bp, it would still be "never".
I have an action shield in all of my SA revolvers. It locates on the hammer and blocks any contaminants from entering the action through the hammer slot. With all SA's, the action is wide open to contamination from the hammer slot. The action shield closes off the opening to protect the action and lubricant from contamination/ fouling. The CAS shooters enjoy "maintenance free" actions and just clean the barrel / cyl and wipe down the frame. I tell them to check the action once a year, if it's still mostly red, close it and check again next year. I pack all actions with Mobil1 grease ( even my mine which are all unmentionables). The "casual" shooter probably won't ever need to clean the action.

Mike

 

[M. De Land]

The title pretty much says it all. Watched enough videos to realize that there are surely various opinions, some seem to never do a complete disassembly…just wondering if there is a consensus here or not.

One of the reasons for unusually fast wear in some of these guns is lack of grease applied in specific areas. Oil is not viscous enough to work well on arbors, base pins, hammer cams or ratchet stars, in my opinion.
I personally always completely dissemble, clean and re-lube all my percussion revolvers after each use unless they are to be used the next day then only cylinder and barrel is thoroughly cleaned and the rest wiped down.

 

[JRL1164]

After shooting the barrel, cylinder and nipples get a thorough cleaning and everything else gets wiped down. I pay particularl attention to where black powder residue is. Beyond that typically twice a year for a heavy clean.

 

[ernbar]

I used 45Ds method of pumping the action with grease to keep fouling from entering the frame in addition to adding an action cover to the hammer to keep cap fragments from falling inside.
Before the above modifications I tore down for complete cleaning with every use, after the modification the cylinder, barrel and outside of frame gets cleaned.

 

[FlinterNick]

Everytime I shoot I breakdown my guns, the only thing I don’t remove is the breech plug and brass components.

 

[nick_1]

shooting the trapper i have found that if i shoot every day I can go about a week with only running a patch down the barrel with wonder lube every 20 rounds. and occasional clean out of the nipple channel with a tiny screwdriver. it gets a total clean if i am not going to continue shooting every day

 

[Dark Angel]

The title pretty much says it all. Watched enough videos to realize that there are surely various opinions, some seem to never do a complete disassembly…just wondering if there is a consensus here or not.

A Twice -Told Tale. Have been shooting BP revolvers for like what seems forever but is only about 40 years. After shooting, I disassemble my BP revolver into its basic components and clean thoroughly with a good powder solvent, using Q-Tips for those hard to clean areas, then lightly oil. In all the years of shooting BP have never, NEVER! had the slightest hint of corrosion or rust. If using hot water and heroic cleaning methods work for you and makes you feel better, then DO continue doing what you do. I know what works for me.

 

[Elgatodeacero]

On revolvers I remove the cylinder, nipples, and barrel, clean those parts well, and lube and wipe down everything with Bore Butter.

No frame disassembly for me, does not seem necessary.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

Never. Of course!!
But if I did shoot bp, it would still be "never".
I have an action shield in all of my SA revolvers. It locates on the hammer and blocks any contaminants from entering the action through the hammer slot. With all SA's, the action is wide open to contamination from the hammer slot. The action shield closes off the opening to protect the action and lubricant from contamination/ fouling. The CAS shooters enjoy "maintenance free" actions and just clean the barrel / cyl and wipe down the frame. I tell them to check the action once a year, if it's still mostly red, close it and check again next year. I pack all actions with Mobil1 grease ( even my mine which are all unmentionables). The "casual" shooter probably won't ever need to clean the action.

Mike

Who did the action shield for you? Do you have a link , name & address?