How often do you do a complete disassembly for cleaning?

[45D]

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

Wow, thanks for asking, I did!!
I found me at Goons Gunworks lol!!

Mike

 

[Snake Pleskin]

Wow, thanks for asking, I did!!
I found me at Goons Gunworks lol!!

Mike

thanks

 

[TFoley]

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.

Apart from having a 'utility sink' [we don't have room for a utility sink, having neither a utility room nor garage, nor an air compressor] I do exactly the same as the above with my one and only BP revolver.

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

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

Is your barrel pinned on?

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

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

My father got a 1861 navy when I was 12 and every time it was shot, it got torn down completely for cleaning (if it could come apart, it did). So, of course I did the same when I got mine and started to not shoot any of them because of the pain of the cleaning process. Around 40 I started to remove the wood and barrel/cylinder, bore brush them and hose everything down with wd-40 and use a GI toothbrush to loosen any remaining fouling followed by a good blasting with compressed air. Re assemble and wipe it down then back into the safe with it/them. So far I've not had an issue with corrosion and shoot them more often. WD-40 is an excellent vehicle to flush the crud out with compressed air.

 

[earlwb]

I haven’t gone beyond a field strip and cleaning. But my hat is off to those of you who perform a full detail strip and cleaning.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I fight with whether to strip them done completely or not. I have found that I do not shoot them as often as I would like because of the amount of cleaning I perceive to be involved. I may have to rethink that?!! : )

 

[TDM]

I fight with whether to strip them done completely or not. I have found that I do not shoot them as often as I would like because of the amount of cleaning I perceive to be involved. I may have to rethink that?!! : )

That is the same situation I have put myself in. I disassemble, clean, & re-lube everything. And I know it’s not always necessary but I do it anyway. It certainly does keep me from shooting my revolvers more often.

 

[SOLANCO]

I fight with whether to strip them done completely or not. I have found that I do not shoot them as often as I would like because of the amount of cleaning I perceive to be involved. I may have to rethink that?!! : )

Probably why the rifle gets used a whole lot more than my revolver. Touching briefly on the unmentionable, I find I shoot my semi autos more than my revolvers. Same reasons likely.

 

[TrapperDude]

I fight with whether to strip them done completely or not. I have found that I do not shoot them as often as I would like because of the amount of cleaning I perceive to be involved. I may have to rethink that?!! : )

I tear down all of my unmentionables as far as the manual says to and clean them thoroughly every time they go to the range, and I get them to the point where a q-tip with Frog Lube won't darken much when rubbed against the parts. That takes a while to do, so cleaning my BP revolvers isn't much worse--just the tear-down process is more involved. I have a Wheeler set I use to keep from messing up the screws, so I'm not damaging everything when I do it.

 

[Surfinator58]

Is your barrel pinned on?

Yes I worked on the pins and glass bedded the breech so that I can remove it and reassemble easily without any additional wear and tear

 

[ernbar]

Speaking of cleaning, when I shoot corrosive ammo in my Mausers, , Lee Enfield or 1903 Springfield I take a small bottle of water mixed with Dawn to the range and after shooting while the barrel is hot I clean it with patches soaked in the mix. About 4-5 patches till clear then a dry one followed by oil and done. Been doing this method for over 40 years and my rifle bores are smooth as a baby’s culo.
This is for bolt guns only. Semi autos require tear down .

 

[ernbar]

shooting

That is the same situation I have put myself in. I disassemble, clean, & re-lube everything. And I know it’s not always necessary but I do it anyway. It certainly does keep me from shooting my revolvers more often.

Put in an action cover and pump high temp grease into the action. Nothing will get in and don’t have to deal with the internals.

 

[smoothshooter]

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

Even a gun with a pinned in barrel?

 

[smoothshooter]

Speaking of cleaning, when I shoot corrosive ammo in my Mausers, , Lee Enfield or 1903 Springfield I take a small bottle of water mixed with Dawn to the range and after shooting while the barrel is hot I clean it with patches soaked in the mix. About 4-5 patches till clear then a dry one followed by oil and done. Been doing this method for over 40 years and my rifle bores are smooth as a baby’s culo.
This is for bolt guns only. Semi autos require tear down .

Wouldn’t water alone remove the corrosive salts?

 

[ernbar]

Wouldn’t water alone remove the corrosive salts?

Probably but the Dawn breaks down any gunk easier and faster specially in the receiver area. I read where ammonia helps with copper fowling but haven’t run into that issue.

 

[FlinterNick]

Even a gun with a pinned in barrel?

Yes, especially pinned barrels.

 

[Stantheman86]

If I know I'm going to be lazy on a day I want to shoot BP guns I'll bring something like my Chiappa CS Richmond or a couple Pietta brassers, so I can give them the quick and dirty clean at the range then go home

Cleaning stuff like a Vaquero feels like Easy Mode

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Yes, especially pinned barrels.

How often were pinned barrels of the 18th and 19th century removed? Does anyone know the condition of a typical barrel after removal?

 

[FlinterNick]

How often were pinned barrels of the 18th and 19th century removed? Does anyone know the condition of a typical barrel after removal?

Historically speaking, For military guns, not that often. Even muskets with barrel bands were not broken down.

Underlugs were made of softer wrought iron which wore out rather easily too.

Historically, personally owned guns probably varied a lot depending on the owners, but I would assume not because they’re cleaning supplies and tools were not like what we have today.

I have my pinned guns set up to be unpinned as often as I want to.

My Set-Up.

1. I oblong the underlug, this extends its useful life and I’ve had to replace one in 10 -20 years.

2. I music wire for my pins, they’re made of 5160 carbon steel, I heat and temper until dark blue, this gives the pins some spring action so the wood inside the lug isn’t damaged. They also will bend without staying bent.

3. I debure, polish and chamfer the ends of my pins so they dont catch the stock..

4. I make the pins about 1/16 shorter than the surface of the forearm, giving a counterbored look which allows the pin drifter to easily enter for removal.

5. Lastly, I keep the pins lubricated with wax and mineral oil, a very small amount is needed and I wax over the tips with carnuba wax.

For my banded guns, I always make sure the edges of the bands are smooth and debured, I polish them inside to 1 micron and I make sure they’re lubricated with wax and mineral oil.