Detail Stripping. Why?

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Or the relief, every now and then, of not having to look for a spring that just sproinged into a dark crowded corner of the room.
 
My guess is the Remington Nylon 66 has been brought into a gunsmith's shop in bags, more than any other firearm - with the added distinction - most gunsmith's could not get that rifle back together either, and the rifle had to go back to Remington.

That is one rifle, there is no need to detail strip - period.
 
that rush of "OH S*#T, I think I just messed up"

I've had that a few times. When I was reassembling my father's Ruger Mark I, I'd reinstall the firing pin spring only to find you couldn't cock the gun. I finally had to go against my instincts, hold the gun upside down, and let the little leader hang free instead of going into the slot like it wanted to do. Totally counterintuitive. And because this was a pre-Internet-age firearm, quality diagrams were in critically short supply. I've always gotten everything back together in working order, though. Sometimes it took a bit of work, but I always got it working.
 
Should be able to inspect, maintain, and if need be rebuild any weapon you may be fighting with short of barrel, slide, and frame. Each weapon system has it's strengths and weaknesses, and every weapon has it's own small idiosyncrasies. Learn them, and be able to take full advantage of and or fix them.

Remember the old rule, one is none, two is one...etc.

I carry enough small parts in my shooting bag to rebuild a 1911 from major components. Any rifle I carry, I will have extra firing pins, springs, screws etc. (note: no AR15/M16 types)

Same with my XCR, M1A/M14,03A3, CX4 Storm, and Marlin 336 or 1894cp. AS to handguns, again my 1911's, Highpowers, Glocks, SIGS, and S&W revolvers. And shotguns.

I can and do take them down at least once a year. Any of them on line as fighting weapons will have all springs replaced at least annually, with inspection, maintenance as needed, and of course lubrication. I prefer grease in most cases, on the lowers.

For all you SHTF folks, better know your weapons, and have the extra spare parts and how to install them that EVERY WEAPON NEEDS FROM TIME TO TIME.

It's part of being a fighter. Your fighting weapons must become a part of you, and you it.

One reason I recommend Glock to many folks (I only have one of my Glocks as a potential goto, a model 19, but not my preference). One of the easiest and cheapest to maintain PROPERLY. Also any Tom, Dick or Harry can and should get into their Armorer's course if you carry or plan to carry a Glock for fighting purposes. This applies to any system you may carry. You may not be able to get into a course, but learn it. Get the manuals, DVD's, etc....

Go figure.

Fred
 
I used to detail strip for every cleaning. Never lost any springs, either.
I don't anymore, though : it's not really necessary, IMO.
 
I gotta youth single shot 20 bore shotgun.

One of these days...
I am going to replace the spacer between wood and factory recoil pad and get another set of recoil pad screws, and forearm screw.

What I do, is make these screws accept any flat head. Granted it would be rare to have to take one of these down,...which is not easy to do, without the proper tools.
Still I do the forearm screw to make it easier to break down in the context of two parts, barrel and receiver .
I can use anything from a coin, to a SAK, to pocket knife to...

I just do not have the material I want, to make the spacer I want to replace the factory one.

The other gun I will replace someday, is a single shot .22 rifle that will of course take short, long or long rifle.
Something like the 514 I had.

I go back many decades with these gun platforms, and how they do hold up in serious conditions.

I have had a Kel-Tec P-11 all the way down once.
Neat dealie about this sucker, all the ones I have messed with, the parts interchanged.
So for one of the testing and evaluations I and some others did, was swap parts to see if these guns would exchange parts and work.
Oh, and we used Lead bullets, reloaded for us as well.

WE really like the idea of using lead bullets if matters dictate.


The reason I prefer the bone stock Gov't Model of 1911, is , it is a tool unto itself.
One can use a fired 45ACP casing for a recoil guide plug, or use that casing for removal of grip screws...etc.

So I have tested and evaluated some guns for serious, and in real life have been in serious and know what I prefer based on real life, as J.Q.Public.

Then again I put around 300,000 rds through Win SX1.
Only it had down once personally, and one more time by a gunsmith buddy, now passed.
870 , in 28 ga, I know has about 300,000 rds through it. It has gone back to Rem once.
It has spare parts, barrels, etc.
Seriously, this gun has been shot 90% with the trigger group , with the safety removed on purpose.

So I like modular, as one can do so much with a 870, with few tools, and some parts.
I am not comfy with a set up such as Nova, that if the stock gets a glitch, it has to go back to factory.

So yeah, knowing how, being familiar, is not a bad idea.

Still, I have run a SX1 every bit of 3000 rds between "inspect and maintain", all I ever concerned myself with was chamber, ports, extraction. Oh, when I thought of it stuck another "O" ring on it.
On a pump gun, single shot, O/U or SxS, chamber and extraction and making sure STOS or something on hinge pins.

I was too busy shooting practice, or reloading, or traveling, or competing to "clean a gun".

Unwritten rule: never show up to shoot with a "clean gun".

Shooting 100/100 is easy, the real competition is the shoot off.

So I and mine "encouraged" folks to clean guns, heck we even had stuff and offered to let them use it, before we stepped out.

I and mine played for keeps, and all I/we need is for you to do , is drop one bird, and I/we don't have to worry about you in the shoot off.



Unwritten rule: I carry a dirty gun.
Whenever I inspect, maintain, or even actually clean a gun, I shoot it and mags if a semi, while at the range.

Shoot off in competition is one thing, in real life, a whole 'nuther ball game.
Much much higher stakes, and I don't consider a coffin or urn for ashes much of a "trophy".


Do you know, if you break down a gun, it will work if you need for it to?
Do you really trust just dropping a No. 2 pencil down the barrel and it being kicked up, after tripping the trigger?


I'd rather carry a dirty gun , personally.
 
PTK: "Agreed! The ONLY time I completely disassembled my 1871 Beaumont-Vitali rifle (produced in 1874) was upon purchase, to make sure it was all in working order. Since then, all it gets is a proper cleaning after each use."

I only completely disassembled my 1878 Vetterli once.

I know it's a BP rifle.

But.
 
Brian Dale: "My Dad's voice: "Do not take the side plate off from a Colt double action revolver." Yeah, he generally spoke in bold-face type like that when he gave important instructions. The implication was that untutored fingers and curiosity could end up being expensive. I'm satisfied to report, thirty years later, that I have never taken the side plate off from a Colt DA revolver."

More's the pity. Crud gets in there that you can pick out without removing internal revolver parts (you'll carefully move a few of them a little) in order to improve performance. Admittedly, soaking can accomplish much (though not quite all) the same result. Dad must have had a "Kerplunk/Kerplooey" moment. Anyone else remember that cartoon special, with the mice and the big clock? "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (1978)?
 
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I do it for cleaning and so I can better understand how the gun functions.

Word to the wise: never detail strip a Ruger MkII grip/trigger assembly. I don't find reassembly after field stripping one to be terribly difficult, but reassembly after detail stripping is another matter. In my experience it takes 5 hands and a lot of cursing at Bill Ruger.
 
I only completely disassembled my 1878 Vetterli once.

Vetterli-Vitali rifles (I own two) are a snap to disassemble and clean. I do only shoot smokeless loads, though! :D
 
There is a reason the "Nylon 66" was called a "Brown Bag" gun...

When you took it too far apart, you gathered up all the pieces you could find, put them in a brown paper bag, and took said bag to the gunsmith... :eek: :what: :evil:

Never mind HOW I know, I just know...
 
I detail-strip every firearm that I acquire prior to firing them. Here is what I saw upon removing the HG from an 03A3 that I had just received:

Top3a.jpg

For comparison, it used to look something like the barrel in this pic:

DP03A3.jpg

I like to closely inspect all of the parts/pieces/surfaces before firing the first round ... which, btw, I do from a "protected position" and then closely inspect the empty casing and give the rifle another quick eyeball-inspection before deciding that it is safe.

After that, I will usually only detail-strip that firearm if I think that it needs additional cleaning or maintenance of some kind.
 
Historians may disagree, but the real reason files and hammers were invented was to assist in re-assembly of previously detail disassembled firearms.

salty
 
I can detail strip a CZ52 into almost component molecules. I will eventually get it to shoot properly, by god.
 
I only to do it to "simple" guns and its to keep them as pristine as possible. I mean seriously, why not? I do it to everything I own though, motorcycles, cars, my house, etc. I want things to be in the best possible condition because I have invested money and time into them and I always want it to show. I don't like having dirt under the rug, so to speak.

Damian
 
Back when I was learning how to my 1911 worked, I made the mistake of stripping down my Colt Gold Cup NM. Enough said, I received a crash course on the Sear Depressor Lever and it's tiny spring.
 
Kerosene or other simple petroleum as a solvent.

Animal fat/grease for storage/preservation.

Animal fat was primarily used for bullet lube. Whale oil was used for lubrication/preservation - roughly equivalent to today's power steering/ATF fluids.
 
Back when I was learning how to my 1911 worked, I made the mistake of stripping down my Colt Gold Cup NM. Enough said, I received a crash course on the Sear Depressor Lever and it's tiny spring.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Did you make a slave pin?
 
I was taught to pay attention to detail, so I grew up cleaning my firearms that way. It served my well when I had to clean my issue sidearm (beretta) and I noticed a nice crack across the slide that surely would not have ended up pretty had I taken it out that way the following day. The armorer said that I was lucky I didn't take it out, and he just issued me a brand new one. :)

I have never heard of a firearm being destroyed from over-cleaning.
 
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