How often should an 1851 rep. be completely disassembled and cleaned?

[Paul03]

Again, I'm new at this. Anytime I shoot I clean the barrel, cylinder and nipples. It's a Pietta 1851 Navy .44 and has about 100 rounds through it. When should I take it completely down to clean the trigger mechanism? Also, the nipple wrench that came with it is a piece of junk, starting to get 'worn' already. Where's a good online source for a heavy duty wrench?

 

[Tommygunn]

I clean my BP revolvers after I shoot them. Maybe I'm a bit "anal" but I tear the gun down and clean every part, dry it off, spritz it with a preservative and reassemble it when I get home from shooting it. It's just part of the process.
Since starting BP I have found that it gets everywhere inside of a gun. I have found residue down in the heel of the grip...about the farthest place from the chamber as it's possible to get.

It may not be necessary to clean the internal mechanism all the time ... but certainly the barrel, the cylinder, the chambers, and the insides of the framework which are exposed to the blast, as well as the hammer and the channel in the frame, and nipples; these parts all deserve to be kept as clean as possible, IMHO.

If you don't plan to shoot the gun for a good period of time, then I would definantly thoroughly clean it!

 

[Fingers McGee]

I clean Barrel, Cylinder & Nipples after each match - (I shoot 3-4 CAS matches a month). Two or three times a year I will tear my C&Bs completely down for a good scrubbing. I use Balistol - in aerosol can; not mixed with water -for all my cleaning and lubing needs; so, the fouling that gets down into the action between teardowns gets emulsified with the Balistol and acts like a grease till I clean it out.

 

[arcticap]

RMC has a durable hardened nipple wrench for $9.99.
It's listed under "Revolver & Pistol Accessories".

http://rmcsports.com/catalog.htm

ML063 RMC Revolver Nipple Wrench $9.99

The Possibles Shop offers a ratcheting nipple wrench that has received great reviews:

http://www.possibleshop.com/s-s-nipple-wrench.html

 

[Paul03]

Thanks for the info on both subjects! I see I can go a bit w/o full cleaning. Actually, cleaning and loading is as much fun as shooting! I don't overtighten the nipples and are fairly easy to unseat. Just the wrench is just soft tubing with a slot.

 

[pohill]

I completely strip and clean the guns after shooting. You'd be amazed at what you find inside (crud, pieces of caps, etc). I've bought used guns that hadn't been cleaned internally and it's not pretty. Plus, you really get to know the gun, so when you're out on the range and something jams, you can quickly and easily strip the gun and fix it (and impress those around you).

 

[ontarget]

My 1851 gets a complete tear down every time. They are pretty simple to maintain, but be careful with your screw slots cause they get torn up real easy if you don't use the proper size screwdriver.

 

[Smokin_Gun]

I take um apart and clean each Rev completely after it's been fired...

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

I have an 1860 and tear it down completely after every shoot. Mostly because I'm paranoid about cleaning; but it's easy enough since everything is held in place with screws so why not?

 

[1KPerDay]

Has anyone done a how-to video on complete tear-down and reassembly?

 

[MachIVshooter]

Something unique to black powder and pyrodex vs. smokeless is that in addition to being generally dirty, if you don't clean the gun for a few days after shooting it, the residue solidifies and really gums up the works. I took my ASM 1861 out on Saturday, fired 4 cylinders through it and didn't clean it until Sunday night. In just a little over a day, it got to where I could barely rotate the cylinder by cocking the hammer. And I do use bore butter.

Basically, as everyone else has said, clean it every time you fire it. Even with pyrodex.

 

[qajaq59]

I let mine go for a long time (Duh, like years.) and finally tore it down last week. I was lucky that nothing rusted, but from now on I'll do it a few times a year. I couldn't believe the crap in there. I think I found everything but soda cans. lol

PS: the trigger works 5 times better now too.

 

[Hawkeye748]

For the internal works, after thorough cleaning, fill the insides with white lithium grease. Protects the parts, helps keep gunk out, and allows you to go 3-4 sessions without a full breakdown.

Clean barrel, cylinder, nipples hammer frame etc. every time.

 

[Paul03]

Seems like a lot of opinions on this. But I can see I should clean it soon, if nothing else than to familiarize myself with the inner workings. I tinker with antique clocks and have a good selection of quality screwdrivers and have no problem working on small and precision parts. So next shoot I'll strip to the last part!

 

[Paul03]

Hawkeye, I keep seeing things about not using petroleum products. White Lithium grease ok?

 

[robhof]

If you aren't doing it alreasdy; put some antiseize oil or even some synthetic base grease on those nipples and crank them down a little tight. Gases escape from the cap area and are blocked by the hammer, but escaping gas from a loose nipple will erode threads. A very little goes a long way.

 

[w_houle]

If I am using BP, then I clean after every shoot, and just clean the barrel and cylinder if shooting smokeless out of a conversion cylinder.

 

[pohill]

I cannot follow directions, I usually have extra parts when I take something apart, but for some reason I like stripping down these BP revolvers, cleaning them and putting them back together. This is a Savage & North .36 Navy (under the Pietta 1860 .44) - I took pics of every part and step as I stripped it down. And, it still works.

 

[Pulp]

Well, I'm one of the lazy ones. Two or three times a year seems to work for me. I firmly believe in a product called SweetShooter. I really does protect parts. The initial treatment is a bit of a pain, but well worth it.

 

[rcflint]

MachIVshooter, clean ESPECIALLY after shooting Pyrodex, it is much more corrosive than real BP....

How long you can leave a BP revolver after shooting has a lot to do with where you are in the country and what season. Here in Southern Arizona, ouside of the Monsoon season, the humidity is so low you can leave the gun for a week...

According to my musical instrument tuning, we went to Los Angeles a few months back, and the Harp said it was more humid in LA in the sunshine than Tucson was in the rain.....

 

[Hawkeye748]

Pohill,

Like the Savage! Bit heavy for regular shooting but had chance to shoot one once, and at 50 yards. Every shot in a six inch group from the rest. Impressed since only shot it that one time.

Paul03

I feel diferently. Also, the WL will not come into contact with the BP during shooting. The internals, in the grip and under the trigger guard, need some protection, or at least regular cleaning after every shoot. It provides a physical barrier to residue getting inside the works and stops cap fragments, lead shavings and BP residue from falling into the works. It also protects the parts from corrosion.

I also use regular gun oil to protect my BP guns. In a humid environment like I live in, non-petroleum based products don't seem to work well at preventing rust. You just have to add a step to the start up. Dry patch bores and cylinder chambers. Then fire 2 caps per chamber, three in a musket, and your good to go. The caps will burn off any residue of oil in the chambers so that no petroleum fouling will occur. It also will eliminate any condensed moisture that may have settled in the chamber.

 

[Hellgate]

When i first get a gun i strip it down and hose out the innards with brake cleaner, clean up burrs and put anti seize grease on the nipples. Once it is shooting reliably i only clean the barrel, outer frame and cylinder/pin. I leave the nipples in. I had a '61 navy that I could not get the trigger spring out and could not fully strip it down. So for about 15-20 years of casual shooting all I could do was knock it apart and clean the barrel, cylinder and wipe down the frame etc. As for the insides I would squirt WD-40 into the insides where the hammer comes out and up behind the trigger so as to wet the insides. I finally was able to get the gun apart and found the interior was full of a black mush but not a speck of rust as the mush was oily fouling (plus a few cap frags). That gun must have had over 1000 rounds through it and never taken apart other than the big 3 sections. So, I rarely if ever take my guns completely down unless a spring is broken. Just use a lot of oil on the insides by dripping it into any available opening. For me, full stripping to prevent rust is unnecessary. Just oil the crap out of it and yes, WD-40 works even though there are better things out there.

 

[BCRider]

On my '58 Remingtons I did a full clean then shot two CAS days before the season ended. Since they were to be put away possibly for a few months I did a full strip n' clean and oiled with my newly found Ballistol. From two days of shooting 25 shots each day per gun the insides of the action were a little sooty but they would easily have gone another day and likely two more before the works would have gotten gummed up enough to matter.

And of course the cylinder, cylinder pin, ram and barrel got a full on cleaning at the end of each shooting day as soon as the belly is filled so I can actually concentrate.....

 

[madcratebuilder]

As you can see there are as many methods as owners. i break the revolver down to it's three main components, barrel, cylinder and frame after each shooting. I remove the nipples from the cylinder, clean everything with Ballistol. It's getting a complete detail clean every third or fourth shooting session.

 

[Paul03]

I think I'll start drinking! NO, JUST A BIG KIDDING. It seems it's a personal thing and you can't clean too often, but not cleaning for a while is ok. My only pistol shooting is with a Buckmark Bullseye with 7" bull barrel. Thousands of rounds, but this cap and ball shooting is ADDICTIVE!!!!! Not sure if I like shooting it as much as the loading and cleaning. But thanks for all the input and the 'welcome'!