Removing crud/lead/goo from firing .38's in .357 Single Actions

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I've searched back threads and have found many references to good old elbow grease to the Lewis Lead remover which I have done.

The crud in my .357 SA guns is still there from firing .38 specials for SASS.

Same problem with my .45 Colts from firing .45 Schofield's in them.

My plan is to purchase .50 cal bronze brushes .40 cal. for the .357's and grind two flats on the threaded end and chucking them in my bench mounted drill press. With much Hoppies and a pair of leather work gloves, to hold the cylinders, I plan on slowly reaming out the cylinders. Any thoughts?:banghead:

 

[Al Thompson]

When spinning a brush in a drill, wear eye pro. Hate for a bristle to break loose and treat your eyeball like a cocktail olive.

 

[Cosmoline]

It's irritating. My solution has been to always use .357 brass even with lighter loads. Works perfectly so far, and I have a ton of brass.

 

[bikerdoc]

A hand held variable speed drill will be sufficient.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

Any cordless variable speed drill works perfectly for that.

Much less chance of damaging the cylinder then with a drill press.

And don't wear gloves around a drill press.
If your glove winds up in it, you will wind up in the ER.

Another trick I sometimes use is to wind a tuft of 0000 Extra-Fine steel wool on the bore brush.

It takes everything out the manufacture didn't put there in less time then it takes to type it.

rc

 

[aarondhgraham]

bikerdoc and rcmodel are correct,,,

bikerdoc and rcmodel are correct,,,
Just use a cordless drill and a bronze brush,,,
A few seconds in each chamber and it's good as new.

I've done this more times than I can count,,,
It never takes more than a few seconds in each chamber.

Aarond

.

 

[bergmen]

If you reload, one of the things you can do is use an empty .357 case and flare the mouth with the expander die so it just fits in the chamber. Push it through and it will shave off the crud. Keep it around as a cleaning tool. Follow with brush to finish up.

Dan

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

Thanks to all who responded with ideas. I will try the variable speed drill.

 

[Riven_Cole]

When spinning a brush in a drill, wear eye pro. Hate for a bristle to break loose and treat your eyeball like a cocktail olive.

...thanks for that image. very cringe worthy.


sorry, just REALLY phobic about stuff getting in my eyes. have literally been nauseous since i read that. i have a real phobia about it.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Thanks to all who responded with ideas. I will try the variable speed drill.

All of that is not necessary. Like mentioned above, all you need is an empty fired .357 Magnum case. Just tap the empty case into each charge hole and any carbon build-up that's there will go away quickly and easily.

 

[CmpsdNoMore]

I've tried all of these methods with my Ruger SP101 over the past couple of months and none of them seemed to work worth the trouble of doing them.

 

[Salmoneye]

Another trick I sometimes use is to wind a tuft of 0000 Extra-Fine steel wool on the bore brush.

Thought I was the only one that did this...

 

[btg3]

I thought the ONLY power tool appropriate for firearms was a dremel tool.

 

[dfariswheel]

As a gunsmith, I didn't have time to fool around with drills and soaking.
A simpler, fast, and safe for the gun and you is to buy a couple of Brownell's bronze chamber brushes.

Unlike bore brushes, these chamber brushes are not only over-sized, they're made of a special extra stiff bristle.

What I do is "screw" the brush into the chamber until about 1/3rd of it is sticking out the end, rotate the brush two or three turns, push it all the way through and pull it back.
Usually one pass will remove all fouling.

No soaking, no drills, no steel wool, no risk of damaging a chamber.

http://www.brownells.com/gun-cleani...ze-rifle-pistol-chamber-brushes-prod1287.aspx

 

[StrawHat]

Another vote for using the larger (or correct) empty cartidge as a reamer. Or maybe just buy a reamer. I have filed "saw teeth" into a cartridge case and used that to remove the crud. Fit a handle to the case and it is easy to use.

 

[rcmodel]

I didn't have time to fool around with drills and soaking.

Odd, but I actually learned the drill routine as a gunsmith with 5th. Army AMU 40 years ago.
We didn't have time to fool around with brushes & cleaning rods either.

And regardless of how well some of you think a sharpened .357 case cleans out hard carbon chamber fouling from firing .38 Spl?

It isn't.

Once it is ironed down and packed hard by firing .357 on top of it, you won't get it all out with a soft brass case.

Bottom line?
Drill + brush + solvent + 0000 steel wool if necessary = Clean chambers down to the steel, in less time then it takes to type it.

rc

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I will comment that I had this happen to a 357 Python. I followed the instructions of 4x steel wheel from RCmodel and it worked perfectly. No issues so thanks!

 

[highlander 5]

JB bore paste works as well. I've used it for really stubborn crud and it won't hurt the internal dimensions of the chambers. Smear it on a patch with a flat point jag and use a little elbow grease and you should be good to go

 

[OilyPablo]

I usually resort to soaking followed by a stiff chamber brush. 50/50 Hoppe's #9/Kroil seems to get right under the crud.

 

[BCRider]

The purpose built chamber brush is a sweet idea. I've used .40 bore brushes for my chamber cleaning up to now but they do tend to wear out more quickly.

I've never resorted to the flared casing. It's a great idea. But to fully clean the chambers the casing would need to still be followed with a bit of brush and solvent. The brass just isn't hard and springy enough to hold its shape tightly enough to fully scrape out ALL the buildup. It would certainly let the longer .357's chamber smoothly but it'll tend to grab and build up the crud ring a little sooner once you go back to .38 casings. Mind you it's so simple to scrape it out again a little more frequently that it's a viable way to go.

 

[doc2rn]

If I experience sticking shells I use jewellers rouge on a brass brush to clean the cylinder.

 

[bergmen]

Odd, but I actually learned the drill routine as a gunsmith with 5th. Army AMU 40 years ago.
We didn't have time to fool around with brushes & cleaning rods either.

And regardless of how well some of you think a sharpened .357 case cleans out hard carbon chamber fouling from firing .38 Spl?

It isn't.

Once it is ironed down and packed hard by firing .357 on top of it, you won't get it all out with a soft brass case.

Bottom line?
Drill + brush + solvent + 0000 steel wool if necessary = Clean chambers down to the steel, in less time then it takes to type it.

rc

My method with the .357 case is intended to be used after shooting .38 Specials and before shooting any .357s. If I shoot .38 Specials in my .357s (almost never), I always clean with above method and it works fine with me (follow with brush as noted).

I have plenty of .38 Special revolvers to shoot .38 Special ammo in and for my .357 revolvers I reload .357 Magnum cases down to .38 Special power if I'm going to go that route.

Dan

 

[BCRider]

If I experience sticking shells I use jewellers rouge on a brass brush to clean the cylinder.

You're removing more than the crud in that case. Jewellers rouge on the brush forms a lapping tool which removes steel as easily as it cuts into the crud buildup. If you do this reasonably regularly then your chambers likely have little or no blueing left and once that happens you're working on the steel itself.

You shouldn't even use that brush on anything else since the rouge particles will be embedded in the bronze wires now and it's STILL a metal lap looking for steel to cut.