1851 cleaning report, (some times you can get to it right away.)

[Bryan James]

so last month, was the last time I had some free time to go out shooting, want with some friends, took my 1851 with me, and we probably put around 50 rounds through it. after shooting we want out for food and beer, spent more time out then expected so didn't get to clean the gun that day. the next day flew out to san francisco for work, got back, got caught up, want on vacation for a week, got back, found out they had to recabled the SF office while I was gone so had to go back out there again. with everything going on, the gun had sat in it's carrying case for 3 weeks at that point. thought to myself boy this if going to be fun and wasn't looking forward to seeing what awaited me.

so last Friday night I bit the bullet and opened the case. you know it didn't look that bad at all. looked over the gun. and noticed the cylinder was stuck. but other then that no rust that I could see yet. I pulled the barrel off and put it aside. I lightly pulled back on the hammer enough to drop the hand (yeah I should of disassembled the gun then tried to get the cylinder free). and then just rotated the cylinder a little back and forth. I was able to free the cylinder without a lot of effort. There was a good build up of fowling on the cylinder pin that had been holding it, but having dealt with the cylinder pin on an 1858 before i wasn't worried. I soaked the cylinder in soapy water like I usually do to let it soak while I took apart the frame and cleaned it.

cleaning the gun was no different really then normal. I did have to work a little harder on the cylinder pin with a tooth brush to get the groves clean. but once that was done, the rest cleaned just the same, after brushing out the barrel I was happy to see the barrel nice and clean like always.

by the time I was finished the only place that had a little rush on it, was the hole for the ram in the barrel, but that was really my fault from when I plum browned the barrel, it seems I missed all of it. some steel wool took care of the rust that was there.

In all it probably took me 15mins longer to clean the gun then normal. I was very surprised how good of shape the gun was after a month of not cleaning it. though it defiantly could not have been fired till after cleaning. it didn't require anything major. not really an experiment I would like to try again. The only main let down, is that we are leaving this weekend to visit my wife's sister out in bois, so it will be at least another week till I get to go to the range.

 

[mykeal]

Bryan - you need to sit down and rethink your priorities, son. Work, travel, work, travel, work, visit relatives, work, shoot, work... Something is seriously out of whack.

What powder do you use?

 

[Bryan James]

lol, tell me about it, I'm thinking next month will have to make up the range time, usually the wife and I hit the range every weekend we can. Just the end of July and August has been real busy for some reason, more so this year, but hey the nice thing is that it's been averaging mid to hi 90's for most of it.

for powder currently using geox fffg. and shot around 22grains per load (36 caliber navy)

 

[mykeal]

"nice thing...mid to hi 90's"

Hot and probably very dry environment. That explains the minimal corrosion after 3 weeks of exposure to holy black fouling. I would never get away with that in Michigan.

 

[Bryan James]

in missouri, so forget the dry though the saving grace was that it was in the house and in it's case, so was protected from the elements, I bet the storry would have been different if left out on my work bench for that time.

 

[Pulp]

I thought I had cleaned all my guns after Ambush at Cavern Cove last October. Then in January I realized I had forgotten one of my Walkers. No rust, no corrosion. Cleaned up just fine. It was in my pistol case sandwiched between two layers of foam, perfect place for moisture to collect.

God bless Ballistol and Bore Butter. I use them religiously.