Advice for Newbie to BP Revolvers

[686 Shooter]

Good morning and happy new year everyone. I am new to black powder revolvers and am looking for some advice and info.

I have a Uberti 1860 Army and am wondering if you break the frame down to clean the internal mechanism after each shoot or if not how often do you recommend doing this? Looks to me that there will be fouling getting in there, not like the lock on rifles.

As for the wad under ball/lube over ball debate, I am leaning towards wads as that seems less mess. I intend to try both. From all the reading I have been doing, it appears these are both effective at preventing chain fires. Does anyone have a good recipe for a wad lube that does not include tallow? That seems to be pretty rare around these parts.

Is there any other helpful revolver advice you have to offer? All will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

 

[delrom418]

I also have some 1860's that I shoot a lot for cowboy action shooting. I clean the internals at least once a season, and once at the end of the season when I put them away for the winter. You do get fouling in there, but not enough to hurt anything. Now cap fragments are a different story. Those you have to get out right away.

The wads vs. lube over ball debate will rage on forever. I use lubed wads under the ball. I don't use them to prevent chain fires, I use them to keep the fouling soft so I can complete the match with no problems. For a lube, I use a 50/50 mixture of beeswax and Crisco.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I like to break my '51 Navy down about once every 5-6 times I shoot it. No, you don't need to completely strip them every time you shoot them, but they do need to be thoroughly cleaned and field stripped after use.

I've heard of people who substitute Crisco for tallow. You can get tallow from Dixie Gun Works and a can or two will make a TON of lube when combined with the other substances.

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=3686

 

[99whip]

Unsalted lard instead of tallow is an option. Usually available at grocery stores, Wally-World, etc. If you look for it, the unsalted variety is what you want.

Happy New Year to you.

 

[686 Shooter]

Thanks all. I don't know what the rules would be regarding bringing tallow into Canada from Dixie Gun Works since its an animal product. I will give the Crisco or lard recipe a shot though.

 

[Texas Moon]

You can make lube with olive oil and beeswax.
Start out at 50/50.
You may have to adjust the ratio to keep the lube soft and workable in cold temperatures.

I usually tear the guns down after about 250 rds.

 

[LonesomePigeon]

When you do break the revolver down you will not want to use regular screwdrivers. Use gunsmith screwdrivers. Tip: put a piece of Scotch tape over the tip of the screwdriver to avoid scratching your gun.

 

[686 Shooter]

I do have a set of hollow ground screwdriver bits for working on my guns. The scotch tape trick is a great idea. Thanks.

 

[Noz]

Clean the guts when something breaks. If you use Ballistol and water the internals will be floating in a black slime. It's all good 'cause that is the Ballistol. If you have to break them down then scrub them out,water will do, squirt them down with Ballistol and go again.

 

[Mike OTDP]

With revolvers, I normally do a complete teardown every 6 months, but I do a lot of shooting.

 

[Starter52]

I've been occasionally shooting the same Ruger Old Army for 20+ years and it has never had a complete teardown. It functions fine with just a standard cleaning after each range session.

Also, I've been using under the ball Wonder Wads for a decade. I will never switch to anything else. I find them superior to any kind of over the ball treatment.

 

[Steve's 44cal]

I take mine completely apart clean and oil them back up before I put them away helps you learn how your revolver works too

 

[Tommygunwinter]

cleaning during shooting

Another new black powder person here. A 1858. I find that after shooting 3 cylinders the fouling all but locks up the trigger/hammer/cylinder mechanism. Using both pyrodex powder and pellets.

That typical? Any suggestions for a quick way to clean it at the range?

Thanks. Great forum!

and now sort of found my own answer - I didn't lube the cylinder pin, or at least not enough. I was using pre-lubed wads, but think Ill add some extra.

any other thoughts welcome

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have several cap-n-ball revolvers, and have used then in CAS competitions where I was shooting a cylinder's worth x5 or even x6, for each revolver during a match. So yes they get pretty dirty.

I didn't get much fouling in the internal mechanism, but the cylinders/barrel assembly was thoroughly cleaned at the end of the day, if it was one cylinder fired or multiple.

I routinely used wonder wads between the ball and the powder. Since it was CAS I was only shooting 15 grains of powder, and I used 2 wads. Never had a chamber fire. Perhaps doubling up on the wads was the key? In the past I had used beeswax and Crisco/lard/olive oil...over the ball, and while it was fine for hot weather alone, as the revolver heated the lube from the 4th or 5th shot would sometimes cause a real mess. Hence the switch to .44 cal wool wads. At a match, before I got the extra cylinders and went to wool wads, trying to reuse the greasy, oily cylinders multiple times wasn't working.

I used and still use 3Fg GOEX powder. Was a lot cleaner than any of the substitutes. I would load the cylinders and then they were placed in pairs, in plastic containers (uncapped nipples) and only removed from the containers at the loading bench...installed on the revolvers and then capped and holstered.

The other tip I found was that in every cylinder, and I had as mentioned 6 cylinders for each revolver, for some reason one of the six chambers in each and every cylinder always shot a bit out of the group at 25 feet from a rest. (I was using inexpensive Pietta ".44 Confederate" revolvers.) So I kept track of each cylinder's "off" chamber, and then pulled the nipple from that chamber. The remaining five chambers in each cylinder gave very good groups, and it gave me an obvious unused chamber in each cylinder to rest the hammer upon when loaded. (In CAS you shoot only five of the 6 chambers... and put the hammer on the empty chamber to start the round of shooting)

LD

 

[swathdiver]

Another new black powder person here. A 1858. I find that after shooting 3 cylinders the fouling all but locks up the trigger/hammer/cylinder mechanism. Using both pyrodex powder and pellets.

That typical? Any suggestions for a quick way to clean it at the range?

Thanks. Great forum!

and now sort of found my own answer - I didn't lube the cylinder pin, or at least not enough. I was using pre-lubed wads, but think Ill add some extra.

Yep, pretty typical. Pull the cylinder every other time loading and wipe down and lubricate the pin with bore butter. You could also get a pistol loading rod and swab the bore then too. For me and my house, our groups open up with a fouled bore after a cylinder or two of shootin'.