Carbon Scoring--black marks on the cylinder

J

JohnKSa

Administrator
Both of these revolvers belong to the same person.
attachment.php

attachment.php

Wow, look at that! If that shooter cared about his equipment and knew what he was doing, he'd clean up those black marks. Right?

The revolvers belong to Jerry Miculek.
http://www.miculek.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=1&zenid=9gb3m84pn33rm3lf16gklti7b2

But maybe he doesn't really care about his equipment? That's not the case. I've seen a number of interviews in which he makes the point that properly maintaining his equipment is critical to his success as a professional shooter.

I'm not trying to say that we all have to leave the carbon scoring in place to show that we know as much about revolvers and shooting as Jerry does, but I do think that this makes the point that the carbon scoring is NOT a detriment to the firearm nor does it prevent it from performing at the highest level.

In other words, if you want to remove the carbon scoring on your gun, more power to you. But maybe, just maybe, the next time this topic comes up, the discussion can progress without the pretense that those who don't feel the need to return the cylinder to like-new appearance after every shooting session are unenlightened, inexperienced, or being careless with their equipment.
 

Attachments

  • Dirtygun1.jpg
    Dirtygun1.jpg
    15.7 KB · Views: 599
  • Dirtygun2.jpg
    Dirtygun2.jpg
    13.8 KB · Views: 579
Nice point about the carbon scoring. I'll also add that a whistle clean barrel is not necessary either. If I'm shooing FMJ, I just run a patch or two with CLP on it through the barrel and call it GTG.
 
I doubt he cleans his own guns first of all. Secondly, he shoots so much that he is going to always have dirty guns. Finally, if one of his guns breaks then S&W will just give him a new one. My guns are spotless. But I'm not gonna clean one if I know I'm gonna shoot it again so soon

And I never said carbon scoring was bad for the gun. Just said I don't like it on mine and me removing it doesn't hurt the gun. Something many people say I am doing
 
a few smudges don't bother me. I don't expect anything to be perfectly clean. let the small stuff slide and be concerned with the major issues.
 
I doubt he cleans his own guns first of all.
Click to expand...
He not only maintains his own guns, he does a lot of his own gunsmithing--as do many professional shooters.
Finally, if one of his guns breaks then S&W will just give him a new one.
Click to expand...
If one of his guns breaks or malfunctions in a match, it doesn't matter that another one will be in the mail soon. The time, money and effort invested in trying to win that competition are flushed down the toilet. He makes a point of telling anyone who asks that he is very serious about maintaining his firearms and says that it is critical to consistent performance in competition.
And I never said carbon scoring was bad for the gun.
Click to expand...
Which works out pretty well since I never said you did. ;)
 
JohnKSa,

that is a good post, pointing out that firearm maintenance and cosmetic cleaning are not necessarily the same.

I have unsubscribed from the other discussion about cleaning carbon deposits from the front of the cylinder when the posts became repetitive and opinions were presented as the ultimate wisdom.
 
Are you sure it's not heat oxidation rather than carbon ?? Heat can give different colors but carbon is black !
 
What the heck does Miculek know about revolver shooting anyways? Pretty sure that guy just started competing last year ;)
 
I shoot a lot of .38 and .357 through a couple of SS S&W's, and I normally dont get marks like that on the cylinders. Its usually mostly on the face, and it does build up pretty heavy, pretty quick. I normally clean it off after each outing, so I cant say for sure that it would be an issue at some point.

I have had a couple of Ruger Blackhawks that it was an issue, and they would start to get sluggish as you shot them, until it became very hard to thumb cock them without assistance turning the cylinder with the other hand. They went back to Ruger and had the gap opened up. I still cleaned the face of the cylinders afterwards too.

Hey, a lot of people have a different ideas on what "clean" is. If you dont want to clean your gun, and that includes Jerry Miculek, I could care less. Your gun, do what you want. I clean mine, and never had an issue doing so, nor have I ever had an issue with a clean gun not working properly.
 
I shoot a lot of .38 and .357 through a couple of SS S&W's, and I normally dont get marks like that on the cylinders.
Click to expand...
IIRC, I saw a video where Miculek estimated he had shot three million rounds (not all through those guns of course). That's 75,000 rounds a year for 40 years. I would think that kind of volume could do all sorts of things to guns that only a few will ever see.
 
I would say markings like that come from rapid shooting revlvers for long periods of time. I don't really think that's the carbon build-up most people are talking about. at least I have never had any except for the face of the cylinder, the one on bottom looks like just tempered, whereas the other looks like the actual crystal structure has been overheated. I dunno, maybe it is just carbon build-up, I just know ive just never seen anything like it on my guns
 
I suspect he spends more time reloading than cleaning.

As students (in college and not gunsmithing school) we had time to clean our equipment thoroughly. As a working adult, the time isn't necessarily there. Other obligations like family take up a lot of time, minimizing the amount of time once devoted to cleaning to a quick go over.
 
4V50Gary,

You nailed it! ...his old pet load was using Bullseye powder. My guns usually looked worse than his but I fired well over a thousand rounds per month ( using Hercules Bullseye, then) and still went to the playground with the kids.
 
This is sort of like people obsessing over the dark carbon rings that form on the cylinder face. Git over it peeps! :)
Click to expand...

Hey now...their preference for a clean looking gun (hopefully without removing metal) has no effect on anyone else. Once one starts to mock what others prefer, he borders on becoming a bully.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top