Cleaning a revolver

M

magnum777

New member
I own a Ruger GP 100, I bought it few years ago, my first revolver. I clean it by wiping the barrel and the cylinder. I have been told that is all you need to do to clean a revolver. I have never had any problems, it shoots great, but I been told by someone you need totally dissemble the gun because dirt can get inside to the working parts. I like to know what my fellow revolvers users do.
 
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On my security six or S&W I remove cylinder and dissamble,clean & lube ejector parts, brush & oil barrel with eezox, reassemble and wipe down
 
Depends on the revolver. I had a Colt Python that compared to my trusty old Trooper .357 was so finely fitted that 50 rounds of WCs loaded with Bullseye would bind up the cylinder, requiring cleaning of the ejector rod and its area.
Soaking a nickeled revolver in Hoppe's No. 9 will remover the residue-and the nickel. If you have a leading problem, there are various methods to deal with that. I personally use chemistry on the barrel, swab with Hoppe's, let it soak for 30 minutes or more, likewise on the exterior, for cleaning the internals I use brake or parts cleaner from the auto supply store. I go over my nickeled S&W M-27 with Hoppe's followed by a VERY thorough wipe down and drying. If you fire a lot of 38s out of your 357 you will have to clean the buildup of lead and lubricant in each chamber fairly regularly or 357s will not chamber.
I have a Security Six, soaking it with Hoppe's doesn't bother the finish.
 
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Ruger.com, videos online....

The world wide web has been a great boone to many US gun owners & those in the shooting/hunting sports.

Ruger has a few top notch DA revolver cleaning clips. www.Ruger.com
Other websites like MidwayUSA.com , GunsAmerica.com , Gunvideo.com , NRA.org Mpro7.com all have gun care/cleaning videos.

Brownells, www.brownells.com is a great resource for any gun owner or armed professional.

A CLP like Gunzilla, LPX, Weaponshield, or Ballistol would do great.

A Boresnake Viper would help too. It speeds up barrel cleaning.

CF
 
I clean it by wiping the barrel and the cylinder.
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TBH, I do the same, with the additional bit of using a copper brush on the forcing cone and cylinder faces where the gases escape, as the bit under the top-strap.
 
Revolvers are a PITA to clean, but you gotta do it. Basically, its 7 barrels and lots of brushing and patching. Not to mention, all the nooks and crannies crap has a way of getting into. Lead and dirty powders just add to the aggravation.

Did I mention they were a PITA? :)
 
IMO, many people go way overboard cleaning their revolver. There's absolutely no need to remove the cylinder or sideplate for routine cleaning. There's absolutely no need to get the cylinder face shiny & like-new, and there's absolutely no need to go to heroics (such as putting a brass brush in a drill) to clean the chambers.

For routine cleaning, I run a patch through the barrel from the breech end (using an Otis cable). I wipe the gun down with some solvent & a patch (being careful around the muzzle crown) then use a patch on the chambers. Follow up with a few passes of a brass brush in the chambers, then another patch, finishing with a clean patch. Wipe the whole gun down, and I'm done.

Every so often, in addition to the above, I'll use a brass brush (the kind that looks like a toothbrush) on all surfaces, then wipe clean.

About once a year (or about 15k rounds) I'll pop the sideplate and remove the cylinder, then clean the innards & re-lube.
 
if you dont like brushing, you should try the foaming cleaners, the cans all say its a simple process, spray in the barrel and wait 15-20 minutes, and a few patches will get every bit of copper out.
never tried those products but the sound interesting. but i have to add my .02 cents in.

the ejector and star are critical to function. its a bit better to flush it out with a good dose of spray silicone and get everything out, so you dont have an issue of something getting stuck and making your cylinder not reinsert into the frame when something is trying to eat your leg.
 
I brush the chambers and barrel, and take a brass brush to the cylinder face and ejector star. Wipe it here and there.

Disassembly isn't really required more than once a decade, unless you drop it in a puddle of mud or shoot a LOT. To clean/lube the innards I just spray some aerosol Remoil inside the gun.
 
I do essentially what Mr Borland describes above. About once a year, pop the side plate and spray it with brake cleaner. Then use the tiniest drop of Break-Free CLP I can get out of my needle oiler. One little bitty drop on each side of the hammer and it's bearing, one LBD on the rebound slide thingie.

After shooting, I run a pretty wet patch of Break-Free CLP down the barrel and in each of the cylinder holes. Then after the drive home, I run a dry patch through to remove the excess oil. Rarely do I use a brass brush. I don't use any other chemicals or solvents. CLP removes anything I want to remove, just takes longer than something like Hoppe's #9.

I don't try and remove black marks from the cyl face.

I toothbrush around the outside of the forcing cone, allowing it to pick up any CLP that finds it's way there from the bbl patch work.

Whole thing takes maybe five minutes, dozen patches, six or eight drops of oil.

I don't ever want to see anything the consistancy of grease in any of my guns. Well worked in CLP is all I want/need/use. Been doing that for half a century.


Sgt Lumpy
 
I clean it by wiping the barrel and the cylinder. I have been told that is all you need to do to clean a revolver. I have never had any problems, it shoots great, but I been by someone you need totally dissemble the gun because dirt can get inside to the working parts. I like to know what my fellow revolvers users do.
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It really depends on a lot of things. I detail strip mine every couple of years or so to clean the innards. But my revolver is truly an outdoor utility, tent and sleeping bag gun that gets exposed to dusty 4-wheeler rides, rain, a marine climate and silt-laden air in addition to quite a bit of shooting.

If you aren't exposing it to the above, a detail cleaning and lubing is only necessary every 5-10 years.
 
I've had good luck with a foaming bore cleaner (originally bought it for my MZ.) Get back from the range and foam out the barrel and cylinder and leave it for twenty minutes. Quick go through with bronze brush followed up by a couple of patches. I gave up on scrubbing the cylinder face.
 
I do about the same as Mr. Borland. I've never disambled a revolver and never will. I've never seen any need to.

I don't worry about getting every speck to crud off one either. Wipe it down. Maybe run a patch through the barrel and chambers, and call it a day.

If you really enjoy cleaning a gun, I guess you can do more. I don't.
 
If you try to spin the cylinder on the crane and it feels gummed up and resistant to moving, that resistance adds to the DA trigger pull and to the SA cocking force required. That's when it is time to remove the cylinder and get all the gunk out from between the cylinder and the crane shaft.

Speaking from experience, it can be a lot of rounds plus a lot of years between deep cleanings of the crane assembly, especially with stainless steel revolvers.
 
I would rarely take the side plate off , but for me taking apart guns , cleaning & oiling is part of the fun with guns. I've always liked taking things apart anyway. To me a gun can't be too clean
 
I always remove the cylinder for cleaning, simply because it makes it easier to clean both the cylinder and the crane and it only requires one screw. It also makes it harder to bend the crane.

I also like to use a flattened piece of brass to remove the crud that accumulates at or near the upper back corner of the frame. In addiition, I use a piece of cloth pulled back and forth to clean the gap between the forcing cone and the frame.

All this applies to S&W revolvers of course... Rugers are so tough they never need cleaning ;)
 
On a double action revolver....I clean the chambers in the cyclinder and the barrel ...with solvents and brushes ...and run clean patches thru them. They I wipe the whole gun down....lube it properly ...and put it back in the safe. I only put about 2,500 rds thru most of my revolvers annually --- but once a year, I take off the sideplates...and clean, inspect and lube properly.

On my single action revolvers ....I remove the cyclinder every time I shoot it...clean the cyclinder, the barrel, etc...( with brushes, patches, etc ) ....and lube and reassemble.

Its not a big deal to thoroughly clean a good revolver...
 
If you're going to use a bore brush by inserting muzzle first...it is a good idea to insert a cloth rag inside the cylinder opening, and pull both ends of the rag tight up against the firing pin side of the revolver. This avoids any damage to the firing pin face or housing, in case you accidently hit it with the tip of the bore brush; as you ram it thru the bore.

It is advisible to use pistol bore brushes, instead of rifle brushes --- because the rifle brushes may not totally exit the breech face of the bore --- thusly getting part of the rifle brush stuck in the bore; and might damage the bore if you try to reverse it.

I try to clean --- brush/cotton patch -- my centerfire pistols after every 300 rounds.

My 22 SA pistol requires frequent lead cleaning between the top of the forcing cone and backstrap. It requires a small bladed jeweler's screwdriver, with the top of the screwdriver being tapped by the handle of a wooden screwdriver, or a wooden crab mallet.

For my Ruger 454 Super Redhawk...it is advisible not to leave any excess oil around the cylinder rod or housing, in the front of the cylinder.
 
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post 7, LoneWolf McQuade.....

I agree with post 7 too. Unless you're Lone Wolf McQuade or really, really shoot a lot(lead bullets), you do not need to break down a DA revolver every time.

I've owned 2 stainless Ruger revolvers in the recent past, a great GPNY & a older SP101 .357magnum.
I would advise taking off the grips. There's always a lot of grit & crud under a grip.
A big vote for Ballistol too. It's handy in the shop or field because its non toxic & can clean grips metal leather etc.

As posted, just strip & use CLP maybe once or twice a year with standard use.

Clyde F
 
I clean enuff to keep it reliable & accurate .

But once a yr they get a complete teardown cleanin & measuring/inspection for wear/endshake

If carried normally (with the hammer down)it`s got to be some fine dust/dirt/lint to invade the GPs inner works .

I just traded for this GP



a 89 vintage & it had never been apart & found alot of broken flashing/machining bits & dried crudy grease!!

Cleaned it all up , alot smoother but had terible SA creep(you could count the jumps before breaking) but got that all cleaned up & now has a very crisp SA.

I like to use a synthetic grease sparingly in the plungers of the GP but all other moving parts get REMOIL or ATF fluid mixed with 3 in 1 oil.
 
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