Got my first revolver--question on cleaning chambers

A

AndyP

New member
I just got hold of my new Ruger KGP-141 (4" barrel, adjustable sight GP-100). I have a basic newbie question on cleaning the chambers.

It looks like the gun was factory test fired with 38 specials. There is a ring of discoloration and/or crud toward the end of each cylinder chamber where the end of a 38 special case falls. I did some basic cleaning with Pro-Shot lead and powder solvent using a nylon brush and a bore snake, but the rings remain. (I didn't let the solvent sit for long, though.) The rest of the chamber walls, fore and aft of the rings, are shiny, and 357 cases fit in OK. My questions are:

Is this just normal discoloration or is it lead (or other) deposits?

Can or should it be removed? If so, how?

Thanks!
AndyP
 
Someone probally has better advise but I use a brass brush, it is lead deposits. It can and should be removed. There is nothing worse than bringing only 357 to the range after shooting alot of 38 specials and not being able to chamber any.

For the life of me I couldn't figure why companies like ruger would offer 38=p chamberings as well as .357 chamberings in guns like the sp101 and the gp when the frame weight and cylinder length doesn't change, that was untill I found myself scrubbing the rings.
 
I agree with ajacobs: Try a .38/.357 phospohor bronze bristle brush, a good cleaning solvent, and some elbow grease. Nylon brushes are not very useful IMO. There are also steel cylinder brushes, but these are quite aggressive and should not be used for routine cleaning.

A small amount of the residue you describe remaining after cleaning is not a big deal. As long as the ammo chambers without difficulty, don't worry about it.
 
I recently discovered from Kleen Bore the "Lead Away" cloth. This stuff is great,I used it on my Stainless Steel cylinder on the ends that build up, And with a little rubbing with a 2" square my Stainless was clean!! Then I ran it through the cylinder using a Jag from Kleen Bore and WOW!:D the cylinder came out super clean. This cloth costs in my area $3.00. Follow up with a clean patch and you will not believe how clean and how fast.


You will enjoy your new gun I have GP-100's and they are among my favorites.
 
If you don't feel like scrubbing, just remove the cylinder and let it sit in a small glass of Hoppes #9 overnight. The next morning you push a patch through and everything comes out. One nice thing about doing it this way is that you're not scratching up the finish.

Dick
 
while shooting PPC we used to use a .45 brass brush in the chambers between matches.

just a thought, but i try not to overlook the obvious...could what you are see be the narrowing of the chamber before the jump to the throat?
 
Since Andy is a self-admitted newbie, I would ask him if the rings are somewhat perfectly round and even...they could just be the step in the chamber for the case and trying to get rid of them will be impossible and could possibly lead to scratching up the chamber. Just a stupid thought on my part...my old Trooper has these, but I'm not familiar with the Rugers.
 
As Calif Hunter asks, the rings are perfectly round, so I'm guessing they are the "step in the chamber." I'm new to revolvers (my other guns are semi's), so I just assumed the chambers should be perfectly smooth and the same diameter through the length of the cylinder since the case rim positions the round. From what you say I shouldn't worry about it.

Any other thoughts or comments?

AndyP
 
I'll Share a Secret for Cleaning Revolver Chambers...

Get one of those cheap aluminum pistol cleaning rods with the loop on the end. Then get a hacksaw and cut the loop off. Now, get your hands on some nylon bristled brushes like are used for cleaning rifle case necks. Put the nylon brush on what's left of the cheap aluminum cleaning rod. Chuck the whole thing up in your electric drill, dip the brush in the solvent of your choice, and let electricity do the dirty work. If it's really stubborn stuff, put the cylinder aside and let the solvent do some of the work.
 
califhunter - all quality revolvers should have the step as that is the begining of the alignment to the throating for the barrel. the only wheelguns i have seen without them were war time production 1917 .45 acp revolvers.
 
Thanks, TCW. I decided on it after lurking around this forum for a while. It was going to be either the KGP-141 or a S&W M686. I decided to opt for ruggedness. Turns out that the trigger on my Ruger is very nice right out of the box, too.

Cheers,
AndyP
 
I went with the 6" barrel, but otherwise, like yours, mine was great out of the box.

To avoid the ring in the future, use only magnum length brass. I bought some of the .357 158 gr LSWC at a gun show and some 158 grain JHP's which feel light and use those rather than .38 specials. I haven't loaded any .38's in mine and the ring you're cleaning doesn't exist in my Ruger.
 
I see this topic a lot,and hear a lot of horror stories of endless scrubbing of chambers to remove those dreaded rings.
FWIW, the by far easiest and most positive way I've found to deal with it has been to take a fired .357 case,it has to be fired,if you reload, a very, very slight bell of the case mouth even works a little better, and push it into the cylinder before using any solvent. A dry brush brushes away the debris. Speaking of brushes, generally I use either a nylon or bronze brush, one size smaller than the caliber. Why? Take a .38/.357 labeled brush and push it into the chamber. Notice how the bristles fold down so you're cleaning mostly with the sides of the bristles, and not the tips? The tips will dig the stuff out, the sides will just float over the top. Why dry? The same stuff in the solvents that eats up the crud, slow eats the bronze brush. Normal cleaning follows.
I found this out completely by accident( not the dry brush part,that was borrowed from another poster) when I was checking the fit of a .357 case in a .357Mag that I had been using a lot of .38Specials in. I scrubbed the daylghts out of it, and the .357 case STILL wouldn't drop into the chamber w/out pushing it. It finally dawned on me that the crud falling out of the cylinder mouth was being scraped off the chamber wall.
I do the same with .44's, and use an empty CCI Stinger case for the .22's.

*RE:Lead Away cloth. They work great on stainless or Nickle, but will remove bluing, and some anodized or "painted" finishes.
 
A .45 brush in an electric drill along with some G96 Gun Treatment does it for me.

It appears, though, that AndyP might be trying to "clean" the shoulders out of the chambers. Those shoulders are supposed to be there. Very few modern revolvers except .22 LR have chambers drilled straight through.

Jim
 
Yes, I was worried about cleaning out the shoulders! :D The only other revolvers I've seen up close and personal were 22's, so I didn't know how centerfire revolver chambers are constructed. Nonetheless, I appreciate all the pointers about getting the lead out (so to speak).

To minimize hassles, I plan on shooting plated or jacketed bullets in 357 cases for most of my shooting with this gun.

Thanks again to all.

AndyP
 
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