How often is cleaning a Model 10 too much?

Z

ZVP

New member
I bought the revolver used and it had just had a thorough cleanig indise and out
I have been shooting primarilly Lead cast bullets and cleaned the bbl after about 200 shots It didn't seem to make any differend=ce. I have shot maybe 300 since along with maybe 50 Jacketed bullets, The Bore looks clean and bright,
THe bullets I used were Oregon Trail hard cast lead SWC. these seem to leave no residue/

I was wondering if just running a Break-free patch through the bore and cylinders pretty soon would be a good idea?
I do not notice any dropoff in accuracy.
Is the lead so soft as to not worry yet?
ZVP
 
If you lead the bore with a 38 SPL then you either have crap bullets or are seriously standing on the throttle.
It should be a non-issue.

Clean it as you would any other gun.



Leading comes from super hot combustion gasses roasting the base of soft bullets and smearing it on the bore. Some lead bullet mfgs caution speeds over 1200 fps.
 
Clarification needed...?

^^^^ Feets, I agree with your post, but I'm having trouble understanding what the OP is trying to say, and whether your response is relevant.
ZVP said:
I have been shooting primarilly Lead cast bullets and cleaned the bbl after about 200 shots It didn't seem to make any differen[ce]. [sic]... The Bore looks clean and bright... THe [Oregon Trail] bullets... seem to leave no residue/
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Does this statement mean...
  • No difference in accuracy or function was observed despite cleaning the gun after the first range trip?
  • No difference in the appearance of the bore was observed after the cleaning? Or...
  • The Oregon Trail bullets left no visible residue, but the original (unnamed) cast lead bullets did?
I'm perplexed. :confused:

I can, however, say a couple of things for certain.
I was wondering if just running a Break-free patch through the bore and cylinders pretty soon would be a good idea?
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First, if the gun is not appreciably dirty, cleaning it probably won't make a discernible difference in accuracy. [EDIT: That said, as BigJimP subsequently wrote, it won't hurt if done properly.]

Second, IMHO Break-Free CLP isn't that great for removing barrel lead buildup. I prefer Kano Kroil, Ed's Red, and Hoppe's #9, roughly in that order. CLP's strength is removing powder residue while protecting from corrosion.
 
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It seems to me you are asking ... " How often is cleaning a Model 10 too much?
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Cleaning --- won't hurt the gun ! Many of us clean our guns after every range trip - and it doesn't matter if its 6 rounds or 100 rounds.../ we clean them before we put them back in the safe !

Now when I say cleaning a revolver ( and I have a pre-model 10) ...I mean cleaning the bore and the cyclinder with a brush, solvent ..and some oil to lube it ..not removing the side plate. I do remove the side plate once a year on guns I shoot a lot ....maybe every other year on guns I rarely shoot..and that's easy as well, once you know how, but it doesn't need to be done every time you shoot it.

I don't shoot any lead bullets ..only jacketed...but it shouldn't matter in my opinion. I would never wait for accuracy to be affected or for a malfunction to then clean a gun ... so how often is too much ? ...no such thing as too much cleaning ( if you clean it properly).
 
Whether you clean it after each shooting session or not is up to you. But you should consider wiping it down well with your favorite gun lube to prevent rust. Here on the Gulf Coast, in the summer, you can get rust forming overnight on a freshly fired gun.
 
I shoot a lot of hard cast bullets, and those are fine. If you're shooting dead-soft lead, you may have problems. I clean a little more thoroughly, but not any more often. Usually it's lube, and not lead, that causes most of gross stuff on the gun.
 
The biggest problem I have had shooting cast lead handgun bullets over the years has not been leading, it has been the waxy, black, sludge that builds-up from carbon and bullet lube (Alox 50/50). If I do not see a significant build-up, I do not worry about it. Running a Break-free patch through the bore and cylinders will hurt nothing. As Festus (Gunsmoke), used to say, "If you get to feel'en froggy, you just jump right on up...", and do it.
 
IMHO, cleaning the chambers is more important than cleaning the barrel since crud in the chamber can prevent a round from seating easily or fully.

A point on jacketed bullets though. If the jacket is hard (like .45 ACP in a Model 25), or a JHP does not have enough pressure behind it, the jacket may not fill out the rifling grooves and the result will be gas cutting and erosion in the corners of the grooves,, ultimately affecting power and accuracy.

Jim
 
To the OP. I'd clean the gun after every shooting session, and wipe it down with a silicon rag maybe once a month.

More guns are damaged from harsh cleaning habits than from shooting.

Like, a Colt revolver I once had where the previous owner wasn't watching the clearance around the cleaning rod when he cleaned the gun. The lands on one side at the muzzle were gone. He had ground them down by rubbing them with the cleaning rod. It was a 22 and that's easy to do.

On all my centerfire guns I clean them after every shooting session. On my 22s, I just run a bore snake through them.

If they show dirt beyond that (the 22s), then I'll use more conventional tactics.

Don't worry too much about it.
 
IMHO, cleaning the chambers is more important than cleaning the barrel since crud in the chamber can prevent a round from seating easily or fully.
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Truth. :) FWIW special chamber brushes are made for this, or you can use a 0.375"/9.3mm-caliber rifle brush. The problem with standard 0.357"/9mm pistol brushes in this application is that they're not large enough to really scrub the larger-diameter chambers well.

The next most important place to clean on a S&W revolver is under the ejector star. Crud under the star can cause the case heads to drag against the recoil shield, causing binding.

All that said, I'm going to wait for ZVP to clarify the initial post before responding further. :)
 
"If you lead the bore with a 38 SPL then you either have crap bullets or are seriously standing on the throttle."

Not true. Hard bullets at low pressure will lead as bad as soft ones being pushed too hard
 
A model 10? long as you dont tinker with the innards clean it or dont... not much of a difference. For slight lead in the barrel I'd just put six jacketed rounds through. What is important is to keep the screws tight and most important make sure the ejector rod is tight.
 
:) I have to admit, sometimes I will take it to the range a half dozen times before I clean it. doesn't.t seem to hurt it.
 
Barrel leading with solid lead bullets is usually the result of high velocities or too soft lead. I recall years ago that I refused to shoot the lead bullets (38 and 357) because it was such a pain in the butt to clean the barrel. Your bullets seem to have a hardener alloy in them.

You can often see lead when the barrel leads up. Get comfortable as to what a clean barrel looks like in bright light and check periodically after shooting.

I always wipe guns down after shooting them. But serious cleaning is only done when I feel like it or I see some serious crud.
 
If you're shooting lead you should get a Lewis lead remover. Brownells sells them. Best thing ever to remove lead. Comes out in strips. Amazing

I clean my guns everytime I shoot them. One round or 1000.
 
I recall years ago that I refused to shoot the lead bullets (38 and 357) because it was such a pain in the butt to clean the barrel
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Some years back I converted to shooting Berry's or Ranier's plated bullets at lower velocities just for this reason.

I've got a box of 500 lead SWC 45 ACP, but that's only because I can remove the barrel (unlike my revolvers; I sold my one and only Dan Wesson years ago) and vigorously scrub it down.

Also, when I use lead bullets, I end the shooting session by shooting a half dozen or so jacketed bullets. It does wonders in getting the lead out and I've been doing this for 40 years. I have yet to see any adverse effects.

I know it's highly controversial, but it works for me. Like I said, in 40 years, I haven't seen anything harmful.

I remember a discussion re the debate of following lead with jacketed here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=302172

If you read it, pay close attention to the comments by 1911 Tuner. He's not just a moderator. He's a pistolsmith who has been in the business for decades.

Like I said, I've been doing this for 40 years with nothing but positive results.

"So", one might ask, "if you follow shooting lead with shooting copper, and have such wonderful success, why change to plated? Why not just stick with lead then copper?"

Answer: Because it's just as easy to reload using plated as it is to use lead for reloading. And (once I run out of the above mentioned lead bullets) I won't have to go through the hassle of taking a few jacketed bullets, keeping them segregated from the lead, etc. It'll just be more convenient all around.
 
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