I like revolvers

J

Jesse H

New member
I never really cared for my dad's old .38 special. It's got Charter Arms stamped on it, little snubby.

Today I finally got the courage to shoot about 50 rounds down the range today, and hey, I like it! At first I was all over the place, hitting slightly low at 10 feet, but after compensating for it (I think the front sight is too short) I was almost shooting as accurately with the .38 as I was with the .380 auto. I'm finally able to handle the recoil, even with the ridiculously uncomfortable and short wooden grip.

So now that I've gotten it dirty, I need some help. How should I clean it? I'm getting pretty good at taking apart, cleaning, and putting back together the Ruger 22/45, but haven't the slightest clue with how to properly clean and oil this revolver. Thanks!
 
Just clean each hole in the cylinder, and wipe down all the other surfaces, paying specail attention to the area around the barrel and around the firing pin.
 
Well, and clean the barrel too :).

On a wheelgun, one thing to pay attention to is the rear of the barrel face (with the cylinder swung open) and the front face of the cylinder. Clean these surfaces well. There's a small gap between them when the gun is in operation, and crud builds up there, driven by expanding gasses. If it gets too bad, it can make cylinder spin a grinding, sticking affair.

Older Charter Arms, esp. late '70s production, can be excellent guns. If there's no shroud around the ejector rod under the barrel, that's actually a good sign. Mine has a very tight barrel-to-cylinder gap (probably fine-tuned by a gunsmith at some point) and after about 40 to 50 rounds, mine needs a wipedown on the forward face of the cylinder and the back of the barrel to maintain free cylinder spin.

Since I don't think a fight will ever go that many rounds out of a snubbie, I don't view it as a drawback :D. The advantage is that a tight gap increases velocity as there's less "pressure loss" at the gap.

Packmeyer grips (the Compac) are still available for Charters...that's what mine wears. Good stuff.

Jim
 
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