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kflach · July 15, 2009, 10:32 AM

The wife had a moment of tender compassion. She saw the desire in my eyes and said, “Since you like that so much, why not go ahead and buy it?” I put up a token resistance, but quickly found myself the owner of a .44 Pietta 1858 NMA. Now I’ve got to figure out how to use it. I’ve never owned a gun before - I haven’t even shot a pistol/revolver since flight school back in the early ‘80s. I don’t have any friends who shoot BP - in fact, none of my immediate circle of friends shoots anything. I’m a total newbie!

I’ve been looking through this and several other BP forums. I’ve seen the need to learn how to clean it - before I start shooting!! I’d like to confirm what I’ve picked up.

1.. The post-purchase/pre-shooting clean up.
Remove the cylinder and use patches and a bore brush to clean off the manufacturers oils/residues. Use the Bore Smoothing techniques mentioned in the “So you want a cap and ball revolver?” thread at the top of this page.

Question: One source I found (not from this forum) said “carburetor cleaner works great.” Is this true? I don’t know if that’s petroleum based or not.

2. Field Cleaning in between every 3-4 loads (as needed)
Remove the cylinder and use patches and a bore brush to clean off fouling in between loads at the range. I can use Windex.

Question: do I need to apply something after the Windex - some kind of olive oil or lubricant?

3. Clean up at home after shooting.
I’ve got the directions on the complete disassembly cleaning method recommended in the “So you want a cap and ball revolver?” thread at the top of this page. I’ve also found instructions on how to completely disassemble my revolver.

Questions: Everyone seems to clean their revolver when they get home but not everyone appears to do the complete disassembly every time. Is there an intermediate cleaning for when you come home after shooting but aren’t going to do the complete disassembly method Gatofeo described? Can you simply remove the wooden grips and then soak the cylinder and the rest of the gun in the hot water without totally disassembling every screw & part? Can you use a hair dryer to dry everything?

July 15, 2009, 10:32 AM	#1
kflach Registration in progress Join Date: July 15, 2009 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 99	Cleaning Stages The wife had a moment of tender compassion. She saw the desire in my eyes and said, “Since you like that so much, why not go ahead and buy it?” I put up a token resistance, but quickly found myself the owner of a .44 Pietta 1858 NMA. Now I’ve got to figure out how to use it. I’ve never owned a gun before - I haven’t even shot a pistol/revolver since flight school back in the early ‘80s. I don’t have any friends who shoot BP - in fact, none of my immediate circle of friends shoots anything. I’m a total newbie! I’ve been looking through this and several other BP forums. I’ve seen the need to learn how to clean it - before I start shooting!! I’d like to confirm what I’ve picked up. 1.. The post-purchase/pre-shooting clean up. Remove the cylinder and use patches and a bore brush to clean off the manufacturers oils/residues. Use the Bore Smoothing techniques mentioned in the “So you want a cap and ball revolver?” thread at the top of this page. Question: One source I found (not from this forum) said “carburetor cleaner works great.” Is this true? I don’t know if that’s petroleum based or not. 2. Field Cleaning in between every 3-4 loads (as needed) Remove the cylinder and use patches and a bore brush to clean off fouling in between loads at the range. I can use Windex. Question: do I need to apply something after the Windex - some kind of olive oil or lubricant? 3. Clean up at home after shooting. I’ve got the directions on the complete disassembly cleaning method recommended in the “So you want a cap and ball revolver?” thread at the top of this page. I’ve also found instructions on how to completely disassemble my revolver. Questions: Everyone seems to clean their revolver when they get home but not everyone appears to do the complete disassembly every time. Is there an intermediate cleaning for when you come home after shooting but aren’t going to do the complete disassembly method Gatofeo described? Can you simply remove the wooden grips and then soak the cylinder and the rest of the gun in the hot water without totally disassembling every screw & part? Can you use a hair dryer to dry everything?