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**Mike Irwin** · February 5, 2009, 08:02 AM

"I'm just skeptical that doing so time and again can be done without doing some damage at some point."

The "damage" (better referred to as wear, in my opinion) you do by FIRING the gun regularly is FAR more severe than simply disassembling it for inspection/cleaning/lubrication.

If you're worried about damaging your firearms, don't shoot them. EVER. You don't even handle them.

Firing it puts amazing amounts of stress on the frame and barrel, trigger mechanism, and especially on the cylinder assembly...

The second you pick up any gun you run the amazingly high risk of causing severe damage to it.

Bad factory ammo/bad handloading practices could result in your gun exploding, possibly killing you or those around you.

Bad handling practices could result in your dropping the gun on an unforgiving hard surface.

Touching the finish on the gun can cause serious rusting from the salts and acids in your fingerprints.

Sliding a gun in and out of a holster will cause highly visible and very distracting mars on the finish.

And don't even think about getting a screw driver near those sights to adjust them. That's just a recipe for finish gouging, screw peining disaster...

Bad cleaning rod control can cause barrel damage, leading to a loss of accuracy from disastrous barrel damage.

Pulling the trigger repeatedly causes flexing of the springs, which are then subject to failure.

See where I'm going with this?

Look. The bottom line is this...

I'm not saying pull your revolver completely apart every 36.72 minutes for the rest of your life.

I distinctly said that I normally only do a thorough clean and strip on my revolvers every 2,000 or so rounds. That's only a rule of thumb, and there are a LOT of variables, such as were most of those rounds jacketed bullet rounds, or were they far messier lead hand loads.

What I am saying, though, is that I don't understand why so many people who seem to think that pulling down a semi-automatic to its component parts is the height of testosterone-laden fun, to be followed by beer and belching, turn into puddles of terror filled goo at the thought of doing the same thing to their poor, delicate as a flower revolvers.

The weeping and filling of pants with urine and cries of "OH NOES, WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE IDDIEBIDDIE REVOLVERS!" as demonstrated in the laughable comparison of a revolver to a Rolex watch gets to be a bit much at times...

If you're too much of a Caspar P. Milquetoast to face the nightmare inducing thought of actually wanting to maintain your revolver, that's fine. But don't project your fears/terrors onto the noobs.

February 5, 2009, 08:02 AM	#17
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,388	"I'm just skeptical that doing so time and again can be done without doing some damage at some point." The "damage" (better referred to as wear, in my opinion) you do by FIRING the gun regularly is FAR more severe than simply disassembling it for inspection/cleaning/lubrication. If you're worried about damaging your firearms, don't shoot them. EVER. You don't even handle them. Firing it puts amazing amounts of stress on the frame and barrel, trigger mechanism, and especially on the cylinder assembly... The second you pick up any gun you run the amazingly high risk of causing severe damage to it. Bad factory ammo/bad handloading practices could result in your gun exploding, possibly killing you or those around you. Bad handling practices could result in your dropping the gun on an unforgiving hard surface. Touching the finish on the gun can cause serious rusting from the salts and acids in your fingerprints. Sliding a gun in and out of a holster will cause highly visible and very distracting mars on the finish. And don't even think about getting a screw driver near those sights to adjust them. That's just a recipe for finish gouging, screw peining disaster... Bad cleaning rod control can cause barrel damage, leading to a loss of accuracy from disastrous barrel damage. Pulling the trigger repeatedly causes flexing of the springs, which are then subject to failure. See where I'm going with this? Look. The bottom line is this... I'm not saying pull your revolver completely apart every 36.72 minutes for the rest of your life. I distinctly said that I normally only do a thorough clean and strip on my revolvers every 2,000 or so rounds. That's only a rule of thumb, and there are a LOT of variables, such as were most of those rounds jacketed bullet rounds, or were they far messier lead hand loads. What I am saying, though, is that I don't understand why so many people who seem to think that pulling down a semi-automatic to its component parts is the height of testosterone-laden fun, to be followed by beer and belching, turn into puddles of terror filled goo at the thought of doing the same thing to their poor, delicate as a flower revolvers. The weeping and filling of pants with urine and cries of "OH NOES, WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE IDDIEBIDDIE REVOLVERS!" as demonstrated in the laughable comparison of a revolver to a Rolex watch gets to be a bit much at times... If you're too much of a Caspar P. Milquetoast to face the nightmare inducing thought of actually wanting to maintain your revolver, that's fine. But don't project your fears/terrors onto the noobs.