[Doc Hoy]

To Rifleman1776....You are too kind.

I had initially thought of caps in he works but the description of the problem seemed to lead me away from it. It is definitely worth considering.

I have thought long and hard in the topic of fouling and I am categorically under prepared to speak on it since, as I said, the way I shoot (much as is described by Noz) does not provide me with a lot to observe. I would say this:

It might be worthwhile to go to town on the cylinder pin with some light sandpaper taking only about a thousandths (max) off but, more pertinently, putting a nice smooth finish on the pin. I would deliberately restrict the work to the part of the pin upon which the cylinder rotates when the pin is all the way in the pistol. (Pistol in battery). Might also try some light steel wool in the pin hole in the cylinder to smooth up that surface as well. I have never tried this. I don't know if it will correct the problem given that it does nothing to address buildup in the barrel gap. I don't even know where most of the dirt that I see on my wiping rag comes from. That in itself might be a worth while piece of data.

Here is the downside:

This action may actually make the pistol worse because if the problem is related to crud getting inside the cylinder and getting on the pin, then anything you do to the pin or the cylinder will only serve to open the gap and possibly allow more fouling. You have to look close for fouling on the pin since the movment of the pin in the frame as you retract it would have the effect of wiping off all of the crud, leaving it on the frame. If you pull the pin out. Wipe it down and scmootz it with Pam or Rem Oil and it works easier after the process, you know that at least some fouling got onto the pin.