The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Black Powder and Cowboy Action Shooting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old June 16, 2015, 08:36 AM   #1
stubbicatt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 15, 2007
Posts: 1,707
How many shots before cleaning C&B revolver

Guys, still hot on the trail of a Whitneyville Dragoon. I wonder though, how many shots before accuracy begins to deteriorate? I reckon to use round ball, 3F, and wonder wads.

I ask as I suppose I'll do some load development along the way, and wanted to be sure I didn't queer the results by failing to clean fouling out of the barrel so as to get a good measure of the groups fired.

Guess I'll need a little brass hammer to tap out the wedge, right?
stubbicatt is offline  
Old June 16, 2015, 11:13 AM   #2
Fingers McGee
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 19, 2008
Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks
Posts: 2,113
I don't normally shoot paper; but, shooting CAS 4 matches in 3 weeks last October, I put over 150 rounds through each of a pair of 1861 Navies before they started to bind up. Only maintenance done was wiping down the exterior, hammer and cylinder and relubing the arbors a couple times. The weather was cool & damp. Hot and dry conditions they may need a good going over after 5 or six stages.
__________________
Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters
Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce
Fingers McGee is offline  
Old June 16, 2015, 12:05 PM   #3
bedbugbilly
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 19, 2009
Posts: 3,282
I primarily shoot a '51 Uwerti Navy and a .36 Remington "Navy". Instead of wonder wads, I use 1/8's leather wads I punch from my leather scraps (I do leather work as a hobby) and I soak them in my BP lube melted - take 'em out and pat dry with a paper towel. My lube for 50 years has been a pound of Crisco melted and mixed with one melted toilet bowl ring (the old style true beeswax ring). Anyway, with a leather wad and a smear of the lube over the round ball, I can shoot many cylinders full with no problems. I might shoot 100 rounds or so on a good range day - never a problem with cylinder bind or excessive fouling.

As Fingers says - he shoots / shot 150 rounds or so and no problems - and I'm sure he could have kept going.

Before I load, I do remove the cylinders and lube the pins with my BP lube - no muss, no fuss, no cylinder binding not he pin due to fouling..

I would expect that you could plan on experiencing the same thing. Good luck with your search and have fun!
__________________
If a pair of '51 Navies were good enough for Billy Hickok, then a single Navy on my right hip is good enough for me . . . besides . . . I'm probably only half as good as he was anyways. Hiram's Rangers Badge #63
bedbugbilly is offline  
Old June 16, 2015, 02:05 PM   #4
Gunfixr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 10, 2007
Location: East Coast, USA
Posts: 360
I used to run a pair of pietta 1860 colts in cas, and id get done and just clean long before there was an issue.
But, i shot conicals, with the grooves lubed with home lube, crisco and beeswax. No wad or need to smear over it.
Accuracy never seemed to drop, but was shooting steel.
Colt style guns do build up fouling on the hammer, and it will start to bind after a few cylinder fulls, causing misfires. Just wipe it off every so often.
Personally, i set up competition guns so that the wedge can be pushed out by hand. I set a pin in the frame to keep the caps on the nipples, and i widen the frame hammer groove at the top, so that the hammer getting fouled doesnt bind it nearly so fast.
A slight chamfer on the cylinder chambers leaves the ball tighter, swages it in, instead of shaving it off.
Gunfixr is offline  
Old June 16, 2015, 02:27 PM   #5
wogpotter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 27, 2004
Posts: 4,811
I usually get 18~24 rounds before the fouling binds the cylinder pin a little. I've never noticed fouling effecting accuracy though, even after firing 30~40 rounds. I don't "clean" after the 18, I just clear the face & axis pin, reapply grease lube & carry on.
__________________
Allan Quatermain: “Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles”?

Elderly Hunter: “That's dashed unsporting. Probably Belgium.”
wogpotter is offline  
Old June 16, 2015, 07:24 PM   #6
Hellgate
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 18, 2010
Location: Orygun
Posts: 868
My Uberti Milennium Remingtons will start to gum up after 2-3 stages whereas my Euroarms Remingtons will shoot the whole match without trouble. Simple solution (literally) is to put 1 drop of oil on the front of the cylinder where it rubs on the frame. I do this after I charge each cylinder (all 6 chambers) then I twirl the cylinder a bit to work it down onto the cylinder pin. Takes about 15 seconds and the gun is freed up nicely. No disassembly needed. I keep a little squeeze bottle of the oil (olive oil or Ballistol) in my shoot box for that purpose.
__________________
With over 15 perCUSSIN' revolvers, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of cap & ball.
SASS#3302 (Life), SASS Regulator, NRA (Life), Dirty Gamey Bastards #129
Wolverton Mtn. Peacekeepers (WA), former Orygun Cowboy (Ranger, Posse from Hell)
Hellgate is offline  
Old June 18, 2015, 12:18 AM   #7
Bishop Creek
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 20, 2011
Posts: 564
I use Young Country Lube 103 on the arbor of my Walker and cylinder pin of my Remington's and can get dozens of shots off with no fouling or binding of the cylinder. Use lubed wads and it will cut down on fouling in the barrel.

Quote:
Guess I'll need a little brass hammer to tap out the wedge, right?
Yes, it would help.

http://fortchambers.com/httpdocs/Pro...cessories.html
Bishop Creek is offline  
Old June 20, 2015, 01:58 PM   #8
Chris_B
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 9, 2007
Posts: 3,101
I cheat a little; I remove the cylinder to reload on my slightly fantasy "1862" NY Met. Police open top. When I reload, I use an old toothbrush to give the arbor etc a quick scrub. I think cheating is wonderful. But I'll got a whole range trip without real 'cleaning' (meaning maybe 48 shots) and I see no change in accuracy; that little thing is a good shooter.

I use a bit of hard plastic to pop out the wedge, just needs a little hard squeeze but that's my pistol, yours will be different.
Chris_B is offline  
Old June 20, 2015, 03:07 PM   #9
roashooter
Junior member
 
Join Date: December 24, 2010
Posts: 508
using triple 7..I can shoot my Ruger Old Army's till I run out of desire/energy/balls/powder/caps...in other words...till I stop to clean it for storage
roashooter is offline  
Old June 20, 2015, 09:27 PM   #10
stubbicatt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 15, 2007
Posts: 1,707
Thanks fellas.
stubbicatt is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.13094 seconds with 10 queries