Nasty Guns

[LAH]

I've shot most powders & several lubes. They are all dirty in my sixguns & pistols. I've never cleaned a firearm using a cast & lubed bullet that was not dirtier than the same firearm using a jacketed bullet. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but that's how it for me. At times I stop loading & shooting long enough to wipe my sixgun down to keep some of it off my hands. But after a couple hundred it's dirty again.

We often discuss which powders/lubes are cleaner but if I shoot'em awhile they are all dirty. I understand how dirty depends on how you define dirty. But dirty is dirty to me. I live with it. There are times I can hardly pull the base pin on my Ruger 'cause it is simply a mess. You would think 500 rounds wouldn't do that but it does.

At times I've considered purchasing a parts washer & tossing my sixgun in there & leave it for a week. Does anyone understand me or is it in my head? Dirty, nasty guns & I've not figured any way round this. My hands are dirty & sometimes my shirt & trousers. Barbara tells me to change my after shave because the old stuff smells like burnt gun powder & bullet lube.

Someone speak up. I hear about all these clean shooting sixguns but after a couple hundred rounds mine looks "used". I wonder if this may have made my hair fall out in my 20's? And now I'm only 66 & my hands are wrinkled & gotta be from handling dirty, nasty sixguns.

[osteodoc08]

We are housing tiny explosions and everything that goes along with it. It's gonna get dirty. I enjoy sitting and watching TV cleaning my guns as much as I do shooting and reloading and casting. It's all part of the hobby. Slow down and enjoy it.

[XDROB]

Some powders and bullets are dirtier than others. With that said, it really depends on your acceptance level of what you think is (Dirty).😢😆

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[bosterr]

I'm 66 as well, but didn't start losing my hair until my 40's but can't blame it on shooting dirty loads. I started doing that way before. I may blame the wrinkles on my butt on it though. I figure I'm not having fun if my guns don't get dirty. I only worry about cylinder pins in my revolvers gumming up before they get hard to cock. Too hard on things inside to let that go. I shoot nothing but lead lubed with Carnuba Red in my revolvers and Contenders and nothing leads up to worry about.

[jeepyj]

Two things I've observed. First, A while back we were video recording some revolver shooting for one reason or another and it was clear as day that P/C coated boolits smoke far less than traditional lube both with the exact same powder load. Now I'm not exactly sure that this smoke adds to the overall condition of cleanliness but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
Second, It really seems when downloading certain powders such as Unique it burns more dirty.
Just a couple of personal observations hopefully it helps

[JSH]

I usually just keep a towel around to wipe me or it down. No big deal as I never found it hard to remove. A little Kroil or Hoppes on a patch or rag and it comes right off.
A few years ago, I didn't do much more than wipe the face of the cylinder off of my 625JM for about 300 rounds. Came right off, no ill effects.

The reason for the towel after was getting the lube on my hands changed the POI.
Jeff

[retread]

It's nothing compared to using holy black in your 45 Colt. Talk about dirty! But back to your concerns. Powder coating will greatly reduce your problem. After switching to PC, then choose a powder that is cleaner burning. In other words, stop with the Unique and some others and use something cleaner burning like ETR7, Vectan or a host of others.
That should keep your revolvers and hands much cleaner and reduce you time when cleaning your guns.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

[bob208]

I have never had any problems. I have gone whole matches with out cleaning my .38 or it even looking dirty just a little smoke. I went 4 months with out cleaning just to see what would happen. just wipe the smoke off. the load was 358429 3.5 gr. red dot lubed with the nra lub 50/50 bees wax and graphite. the guns were a ruger security-six and a colt o.p.

in the same matches I have seen guys have to clean their guns every relay.

[Plate plinker]

When I am shooting a lot I give my gun a B&$*H bath. That a good rinse with gun scrubber at the safety area. Followed up with a wipe and a oiling.

[FergusonTO35]

Handguns just get dirty faster because they have so many more places for gas (and thereby fouling) to leak out. Plus, we tend to put more rounds through them in a given session. My .30-30's tend to stay quite clean when shooting boolits, actually more so than when using j-words.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I've shot the .45 Colt in Colt's SAA with Unique, cast scrap lead lubed with Alox for months without cleaning just to see what would happen. Scrap lead is dirty. Eventually the pawl couldn't rise in the slot in the frame due to a build up of residue of fouling and lube. I couldn't cock the hammer back. This was after about 100 rounds a week from Spring until the end of summer. There are other lubes, powders, alloys, ext. The Colt's worked very well dirty. I suspect a tight custom six-gun might sieze up earlier and possibly at different choke point. I've found full pressure loads burn more effeciently than light loads. The thing noticeable is how a gun which appears dirty can be easily wiped down when shooting cast lead, when factory boolits require scrubbing to get the lead out, although the appears not as dirty on the outside.

[35remington]

To get truly annoying in terms of dirt most of us, if not all of us, would have to shoot a lot more than we do. It takes a lot of shooting with cast to affect accuracy or make the gun run poorly. If yours quits working after only a relatively few rounds you are doing something wrong.

I love a dirty gun. It means I had a lot of fun shooting it. Drop it in an old fashioned metal coffee can, dissassembled to the extent needed, and drizzle some mineral spirits on it. Scrub with an old toothbrush for a whole minute at most, patch the cylinder and barrel, oil, done.

No biggie. I sorta like tidying up a well used gun. Gives me a sense of satisfaction from a job well earned and done well.

Waterless automotive hand cleaner is intended for exactly the type of residue shooting leaves on your hands. Goop accompanies me on every big pistol shoot.

A wrap of paper towel or dropping the gun in a freezer baggie keeps the pistol cases and handgun rugs clean on the inside, unless they are so cheap you really don't care.

[LAH]

I have no problem with my sixgun working. Sometimes it takes a bit of effort pulling the cylinder pin but other than that & a stiffing of the ejector rod all it well. It's just dirty & this thread was done in humor. I twisted wrenches for several years & welded on equipment & trucks, even spent 4 years in the WV coal mines so I'm no stranger to dirt. Sometimes I do wish I had a parts cleaner though.

You shoot, you get dirty. You shoot a lot you get nasty. That's my life. Cast, load, shoot. Just trying to make ya smile.

[35remington]

You did get a smile.

And......the dirt you get from working on your truck makes shooting dirt look tame by comparison....like pulling a transmission that's been behind a leaking rear main for years. Black powder looks like dainty dirt in comparison.

[mcdaniel.mac]

First off, I have absolutely put a Glock frame through the dishwasher. Real easy to wash and dry. I have a 10/22 integral (I think I have pictures on here) that, when I acquired it, had not been cleaned since 1998. The sealed can was so nasty I ended up running a hose down the barrel and catching the slurry in an oil pan for disposal. Plopped it in the oven (again, just the barrel and stack) on low for a bit, then into tub with some desiccant packs to dry it out. Remounted it, re-zeroed, and it's run fine ever since.

I don't mind dirty as long as they run, with a couple exceptions. I owned (and never should have let go) a Desert Eagle in bright chrome (the MK XIX in .44 Magnum) and a stainless Bisley Ruger Blackhawk in .45 LC. Those two I polished and wiped religiously, because they were as much a trophy as a gun.

Otherwise, I clean them enough to run and not to stain my clothes for carry guns. I generally don't baby them either, any honest wear is a badge of honor.

[Scharfschuetze]

Primers leave a deposit. Powder leaves a deposit and bullets, both jacketed and cast, leave deposits and lubrication eventually leaves a deposit requiring a good cleaning. You can certainly manage how much fouling you get by selecting a clean powder and powder coating, but as was stated in a post above, shooting is a dirty business. With current technology, it can't be anything else. I accept it as part of the hobby. My pick truck needs an oil change every so many miles, my oven needs cleaning from time to time and my bathroom certainly gets a cleaning on a weekly basis.

While cast bullets with conventional lubes may appear to be dirtier than jacketed bullets after firing, for the most part they are easier to clean (if they don't lead the bore) as their fouling is much easier to clean than smears of copper down the barrel.

Dirty gun? They make solvent for that.

[LAH]

You did get a smile.

And......the dirt you get from working on your truck makes shooting dirt look tame by comparison....like pulling a transmission that's been behind a leaking rear main for years. Black powder looks like dainty dirt in comparison.

Glad you smiled. Yes transmissions can be dirty especially behind the old 2 stroke Detroit.

[bob208]

really like stopping at the store on the way home from a muzzle loader shoot. no body gets near me. I am in and out fast.

[DerekP Houston]

I have no problem with my sixgun working. Sometimes it takes a bit of effort pulling the cylinder pin but other than that & a stiffing of the ejector rod all it well. It's just dirty & this thread was done in humor. I twisted wrenches for several years & welded on equipment & trucks, even spent 4 years in the WV coal mines so I'm no stranger to dirt. Sometimes I do wish I had a parts cleaner though.

You shoot, you get dirty. You shoot a lot you get nasty. That's my life. Cast, load, shoot. Just trying to make ya smile.

Yup I end up filthy each trip to the range. I switched my powder to hp-38 for 38 special and it cleaned up "some" of the black soot but not all of it. I just wash my hands after shooting and don't let it bug me, going bang each time is all I'm concerned with .