1858 cleaning shooting/questions

[archeryrob]

I've just started shooting revolvers as the wife likes to shoot her 9mm out back. I told her I would shoot with her if I had a BP pistol and she bought me an 1858 for Christmas, like here your sign, "I want company"

Anyways, how often do you clean it while shooting and how do you clean it while shooting? I reloaded it it three times and then tried to clean the gun. I pulled the cylinder and the Cylinder pin was fowled and the cylinder was starting to bind. I wiped them all off and the cylinder spun fine. 6 shots and the cylinder pin is stuck and I have to wood dowel and hammer push it forward. I tried sliding it back and forth and and wipe the pin off on both sides, but it stuck after firing the next loading. I got frustrated and stopped to ask questions. I used the loading flask with a 24 grain spout. Then seated the RB and it was down there a bit. I lubed with crisco and thought maybe too much grease collecting fouling?? It was a 1/4" or more of it to fill that chamber. Could too much grease cause the fouling, or should I clean it different? Add a wad and less grease? I'm not sure what to do with this to fix the fowling while shooting.

Cleaning it by pulling the cylinder and scales (grips) and into the sink in warm soapy water. wire scrubbed the barrel interior and inside the cylinder and around the nipple. Used pipe cleaner inside the nipples. I will probably buy a nipple wrench. Scrubbed the frame with a plastic scrub pad and into a pan. Boiled water to 190° and poured it over the frame and cylinder. Soak for 5 minutes to heat and out and wipe clean. Move cylinder pin/loading rod and action and blow out while still hot. The gun took 15 minutes to be able to handle without a rag.

Also, while asking, what rounds do you all use? I used .454 and it shaved the ring and the RB was good and tight being seated on the powder. I could hit the 10" plate at 20 yards most times put some would pull left and I'm darn sure those inheritances were not me. I could nail it every time with my wife's G19. Should I try and .452 or .451? Sometimes it was dead on and others it seemed like it was off.

Also, how long does it take before my avatar shows up?

[charlie b]

IIRC, I used .451 RB in mine many years ago. Just enough crisco to seal the bullet, not fill the chamber. Experiment with loads. Mine liked a little bit more than you are using. 30gn I think.

If you have fliers then try to get the cylinder so you are shooting the same cylinders in sequence. If the same cylinders result in fliers then you can have a gunsmith correct it.


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[Hellgate]

Rob, I put a single drop of olive oil between the cylinder and the frame at the front of the cylinder where it rubs. Twirl the cylinder a bit to work it onto the cylinder pin and it will free things up. I put the oil drop on after I have charged all the chambers. A little more crisco will keep the fouling softer but the drop of oil on the front of the cylinder at the frame keeps my Uberti Remingtons shooting all day. I don't need to do it on the Euroarms Remingtons. Go figure. I also use a generously lubed wad under each ball to swab fouling out of the bore. Many consider that overkill and messy.
You've got a very thoughtful wife. She's a gem. So many gals are not into shooting. In a recent survey to determine what men consider the ideal wife, a recreational companion was one of the top 5 characteristics of the perfect wife. :>)

[archeryrob]

Yes, the wife's a keeper, but I've kept her for 25 years, so its not much work any more. She is not into hunting or fishing as hunting is too slow and boring and fish are all slimmey and icky. She lets me go have my fun and that is all that matters. She does get a bit frustrated with my hobbies as I am a tinkerer and love to build things. She just want a beer drinking buddy under the porch roof. I'm happy to oblige most times, but building things and beer drinking are both good hobbies. Now I want to learn smithing and build a tredell hammer and forge. She talked me out of reloading and now might be regretting it as my mind wanders elsewhere.

I'll try the oil, do you have a small applicator can you can carry with your shooting bag?

I have this whole box of .454's to go through. I am just not sure if I should try other variations in caliber. It said .454 on Cabelas where I got it and the Pietta manual said the same thing. I guess I'll try wads, varying loads and cream of wheat before I try and change ball sizes.

I ordered a Nipple wrench, nipple pick, fiber wads and a 30 grain spout from TOW and will continue and ask more questions later on.

[country gent]

For range cleaning try windex multi surface with vinegar or windex with vinegar window cleaner. Simply disassemble a light spray and wipe down. Then lightly oil pin and cylinder

[Hellgate]

Rob,

I don't know the concentration of vinegar in Windex but several folks have recommended straight vinegar for removing the bluing from pistols to "age" them.

.454 balls work in ALL my revolvers. I've owned about 40 C&Bs over the years and all worked well with the .454s. The Ruger Old Army (I've never had one) takes .457s. Some guns with smaller chambers would take the .451s but there is a risk of "ball creep" (not a VD :>) where the ball migrates forward under recoil and jams the cylinder. Stick to .454. You could use .457s as long as they are nice and soft. They will just shave a bigger ring when rammed.

The Cream of Wheat (COW) works wonders to scour out barrel fouling and prevent chain fires. It will not soften any cylinder pin fouling but I was amazed at how clean the bores were when using COW. I put it in a spare powder flask (plastic, unlike my brass BP flasks). Cornmeal works too. It is more compressible than COW.

For the oil, I keep it in my shooting box in a small plastic 1 or 2 oz squeeze bottle with a cone shaped tip with a red cone shaped cap. The heavier the powder load the more cylinder pin fouling. I can go longer with 20gr powder than if I go with 30gr powder. I can't remember if the COW added to the cylinder binding or not because I also put grease over the balls.

[Wayne Smith]

Try coating your cylinder pin with STP prior to shooting it, load a lubed wad under the ball and forget the Crisco. Shoots a lot cleaner. Renew the STP as needed.

[Battis]

Similar to olive oil, I spray a little PAM on the cylinder pin. Works great. I also spray it down the barrel for lube.

[Good Cheer]

Try loading enough powder to have the seated ball close to the barrel.
Try with wads, with over the ball grease and with both.
You just never know 'til you try.

Got '58's in .36, .40 and .44.
I love 'em all.

[goodolejim]

I use wheel bearing grease from auto parts store. Fill cylinder full from ball to front of the cylinder and shoot 100 rounds with out cleaning. This is in a Navy Arms 1858 I bought in 1972. Yes its a bit messy around cylinder gap but not so as to bother me or my shooting. Go home, remove the wooden grips, wash with HOT soapy water, oil, reassemble and put away. Don't know how many thousands of rounds I'v put down range. After 40 + years this pistol looks and functions great! This is what started me casting boolits.

[Hellgate]

I agree with goodoljim on the wheel bearing grease or any heavy automotive grease like lithium grease (Lubriplate) as an over ball lube. For revolver uses it is cheap and effective. I apply it with a curved tip irrigation syringe. The warnings about not using petroleum based lubes for BP IMHO only apply to patched roundball and minie ball shooting lubes but they work just fine in C&B revolvers.

[toot]

i used to do civil war reenacting about 30+ or more years ago. well you all know we shoot only blank loads, because of the public, and we can't kill each other, so what we used back in the day was to charge the cylinder with black powder and smear peanut butter over the powder, yes peanut butter, it kept every thing lubed up for a day of shooting. you may ask did i forget to mention a wad?? then peanut butter. no! because you are forbidden to fire any kind of projectile in sham battles and the wad felt or cardboard becomes a projectile with the potential for injury. if any one has ever heard of this please chime in.

[Sasquatch-1]

Try one of the cylinder loading stands (http://www.cabelas.com/product/shoot...and/753165.uts). You remove the cylinder each time you reload and can wipe down the base pin after each cylinder of ammo. I don't shoot my 1851 very often mainly because I hate cleaning it. But when I shoot my flint lock pistol I use TC bore cleaner for black powder at the range.

I don't know the answer to your avatar question but, I would think it would show right after you load it.