How do clean your lever gun from BP?

[crabo]

How do clean your lever gun from shooting BP? Do you need to do the action also, or just the barrel?

Thanks,

[cajun shooter]

You need to do the action also. If you shoot the 38-40 or 44-40 you only clean the bbl as they have no blow by as the straight walled cases do. Some people who tell horror stories about the cleaning are not telling the truth. I have fired the 38 spl and 45 Colt in my 92's in CAS and it is not all that bad. You must how ever use the heavy loads. If you try to use the Mouse Fart loads then you will have some heavy fouling in the action area. I use Moose Milk mixed at a 7-1 ratio and it works fine. I open the action and spray the inside real good with it running out on to the ground. I also spray a bunch down the BBL. I run a couple of wet patches down the bore followed by the bore snake and then a clean patch with some EEzox down the BBL and that part is done. I then wet a patch with the MMilK and use a dental pick and the patch to clean the bolt face and guide rails inside the action. I might use two patches until they are clean. Then a clean patch with EEzox for the inside of the action and you are done. I now use the 44-40 full time but still have 45 Colt. I did not change because of cleaning but to use another historic cartridge. I will keep and shoot both. If you don't like spending about 10-15 minutes extra per gun for cleaning then BP is not for you. It would not bother me if they never sold another pound of smokeless powder. The fire,smoke, noise and history of BP is so rewarding that I will only shoot it.

[August]

It depends on the gun. Marlins and '92 Winchesters need to have their actions cleaned when using straight walled cases (particularly the .45 Colt's cartridge). '73 and '66 Winchesters are not as fussy because their fire control and bolt cycling systems are separate from the part of the gun where blow back might cause a problem -- they really have two sections to the action part of the gun.

When the action of a lever gun is opened, a small amount of smoke comes out the breech end. After a lot of firing, this smoke deposits on every part of the gun -- inside and out -- regardless of the action type.

In broad strokes, the action of a lever gun probably doesn't need cleaning more often that once or twice a year. Unless, you're using .45 Colt's.

[Pitmaster]

I squirt some Simple Green into the action and work the lever a few times. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and hose it out with very hot water from the laundry sink. Wipe down, pull a boresnake through the barrel a couple of times, air dry with with heat gun, , and squirt with some Ballistol.

[jh45gun]

I do use black for my Muzzleloaders and do not mind the cleaning but with my lever gun and Roller as long as I can use smokeless I use it.

[NickSS]

I use black in my 45 colt 92 stainless Rossi. I clean the barrel like I always do and spray the action with WD 40. I wipe as much of the excess WD 40 off the internals as I can reach with minimal effort. About once a year I strip the action down removing the bolt and sliding parts and clean the WD 40 soaked debree off them. Have not had a problem doing this in either cap and ball revolvers of lever guns for about 40 years now so I do not think I will stop now.