A great holiday at the family range with ROA. Cleanup??

[Tallbald]

Lots of food and family at my inlaws house today. They have a small farm we can shoot on too. Took my latest ROA (7.5 inch stainless with adjustable sights) to try for the first time. Am still new to blackpowder so I had read up a lot on it. Used Triple 7, wonder wads and swaged roundballs with CCI number 11 caps. Was tin can accurate at 75 feet. Everyone loved the smoke and boom. Also everyone had to try my wife's NAA mini ("It's so tiny it's looks like a toy" and "It's just so cute!!"). Introduced my mom-in-law to handgun shooting, as well as the 19 year old girlfriend of my nephew. Love introducing others to such fun.
Now to the cleanup. As I write this my ruger is field stripped and in the dishwasher with the dishes ( shop dishes not to eat from--old washer used for lawn care stuff) and phosphate based dishwasher soap on high temp wash for pots and pans. Hope I'm doing the right thing. I'll remove the nipples for a more thorough cleaning afterwards, and a good hot second rinse and air compressor blowout. I'm not sure what to do about the lockwork. Do I have to take it down to the last screw for a cleaning? Thanks for comments and help. Don

 

[lumbering.buffalo]

Since it's stripped down why not put it in the oven to heat it up enough to get the water to evaporate?

I heard this idea on a black powder forum.

 

[Coop]

All I've ever used to clean my ROA's and Remington cap and ball revolvers is hot soapy water after placing them, field stripped, into my basement laundry tub. Brush out the action all around with a 1" natural bristle paint brush, and clean the barrel and cylinder chambers with a bore brush wrapped in a cloth patch. Rinse with very hot water, wipe dry all over, and I use a compressed gas from a can to blow out the internals (compressed air would work), and lube it all over with Thompson Bore Butter. I've been shooting and cleaning my C&B's since 1999, on and off, in Cowboy Action Shooting.

I would NEVER clean my C&B revolvers in my family's dishwasher. These revolvers shoot lead projectiles, and will have lead deposits all over them from cylinder gases and barrel lead build up. I STRONGLY Recommend Not using your dishwasher to clean your revolvers.

Coop

 

[Tallbald]

Good point I should have made. Is old washer that is used to clean shop stuff, not eating dishes. Will rinse as you have said and blow it out good, then spray it out with lube. Would an aerosol Remoil be sufficient?

 

[contender]

If the dishwasher isn't used for eating utinsels,, go for it.
Having a warm oven to pop it in after the wash is finished is a great idea too.
Lubing,, Remoil is ok,, but Thompson's Bore Butter is one of the best.
And yes,, the removal of the nipples is an excellet idea to keep those areas well cleaned & lubed.
Further disassembly isn't required usually.

 

[Tallbald]

Thanks to all of you. I look forward to lots more fun shooting this gun. It's kind of like immediate reward reloading and I really enjoy the pop of the percussion cap I seem to hear just before the main charge takes over. Must be a feeling of connection to my ancestors.Don

 

[don44]

C&B revolvers--- I still love 'em!

 

[NorEaster]

My 4 ROAs are all blue fixed sighted models I use for CAS.
After a shoot, I take a bucket and fill with hot soapy water to a point that will just cover the barrel when inverted and placed muzzle down in the bucket.
The remainder of the cylinder frame and revolver stays high and dry out of the bucket. The cylinder is removed and the nipples removed from it. The cylinder is then set to soak in the bucket as well.
Nipples go into a small dish of hot soapy water to soak as well.
After a bit of soaking, the parts are scrubbed with a bore brush and old tooth brush. When scrubbing the cylinder frame I hold the gun upside down so that water will not drip into the cylinder bolt or hand areas.
Once scrubbed all parts are dried throughly and lubed up with bore butter (except the cylinder bores). The nipple threads are treated with Gorilla grease to act as an anti-seize agent. They get thoroughly cleaned on a more annual schedule.
I have a piece of flannel that was placed into a pan of melted bore butter. The melted product saturates the flannel and then cools. It makes a great rag to keep on hand for wiping down my BP guns. I do the same for my smokeless guns as well; but use a cloth saturated with melted vaseline. I keep each of these rags in their own containers that were once plastic soft butter containers. When they get to feeling used and dry, I re-treat them. My Grandad taught me about the protecting of my deer rifle with the vaseline treated rag when I was a kid. When I got into BP shooting, I carried the idea forward with the bore butter. Either way, my guns work and look just fine.
I use APP powder and Remington #11 caps. I like the way it cleans up and I can use smokeless wax based lubed conical bullets in my ROAs if I wish.
Since I started shooting my ROAs, I find myself shooting my other guns less.
Fun stuff.

 

[bandit44]

I have a 1851 Navy c&b that I have shot 3000 (+/-) round thru. Also have a TC Hawken that I have spent many, many days shooting. Luv shooting BP

 

[MMichaelAK]

Ive got a pair of stainless ROAs. 7 1/2 inch barrels and adjustable sights. Put the tea kettle on to boil and some diluted dish soap ina spray bottle. Spray down with soap, bore brush and tooth brush scrub, then rinse with the boiling water poured over the gun into a bowl for a long dip just from the muzzle to the recoil plate.

They air dry fast that hot.
Hit with compessed air and then lube with bore butter.

 

[G2]

Recently bought a Brass GF OA. When it arrived it was full of gunk, goo and mold. After tearing it down and soaking the parts in hoppes this is what the hammer looked like.

The nipples were all messed up, Bottom right is a new nipple I included in the picture to show what it should look like. :roll:

Hot! Hot!! Hot!!! Water, some compressed air and then lube will avoid this.
A Day in the field with a Ruger Old Army is a good day.

 

[Tallbald]

My goodness what a fantastic bunch of info. Thanks everyone! I told my wife that the neat thing about black powder sports is the wealth of info enthusiasts will share and the nifty accessories you get to buy. She understands as her past hobbies included sewing and quilting, with a great group of folks looking to share tips and tricks. I'd love her regardless, but you have to appreciate a girl who says "Honey get whatever you need or even just want." Thanks again all, Don

 

[G2]

She cleaned up good, new nipples, careful re-work of the hammer and internals, now let the careful patina begin.

 

[Tallbald]

Beautiful. A pleasure to see and I'm sure a delight to hold.

 

[Ray Newman]

I would remove the nipples before washing, when done use a pipe cleaner or a small brush to clean the nipple threads in the cylinder. Do same for the nipples themselves.

When re-placingthe nipples on the cylinder, apply a light film of RIG or auto grease to the threads. Keeps them cleaner and easier to remove.