This is nothing more, or less, than the documentation of the treatment of one particular revolver over a specific period of time. Nothing in this post is intended to persuade, or dissuade, anyone from using any product mentioned. It is, quite simply, a report from one shooter on the activities and conditions under which a particular test was conducted. Nothing in this post is intended to support or denigrate the experiences, observations or opinions of others.
It is the end product of my need to know. By profession, I am an investigator. At least that’s what my business cards say. My pay checks say the same thing and they have for over twenty years, broken service notwithstanding.
I needed, or wanted, to know, because I have revolvers I care for very much. Pieces I don’t want ruined. They are to be shot, not looked upon as museum pieces. That said I don’t want them damaged. Being objective in my conclusions is the goal. Often, subjectivity is unavoidable. That must be admitted.
Being half-fast with a computer, this file was produced in Word, copied and pasted into this post format. Hopefully it will be coherent on this board.
To business, there has been some talk recently about Pyrodex, fillers and corrosion. Since I use Pyrodex, and fillers, I thought I’d find out for myself.
The revolver being subjected to this is an old Uberti Cattleman in .357 Magnum. I bought it used, looked new, in the spring or summer of ’98. From May until late fall of 2000 it was used with Goex. I can not estimate how many rounds. I was doing at least two shoots a month then and it was my primary revolver. I can not estimate how many rounds of smokeless powder have been through it either. At that point, sometimes I used it and sometimes it stayed in the safe while I used others. I will say if it falls completely apart the next time I drop the hammer it owes me nothing. I can afford to sacrifice this revolver.
In this little adventure, two loads will be used, both Pyrodex RS. One load with a filler (corn meal or grits), one without. One uses SPG lubed bullets, one uses Crisco. Both use fiber wads. The SPG lubed bullets have seen the most use, the Crisco lubed loads are under development.
Throughout, Ballistol aerosol refers to Ballistol packaged as a self propelled spray. Liquid or straight Ballistol refers to Ballistol packaged as a liquid in a container from which it may be poured. Ballistol/water solution refers to a mixture of one part liquid Ballistol to five parts tap water. That particular solution for use in this experiment is contained in, and dispensed from, a well rinsed, trigger-pump spray bottle originally containing ArmorAll.
Ed’s Red is a bore solvent developed by one Ed Harris. A Google search will return several sites describing Ed’s Red and detailing Ed’s back ground. If one isn’t familiar with this solvent, I’d suggest taking the time to read about it. It’s great stuff.
We start:
May 3rd – The revolver was shot at a Tuesday morning cowboy plinking session. Following that outing, it was cleaned as I would normally clean a revolver after shooting with BP or a sub. It was left wet with Ballistol after the cleaning and put in the safe.
May 7th – Following a six stage shoot, the cylinder was removed. Each chamber, the inside of the frame and the bore was sprayed with Ballistol. The excess was wiped over the external surfaces of the revolver. With the cylinder replaced, it was shoved into a sweat sock and put in the back of the truck. I decided to leave it there until the following Tuesday morning cowboy plinking session.
May 10th – The thing was taken out of the sweat sock. The cylinder was removed and each chamber and the bore patched out. Following this session, the revolver was sprayed down and put away as it was on the 7th.
May 14th – Not wanting to take the time to patch it out and wipe it off on the morning of a shoot, that task was taken care of on the 13th. Since it was an in-shop clean up, the ends of the cylinder and in inside of the frame was brushed with a nylon tooth brush. The base pin was lubed with Ballistol.
Following the shoot, six stages, the thing was sprayed and stored in the sock, in the truck.
May 17th – A Tuesday cowboy plinking session, the revolver is patched out and wiped down. Other shooters were invited to inspect the revolver. They detected no fouling or rust. After the session, it’s sprayed and put back where it was.
May 24th - Same situation and actions as last Tuesday.
May 25th – The revolver couldn’t be left in the truck. It was removed and secured, still in its sock.
May 28th – The revolver, still in its sock, is put in the truck for a six stage shoot. It’s patched out, wiped down and offered for inspection at the range. No fouling or corrosion. Sprayed, socked and stuck in the truck after the shoot.
May 31st – Our regularly scheduled Tuesday morning plinking. Following this firing, it was sprayed with a Ballistol-water solution rather than the aerosol that has, to this point, been used.
June 3rd - To save time tomorrow morning, the revolver is patched out in the shop. The inside of the frame and ends of the cylinder were brushed down for the first time since May 14th. There is no doubt the thing needs a more detailed cleaning. Crud can be seen in tiny, difficult to reach places. Bore, chambers, bushing, base pin – all as pretty as they ever were.
Pushing the patch thru the bore took a bit more effort than usual. The aerosol stuff is oilier than the liquid Ballistol cut with water.
The external surfaces of the gun were wiped down at the range the following morning. It’s offered to others for inspection. No rust. The bore is bright, the chambers normal.
After the shooting was over it was sprayed with the Ballistol/water solution, wrapped in
an old tee shirt and put in the safe.
June 7th – No cowboy plinking session on this sad Tuesday, the owners of the land our range sits on have decided to begin their development. We’ve been evicted.
June 10th – Removed the cylinder. For giggles, the cylinder, base pin and bushing are separated, placed in a tin can and submersed in Ed’s Red. The rest of the revolver is put back in the safe.
June 26th – A rainy Sunday, drug it out.
The hammer’s sides are unfinished steel. This revolver has always pierced primers. Several things have been done to correct that, none have totally eliminated the problem. There is rust on both sides of the hammer where it fits into the frame. It’ll buff off with a Dremel. I should have brought the hammer to full cock and made sure all surfaces were well coated with Ballistol when I sprayed it down.
A tear down reveals a bit of rust on the hand. As with the hammer, it’ll buff off.
I attribute both to gases blowing back due to pierced primers and not thoroughly wetting the thing down with Ballistol prior to storage. Leaving it sit for two weeks didn’t help either.
Five patches cleaned the bore. It felt a bit rough about an inch and a half from the forcing cone. Not much, but noticeable. It was scrubbed with a bore brush and Ed’s Red. I could still feel a slight roughness but I’m not sure if it’s corrosion or crud. Either way, it’s slight.
The bolt, trigger, all springs, blued surfaces, virtually the rest of the revolver, is dirty but rust free. Since there is no planned use of the thing until the third weekend of July, everything except the cylinder is placed in a can. With the frame on the bottom of the can, muzzle up, it’s all submersed in Ed’s Red to a point just above the forcing cone. The bore is wetted with same.
The cylinder was taken from its private Ed’s Red bath. It was dried and inspected. It’s ready to be put back in the revolver. In the bottom of the can there’s a gritty, black mess. As the rest of the thing is in pieces, it went back in the bath.
June 29th – Spare time was had to mess with it. A magnet was used to fish the hammer and the hand from their Ed’s Red bath. Each was gone after with a Dremel fitted with a wire brush.
The hammer will be forever stained. It’s smooth to the touch after the buffing but the discoloration is there. The main spring roller spins freely. Actually, I think it looks better for the purpose than it did shiny. That’s a subjective observation to be sure. But, that matters, it’s my revolver and if I like it, all the better.
The hand is the same way. Functionally, both are 100%. Both were smeared with Hoppes No.9 gun grease and set aside.
The frame/barrel assembly was pulled from the bath.
Several patches were used to dry the bore. The last came out clean and dry. The roughness in the bore, referred to earlier, wasn’t felt. Using a dental mirror I can’t see anything in the bore that wasn’t there before this test began over a month and a few hundred rounds ago.
The bore was soaked with liquid Ballistol and the rest of the assembly was smeared with the same and set aside.
I found a casualty, the ejector rod. It’s pitted. Note to me: Run it out with the cylinder removed and make sure it’s sprayed and wiped down. My usual procedure with the fake Colts is to remove the ejector rod housing during a cleaning.
An inspection of the rod housing and the stainless ejector spring revealed no sign of rust. The spring is absolutely spotless.
July 11th – Being kind of “on call” by the office, I decide to work on it. The bore was first to get it. It patched out nicely. As closely as I can tell there’s nothing in there that wasn’t there before I resumed shooting BP or Pyrodex out of it some six months ago.
The revolver went back together without a hitch. A close inspection, including using a magnifying glass, revealed no surface rust on the blued surfaces, inside or out, with the exception of a small pit on the barrel and just below that one, a matching pit on the rod housing. This popped up five years ago. I did see tiny specs of what I believe to be pits on the face of the recoil shield. I don’t think they were there before but they may have been, forming when the thing was left sit for two weeks. It should be noted this revolver has never been subjected to such scrutiny. I may be finding flaws I missed in the past.
The chambers have always been a little rough. Now and again I polish all of mine with automotive rubbing compound. That’s about as aggressive as I like to get. Before I put the cylinder back I gave it another going over.
The revolver is totally reassembled and appears to be functioning normally. We’ll find out Saturday, Good Lord willing.
July 16th – Too many people were hanging around waiting for the safety meeting to go letting a bunch of them sweep one another with it. Took another Soot Shooter off to the berm and let him inspect it. He has before – couldn’t find anything wrong with it.
It is functioning normally. Six stages, six clean stages, by the way (clean with everything – I’m a happy cowboy). It should be noted, the loads today were Goex. The revolver was sprayed, wrapped in an old tee shirt and put in the back of the truck. Yes, another experiment is on the way.
July 17th – After cleaning the revolver this morning I feel this thing has been taken as far as I need to take it to satisfy my curiosity. It also gives me peace of mind that what I’ve been doing works. My other guns, ones I’ve been taking much better care of, are none the worse for the wear of Pyrodex/Ballistol since January. Some have more “mileage” on them than the one I’ve intentionally neglected.
I’m putting it away for awhile. There are other guns I want to play with over the next few planned shoots, this one won’t be making the trips. I’ll take a look at it in a month or so to see if anything has changed.