Ruger Old Army - how often to fully break it down?

[tacotime]

Inherited an Old Army that had been shot and left to rust by the former owner. Taking it apart, almost all internal surfaces had rust to some degree. All out now.

Shot the gun (Pyrodex P) maybe 15 rounds, gave it the water rinsing called in the manual, and lubed. Shot again the next weekend, maybe 25 rounds, wondered what was going on inside it. Pulled it apart completely. No new rust but plenty of powder fouled surfaces that I suppose would have rusted again in due course.

Taking it all apart and really cleaning it and the cylinder takes a real effort. How often are you guys fully breaking your guns down to clean?

How many rounds or how much time are we comfortable leaving the inside unattended?

Thanks.

 

[Many Klatch]

I only shoot my Remington's with blackpowder so my mileage may vary. I clean the barrel, cylinders and frame after each range session with soap and hot water and then oil the interior. I do a complete tear down and clean about every third trip to the range. No rust yet.

Many Klatch

 

[tv_racin_fan]

Ask a number of cap n ball shooters and you'll probably get as many different answers. I tend to take mine down every time and don't see it as a chore. Had a couple people tell me I was an idiot when I mentioned that my revolver was soaking in the sink during cleaning.

One could take off the furniture and spray the insides well with a soap n water mixture, rinse and then dry it and spray it with some penetrating oil and only take it down about every third trip.

 

[M. De Land]

I never shoot pyrodex and I thoroughly break them down ,clean and oil and grease them each time. Mine had been left internally fouled as well and had some corrosion beginning to chew things up inside. There just is no way to keep the fouling out of all the many entrance openings in the frame.
Some folks pull the wood halves off , stick them in the dish washer, pull them out and spray full of some kind of lube and call it good.
There are a few parts that need grease not just some penetrating oil and I feel this dish washer procedure will shorten the life of the revolver. MD

 

[George T.]

Not near as often as I should. I'll be watching your answers to get pointers. I tear mine down a couple of times a year but shoot and clean them every month. I do spray break-free or pb-blaster in all of the openings. Knock on wood I have not had any rust in the interior yet. Even though I have well fitting screwdrivers I hate to unscrew them more often. Geo. T.

 

[RADeO]

You will get lots of different answers to your question, but please consider the corrosive effects of Pyrodex fouling. Were it me using the stuff, I would do a total teardown and thoroughly clean the revolver immediately after each and every shooting session. Pyrodex fouling does some bad stuff, and pretty quickly, if left on metal surfaces.

I realize that lots of people use Pyrodex, some because that is all that is available to them, and some because they truly like it. Personaly, I prefer black powder because, for me, it is easier to ignite, easier to clean, and there is no worry about "after rust" as some members have said they experienced after using Pyrodex.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Whether Colt, Remington, or ROA, & whether I'm using Pyrodex or BP, I completely disassemble & clean everything - every time. It doesn't take much more time or effort to clean it all up & avoid internal corrosion damage.

Just break it all down, put screws & small parts into one of those baskets in a jewelery cleaner jar & scrub down with a toothbrush.

All loose parts get a spraydown of the Generic Windex from the 99¢ store, soaking in hot soapy water, and scrubdown with toothbrush, nylon bore brush. After HOT water rinse, I towel dry, then spray down with WD-40 or the cheaper Ace Hardware equivalent, to remove all moisture. Another wipedown & a few patches with bore cleaner down the barrel & chambers.

Grease/oil internal parts, use either grease or ball lube on the nipple threads before reassembly, then Rem Oil or GI bore cleaner after assembly.