Pistol cleaning

[S & W 642]

I just bought my first revolver S & W 642 pistol. I shot it 50 times the other day and went to clean it and it has black rings around the each cylinder.  I cant seem to get this clean I have scrubbed and scrubbed I used shooters choice bore cleaner as it was recommended from where I bought the gun. I dont like these rings is there anything that will get this off.

[KN]

Your just going to "clean" yourself to death. The front of the cylinder will constantly darken every time you shoot it no matter how clean you get it. I just clean it with a wire brush and move on. I would much rather spend the extra time shooting than cleaning some thing I can't prevent in the first place.

[jpsmith1]

I'm not 100% familiar with the 642, is it a concealment gun?  If it is, it should be spotless when returned to carry duty.  These rings do not come off.  After 50 rounds or so, it should be possible to clean the end of the cylinder.  After 500 or 5000, you won't get it clean.  Be sure that the residue from the bullets and powder are gone, then store the gun until next time.

[Heavy C]

Actually those rings will clean right up with a product from Kleen Bore.  It is a treated cloth and the package is labeled Lead-Away or something along those lines - it is a yellow cloth.  I have a couple of 45 ACP stainless revolvers that had significant burn marks on the end of the cylinder.  These would not come clean with wire brushes, Hoppe's, or anything else I tried.  This Lead-Away came in a cleaning kit that my wife gave me some time ago.  I tried it on a whim and tadda, clean as whistle.  It does have a warning about using it on blued guns.  I've seen at Academy, but I'm sure you can find at any big box sporting goods store.

[Wingman26]

They will come off, even from a pistol that has been shot a lot, but what's the point?  I would clean them off my Model 66 duty revolver from time to time, but they were always back the next time you shot it, they don't hurt anything, and the only one who MIGHT notice it will be someone looking at the business end of the revolver, and they are usually thinking about something else when they are about to be arrested

Hoppe's #9 and a copper/bronze brush will clean them down to bare metal, even on a revolver which has had thousands of rounds through it.

The type brush I'm talking about is a copper/bronze brush that looks like a toothbrush, usually a wood handle and copper/bronze bristles.

[Lloyd Smale]

you guys actually clean guns

[S & W 642]

I have always been taught to clean my guns everytime I shoot and as soon as I get done shooting, with that said I just want to get it as clean as I possibly can I like a clean gun. thanks for the recommendations.

[Castaway]

A lot orf us were taught to clean after each and every range trip.  I think it harkens back to the days of black powder and then carried over to the smokeless world with corrosive primers.  A few million young men were taught to clean every chance thay got during the big one.  Now, with non-corrosive primers it isn't as necessary.  In fact, when the Army adopted CLP (Break Free) they had an article in PM Magazine that officially stated that weapons were getting too much wear and tear from incessant cleaning and that it degraded accuracy faster than not cleaning them so much.  The article went on the state that the old policy of cleaning for three days after shooting was now a non policy and that weapons were to be cleaned only once.  It stated that CLP would, over the course of the night, "float" carbon fouling to the surface.  First Sergeants and armorers would go to the arms room in the evening, run a white patch through the barrel and have a fit.  I'm not saying don't clean, but I don't get my shorts in a knot if I have a dirty pistol or rifle in my safe.

[gypsyman]

Being that your gun is a stainless, the Kleen Bore product mentioned earlier, is great for taking that burnt ring off the front of the cylinder. I also wrap about a 1'' piece around a used bore brush, one that is loose in the bore, to take lead fowling out of the rifling. The major drawback with the Lead Away cloth, is if you rub hard enough, and long enough, on a blued gun, it can remove the blueing. I've used it to clean the bore, I just make sure that I keep it off the outside of the gun. We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!! Remember(12/7/41) (9/11/01) gypsyman

[jpsmith1]

you guys actually clean guns

Only personal protection CCW type guns.  Field guns get a wipe down with an oily rag and put away.

[Shooter973]

Not only do I NOT clean a firearm after every time shooting, I DON'T change the oil in my car after every drive.  Just a wipe down before back to the safe for most. 

[corbanzo]

I always runn a couple of patches to make sure that i dont have a bunch of crap, and at times am guilty of over cleaning. 

Ive learned to think of the rings as wrinkles, they are a sign of experience, and dont really hurt anything.

[S & W 642]

The kleen bore lead away works great and easy.  You dont have to scrub it just wipes off.  Thanks for input on gun cleaning.

[Glanceblamm]

Have never tryed the Kleen bore but may have to look into it. I do use a gunbrite paste type that seems to work well but only use it periodically.
On the six guns, I will leave a slightly heavier film of oil not only on the Cylinder face, but also in the corner of the frame above the forcing cone. I think that this might be (seasoning) the metal to a certain extend cause my new .44 was a real bear to clean up as compared to my two Vaqueros.
I usually need but just a shot of Hoppes Elite and a nylon type brush and these areas will clean up well.

The cleaning of handguns & rifles has came a long way over the years due to one-piece stainless or brass rods, gun vices, and bore guides. It is hardly like the old days when one may have scrubbed down the bore operating a jointed aluminum rod like he was pumping water out of a well!.
You can take care and clean up good which is often essential because you have brought the gun in from a cold hunting environment to a warm house where it warms up & starts sweating.

[jgalar]

Both the primer and powder are non corrosive. When you shoot the gun heats up and burns off moisture. I very seldom do more than a wipedown on the outside and maybe run an oiled  boresnake down the tube for storage.

I have guns that I know haven't been cleaned in a couple of years. I recently found a Winchester autoloading shotgun in the back of the safe and the last time a remember firing it was about 15years ago. When cleaning I could find no traces of corrosion anywhere.

If a gun gets wet I will clean it. All my blackpowder guns are cleaned after firing. Most people are too @n@l about cleaning.

[Jim n Iowa]

Most carburator cleaners will clean off the front of the cylinder, but do it outside (fumes).
Jim