Ruger Single Six Stuck Base Pin

I also shot my Cowboy Pimp Gun, AKA my Ruger Single Six Vaquero in .32 H&R Magnum today. The last time I shot it I didn’t do a full cleaning, just an external wipedown. After I got home today I wanted to do a full cleaning, but when I went to pull the base pin it was stuck. Unless I removed the ejector rod housing I would not be able to get pliers on it.

I squirted some Ballistol in at the front and back of the cylinder and let it soak for about a half hour in the hopes that it would loosen things up. Luckily I was finally able to pull it out.

This leads me to believe there was a buildup of crud on the pin.

Unfortunately, single actions with transfer bars like the Ruger New Models don't allow you to push the cylinder pin from the back, because the transfer bar is in the way. Brownells sells a base pin removal tool (part number 080000367) but it's $45. So, the moral of the story is if you shoot a single action, pull and wipe off the base pin even if you’re not going to do a full cleaning.

Ballistol Cleaning Wipes

Last weekend I placed an order with the Ballistol online store for a couple bottles of their oil, along with some of their cleaning wipes. In my experience, Ballistol is a pretty good CLP, and when made into a water/Ballistol emulsion, is good for cleaning black powder or corrosive primer fouling. I've been using it more lately because it's non-toxic.

My order arrived today and I used one of the wipes for cleaning my S&W Model 64-3 and my EDC, Model 432UC.

The wipe is made from is some kind of synthetic cloth. It reminds me of the Hoppe's No.9 synthetic cleaning patches. It was large enough that I cut two rectangular patches from it and used one each to clean the bores of my guns, after first running a brush wet with Ballistol through them. The remaining wipe was large enough for me to do a quick external wipe down of both guns. I.e., cleaning fouling off the outside of each cylinder and getting rid of most of the fouling inside the cylinder window on each gun's frame.

Ballistol is often criticized for its smell, which reminds many people of dirty gym socks. I noticed that the smell of the wipes wasn't nearly as pungent as when you use a spray bottle, whether aerosol or pump. I don't like Ballistol's odor so this was welcome.

I'm planning to add a couple wipes to each field cleaning kit I have for my guns. They'll be good for external wipe downs and if necessary, oiling the bore.

Accessory Kit for the Stevens 325-B

Today I put together an accessory kit to help keep the Stevens 325-B .30-30 running in the field.

• Two spare 3-round magazines
• East German surplus RG-57 AKM cleaning kit
• East German surplus grenade pouch

All items were bought from Numrich Arms.

Numrich warned that the magazines may require final fitting. However, both of mine locked into the rifle easily and fed three rounds into the chamber.

The RG-57 cleaning kit is based around a pull-through, a couple bore brushes, a broom-like brush,  an AKM tool, and a small oil bottle, all contained within a tin reminiscent of vintage pipe tobacco tins. The tin is contained in vinyl pouch with a snap, and a coarse net-like cleaning cloth.

The two bore brushes attach to the patch pulling loop with a hook. I tried the pull-through with one of the large cotton cleaning patches and it pulled through easily, dry or wet.

This site has a nice overview of the kit. Note that mine came with a different kind of pouch to keep it in.

I filled the oil bottle with Ballistol. Apparently the East Germans used it for gun oil, not solvent. Because Ballistol is a CLP it'll be good for both cleaning the rifle and protecting it against rust.

I got turned onto the East German grenade pouches by Jess on the Endurance Room YouTube channel, where he uses one to hold his fire kit. They contain a divider which for my uses I cut out. Numrich has them cheap in NOS condition.

I also added a small Ziplock bag with some cotton flannel cleaning patches.

This kit should handle most needs short of an obstructed bore or a stuck case. If I encounter either in the field I may be able to knock out a bore obstruction by dropping the pull-through's weight on it, but a stuck case would require a cleaning rod to knock out.

IMO, this would be a good setup for one of these rifles kept as a truck gun.

While out hunting I'd have this in my pack with at least one of the spare magazines in a jacket pocket.

Brownells Revolver Chamber Brushes

Cleaning the charge holes is an important part of maintaining a revolver. If you shoot .38 Specials in a .357 Magnum it's especially important to do so to knock back the crud ring that results. However, even using a bore brush this is a fair amount of work.

Brownells sells revolver chamber brushes for .38/.357 and .44/45. They are larger in diameter and longer than pistol bore brushes. This morning I used one when cleaning my S&W Model 64-2 snub .38.

(Yes, my workbench is cluttered.)

Note how much longer the chamber brush is than a bore brush. Also note that it's longer than the frame opening for the cylnder. Do not put the chamber brush down the bore because getting it back out is going to be extremely difficutl.

I ran the chamber brush dry through each charge hole once in each direction. It got rid of a lot of crud from the .38 Special 158 grain LSWC loads I fired yesterday.

Incidentally, after I finished cleaning the gun I replaced the wood grips and grip adapter with the set of Pachmayr Compacs it had when I got it. The Magnas with grip adapter were comfortable when dry firing but really whacked the inside of my left thumb when shooting the gun.

From last weekend:

The rubber grips are still pretty small so the piece should still conceal easily under a jacket or vest when Fall rolls around. This is a 6 shot K-Frame so it's not like I'm going to be stuffing this in my pants pocket, anyway.