I found a nice S&W Model 65 in my favorite pawn shop.

It seems that a previous owner fed it a steady diet of .38 SPL and did not clean the cylinder religiously.

I can use .38 SPL in it with no problem, but deposits in the cylinder prevent .357 Magnum rounds from seating all the way.

What's a good cleaner for the "ring around the collar" in the cylinder chambers?

Hoppe's on a bore brush would be my first try.

Take a brass/bronze bore brush like this ...



... of an appropriate size to fit snugly in the chambers, cut the ring off the end, and chuck it up in a drill motor turned at slow speed. Or take some empty magnum cases and push them into the chambers, the sharp case mouth acting as a reamer/scraper.

Pure copper chore boy wrapped around a bronze brush, the same set up I use for lead removal.

The worst ring fouling I ever experienced with a revolver was when firing military issued 38 Special ammunition in an S&W model 10. The cartridges were sealed with some sort of tenacious sealant around the bullets that was very difficult to remove; bronze bore brushes hardly touched the stuff.

I discovered, however, that a .44 caliber stainless steel “Tornado” brush worked well if I just scrubbed it back and forth through the chambers. It was also very good with lead residues.

https://www.brownells.com/gun-...rushes-prod9791.aspx

What works even better but is more expensive and time consuming to set up and use is the woven brass patches in the Lewis Lead Remover system.

https://www.brownells.com/gun-...mover-prod21587.aspx

I've used a bronze brush in a dewalt drill to knock the lead out of a cylinder before.

A good Kroil soak prior to scrubbing will ease the burden.

Cowboy action shooters I know use these...

https://www.badmanbullets.com/...om/slix-scraper.html

Tornado brushes loosen things up nicely. I also cut patches out of lead wipes and push them thru the cylinder and bore. I've used bronze screen on a wooden dowel too, but I don't like the hammering it requires. Lead wipes are the easiest.

The Lewis Lead Remover is very good.

https://www.brownells.com/gun-...mover-prod21587.aspx

A .40 Tornado brush works well in a .38 cylinder. There are chamber brushes oversize and stiff for the job.

A few days in a pickle jar full of solvent make the scrubbing easier.

I agree with mars attacks if its real bad.

I use the .40 Tornado brush as well.

Soak the cylinder in a jar of Hoppe's #9 for a few days. Then brush/patch clean. Burn rings on the cylinder face will come off with a lead-removal cloth. Hoppe's will not harm the cylinder.

quote:

Originally posted by GaryBF:
Soak the cylinder in a jar of Hoppe's #9 for a few days. Then brush/patch clean. Burn rings on the cylinder face will come off with a lead-removal cloth. Hoppe's will not harm the cylinder.

This!

As an engineer who is also lazy, I am astounded by the number of people who don't know this trick. Even just running a wet patch through and letting it sit overnight is often enough. Let the solvent (be sure to use something safe for the gun finish, as well as a container which the solvent won't attack if you use that method) do the work. Hoppe's #9 is great for this.

Don't... that build up closes the cylinder gap, makes for a tighter tolerance gun.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Perry:
A good Kroil soak prior to scrubbing will ease the burden.

I agree with this. It will likely work remarkably fast, too.

I have taken a spent .357 case and pushed into the cylinder, cleans out the ring quite well. I have never done, but heard of others doing, that before doing this you can take an old knife and run it around the inside and give the empty case a kind of sharp edge before inserting.

You can run it through the case mouth expander and flare it until it JUST starts in the chambers, too.

hey, everyone has some really good suggestions for you...If you want the cylinder and cylinder face to be very clean, you need to go to brownells and order a leading cloth..This will remove the built up black carbon on the face of the cylinder and inside of the cylinder itself...I have been using leading cloths for over 25 years and they will do what you are asking...