The small parts including the  hand and springs show  discoloration and pitting as a result of being uncleaned during a three-week hunting period.

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  During the production of my 7-part YouTube video series on “Modern Percussion Revolvers” I hunted with Cabela’s Buffalo stainless steel revolver which is made in Italy by Pietta. While using this gun on squirrels and deer I would sometimes fire a chamber or two, clean those chambers and the barrel and brush off any residue from the Triple Seven Powder (A black powder substitute.) for the next day’s hunt. When I had secured my deer, I completely stripped the gun down and found that corrosion had pitted some of the small interior parts and discoloration started on the trigger and hammer.

Deer and squirrels were taken with the pistol.

Although it is a pain to fire all the chambers, completely clean in soap and water, dry and reload, this is still necessary when using either black powder or the majority of the black-powder substitutes. This needs to be done if the gun is made of regular blued or stainless steels. Although called “stainless,” this steel will corrode when exposed to black powder and atmospheric moisture. In extremely dry climates this may not be such a factor, but it is in the humid southeastern U.S. where I live.

  There are trade offs in life, and the ones related to stainless steel firearms are that these steels do not machine as cleanly as high-carbon steels. The result is that screws may be very hard to remove the first time the gun is disassembled. However after they have been removed and replaced 10 or so times, particularly when lubricated, the threads will “clean up” and the process will become much easier. These steels are also softer than the typical high-carbon steels used on firearms. Care must be taken not to cross-thread the  screw seats when replacing screws or percussion nipples. It also pays to use fitted screwdrivers and are ground to fit the heads of the screws to prevent buggering them if they are difficult to extract. With these precautions and a tray or towel to hold the small parts these guns may be dissembled and reassembled without fear of damaging the gun; provided that you are patient and take your time.

  Always make sure that you remove and clean the nipples as these tend to clog, sieze in the cylinder and cause misfires. Twists of damp and then dry paper towels are very useful for cleaning the tiny holes in the nipples.

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