Breaking in a new revolver - Resolved!

webguy20 · June 2010

So I'm getting one of these next week

Taurus Raging Bull .44mag

and I have the purchasers guide to make sure everything is in spec before I take it home from the dealer but after that I don't really have a clue.

I figured I would buy a box of standard 44mags, fire a couple cylinders worth then clean it, and then shoot the rest of the box before I run hotter loads. Anything else I should know about?

Also, whats some good products to use for just general maintenance of a pistol? especially a blued one.

mastman · June 2010

no, guns work rather well. Especially simple revolvers.

GungHo · June 2010

Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to destroy something. That's kind of it. .44 SPL casings are shorter than .44 MAG, so if you're going to use .44 SPL to practice, make sure you clean the cylinders out well, because otherwise you're going to get a powder ring that will make .44 MAG shells stick. (Same goes for .38 SPL in .357 MAG or .45LC in a .454 Casull).

Peter Principle · June 2010

I don't know how gun-savvy you are, but this is something every revolver owner should be aware of:

Never "flip" the cylinder open or closed one handed like they do in the movies. You'll bend the crane arm doing that.

If you're going to carry it at all, make sure that your cleaning procedure occasionally includes removing the grips and wiping that area with WD-40, or whatever your rust inhibiting substance of choice is, especially if you can see your sweat on the firearm.

Brasso is really good at cleaning the caked-on soot off the front of the cylinder...certainly better than using a bore brush.

If you're ever going to disassemble the internals, make sure you use a screwdriver ground down to fit the slots of the screws exactly. Otherwise you'll f' up the screw slots, and that always makes a firearm look like ass.

Steel Angel · June 2010

Run a patch through the barrel first just in case there's any gunk from the factory or shipping in there. Aside from that, there's not much else to do besides to shoot the thing.

For general maintenance, I know plenty of people that swear by Otis cleaning kits and Wipe Out to easily clean stuff.

Daemonion · June 2010

I use Butch's Bore Shine and Break Free CLP for cleaning everything.

Fire a round or two, run a patch through, rinse and repeat a couple times and you should be good to go.

Enjoy!

[edit] As others have said, you might want to plink around with .44 spl some days since it has less recoil and is cheaper to shoot.

webguy20 · June 2010

Thanks for the responses guys! I didn't even think about the difference using the specials versus the mags and having the powder ring. I have a buddy who has a .357 who uses a lot of 38 special so Ill pass that on.

Peter, nice thing about the raging bull is that it has a dual cylinder release from my understanding, so no flipping out the cylinder for this guy.

I'll make sure to clean it out real well before I shoot it the first time.

I'm fairly gun savvy, having a few rifles, shotgun and a semi auto pistol. I've gotten everything used though, so this was definitely a new experience buying from a dealer.

D.Crow · June 2010

I don't mean to insult you, but are you sure you're ready for a .44?

Kotenk · June 2010

D.Crow wrote: »

I don't mean to insult you, but are you sure you're ready for a .44?

This. Is this your first gun?

Daemonion · June 2010

He mentioned a few posts above you that he has some others.

At least the OP can use .44spl if he so desires.

Organichu · June 2010

what caliber is the semi-auto you own?

don't try to carry a .44.

if you're already gun savvy, just go ahead

depending on what you've shot, this might be the most muzzle energy you've ever encountered. load up just one round, the first time.

Arrath · June 2010

Yeah, be prepared. I nearly tapped myself on the forehead when I first shot a .44.

Blew the living hell out of that pop can, though.

Beltaine · June 2010

I wouldn't think there'd be any kind of "break-in" for a revolver.

For a semi-auto, "breaking in" is a matter of getting the spring on the slide worked to the point that the action works reliably to eject a spent casing and load the next round smoothly.

For my .22 I ran 1000 hot rounds through it to get the spring worn to the point that subsonic rounds would fire and cycle reliably for use with my silencer.

Don't those model revolvers also fire .410 shotgun shells? Now THAT would be fun.

GungHo · June 2010

Beltaine wrote: »

Don't those model revolvers also fire .410 shotgun shells? Now THAT would be fun.

A .44 MAG cylinder won't accomodate a .410. A .410 casing is too long/too big.

Though, there are plenty of .410 revolvers that also accomodate .45 LC. However, they're .410-length not .45 LC-length (.410's a long cartridge). However, when you shoot shot in a rifled barrel, you have to clean the thing pretty well. The shot, powder, and wad "smears" itself into the rifling. If you don't clean it, subsequent shots with a bullet will be inaccurate as the rifling won't engage for the full travel of the bullet. Not that anyone is looking for accuracy out of a snub-nosed revolver (assuming you're talking about something like a Thunder-5 and not a Freedom Arms Single Action).

webguy20 · June 2010

the current pistol I have is a .45 1911 knockoff, and a pretty fun gun, though a bit inaccurate due to fixed sights. Biggest pistols I've fired before this gun is a .357 with +P loads, and that had an ok amount of kick, still less than I was expecting.

I'll be running medium strength rounds through the .44 the first few times till I get used to it. Unless it has mountains more kick I'm not too worried.

I'm mostly buying the .44 because I got an awesome deal on it and it looks like a bad ass gun. I'm all for a new guns to shoot. I carry my .45 when I hike and probably will continue to carry that unless I'm going into a bear heavy area or some such.

GungHo · June 2010

It has mountains more kick, but you'll get used to it. Obviously, if it were one of those titanium Smith & Wesson snub noses, you'd be in for a lot of hell, because they're so light. You can always get Hogue/Pachmayr grips to help with the recoil. Personally, I shoot full-house loads in my .44, but it's a Ruger Blackhawk (buffalo horn grips). It's heavy, it rolls back rather than pushing back, and it's a Ruger. Once I run out of bullets, I can probably use it to bludgeon a polar bear.

webguy20 · June 2010

GungHo wrote: »

It has mountains more kick, but you'll get used to it. Obviously, if it were one of those titanium Smith & Wesson snub noses, you'd be in for a lot of hell, because they're so light. You can always get Hogue/Pachmayr grips to help with the recoil. Personally, I shoot full-house loads in my .44, but it's a Ruger Blackhawk (buffalo horn grips). It's heavy, it rolls back rather than pushing back, and it's a Ruger. Once I run out of bullets, I can probably use it to bludgeon a polar bear.

The two biggest things I read in reviews of the Taurus is that one, its heavy, so it deadens recoil and that two, it has excellent recoil dampening grips. I can't wait to fire it personally. Gonna have to go to the store to get some melons to shoot.

I think This thread can be closed before it gets too off topic.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Psychotic One · June 2010

Yeah the Raging Bull series is a heavy revolover. Helps reduce the recoil. Me Personally. I got a Rugar GP-100 and I didn't really have to do any break in. Fired off a box of .38 special and then fired off a box of .357 mag. No worries there. Just consult your owners manual and follow the maintance instructions and like someone mentioned before. Don't flick the cyllinder into place.

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Breaking in a new revolver - Resolved!

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