Model 66 & 686 .357 Magnums?

[m4bgringo]

We shoot easily 100+ rounds at a time of wadcutters through our 686's. I clean the gun the next day most of the time with a stainless steel brush from Brownells. Never had any problems going from .38 Specials to .357 Magnums.

 

[stantheman86]

No need for power tools or aggressive cleaning folks

I have several stainless and a few blued revolvers that look like someone went after the cylinder face with a wire brush Also have a Ruger Service Six that someone must have used the stainless brush in a power drill method because it looks like someone was grinding in the chambers

Trust me, Eezox and Hoppe's Bench Rest, along with occasional nylon bore brushes and toothbrushes are all I ever use, and I shoot quite a bit. Never had a problem dropping a .357 into a chamber. Eezox will absolutely erase carbon, and Hoppe's BR is good on lead and copper. It's all you really need. More guns are ruined by improper or overzealous cleaning than any amount of shooting. We don't have Drill Sgt.'s hovering over us anymore sticking Q-tips in chambers and smoking us for a little black on the tip

 

[coorslight]

If you reload at all, load .357 to .38 spec velocity, no ring if not just use a little extra elbow grease when cleaning.

 

[mike from st pete]

When mine get too much build up, I remove the one screw holding the crane and cylinder to take the whole assembly off. Remove the cylinder from the crane and sit the cylinder in a small container and pour in enough penetrating oil to cover the dirty rings, and let it soak for a few hours if needed.
Kano Kroil works wonders for me.

 

[Seeyabubba]

OOOhh--Power tools to clean my guns??? No thanks. I'll stick with the elbow grease after each shooting session.

 

[Pete 45]

If you reload at all, load .357 to .38 spec velocity, no ring if not just use a little extra elbow grease when cleaning.

Ditto this Coorslight... I've been reloading 38/357 now over 5 decades and started reloading the .38 loads that I'd be shooting in my 357s in the magnum cases just about that long also.

Would agree with those that say keep it clean after you shoot and you really won't experience any problems.

 

[Old cop]

I cut a patch sized piece of lead remover cloth and run it down the cylinder every so often along with a .45 cal brush. This has worked for years - no problems loading mags in my M13.

 

[Warren Sear]

A few months past I got a Model 66 that worked fine with .38 specials, but couldn't get it to load .357 magnum cartridges even though it clearly states on side that it is a ".357 magnum". I thought it a fluke and sold the gun quickly...

I'm not sure if I got this straight or not, but it sounds like you (thought you) got hosed in a gun deal so you quickly passed the problem along to someone else. I assume you told them about the "defect"?

I knew a guy who had a P-38 that he knew had a cracked slide. He passed it off a a gun show to some unsuspecting poor guy and never said a word about it to him. I assume you are above such low-life tactics.