The Art of Revolver Cleaning and Maintenance

By Chris Eger

This cross-section of wheel guns covers five manufacturers across three continents and includes a little bit of everything — but they can all generally be cleaned the same. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
For those with questions on how to clean a revolver, Guns.com has answers to keep that wheel gun ticking like a clock. The neat thing about modern cartridge revolvers that use smokeless powder is that, in general, they can all be cleaned and maintained in roughly the same basic manner. This holds true for both single-action wheel guns and double, centerfire and rimfire, and those with removable, swing-out, or break-top cylinders. With that being said, let’s get started.
First, make sure the revolver is safely and completely unloaded. To be sure you have all the ammunition accounted for, inventory the number of rounds you remove and account for any that are missing. This is important as revolvers can sometimes fail to extract all the rounds from the cylinder — I’ve seen it happen. Remove all brass and ammo from the room in which you are cleaning the revolver to ensure it doesn’t somehow wander its way back into a cylinder before you are ready.
You won’t be needing these while cleaning
Next, visually

Source: Guns.com