Quote Originally Posted by tacfoley View Post
A couple of things - make it three -

Let's hope that the other club members have need of the same diameter ball as you. All brands of BP revolver tend to use slightly different diameter ball. Uberti, Pietta, Euroarms and the now-defunct Navy Arms ALL use different diameter ball. If you opt for a Ruger Old Army, that is .457", usually way too big for anything else. Most others like something between .451" and .454". Too small and they either roll out, or fall out on recoil. Too big and you'll stress the loading lever trying to force them into the chamber mouth. The act of loading SHOULD shave off a VERY thin ring of lead as the ball is swaged into the chamber. Take a good set of calipers with you to figure out the right diameter for your new pistol.

Casting costs about 1/20th of buying.

CPG Designs will sort you out with cleaning gear - it's really nothing special - you are cleaning a BP revolver, not an operating theatre. Water, hot water, that is, is the best BP cleaner. And don't use ANY kind of petroleum-based grease on the cylinder pin. If you do it will seize up into a solid crud after a few shots, and be a real b*gger to shift.

You might also be disappointed with using conical bullets rather than ball - most are. And of course, accuracy is better with ball, which is why all competitive shooting is done using ball.

Ah, that was more than three things...
as tac says.....boiling water from kettle to clean my stainless steel revolver.
to clean snider / martini i point muzzle downwards into a bucket and i have a portable steam gun which i blast all the crap out with lol