Hope I’m not beating a dead horse and getting myself in trouble here. I like this place and hope I can stay.
No, sir! We are here to help and questions are welcome!
As for cleaning, I go way overkill myself and completely strip the gun every time. I use a bore brush and patches to clean the barrel and cylinder, remove the nipples and use a bronze brush to get all the nooks and crannies. An old toothbrush will work, but the bronze toothbrush works better IMHO. Warm water with a drop or two of dish soap does the trick. Really hot water will generally give you flash rust. I remove the nipples each time and clean really well, as well as the flash holes, then reinstall using anti-seize on the threads. Oil everything really well with your favorite oil or Ballistol, assemble the innards using Lubriplate AA630 or similar white lithium grease, or Mobil 1 synthetic grease. Mike Brackett (Goon's Gun Works) recommends using Mobil 1 and packing all the cavities full. He says a BP gun treated in this fashion only needs disassembly and cleaning every couple years, but I personally don't mind getting all BP salts and fouling out of my guns. (Sometimes they will sit several years before the next outing...I tend to rotate them). Bottom line is; whatever you are comfortable with. Both Black Powder and Pyrodex leave deposits than can be corrosive if not removed; I choose to err on the side of caution.
I learned a long time ago to take 1-2 revolvers to shoot, plus an extra as a backup in case of an issue. Otherwise I spend as much time cleaning as shooting.
