Cleaning

[Kenneth L. Walters]

Soon I plan on shooting my Erma Gallagher a lot. Several times a week.
Question is how often should I clean it?

[jonk]

Well that's simple; as with any black powder firearm, after every time you shoot it.

Swab bore as often as needed during shooting.

I'm not familiar with the gallagher personally, so I can't comment on how the cases work and how fouled the breech gets, but bottom line, anywhere you see powder residue it needs to be cleaned.

[Mike w/ 34th]

The great thing about the Gallager design is the lever action means the breech won't get sticky like a Smith.

The bad thing about an Erma is the rifling, which is super-fast, small groove, and will lead up fairly quickly.

Taking the gun apart for a thorough cleaning means taking out a couple screws, so it's not as simple to break down as a Burnside, but it's not a puzzle box, either. Clean it every time you shoot it.

Cheers,

Michael

[RaiderANV]

I mostly solved my leading issues by making round balls with wheel weights. The Relining job solved that issue and improved the grouping also. Had it recut to take the plastic Smith tubes as well.