First off, I have no idea what I'm doing with a Black powder gun at all. I've never fired a BP gun but hopefully that will change soon.

This gun was given to me a few months back by a friend. I left it soaking in Kroil because initially we believed it to be unsuitable for anything but a wall hanger.   The barrel is marked .36 Caliber, Navy Arms Co. so I'm guessing that it fires .36 projectiles.

The bore looks good, the cylinder looks pretty rough. It's kind of hard to see down in there and harder to tell if what I'm seeing is deep rust and pitting or some kind of powder residue.

Any idea if this thing could be returned to a functional state?

Take it to a gunsmith and get their opinion. From the pics it probably would be ok.

I gave up bp pistols cause of all the damn cleaning.

Shoulda asked before doing anything, i would not have put oil in the barrel, esp if it was good to go. I dont see anything wrong with it, but take it a smith or better yet find someone that really knows bp and have them meet you at range and go over it.

That is how i learned how to load, shot and clean my bp rifles and the lil tricks to make them work etc

You should take the wood off and then boil it, im not joking, hot water is what most use to clean them and then use product like Bore Butter for insides and your oil of choice for outside

I'd clean it up and inspect it. Not sure what a gunsmith would charge to look it over, but these aren't all that expensive to replace (MSRP is $244). That said, it doesn't look all that horrible to me, but YMMV.

https://www.traditionsfirearms.com/product/1851-navy-revolver-.36-cal-brass

Cleaned up I bet it'll be OK,Scrub the daylights outa it with solvent of your choice,then clean with soapy water (hot) and clean some more.Dry well with a hair dryer and apply any oil,check regularly looking for rust for a few weeks.

Before you shoot it swab the oil out of the bore and cylinder and use Crisco,Tallow,or Beeswax and olive oil as a patch/wad lube.Black powder is the best,Pyrodex,777 can be used but be careful.NO SMOKELESS at all.

Get Lymans black powder book or look on the Muzzleloading forum for loads and tips

Don't use bore butter!!!

Whats wrong with bore butter ? Been using it for years, no rust and i give it a good dry “patching” before i shoot it and use bore butter for ball/patch as well

It looks ok, just clean it and shoot it. Brass frame, so keep the loads light. BTW, the date code indicates it was made in 1976. I have one just like it, makes a good representation of a Griswold and Gunnison Confederate revolver.

Thanks for the replies.

I'll be taking it to some of the older hands in town to see what they think of it before going further.

{DISCLAIMER}I am far from an expert.{DISCLAIMER}

Clean it, put it under a magnifier and inspect real closely for anything that looks out of place.

Depending on what it looks like under magnification, I would probably shoot it.

Bill

If you do get to the point where you are ready to take it to the range, keep this in mind: Oil and BP fouling do not mix!

Before shooting: Clean all oil out of the bore & chambers! Snap a cap through each nipple.to clean and dry them out. Only use lubricants and bore cleaning products formulated for black powder. If you make your own, lubricants should be plant or animal based, wax should be beeswax.

After shooting: DO NOT PUT any type of petroleum based product in the barrel or chambers!

Clean the gun thoroughly with hot soapy water (Ajax dishwashing liquid is what I use). You'll be amazed at how easy the fouling is to wash out if you do it right.

Then when the bore and chambers are completely free of fouling you can use the oil of your choice to protect the gun. Petroleum based oil in a clean bore is fine. Just remember to get it out of there before you load it again.

87% of the bitching about how hard black powder firearms are to maintain is due to people unknowing using the wrong products.

Thanks, I'll keep it all in mind and update when I get around to actually shooting it.

Unfortunately it'll be next year because I'm scheduled for some surgery in December and haven't had time to take it anyone yet.

No it cant