My Dad put hundreds of thousands of rounds through his S&W 586 L frame. We logged over 300,000. Over 90% of them were .38 Specials. While the gun was worked on numerous times (new trigger .. new hammer ... tighten up the end shake .... new barrel once) the cylinder remains in perfect condition.

Yes. There will be a carbon buildup at times leaving a carbon ring in the chamber. It's easily enough dealt with. There are several ways to do it. MY WAY ... and I am not saying it is The Best. It's just what I do .... is to make a scraper by belling the mouth of a .357 case and sharpening it with a taper reamer. Make the bell large enough that it fits snugly into the chamber. Shove it in and let it scrape the carbon ring away. Then wrap a piece cut off of a copper pot-cleaner or some brass wool around an old worn out .38/.357 brass brush and clean the chambers.

This works on .44 Magnums firing .44 Specials .... 454's firing .45 Colts ....

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Thanks. Sounds like it’s less of a problem than I thought

That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing it.

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That a patch soaked with Kroil run through and left to sit really does a number on removing carbon fouling. It was a suggestion made to me by Bill Bagwell I believe when I first started my journey with the Sharps.

Dave